Retake Advice Needed Forum

[emkay625]

Hi everyone!

In the 3 weeks before the December administration, I was scoring anywhere from a 172 to a 178 consistently. I ended up scoring a 169 on the real thing.

As a retaker, what should I do differently to study this time around? Was what happened to me normal? Is there a way to overcome it?

Any opinions would be appreciated.

[lakerfanimal]

Hi everyone!

In the 3 weeks before the December administration, I was scoring anywhere from a 172 to a 178 consistently. I ended up scoring a 169 on the real thing.

As a retaker, what should I do differently to study this time around? Was what happened to me normal? Is there a way to overcome it?

Any opinions would be appreciated.

Well if you didn't already, practice under test-day conditions and give yourself 32 minutes on every section so during the real test you have more than enough time, or just enough time if nerves become a factor. In addition, take 5 and 6 section tests to extend your stamina. If your practice tests were accurate measures of your abilities, then it seems like you just need to prepare yourself mentally for test-day and you can do that by shortening your time and taking extra section tests I believe.

[Eazy E]

It's completely normal to do a little worse on the real thing than you did on PTs. It's just a whole different animal. I would suggest taking it easy when you're preparing for a retake: do a couple full tests a week and some focused practice on each section as they give you trouble. Don't overstudy, you obviously have a firm grasp of the fundamentals. And a 169 is an excellent score to fall back on (even though I'm confident you'll increase that score on retake).

I retested and I studied significantly less for the 2nd time around and bumped my score up 9 points. Relax and you should have a great retest.

Edit: I'll echo what the above poster said. I did most of my later PTs with 30 minutes per section and thought it helped a lot on test day.