how? real LSAT lower than the lowest PT score... Forum

[12my18]

Hi guys,

I got an email from lsac about the december score, 149, which is 10 points lower than the lowest PT I had. I would not be this dumbfounded, if I felt so horrendous about the exam after it was over, or if I were scoring around 140s to 150s during PTs. This was the second one I took after the first cancel.

Before the test, I've been practicing at mid to high 160s, raw score ranging from 82-90, aiming to break 170. Recapturing the exam day, granted there's moderate amount of exam jitter, I didn't have a breakdown or find any questions particularly difficult per se. But I did run out of time in all sections and had to blindly guess on many left over questions. Still, counting them to be wrong anyway, seemed alright to keep the score to see how I did. The score is very disappointing and defeating, especially when I feel like nothing really majorly went wrong.

Although I was going to retake in Feb., due to timing issue, I feel so hopeless now and can't really trust my effort I put into studying and potential to do better. I've been doing better than the PTs I did before Dec., but now everything is so suspicious. Not even sure if I could do well on the real thing again.

If you went through similar experience or 'progress' out of this, please share your story with me. Or give me any advice.

[flannelman]

Similarly this happened to me... and I knew I should have canceled all along!!! Life sucks and I wish it were not so...

[joebloe]

Pretty much happened to me too. I scored below my diag, though it wasn't my lowest.

Ugh.

[leidice]

Same exact thing actually happened to me. Took the June LSAT, scored in the low range of my PT scores. Retook in Oct and it fell 6 points to below my first diagnostic! Retook one last time in december, and scored 12 points higher than my Oct score. For me it was just a matter of battling nerves.

[overunderachiever]

Any chance you may have misbubbled?

[joebloe]

Any chance you may have misbubbled?

Me? No, I don't think so. Where I got killed was in LG, in an area where I wound up randomly guessing.

[risktaker]

Happened to me a couple times. Both times I scored about 10-12 pts below my PT avg. I am re-taking in Feb and will be using beta blockers this time. I have a feeling that most ppl who score significantly lower on the real deal compared to their PTs, do so because of anxiety. See if beta blockers can help you.

[timelysarcasm]

I'm in this same boat, and honestly, I don't know where to go from here. I think it was a combination of nerves (the RC threw me off right away, and the those 2 super hard LGs finished the job) and getting psyched out. At least I hope so. I scored 6 points below my diag - embarrassing to say the least.

The idea of having to sit out a whole year makes me want to take a hot bath with a toaster.

[BrightLine]

Sorry to hear it. Attribute it to the fog of war. If you plan on retaking perhaps you can practice under what would be as close to test like conditions as possible. Good luck.

[tarakit]

For LR, try finishing sections in 30 min. Then you won't be close to time and won't freak out when the 5 min warning is called.

For RC and LG (especially LG), try doing individual games and timing how long it takes you to do them. Try to do easy games in 5-6 minutes and harder games in 7-8. I did this with the games in the LG Powerscore Bible and then would read the solutions and redo the games where I was slow on time. This way, you can see better how to do the problems within the time limit. I feel like some variation of this could also work for RC. During the period I was doing this during my prep, I rarely spent more than 25-30 min on an LG section and normally only had a -0/-1. I hadn't done this at all leading up to the December test and bombed the games section (normally my best section) mainly due to awful time management on my part. I feel like if I had done more of the time management that I had done to fix my problems at the beginning of my prep, I could have definitely prevented that.

Also, if I were you, I would retake in June instead of February. It seems like you have issues with both time management and anxiety. Your time management issues will probably not be solved by Feb, which would probably cause more anxiety...

[josh43299]

159. My PT's were in the 166-169 range. I have never gotten below a -10 on games, usually -5 (when I took a diagnostic test before doing any studying). During the game section, thankfully my 5th section, I had a complete melt down. My ability to draw deductions just left me, I could not calm myself down. Unfortunately, I am applying for this coming cycle so cannot retake. I have had this happen only once before on a classical Greek final exam. Well, I want to go to Georgia State University, so hopefully I will still be admitted. I was hoping to get some scholarship money; that is completely out the window now.


21/26 (-5)
20/27 (-7)
23/26 (-3)
7/23 (-16!)

[sam62188]

It happens, I am in a similar situation. I took it in June and canceled, I knew it was in the 140's so it was a no brainer. I got a 155 this time around after scoring 162, 163, and 165 on my last 3 pt's going into the exam.

What I have found taking PT 60 and PT 62 on an actual admin date was that the tests seem different.

RC seemed really difficult and LG seemed really easy.
On the 2 LSATs I did, RC seemed easy and LG seemed especially difficult.

So perhaps the LG section is trending back to earlier tests when it was very difficult and RC is being scaled down?

Regardless, try your luck in June, theres plenty of time. When you get a 180 then, this will all be just a funny story.

[futurej.d.]

The idea of having to sit out a whole year makes me want to take a hot bath with a toaster.

Can I join you?

[jtb00711]

153 June
145 December

There was a debate competition in the room next to me, I about had a meltdown. Halfway through the reading passage I contemplated cancelling and walking the hell out. Right now, that would have been my best choice. Hindsights 20/20

[deckid28]

i feel like all of you took the words right out of my mouth.
Life does suck! Just sitting here thinking about all the should'ves and could'ves makes me more depressed and the idea of constantly studying for another one definitely makes that hot bath with a toaster sound appealing

[mchuynh]

I know it's hard, but try to stay optimistic. Anyway, Atlas/Manhattan is offering a free review section for the DEC LSAT. I suggest going and see what you did wrong.

Good luck!

[hjag]

Don't give up.

When I took the Oct 2010 LSAT, I scored 8-9 pointed below my PT average. I pretty much knew I did worse, but I didn't think I did that much worse. In retrospect, I was stupid for not anticipating my score - I had so many panic attacks through the entire test.

Retook in Dec and hit my PT average almost exactly, at a 170. I told myself "Just think of it as practice," and felt calm throughout most of the test. Anxiety is a beast.

Many schools (even in the T14) do not average the LSAT. With an addendum, you'll be just fine (provided that your GPA is up to par). Best of luck and don't let one test determine your career!

[buckilaw]

The test is not perfect and can have some variation, as evidenced by anyone who takes a substantial amount of PT's; outliers always crop up. Also, I think the games may be trending towards a more "plug and chug" excercise that precludes extensive use of inferences, this may have tripped you up. That being said if you mimic test day conditions in your prep you can decrease variance between your PT scores and your actual score.

[BrownBears09]

The test is not perfect and can have some variation, as evidenced by anyone who takes a substantial amount of PT's; outliers always crop up. Also, I think the games may be trending towards a more "plug and chug" excercise that precludes extensive use of inferences, this may have tripped you up. That being said if you mimic test day conditions in your prep you can decrease variance between your PT scores and your actual score.

Cold diagnostic of 159. PTs into 168-170. Test day score of 159.

It happens, but my GPA rules me out at my dream schools anyways. Meh, I should have studied more (or less?)

Edit: Grammar

[niederbomb]

Hi guys,

I got an email from lsac about the december score, 149, which is 10 points lower than the lowest PT I had. I would not be this dumbfounded, if I felt so horrendous about the exam after it was over, or if I were scoring around 140s to 150s during PTs. This was the second one I took after the first cancel.

Before the test, I've been practicing at mid to high 160s, raw score ranging from 82-90, aiming to break 170. Recapturing the exam day, granted there's moderate amount of exam jitter, I didn't have a breakdown or find any questions particularly difficult per se. But I did run out of time in all sections and had to blindly guess on many left over questions. Still, counting them to be wrong anyway, seemed alright to keep the score to see how I did. The score is very disappointing and defeating, especially when I feel like nothing really majorly went wrong.

Although I was going to retake in Feb., due to timing issue, I feel so hopeless now and can't really trust my effort I put into studying and potential to do better. I've been doing better than the PTs I did before Dec., but now everything is so suspicious. Not even sure if I could do well on the real thing again.

If you went through similar experience or 'progress' out of this, please share your story with me. Or give me any advice.

You can't rely on test day feelings. In October, I felt alright. Thought I was pretty close to my PT average; nothing happened out of the ordinary. Result? = 162, 5 lower than my lowest PT. In December, I felt awful afterwards and was depressed for days. I didn't cancel because I gave up on the idea of law school and banished myself from TLS. The result? 170.

You can't trust your feelings, and sometimes you can be nervous without knowing it. Tons of practice and using beta blockers helped me in December.

[12my18]

Hey guys, thanks for your thoughts and comments. All were helpful. I wasn't honest with timing and needed much more practice under exam condition. Now I'm on the really tight spot to do well. But, when everything's over, I'll laugh at all this. Let's give it all in, guys!

[tomwatts]

I wasn't honest with timing and needed much more practice under exam condition.

That'll do it. I've seen a number of students drop significantly from their PTs on exam day, and there's almost always something wrong with the study regimen; this particular one is probably second-most common (after neglecting RC).

If you're in an area where you can do this, you might consider attending a free test put on by a test prep company (Princeton Review or Kaplan, usually). You can bring your own test, if you like (at least to PR events, not sure about Kaplan), and just have the experience of the proctor and the other people in the room. Free and potentially helpful.