Not studying a whole week before the exam? Good or bad idea? Forum

[notaznguy]

So in short, I have 2 midterms the week of my LSAT exam date. Truth be told, I'm probably going to half ass study or not study at all during that week. My last midterm is Thursday and I was planning to use Friday to only review "really easy" problems for an hour or 2 to boost confidence.

Is not studying for a whole week and just focusing on other stuff besides LSAT material a good idea? Truth be told, even though I think I need as much practice on RC as much as possible, I honestly dread studying LSAT material. Like, I really do. It's like waking up to a wife that you hate everyday and curse yourself for marrying.

[Scotusnerd]

What are you practice testing at? What's your score?

[fashiongirl]

I think it could be good or bad. If you're PTing really high and where you want to be, chances are you're not going to learn some miracle way to earn more points on test day by studying that week. On the other hand, if you've recently PT'd lower than you'd like, I'd definitely use that week to study, whether it's timed sections or full PTs or drilling. It helped me with my confidence on test day since I just felt extra prepared. Sounds like you have a lot of studying to do if you absolutely dread studying LSAT material. If you study enough, you end up just getting used to living, breathing and thinking in LSAT terms 24/7.

[notaznguy]

What are you practice testing at? What's your score?

I took PTs ranging anywhere from PT 38 - 63 between mid November to last week and my scores were:

159, 160, 163, 164, 155, 161, 156

The 163 and 164 were in the 40s though, which supposedly are inflated and don't really count. I don't know what happened with the 155, but I hit a 156 because I bombed games. If it wasn't for games, I would've gotten a 160. So I guess averaging 160-161. The last 3 PTs were in the late 50s and 60s

LR is hit or miss for me and is inconsistent. Sometimes I get -3 through -8. Anywhere in that.
LG is usually okay, but I get thrown off by weird games, like mulch and stone. Ranges anywhere from -0, -1, -2 to -11 (the -11 usually happens when I misread rules and stuff...)
RC is consistent, but is so difficult to fix. If I'm lucky, I can get -6. Most of the time, it is -9 to -11.

I'm trying to be perfect on games and just practice it by doing a timed section once a day or every other day. IMO, the only way for me to improve RC is to do lots of it, so I will also be doing a timed section every other day.

Honestly, I think I will need some miracle to hit a 163 on game day, which is really my goal. I am encouraged I've hit 164 before, but discouraged that it was in the 40s, which means it was inflated and probably a false indicator. I feel like I'm probably going to hit 159-161 on test day though, which would really suck balls. But I need to take this. I have a fee waiver, so I have up to 2 paid for LSATs already. If it doesn't work this time, I will retake in October. I know most schools not named HYS take the highest score anyways, and from what I've read on TLS, taking it twice should be okay. I don't want to postpone til June because that LSAT date is the week of my final exams, which would be terrible.

Also, I'm taking it in February because I hate this crap. If take it, get it over with, I'll be happy. If I do bad, I can still not care until summer, where I had finally graduated and can spend 4 months dedicating my life to retaking. And if I don't do well the 2nd time, I will probably take it a 3rd time in December. And if I still can't get a 163 by then, well, I guess I will probably be taking the CBEST, CSET, and GRE...heh...

P.S. I know I sound really nonchalant and whatevers about it, but this is like, 1 week after freaking out and in tears after seeing my 156 and realizing that I may not go to law school and trying to get a grip on myself. So, after talking to people and remembering that not going to law school isn't the end of the world, I seem a bit more calm about it and am more accepting. Yeah...

[Scotusnerd]

I agree with Fashiongirl.

All right, I'm going to recommend that you hold off taking the LSAT until June. Your numbers are inconsistent right now, and you don't feel confident yet with your skills. Let me break down my practice steps right now so you can see where you are in terms of this:

1) Take pretest
2) Study individual types of questions
3) practice untimed versions
4) practice timed versions and restudy question types (this is where you are)
5) Practice untimed tests, restudy question types
6) practice timed tests, restudy question types


This process takes several months to complete, and this is not a test that you can simply throw off like one of your midterms. This test directly equates to scholarship money, and it's something that you should treat as a chance to get a LOT of money from. How hard will you work for $10,000-$30,000? Keep in mind that you can only take this test three times in two years.

Because of this, I'm going to recommend that you take in June rather than now. I don't think that you're going to be ready in time. I do not think you have the mental stamina to perform consistently yet. You might get lucky, true. But you also might not.

If you choose to take in February anyway, I really recommend that you practice one practice test every other day the last two weeks. Make absolutely sure that the test date coincides with this schedule, so that it just feels like another practice test. You need to get extremely comfortable with the amount of mental stamina it takes to do this test, and not be exhausted over a period of time. Once again, though, I think that holding off would be better.

Good luck man. I know the pain of getting back harsh scores and taking the test 3 times, and I want to save you that experience.

[notaznguy]

But I don't want to take it in June. It's going to coincide with my finals and graduation, which is going to be like, mass suicide for me. I mean, I'm almost certain I'm going to have to retake in October anyways, unless the stars align for me in February. I do feel that if I have a "good day" on test day, I can get 163. But, who knows.

[Scotusnerd]

Then I recommend following the advice in my last paragraph, and best of luck.