Top Law Schools

Normally, whenever I study, I don't do simulated PTs. I just do section by section.

I've been consistently getting:
1-2 wrong on LR
0-2 wrong on LG
2-5 wrong on RC

I took two simulated PTS (tues and today) and got:
PT 59:
-2 LG
-2 LR
-1 LR
-3 RC
Scaled Score: 174

PT 61:
-1 RC
-2 LR
-4 LG
-0 LR
Scaled Score: 174


I'm good with LR, don't really think I can improve anymore, I just end up missing a question or two when I get a really hard convoluted question.

But here is where I'm worried:

1. Whenever I practice LG sections randomly at home, I always always get -0 to -2 wrong. I have absolutely no problem doing the games, I just end up missing a question or two because of some retarded mistake. I usually overlook a rule, or possibility when doing one of those hypothetical conditional questions. And on the last PT I took, I completely screwed up the LG section because I misinterpreted two of the rules! One of them said there must be at least two spaces between x and y .. and I interpreted it as there must be exactly two spaces. And another said that J must be after M and I diagrammed it as J must be immediately after M. That caused me to miss 3 questions on the last game. The other question I got wrong because of misinterpretation of a question .. it asked who must be the other passenger in the car other than the driver, and I put down the name of the driver (I didn't realize it said "other than the driver). This is kind of freaking me out because I am usually SO good with LG, I usually finish a section in under 30 min and have absolutely no problems. But recently I've been making stupid mistakes like this AND running low on time! It's just weird that LG went from my best to one of my worst.

2. I haven't been doing 5 section PTs and I am worried about fatigue. Today when I was PTing, after the 4th section I had no focus anymore and didn't want to do anymore. I am worried that during the test, after 4 sections I will not be able to focus anymore. I know it's late now, but is there anything I can do to keep focused on the test day? Maybe bring an energizing snack for break, or I don't know meditate?

3. I am a little confused about RC. My scores vary a lot and I noticed that I do RC better when I'm fresh. Once, I did 5 RC sections in a row and I did better on the first three, the last two I bombed because I was not focused and most of the mistakes I made were from misreading or not paying attention to something. And I noticed that I can only do so much RC in a row. I can do endless LGs in a row, I can do a lot of LR sections in a row. But with RC, after reading so many passages there comes a point where I just can NOT focus on any more passages. I am worried about getting RC last or something on test day and not being fresh enough to focus. RC takes a lot of concentration for me (more than any other section). I noticed I did extremely well on the RC of today's PT. Maybe because it was first? I don't know. I did okay yesterday too.

Considering these three issues, I am wondering what to do for the rest of today and tomorrow.
I was thinking I'd do maybe one or two individual sections today, and a PT tomorrow morning, and maybe a section later tomorrow, and just a little something to get warmed up Sat morning.

I don't know if that's the best idea, maybe it's too much. I am just worried that if I take it too easy, my scores will drop because I lose my rhythm. I'm doing okay now and I want to keep things going like this. But then again I want more focus for Sat (I'm pretty focused now but it's not enough because I'm still making careless mistakes on LG) and I want as much focus as I can get for Sat, and I am worried of burn out.

Also if I were to study more sections, I don't know which sections to do. If I focus too much one one section, I'm worried that I'll lose my touch with another section.

Hey, hopefully I can help you out. I don't now if you've ever performed or done a major test before, but I have one simple recommendation:

Keep on doing whatever rhythm you've established. Do not deviate, do not try to solve this problem at the last minute.

If you do a practice test on fridays, do one this friday. If you don't normally, don't. Don't upset yourself and make yourself worry too much at the last minute. I'd recommend going off and doing whatever you normally do to relax the night before, and just think of the test as another day in your study pattern. The time for studying and improving is over. You have worked hard, and know what to do. Don't try to be a hero right now.

As an extra note, you need to be confident. This is a marathon of the mind. Runners don't go into the race feeling like they're going to lose, and neither should we. Don't feel the need to over-analyze at this point. You need to think about how you're going to do well and get into that school you've got your eyes set on.

One of the important things to remember about the LSAT is that each section is really completely separate from the others. You are scoring so well and have the potential to get perfect on LR and LG, which is awesome. After you're finished with a section, take 20-30 sections just sitting there after the proctor says start. Just sit there, and do some deep breathing - the kind that can send shivers down your spine and refresh your mind and body. Convince yourself that you're just starting on "section 1" again, with all of the momentum and energy you had going in. Forget completely that you had just done one or two other sections.

I too find LG the easiest, but invariably find myself making RETARDED mistakes here and there too. I can finish the four sections with plenty of time to spare, but I think that's what causes these stupid mistakes - going too fast. I'm sure you are finishing the sections with time to spare too, so my advice is work more deliberately. Don't take any question for granted, and work through them slowly and accurately. What I do now is to go through EVERY answer choice for EVERY question. Unless I am 150% sure it's right immediately, after I will find the right answer, I'll still go over the remaining ones, demonstrating to myself they are wrong. It's helped me somewhat. Most of the times I don't catch anything, but at least this way I know I won't have made any mistakes. It does take more time, but at least when you're finished you'll be more certain you have that perfect LG score that you're counting on.

Hey thanks so much guys! That made me calm down a bit. Especially the part about how it's useless to over analyze. Scot, You made me realize that there's really no point in stressing about the "what ifs" because there's nothing I can do about it.
Bjlee, I'm going to try that deep breathing you recommended! hopefully it helps. And when you said that you checked every answer for every question, didn't that make you lose a LOT of time? I feel like if I do that, I'd run out of time and not be able to finish. But maybe I can afford to do a quick check of every answer (just run through them and not set up full scenarios).