How many timed tests did you take? Forum

[tronimrich]

Prior to your actual test date? Some members seem to be of the vision that you should have at least 10 tests be completed under time restraints. Some say more. I'm learning towards taking 15.

[tronimrich]

For those who don't care of anonymity, at about what test did you begin to finish on time/early?

[t14fanboy]

60.

[tronimrich]

60.

Since you used so many PTs to take full tests, do you think you would have done better/worse had you used the tests to study only 1 section at a time?

[Alan]

Sorry to say, you have under estimated the amount of timed PT people on this site take.

I took about 45 once and took about 10 of them again.

[rinkrat19]

I took about 30-35 timed tests, I think. Although, the only section I had to time was LG because LR and RC I never took more than 30 minutes on. With LG, I started getting it down to 35 min after going through a book and learning to diagram quickly. (LG bible and Velocity seem to be the agreed-upon best options)

[t14fanboy]

60.

Since you used so many PTs to take full tests, do you think you would have done better/worse had you used the tests to study only 1 section at a time?

Its fine to go through 1 section at a time when you're learning the material and building techniques, but taking full length practice tests helps to build up endurance.

[QuincyWagstaff]

About a dozen. Focused practice/Drilling is much more important. >175

[john1990]

i took mine to quickly and now going into my third retake i am pretty much out

I have completed 59, and 10 of those i did twice. I only have PT 39 and 1-5 left
Hopefully getting my 166 to a 170 in June since my cycle has so far been unsatisfactory

[travman90]

Took 4 timed PTs. Scored in the 170s. It's not about quantity its about quality of studying. Taking timed practiced tests won't improve your score, because if you don't understand how to answer a question type you aren't going to miraculously work it out mid-test. And if you really understand from drilling question types, you'll be good and fast at them and it kind of makes taking a timed PT useless, except to just get a score estimate for where you should be when the day-of comes.

[bp shinners]

I took at least 35, though I don't remember now as it was 6 years ago.

But I definitely would change it up if I had to do it again. A lot of that was wasted time, and I would have been better off specifically targeting weaknesses instead of just bullheadedly plowing through a ton of practice exams (sometimes 2 a day).

That being said, I still recommend that you take around 10 practice tests throughout the course of your studies.

[mattviphky]

30? But I wish I had focused more on accuracy and getting the concepts down. Even just taking 15pts, but supplementing with more in-depth, concept studying would have been more beneficial. I think studied well for LG and RC, but LR was definitely neglected.

[Tiago Splitter]

About a dozen. Focused practice/Drilling is much more important. >175

[lovejopd]

relevant to my interest...

[john1990]

to those people who say drilling is more important, would you say retaking a timed PT is worthwhile?

[beebela]

About a dozen. Focused practice/Drilling is much more important. >175

This. Also, REVIEW the practice tests you do take. Look at why you chose the correct answer if you got it right and why you eliminated the right answer and chose the wrong one if you got it wrong so you can fix your mistakes and learn from each test.

[LexLeon]

About a dozen. Focused practice/Drilling is much more important. >175

I credit this response: Although the amount of practice tests taken may positively correlate with score, I notice that many people who have taken several times the amount of tests I have, score considerably lower in practice than I do--even though we began in a similar score range. That said, the key to a high score, however, is a convergence between focused practice and many other factors.

[HBK]

35+

But, after I took the LSAT there weren't that many good ones to take for practice for a retake. I'd say 25 would be good. Maybe 30 since there have been 7 administrations since I took it.

[180asBreath]

About a dozen. Focused practice/Drilling is much more important. >175

This. Also, REVIEW the practice tests you do take. Look at why you chose the correct answer if you got it right and why you eliminated the right answer and chose the wrong one if you got it wrong so you can fix your mistakes and learn from each test.

All of this.

This endorsement comes from someone who took ~25, didn't spend enough time on focused practice/drilling, and scored under 170.