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First time poster here with some questions regarding practice testing.
I have been casually studying for the past 2.5 months in preparation for the Oct. 2011 test. I have been consistently scoring better within each section, but when I put it all together under time constraints things fall apart. So far I have taken two, timed, full length tests, scoring 159 and a 162. Given the trends of my earlier work I feel I have the potential to increase substantially over the next 3 months. My question is this: was/is it common for score fluctuations? Today I was doing very poorly, so much so that I pulled the plug in order to salvage the last section for sectional practice. For you 165+ers out there, did you experience much variance in your score trends at the beginning of your practice testing?

Also, has anyone else experienced emotional stress as detrimental to scoring? I am currently stressed out over job security and my living situation. On the bad days I seem to fair much worse than the good days.

All in all I am shooting for a T50. My GPA was a 3.56 for a respected state uni.

Thank you TLS

Yeah, it definitely happens. I have taken five tests since I started studying for my retake, 172, 174, 174, 167 and 169. You need to figure out what you're doing wrong, so review is crucial. And if the issue is slump-related, find out how to mitigate this factor. I've been PTing after work when I'm tired and unfocused, so I'm gonna start doing it an hour or so after waking up on weekends. Just figure out what you're doing wrong on the low scores, and change that issue for the real thing.