Afraid to take another preptest! Forum

[roranoa]

I've been studying for quite a while now

and I'm still hitting the 160's (low to mid)


I was about to take a new PT today and do a timed test

but

I realized that I would yet again score another160's.
(I've been on a break cuz of my school work)

Since I definitely haven't improved during my resting period
it was so obvious that I would waste the PT

What should I do? I mean.....what can I do?

Should I keep taking PT's anyway? (I haven't got much left already on 46)

Please help out!

[kacee]

Have you completed any books or are you just doing PTs?

[roranoa]

Have you completed any books or are you just doing PTs?

I've completed ALL the powerscore books out there.

I've studied them for 2.5 months and from then on have been taking PT's

[solotee]

If you've been keeping track of the question types you most commonly miss, then order Kaplan's Mastery book that sorts questions by type. Do about 40 problems of each question type you are having difficulties with.

I think by this point, if you see any improvement, then it will be marginal. Analyze your mistakes. If you need to, do half of a PT today, analyze, and the rest tomorrow, analyze.

[kacee]

What are your score spreads like on the diff sections? Some gaps are easier to narrow than others.

Don't despair There's always a way to improve. Everybody learns differently.

[cavebat2000]

Have you completed any books or are you just doing PTs?

I've completed ALL the powerscore books out there.

I've studied them for 2.5 months and from then on have been taking PT's

Do one section at a time, focusing on getting each and every question correct. Miss a question? Look it up! Dont know why you misssed it? Tisk tisk. Go back to PS bible and whatever else and figure out WHY you missed it. Don't go on until you have. Rinse, repeat, profit.

That is how you study for the lsat. Just taking test after test isn't studying, you are basically just building endurance and practicing your pacing. If you are in the 160s it means you still are missing questions because you are doing one of the following things wrong:

1. Reading the stimulus too fast.
2. Don't understand the question well enough to know exactly what a correct answer would look like
3. Don't understand why incorrect responses are incorrect
4. Don't understand why correct responses are correct
5. If its a LG, reading rules too hastily
6. If its a LG, not knowing how to diagram appropriately to your needs
7. If its a LG, not having your own set of symbols that you immediately understand and minimize rule confusion

And many more reasons. Eliminate problems one by one. Don't just keep beating your head against a wall by taking more and more and more practice tests. IMPROVE your skills first, before you diagnose again.

[cavebat2000]

If you've been keeping track of the question types you most commonly miss, then order Kaplan's Mastery book that sorts questions by type. Do about 40 problems of each question type you are having difficulties with.

I think by this point, if you see any improvement, then it will be marginal. Analyze your mistakes. If you need to, do half of a PT today, analyze, and the rest tomorrow, analyze.

This is good advice.

[kacee]

word, cavebat!

[doinmybest]

You might be inadvertently setting up mental roadblocks. The LSAT is a high pressure test, and a positive attitude with a relaxed mind will net you points on test day. It will also mitigate test day drop. Continue studying and stick to your schedule. Never worry about your score during the test or before the test. Focus on the question in front of you and that is it. Forget a low score after you get one, don't think about a past test during the test, since that will present quite a mental roadblock.