LSAT...confused...depressed, some help please Forum

[FAJISTE]

So about a week or two ago I took PrepTest 52 and got a 171 on it...only 7 wrong I believe. On Preptests before that I was getting high 160's.


This morning I took SuperPrep B and by the time I got to the 3rd section I was so frustrated that I threw my book across the room. I got -10 on the first LR and -11 on LG.

What's happening to me? Why such a shift? My test is in October and I know I'm readily prepared with the material yet today I just felt lost, like I couldn't do anything. I was abandoning my techniques, getting ridiculous questions wrong. I lost complete focus and was in panic while attempting to continue the test. As I go over the questions, some seemed a bit harder than usual, but a lot was just stupid mistakes again.

Are the SuperPreps different? Are they more difficult? Any advice please.

[JamMasterJ]

I don't know why the LR fail, but the SuperPrep LGs are very strange and not likely to be similar to the real test. you'll be fine

[Moomoo2u]

take a day off and come back to it, if you're regularly pting around 170 then you'll probably score around there on test day. relax.

[FAJISTE]

I think the LR fail was just random, I wasn't really in full focus; didn't have much time to sleep the night before. From now on I'm just going to do the most recent PrepTests. Taking the next one Friday. Hopefully I do better. Thanks for the encouragement; I'm overwhelmed right now and it's definitely helping.

[TrojanHopeful]

I had a crap day in terms of studying the other week. My brain felt foggy and I was drilling LR; I was missing questions left and right. I was extremely down on myself the rest of the day. I took a weekend off and the following week I was back to taking care of business. So don't worry about it; you'll be fine.

[cfrob14]

I can relate. I've been studying since June. Last week I was going through a burnout and not realizing it since I was so used to studying. When I tried to take "days off" I would just get anxious and not be able to relax. My test scores dropped significantly. (e.g. got a 158 on PT 50 when I typically score in the low 170s).I took 4 days off, took pt 51, and got my typical score.

Make sure you're getting enough rest. If you're having to re- read premises and have trouble grasping what the questions are asking you, you're probably too tired and better off not studying. Trust me. Only study if you're well rested. That way you'll be as sharp as possible when you take PTs.

[FAJISTE]

I can relate. I've been studying since June. Last week I was going through a burnout and not realizing it since I was so used to studying. When I tried to take "days off" I would just get anxious and not be able to relax. My test scores dropped significantly. (e.g. got a 158 on PT 50 when I typically score in the low 170s).I took 4 days off, took pt 51, and got my typical score.

Make sure you're getting enough rest. If you're having to re- read premises and have trouble grasping what the questions are asking you, you're probably too tired and better off not studying. Trust me. Only study if you're well rested. That way you'll be as sharp as possible when you take PTs.

I think that's it. I was re-reading premises over and over, my mind was in a different place and I ended up going to sleep at 2 am and waking up at 9. Damn coffee. I'm going to shoot for bed by 12, get up around 830 and take a test on Friday. I know I'll do better. Just hate seeing something like this when I'm so close to the finish line.

[bp shinners]

didn't have much time to sleep the night before.

There's your problem. Lack of sleep leads to decreased performance, and when you're at the 170 level, you understand when you're bombing. That quickly throws you off your game, resulting in a feedback loop that results in book throwing.

Take a day off, relax, get some sleep, and take another, more recent test. I'm sure you'll be back up there!

[cfrob14]

As was said, lack of sleep will seriously hurt your score. I suffer from chronic insomnia so when I was forcing myself to start taking practice tests at 8:30 AM to simulate test day conditions, I saw my score drop significantly.

Once I settled into a healthy sleeping schedule, my score skyrocketed. Only take exams when you feel 100% ready for one.

EDIT: Also, the LR section from old tests are significantly easier than the more recent ones. LG sections tend to be harder on the older tests. Some of the easiest LR questions I've ever encountered are on PTs A,B, and C. LGs, on the other hand, left me bleeding.

[941law]

Taking a day off shoots my anxiety straight up and makes me feel like crap, but I think it is needed every once in a while.

[FAJISTE]

Yea actually on preptest a I got -3 total on both lr sections; I'm guessing it was just a fluke. Here's to the future though.

[99.9luft]

So about a week or two ago I took PrepTest 52 and got a 171 on it...only 7 wrong I believe. On Preptests before that I was getting high 160's.


This morning I took SuperPrep B and by the time I got to the 3rd section I was so frustrated that I threw my book across the room. I got -10 on the first LR and -11 on LG.

What's happening to me? Why such a shift? My test is in October and I know I'm readily prepared with the material yet today I just felt lost, like I couldn't do anything. I was abandoning my techniques, getting ridiculous questions wrong. I lost complete focus and was in panic while attempting to continue the test. As I go over the questions, some seemed a bit harder than usual, but a lot was just stupid mistakes again.

Are the SuperPreps different? Are they more difficult? Any advice please.

B and C sucked for me, as i recall. I must have scored 5-10 points lower on them than on PTs in the 40s and 50s. Don't fret, they are a bit strange, so just practice the recent tests.