Top Law Schools

Hey guys,

So I took a diagnostic and scored a miserable 143. After a little practive, I got up to a 153 on June 2007. Then I reviewed the bibles, did some of kaplans mastery and started taking PT's in February from "10 actual tests". I got 155, 161, 153, 156, 156, 153 so far...

Today I wrote preptest B in the Superprep series and got a lousy 150. I'm so rattled its not even funny. I got -15 on the games section, which I think was partially due to the fact that I am weaker on every type of game that was in that section and hadn't seen them in a while (although I wasn't bad when I was practicing LG's, albeit untimed; I wasn't as GOOD at in and out games as I was at basic linear or grouping, but I didn't dread them. I am weak on sequencing though). I can't seem to improve on RC, although everytime I hit that section it seems that someone deems it necessary to have a fullblast conversation in the library about something absolutely retarded. It's gotten so bad that I had to stop my timer, get up and move sections which, as you can imagine, is increidbly frustrating.

Anyways, at this point I'm pretty confused what to do. Should I hit the bibles again? I have been reviewing my PTs in depth and trying to focus on where my weaknesses are, but it seems like I'm absolutely brutal on questions 18-24 on LR, can't get any lower than -10 or -12 on RC and if I tank the games section, then I tank the whole test.

pattymac wrote:Hey guys,

So I took a diagnostic and scored a miserable 143. After a little practive, I got up to a 153 on June 2007. Then I reviewed the bibles, did some of kaplans mastery and started taking PT's in February from "10 actual tests". I got 155, 161, 153, 156, 156, 153 so far...

Today I wrote preptest B in the Superprep series and got a lousy 150. I'm so rattled its not even funny. I got -15 on the games section, which I think was partially due to the fact that I am weaker on every type of game that was in that section and hadn't seen them in a while (although I wasn't bad when I was practicing LG's, albeit untimed; I wasn't as GOOD at in and out games as I was at basic linear or grouping, but I didn't dread them. I am weak on sequencing though). I can't seem to improve on RC, although everytime I hit that section it seems that someone deems it necessary to have a fullblast conversation in the library about something absolutely retarded. It's gotten so bad that I had to stop my timer, get up and move sections which, as you can imagine, is increidbly frustrating.

Anyways, at this point I'm pretty confused what to do. Should I hit the bibles again? I have been reviewing my PTs in depth and trying to focus on where my weaknesses are, but it seems like I'm absolutely brutal on questions 18-24 on LR, can't get any lower than -10 or -12 on RC and if I tank the games section, then I tank the whole test.

Not everyone can score in the 160s. You can study, but you will hit the limits of your natural ability.

pattymac wrote: I have been reviewing my PTs in depth and trying to focus on where my weaknesses are, but it seems like I'm absolutely brutal on questions 18-24 on LR, can't get any lower than -10 or -12 on RC and if I tank the games section, then I tank the whole test.

Your weakness is timing and/or focus. You aren't displaying an ability to read quickly while retaining an understanding of what's going on in the passage. Also, these external distractions are occupying that much needed mental focus.

Study somewhere that is free of distractions. Get in the zone by tricking your mind into thinking the passage you are reading is actually interesting. That'll help you stay engaged and you'll retain more. When I finally decided to not allow my mind to be distracted, I raised my score from a frustratingly steady -8 on RC in practice to a -1 out of 27 on test day.

Zen like focus is what you need.

Also, try not to stress out so much. It's only a test. Plus, you should know that stress makes you stupid.

It's science.