Help with nerves!! And drilling sections vs. tests Forum

[rso11]

Hey all! I'd really appreciate some feedback about this:

My current situation is that I'm signed up for the Oct LSAT but not feeling good about it and am pretty sure (unless some miraculous fluke occurs haha) that I'll be retaking in December. My strategy to prepare for this test has been to drill individual sections and master them, with the idea that being good at the sections individually would translate to doing well on the test overall. As in, I'd be good at each part and therefore when putting the parts together, all would be well. Now, having drilled as I have, I recognize that this itself is a logical fallacy!

My big problem is that while I do really well when I'm just drilling sections, SOMETHING about putting them together on the test just freaks me out. I get really nervous and end up making all sorts of mistakes because I'm not processing things correctly. Like, I'll read really quickly and not process what the hell I'm reading, especially on LR. Do you think this can be corrected by just drilling the entire test? I'm at a bit of a loss as to what else to do. I realize that, with the Oct test right around the corner, I'm not likely to improve substantially in time, but I'm hoping to modify my studying and do better in December.

[skippy1]

Based on my own personal experience, you should put off this exam till Dec. If you're taking the oct, you should by now be able to do 5-6 sections in one sitting (with a single 15 min break). If it helps any, I used to be at the same point as you where I simply couldn't do all the sections together. One thing that helped me was to not take the answers to the practice exam with me while practicing. I used to get tempted to see how I did on each section. On the real test, you'll feel like you completely bombed on a section but you'll need to keep going and give the next section your best.
Hope this helps.

[waxecstatic]

Hey all! I'd really appreciate some feedback about this:

My current situation is that I'm signed up for the Oct LSAT but not feeling good about it and am pretty sure (unless some miraculous fluke occurs haha) that I'll be retaking in December. My strategy to prepare for this test has been to drill individual sections and master them, with the idea that being good at the sections individually would translate to doing well on the test overall. As in, I'd be good at each part and therefore when putting the parts together, all would be well. Now, having drilled as I have, I recognize that this itself is a logical fallacy!

My big problem is that while I do really well when I'm just drilling sections, SOMETHING about putting them together on the test just freaks me out. I get really nervous and end up making all sorts of mistakes because I'm not processing things correctly. Like, I'll read really quickly and not process what the hell I'm reading, especially on LR. Do you think this can be corrected by just drilling the entire test? I'm at a bit of a loss as to what else to do. I realize that, with the Oct test right around the corner, I'm not likely to improve substantially in time, but I'm hoping to modify my studying and do better in December.

Take a Klonopin

[txadv11]

Hey all! I'd really appreciate some feedback about this:

My current situation is that I'm signed up for the Oct LSAT but not feeling good about it and am pretty sure (unless some miraculous fluke occurs haha) that I'll be retaking in December. My strategy to prepare for this test has been to drill individual sections and master them, with the idea that being good at the sections individually would translate to doing well on the test overall. As in, I'd be good at each part and therefore when putting the parts together, all would be well. Now, having drilled as I have, I recognize that this itself is a logical fallacy!

My big problem is that while I do really well when I'm just drilling sections, SOMETHING about putting them together on the test just freaks me out. I get really nervous and end up making all sorts of mistakes because I'm not processing things correctly. Like, I'll read really quickly and not process what the hell I'm reading, especially on LR. Do you think this can be corrected by just drilling the entire test? I'm at a bit of a loss as to what else to do. I realize that, with the Oct test right around the corner, I'm not likely to improve substantially in time, but I'm hoping to modify my studying and do better in December.

Take the test as several individual 35 minute sections of accuracy. DO NOT think while working on section two that you are 2/6... rather think "I am going to be accurate on the current section in front of me and pick up a good deal of points" Do what you have trained yourself to do, just several times in a row. I would also work at least 3 full tests with a random section in the 1,2,3 area to simulate 5 sections of work. You can also try taking sections 1-4 with a 2-3 minute restroom break if you don't have extra sections to use.

[rso11]

Thanks for the replies!