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last 5 pt's before today: 177, 170, 180, 175, 172.

Today: 165

I'm disappointed, and a little jarred by this. Has anyone experienced something similar? Any advice?

when were the last 5 pt's taken? that kinda drop suggests burn-out and that you should just take a couple days off. don't take PT's too many days in a row.

In my two-week PT marathon before the June LSAT, I had several tests in a row between 171-174, then 166 or something along those lines... just had a bad test I guess since the ones after that were back up closer to my mean. Ended up fine on the real thing.

I think the most important thing is to absolutely not get jarred by it. If you have hit 175-180 on PTs, you are very capable of doing this on the real LSAT and you should not doubt that just because of one (outlier) 165. Just review the questions you missed and I'm sure you'll be back to your formidable average in no time!

Yeah, don't be too worried by this. Something similar happened to me and I did fine on the actual test. It can happen for any number of reasons and the fact that you've consistently scored well on the others suggests you seem to know what you're doing. That being said, you should take a look at what you got wrong and see why you got it wrong - was it carelessness/lack of focus or something that you fundamentally didn't understand?

cogitoergosum wrote:last 5 pt's before today: 177, 170, 180, 175, 172.

Today: 165

I'm disappointed, and a little jarred by this. Has anyone experienced something similar? Any advice?

Dont be too worried. But if it continues (ie, you keep getting mid 160's) then you may want to stop with the pt's and review the fundamentals again.

Also depends on the test. The early one's (1995-2000) I was getting 175+ on them. As soon as I hit 2003 tests though, I felt like they got so much harder so I ended up averaging 170 on them.

Thanks y'all, this helps. I'm going to take a few days off of pt'ing, review wrong answers, and hope for better results.

You're not alone on this. But you might be if you think thinking guarantees your existence.

well whenever i'm tired. I get half of the questions wrong.
whenever i'm happy and energetic. I amaze myself by how much I didn't get wrong.
it largely depends on our focus level...i feel like

This just happened to me... I think its pretty hard to avoid. If anything it motivates me to study more!

cogitoergosum wrote:last 5 pt's before today: 177, 170, 180, 175, 172.

Today: 165

I'm disappointed, and a little jarred by this. Has anyone experienced something similar? Any advice?

[Mr. Rogers] "Can you say 'Overload'? Good!" You're tired. Get away from the test for a few days, or at least slow down.

I'm usually more worried if this has never happened to somebody. It seems like the LSAT material is generally something that the mind masters in sporadic chunks - it can seem like there are times when you're backtracking, but it's likely at least in part random walk.

Some people also require a certain mindset in order to score better on this type of test - you may have been excessively amped up or devoid of energy for this specific test.


For what it's worth, I went -18 points over 3 tests in 5 days just before my test, and took some time away in order to right myself. It's usually all you need to do.

I had a 167 and a 169 a couple weeks ago and I usually score between 171-175. I just got a 171 yesterday. It just reminds you that you need to avoid careless mistakes and taking tests when tired. You will get over it. You just need to learn from the problems so that they don't affect you when you get closer to the test

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TaipeiMort wrote: Test fatigue, sickness fatigue, not sleeping before the test/ having a bad sleep schedule, or not managing stress properly seem to be the main reasons kids fall more than 3 points from their average.

Mostly this one, I'd say. Pretty accurate either way.

Anyone in the range that most of the posters ITT are in lose a significant percentage of their points on careless mistakes. When you're missing 5-12 questions per test, it's a way bigger deal to miss a question absentmindedly than when you're scoring in the 150s

JamMasterJ wrote:Anyone in the range that most of the posters ITT are in lose a significant percentage of their points on careless mistakes. When you're missing 5-12 questions per test, it's a way bigger deal to miss a question absentmindedly than when you're scoring in the 150s

I think most 170ers are in this boat.

cogitoergosum wrote:last 5 pt's before today: 177, 170, 180, 175, 172.

Today: 165

I'm disappointed, and a little jarred by this. Has anyone experienced something similar? Any advice?

Shake it off.

my last 5 PTs were 174, 177, 174, 170, 164 and then i scored a 176 the day after the 164. I wouldn't worry too much as long as you weren't giving yourself extra time on the previous four tests

I agree with this thread -- I think the worst thing you can do is to get worked up over it.

And plus, how did you even know that you scored a 165? How do you not know a demon was only making you perceive it?

Sloth Hero wrote:I agree with this thread -- I think the worst thing you can do is to get worked up over it.

And plus, how did you even know that you scored a 165? How do you not know a demon was only making you perceive it?

ummm?

Or perhaps a "Deceiver God"? I think s/he confused Socrates' "daimon" (i.e. divine sign) with Descartes's assertion that a benevolent god is mutually exclusive from a divinity that deceives. That's the best rescue I can attempt on that statement, Sloth Hero.

anewaphorist wrote:Or perhaps a "Deceiver God"? I think s/he confused Socrates' "daimon" (i.e. divine sign) with Descartes's assertion that a benevolent god is mutually exclusive from a divinity that deceives. That's the best rescue I can attempt on that statement, Sloth Hero.

In his defense, Sloth is kind of an idiot