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I have the most extreme performance anxiety of anyone I've ever met and, lucky for me, its the worst for tests.

When I take practice tests, I'm solidly scoring 167-169 which I'm happy with (timed, quiet room, whole nine yards). But I've taken the LSAT twice now and scored a 155 both times.

I'm decently comfortable with my school list, but I'd love to be a bit more confident in my application, have a chance at more money, and maybe be able to add a few more schools.

Thoughts on taking the LSAT a third time (obviously, with serious effort to curtail my performance anxiety)? I figure, it could either open up a lot more doors if I do well, but if I do the same (or, possibly, worse) then there goes my shot at law school...

Edited so HBK can get off my back

Did you realize you didn't perform up to your standards both times as you were taking the exams, or were the 155's a shock to you when you saw the scores?

Also how many 5 section PTs did you take, and how stringent were you with timing?

whattt wrote:I have the most extreme performance anxiety of anyone I've ever met and, lucky for me, its the worst for tests.

When I take practice tests, I'm solidly scoring 167-169 which I'm happy with (timed, quiet room, whole nine yards). But I've taken the LSAT twice now and scored a 155 both times.

I'm decently comfortable with my school list, but I'd love to be a bit more confident in my application, have a chance at more money, and maybe be able to add a few more schools.

Thoughts on taking the LSAT a third time (obviously, with serious effort to curtail my PA)? I figure, it could either open up a lot more doors if I do well, but if I do the same (or, possibly, worse) then there goes my shot at law school...

PA? Did you just invent a douchey acronym for performance anxiety?

Anyways, I could understand choking first time out, but second time out as well? Are you timing yourself accurately? Maybe try taking it at one of the same test sites so you don't get distracted. Or take some practice tests at a busy coffee shop.

edited for rereading thread title

Honestly, I was shocked both times. I had been scoring so well, I didn't expect such an outrageous drop. But I was definitely aware of my anxiety during the test.

I studied for a good 3-4 months before each sitting - taking a timed test 1-2x a week, and correcting after. I even took most PTs in 30:00 sections to get me used to the time crunch.

Performance anxiety.

HBK wrote:

whattt wrote:I have the most extreme performance anxiety of anyone I've ever met and, lucky for me, its the worst for tests.

When I take practice tests, I'm solidly scoring 167-169 which I'm happy with (timed, quiet room, whole nine yards). But I've taken the LSAT twice now and scored a 155 both times.

I'm decently comfortable with my school list, but I'd love to be a bit more confident in my application, have a chance at more money, and maybe be able to add a few more schools.

Thoughts on taking the LSAT a third time (obviously, with serious effort to curtail my PA)? I figure, it could either open up a lot more doors if I do well, but if I do the same (or, possibly, worse) then there goes my shot at law school...

PA? Did you just invent a douchey acronym for previous attempts?

Anyways, I could understand choking first time out, but second time out as well? Are you timing yourself accurately? Maybe try taking it at one of the same test sites so you don't get distracted. Or take some practice tests at a busy coffee shop.

Anaconda wrote:Pretty douchey RC fail. Performance anxiety.

HBK wrote:

whattt wrote:I have the most extreme performance anxiety of anyone I've ever met and, lucky for me, its the worst for tests.

When I take practice tests, I'm solidly scoring 167-169 which I'm happy with (timed, quiet room, whole nine yards). But I've taken the LSAT twice now and scored a 155 both times.

I'm decently comfortable with my school list, but I'd love to be a bit more confident in my application, have a chance at more money, and maybe be able to add a few more schools.

Thoughts on taking the LSAT a third time (obviously, with serious effort to curtail my PA)? I figure, it could either open up a lot more doors if I do well, but if I do the same (or, possibly, worse) then there goes my shot at law school...

Yeah, I corrected myself before your post. Regardless, making up thread specific acronyms in the first post of a thread is pretty freaking lazy.
PA? Did you just invent a douchey acronym for previous attempts?

Anyways, I could understand choking first time out, but second time out as well? Are you timing yourself accurately? Maybe try taking it at one of the same test sites so you don't get distracted. Or take some practice tests at a busy coffee shop.

Yeah, I corrected myself before your post. Regardless, making up thread specific acronyms in the first post of a thread is pretty freaking lazy.

whattt wrote:Honestly, I was shocked both times. I had been scoring so well, I didn't expect such an outrageous drop. But I was definitely aware of my anxiety during the test.

I studied for a good 3-4 months before each sitting - taking a timed test 1-2x a week, and correcting after. I even took most PTs in 30:00 sections to get me used to the time crunch.

That's a huge drop-off, especially in terms of raw score. You didn't bomb a particular section or anything, or were you just missing more problems here and there? If you felt like you bombed it, you would have been better off cancelling a score, but obviously the main concern now is bumping that score up.

Your score drop is the equivalent of missing about 18-20 questions, which is really significant.

Buy the LSAT proctor DVD. Take PTs in Starbucks. Try a lot of stuff in an attempt to rattle yourself.

That's the difference of missing about 18-20 questions which is significant.

Trust me, I know! Hence why I've been so shocked both times. And I didn't find either test unusually challenging compared to any PTs.

Sadly, I'm international so I don't get a section-by-section breakdown.

Have you tried a combination of viagra and adderall?

Have you tried a combination of viagra and adderall?

Yea, I tried that the second time and it, clearly, didn't work.

Buy the LSAT proctor DVD. Take PTs in Starbucks. Try a lot of stuff in an attempt to rattle yourself.

So you think its worth doing all this and trying to take it a third time? Most of the anxiety is kind of pressure on myself though :-/

whattt wrote:

Have you tried a combination of viagra and adderall?

Yea, I tried that the second time and it, clearly, didn't work.

Buy the LSAT proctor DVD. Take PTs in Starbucks. Try a lot of stuff in an attempt to rattle yourself.

So you think its worth doing all this and trying to take it a third time? Most of the anxiety is kind of pressure on myself though :-/

I sent you a pm, check your inbox.

Problem: Taking them in your room in a quiet environment.

Solution: Go to a busy place with noise (starbucks, loud section of your library, etc...) and take your practice tests there and see if you still are getting 167-169. You need to simulate REAL testing conditions and be prepared for anything to come your way, ESPECIALLY since this will most likely be the last time you take the LSAT.

Good Luck.

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Bryan wrote:If you've had a such big drop twice, I don't know if the solution is quite as simple as just taking the test in a Dunkin Donuts a few times. I mean, getting 20 more questions wrong is gigantic so your issues with nerves probably extends deeper than just being rattled by test center noise. Also, you've only got one more shot before you have to sit out two years.

I think it might be worth it to look into going to some sort of psychologist or life coach or something along those lines. There are lots of athletes and performers and writers who use these people to be able to produce in tense and time-constrained situations, so I imagine it can work.

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I'm in the same boat. I was scoring 167 - 170 and I've scored 169 twice now. I was pretty strict with my timing when taking practice tests.

I'd say stop worrying about it. If you don't go to law school, who gives a fuck? Get a finance degree and make more money than any of us could fathom. IMO, take it again, don't worry about the score. Just do your best. You obviously have the talent. You can't show any weakness when you take the test. As it was put to me: "This is war." You have to treat it as such.

3|ink wrote:I'm in the same boat. I was scoring 167 - 170 and I've scored 169 twice now. I was pretty strict with my timing when taking practice tests.

You scored right near the top of your range. You're not in the same boat.

I had an issue with performance anxiety even on my freakin' practice tests. It almost got me on the LSAT. The first half of my test was a pretty disastrous. I threw an entire logic game. But I was able to get myself together during the break and pull out a pretty good score.

I have two pieces of advice:

http://www.hypnosisdownloads.com/fears- ... xam-nerves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84uWGVAcKR4

Hypnosis is worth trying. It's a lot like meditation/yoga, if you've ever done that. A friend of mine described it as "teaching your mind to heel."

Personally, though, I think Nas trumps hypnosis.

whattt wrote:Thoughts on taking the LSAT a third time (obviously, with serious effort to curtail my performance anxiety)? I figure, it could either open up a lot more doors if I do well, but if I do the same (or, possibly, worse) then there goes my shot at law school...

Well sure, you can study hard for a 3rd retake. You can practice all you want with preptests and studying in loud environments...and even score in your high range like you were before. I don't think that's the problem though. Being in loud environments and strict time testing is great and all for concentration, pacing and making sure you're comfortable in any situation, but I think your problem is strictly the anxiety. That being said, I wouldn't take it a 3rd time unless you know you're doing something to address the anxiety issue. I don't wanna go all psychologist here, but do you think you could possibly be screwing yourself over with the attitude of "I'm terrible at test taking & I have always been." It's way easier said than done, but I think finding and preparing a way to go into the test unshaken from the two unsuccessful attempts and a history of choking on tests will help you most.


*Edit to add link to a simple, but potentially helpful book that I've read-

http://www.amazon.com/Overachievement-N ... =8-2-spell

dominkay wrote:

3|ink wrote:I'm in the same boat. I was scoring 167 - 170 and I've scored 169 twice now. I was pretty strict with my timing when taking practice tests.

You scored right near the top of your range. You're not in the same boat.

Sorry about that. I scored 159 twice. Typo.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your advice! This has been all been really helpful.

Is this a plausible scenario:

Apply with my stats I have and see where I get in. Depending on the results, I could go now or I could defer for a year and, in the meantime, retake the test. This is the hitch: am I allowed to defer for a year and later withdraw my acceptance (this, obviously, assumes that I do better the third time) or is a deferral a binding agreement?