In Need of Some Reasurrance Forum

[phlb19]

Hey everyone,

Basically, I've been thrilled with my progress over the last few weeks, but I'm in need of some reassurance. My last few PTs have been 160 166 168 172. I realize that this is a big range and that I should be happy with the progress - believe me, I am. But today I took PT 44 and went back down to a 166. Is it normal to have this much fluctuation? I feel like 6 points is an awful lot to drop. On the other hand, what if the 172 was a fluke? I definitely didn't feel as confident today as I have over the past few tests, mainly when it came to LR. The correct answers weren't popping out quite as easily as they have been and I found myself a bit more pressed for time. Do you think I should be concerned about the drop in score or does this sound like a pretty normal part of an uptrend?

Thanks in advance!

[soj]

For what it's worth, I thought PT44 was a lot harder than most of the ~50 other PTs I've taken. I got my lowest scaled score and one of my lowest raw scores in 44. Take your mistakes as opportunities to learn and improve.

[DaisyLafayette]

soj i love your user pic!

i'm in the same boat. recently my scores have been really irregular- i got a 178 followed by a 167- almost at my 1st diag which brought me close to tears that i could have shown such little improvement after so many months of study. Is this a common thing for people??

[Ginj]

I see my scores fluctuate depending on my mindset that day, and I've scored from a 174 to a 163 as recently as last week. I'm sure most people will insist that it's normal.

[hurldes]

Totally normal. I had been PT-ing at 170-172 for several weeks, and I took a proctored PT and got a 162. I was so discouraged... But it helped me identify a lot of flaws in my study habits and test taking skills. I ended up with a 167 on the real thing. I'd say that it's unlikely you'll match your highest pt score on the actual LSAT. Possible, but not likely...probably 3-5 points lower.

[sandwiches5000]

Don't worry! The most important thing is your mindset. You have to think positively. I recently received a 167 when I haven't dipped below a 171 in a couple of months, and slightly panicked. But sometimes, we're tired, nervous, bored, or the particular test had a tricky logic game that may be our least favorite. It's also important that you figure out what you got wrong and why because it could just be a particular question type you can practice more of.

Also, many people say you score 3-5 pts lower on the real deal, but often this is due to nervousness or unease with timing/testing conditions. If you train yourself to confront these difficulties now you will have a much higher chance of scoring in your range on test day. Yeah, there's still the luck of the draw- you could get a particularly difficult game or question, but if you master all of the question types and game types, your chances of success are high.

[phlb19]

Thanks for the encouragement guys - it's really nice to hear some similar stories. I took another PT today and it turned out as a 169. I'm fairly happy with this but I would really like to score over 170 on test day. I went -1 and -4 on LR, -3 RC and -5 LG. I'm consistently missing 5 or 6 on LG and I feel like reducing this is the ticket to getting over 170. I'm fairly accurate but I often only get to 2 or 3 of the questions in the final game. Any specific tips on how to get LG down to -1 or -2 within the remaining weeks other than just doing as many games as possible?

[Older Chest]

Thanks for the encouragement guys - it's really nice to hear some similar stories. I took another PT today and it turned out as a 169. I'm fairly happy with this but I would really like to score over 170 on test day. I went -1 and -4 on LR, -3 RC and -5 LG. I'm consistently missing 5 or 6 on LG and I feel like reducing this is the ticket to getting over 170. I'm fairly accurate but I often only get to 2 or 3 of the questions in the final game. Any specific tips on how to get LG down to -1 or -2 within the remaining weeks other than just doing as many games as possible?

If you can get through the entire section, you will be fine. Just drill LG hard the next couple of weeks, and you will dominate on test day.

Useful links:
http://www.amazon.com/LSAT-Logic-Games- ... pd_sim_b_3
http://www.amazon.com/LSAT-Logic-Games- ... 145372401X

[bp shinners]

If you've been studying hard and constantly for the past few weeks, you might want to consider taking a day off. Scores tend to calm down a bit and stay around your average after a day or two off.

[leche]

Don't worry! The most important thing is your mindset. You have to think positively. I recently received a 167 when I haven't dipped below a 171 in a couple of months, and slightly panicked. But sometimes, we're tired, nervous, bored, or the particular test had a tricky logic game that may be our least favorite.

I've noticed that on the days I wake up thinking "Man, I really don't want to study today" are the days my score plummets. Unforutnately, I can't just change my attitude, nor can I skip my few remaining study days just because I don't feel like doing it. Then, after I get a bad score, my attitude in the long run suffers! I don't know what to do.

[incompetentia]

I had a 21-point swing on test week. Scored -9 from my cold diag on Sunday, then +12 on Saturday.


Six points is not a huge variance, although you should be aiming for consistency ideally. More importantly, you should aim for a consistent mindset no matter where your score goes. This should ensure that you're not intimidated on test day.

[phlb19]

The problem I'm having is that I don't want to take a day off. I'm not feeling particularly burned out and I know I need to take every test I possibly can between now and test day. Maybe a day off would actually be beneficial, but I would have a really hard time sitting around for a day knowing that I could be working sections.