Test day, how you nailed it! Did the stars align? lucky? Forum

[lawschoolisfun2012]

Anyone out there get a "surprisingly" high score on test day (real LSAT) score compared to their PT score? I usually hear of people going down (scoring lower than their PT average), but what about the other direction? Anyone jump 5 points? 10 points? more? What was the key?

Obviously, great preparation is the most important, I am mostly interested in last minute things you did, or how you got lucky. Did LR seem really familiar/did you enjoy it? Did you have RC passages you were interested in? Were all the games "your" games?

Basically, I just want to hear about someone who was testing in the 150s and got in the 160s, or someone who was testing in the 160s and got into the 170s (even 180??).....

JUST for hope and an optimistic view.....try to keep it realistic (not bringing your lucky horseshoe or something)

[Cupidity]

inspiration will only dillude you. You will score 5 points lower on the acutal test. Study until you are 5 points over where you want to really score on your PT's.


HOPE MUST DIE

[jpSartre]

There have been polls. People score higher and lower. The kid above me is probably sour. Treat it like a competition and you'll preform up to your potential.

[thisiswater1488]

.

[honestabe84]

It's going to vary from person to person. There are simply people who work great under pressure and those that don't.

[hellokitty]

I scored about 5 points lower than I expected.

I've never met anyone that magically scored higher than what they were PTing but I have met tons of people that scored waaaay lower than expected.

[icydash]

This isn't really an "optomistic view," but it was my experience so I'll share it....

I ended up about four points below my PT scores on the actual test.

I know for me it was a psychological thing. The first section on the test (which happened to be LR) was unusually difficult when i took the test (usually i get 2-4 wrong per LR section, I think on this section i got like 6 wrong, and wavered on a lot of questions). This put me in a really bad mood for the rest of the test, and definitely took a psychological toll on me.

The bright side of the situation: As it turns out, the first section ended up being the experimental so the -6 in that section didn't count against me. I still didn't perform up to my peak while taking the rest of the test because of how upset I was over the first section, but it could have been worse.

So yeah, if you're taking the LSAT and think you did shitty on a section, don't let it get you down. You could get lucky and have it be the experimental, too!

EDITED FOR OPTIMISM: my friend had been PTing in the range between 162 and 170 depending on the day (pretty inconsistent with her scores). On the actual test day, she got a 171.

[waxloaf]

stars aligning don't mean anything, you need to be relaxed and take it like you have taken all your practice tests and you will score like you do on the PTs

[lawschoollll]

I was in the high 120s/low 130s for about 3 years, the last 2 of which included me devising my own set of questions, forgetting about them, and then testing myself.

Rocked a 180 (-0) on test day and petitioned LSAC for a 182 because I was pissed that people were allowed to get 180 even with a -2.

[smartin]

I was PTing in the mid-150s in the months leading up to the Dec test. I scored a 161 on test day. I lucked out and got games that I was totally prepared for.

[TCScrutinizer]

I PT'd at around 165 and ended up with a 171. The difference were my LG. In practice I almost always screwed something up, but on test day I was just in the zone and aced the section.

[theZeigs]

Not to hijack the thread, but I wonder what the correlation is between average score and frequency of a drop. For example, are people who are PT'ing in the mid 170s more likely to drop points than people who are PT'ing in the low 160s? Is there a correlation at all?

I would hazard a guess that the higher you score, the less room for error there is, so the more easy it is to drop score. On the other hand, if you're a high scorer and truly consistent with your scores, you know the test better and might have less variance in your scores from test to test.

We will probably never know though

[tomwatts]

I would hazard a guess that the higher you score, the less room for error there is, so the more easy it is to drop score. On the other hand, if you're a high scorer and truly consistent with your scores, you know the test better and might have less variance in your scores from test to test.

As far as I can tell from my students, it's more the former than the latter. Greater variability on the high end.

I credit my good test-day performance to being calm, relaxed, and prepared. I didn't jump up from an average, but I did hit my typical (high) numbers, and I think a large part of it was knowing what test day was going to look like (I'd had college classes in the room in which I took the test; I knew how the proctors were going to be, too), and another large part was having fun with it. The LSAT is fun, if you do it right.

[theZeigs]

I would hazard a guess that the higher you score, the less room for error there is, so the more easy it is to drop score. On the other hand, if you're a high scorer and truly consistent with your scores, you know the test better and might have less variance in your scores from test to test.

As far as I can tell from my students, it's more the former than the latter. Greater variability on the high end.

I credit my good test-day performance to being calm, relaxed, and prepared. I didn't jump up from an average, but I did hit my typical (high) numbers, and I think a large part of it was knowing what test day was going to look like (I'd had college classes in the room in which I took the test; I knew how the proctors were going to be, too), and another large part was having fun with it. The LSAT is fun, if you do it right.

Yeah, this brings up another point too. How to best account for "the unaccountable?" For example, let's say the day of the test, the building is really cold, or the marching band is having practice outside, or the dude next to you is oozing pus and talking to himself, etc. On the other hand, there is nothing like the test day jitters; no way can you really truly replicate it. Is there a way to build-in a buffer that accounts for something awful going bad on test day that would adversely affect your score? For example, because you're scoring e.g. 5 points higher than a target on your PTs, you'll be OK? Just a mental exercise. I think this is a major advantage that retakers have is that there is no true preparation for exactly the test day conditions, and even e.g. studying in a crowded coffeeshop or in the actual test room itself won't account for the "day of jitters" and other uncontrollable variables.

[BruceBarr]

Smoke lots of weed. Especially if you have never done it before.

[lakerfanimal]

Master being able to concentrate during practice tests in realistic places, i took it twice and that helped me a lot. I went from taking practice tests in my room to going to the library, and sometimes taking it on abnormal amounts of sleep (i couldn't sleep at all the night before so this helped a lot). Basically just prepare for anything, and you'll be ok. I only took 2 real tests during my re-take because I took everything already and scored 1 point lower than my average. Good luck!

[honestabe84]

Master being able to concentrate during practice tests in realistic places, i took it twice and that helped me a lot. I went from taking practice tests in my room to going to the library, and sometimes taking it on abnormal amounts of sleep (i couldn't sleep at all the night before so this helped a lot). Basically just prepare for anything, and you'll be ok. I only took 2 real tests during my re-take because I took everything already and scored 1 point lower than my average. Good luck!

This is really all you can ask for. I would be thrilled to score even three points below my average.

[afa_brandon]

Haven't taken it yet, but stories of test-day drops are pretty depressing. Is it largely just the inexplicable 'test-day jitters' that get most people?

For the first time all semester, I'm glad my school has an astronautics course mandatory for all majors with two ridiculously difficult and time-crunched exams (both take the professors 35 of the allotted 53 minutes to complete). If i can pass those bastards, I can (hopefully) deal with the pressure of the LSAT.

If those who have taken the test could go back to the month before the test, anything you wish you'd have done to prepare for unexpected sources of anxiety?

Oh, and if it's one thing i learned from debate tournaments, don't risk a bad night of sleep: take nyquil 9 hours before you have to wake up!

[romothesavior]

I was 2 points above my PT average on test day and scored just a point below my highest ever score on PTs. My best advice is this:

COOL DOWN as you head into the actual test. Do not cram or stress or worry that you're not going to do well enough. If you don't know your stuff by the week of the exam, you aren't going to learn it right at the last minute by cramming. I did a PT on the Wednesday before the exam, did a few LGs on Thursday just to stay sharp, and avoided anything LSAT related on Friday. I actually ended up going to a sorority all night dance-a-thon the night before the LSAT and just blew off steam and had a blast. I didn'd drink, obviously, but I didn't let myself think about the LSAT.

The next morning, I walked into that test center feeling as confident as ever. My endurance was amazing (that's what she said) and I felt even more confident walking out. I just knew I nailed it, and sure enough I did.

Maybe other people will tell you different, but I thought taking a little time to rest my brain did wonders for my performance on test day.

[honestabe84]

If those who have taken the test could go back to the month before the test, anything you wish you'd have done to prepare for unexpected sources of anxiety?

This has already been mentioned, but you should try and recreate testing conditions as much as possible. This means no extra time, taking the test with distraction and in places that are out of your element, taking it at the same time the actual test is, eating what you plan on eating on test day, using a scantron, etc. The only problem is that you can't make yourself nervous the way you might be on test day. However, I think that as long as you know that you might be nervous, won't be completely surprised by test day jitters.

Oh, and if it's one thing i learned from debate tournaments, don't risk a bad night of sleep: take nyquil 9 hours before you have to wake up!

If you're taking in June then you have less to worry about, because the test is at 12:30.

[violinst]

Ignore other test takers and be cool.

[honestabe84]

I was 2 points above my PT average on test day and scored just a point below my highest ever score on PTs. My best advice is this:

COOL DOWN as you head into the actual test. Do not cram or stress or worry that you're not going to do well enough. If you don't know your stuff by the week of the exam, you aren't going to learn it right at the last minute by cramming. I did a PT on the Wednesday before the exam, did a few LGs on Thursday just to stay sharp, and avoided anything LSAT related on Friday. I actually ended up going to a sorority all night dance-a-thon the night before the LSAT and just blew off steam and had a blast. I didn'd drink, obviously, but I didn't let myself think about the LSAT.

The next morning, I walked into that test center feeling as confident as ever. My endurance was amazing (that's what she said) and I felt even more confident walking out. I just knew I nailed it, and sure enough I did.

Maybe other people will tell you different, but I thought taking a little time to rest my brain did wonders for my performance on test day.

I think a lot of it has to do with how you react to stress and pressure. Some people can handle it really well and others can't.

[thinkbig]

I went from a 140 in practice two days before the real test to a 180 on game day. I think the stars aligned.

[beesknees]

I didn't do too well my first go of it, but I don't blame it on jitters. I don't really get testing jitters. It was more that I slacked off studying a month before the test.

But my retake was the opposite. I was studying smarter and harder, but I was still PTing in the low to mid 160s. Test day came, I felt I knew the routine and just got in the zone. Got a 169. Didn't exactly nail that 170 I dreamed of, but considering my PT average, I was very pleased.

So, some people get a drop from their PT scores. But others jump over their average. Don't assume you'll drop because you don't know.

[thinkbig]

Ignore other test takers and be cool.

Play mind games with other test takers.