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I've been taking a powerscore course since mid-April, and studying games on my own since early March. On my diagnostic at powerscore I scored a 156. The next practice tests I took, I got the following scores: 155, 164, 165, 162, 157. I don't understand why the trend is going back down. I'm not too anxious about it like many other students are, so I don't think that is the reason. Every time I take a practice test I feel confident before-hand. I've been doing a majority of the power score homework (which is a huge amount). I also answer the most questions in class. I've been basically been doing nothing besides studying for this test since the beginning of May. I don't know what other explanation there is besides being burnt out. What should I do at this stage? I'm registered for the June LSAT which takes place in a little over 2 weeks. Should I just stop doing the powerscore homework and focus on practice tests? Should I take a few days off studying? I haven't done this once since the beginning of may and I'm hoping this helps out. I'm planning on taking 5 more practice tests before the exam.

Thanks in advance.

You should definitely take a few days off. Got some of my best scores after taking time off.

Well, I think also there is a variation in section difficulties between the earlier tests and the later tests. So if your 160s were from the 30s and whatnot, and your 150s were from PT 50 or something, then that could explain the drop.

gaud wrote:You should definitely take a few days off. Got some of my best scores after taking time off.

This. Relax. Let it all sink in.

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Mr.Binks wrote:Well, I think also there is a variation in section difficulties between the earlier tests and the later tests. So if your 160s were from the 30s and whatnot, and your 150s were from PT 50 or something, then that could explain the drop.

Actually the ones I scored higher on are more recent (from 2009-2011) and the other ones i took were from 2004 and 2007

Max324 wrote:This does not constitute a trend. Two scores, both within a natural range of variability, isn't something you should read too much into. How many hours are you studying per day?

I've been studying for about 8 hours a day for the last month with no breaks.

1. You dont know burnout till the last month of 1L. 2. Screw the HW and just do PT's all day ereday and review them. My 2 cents at least. Fluctuations are common, dont freak out about it. Apparently you have the ability to score near the 90th Percentile, so just keep reinforcing your skills.

syr1990 wrote:

Max324 wrote:This does not constitute a trend. Two scores, both within a natural range of variability, isn't something you should read too much into. How many hours are you studying per day?

I've been studying for about 8 hours a day for the last month with no breaks.

Seriously? Does that include weekends?

Studying that hard everyday is probably not the most effective way. Your mind turns everything into a kind of white noise and nothing really sinks in. Study for 2 to 3 hour spurts, take a break, and then do another spurt so your total is a max 6 hours a day, sometimes 4 or 5, imo.

Also, are you taking the June test or October test?

Also, also, what Max said is right. An 8 point drop from your highest pt is well within normal variability, so don't read anything into it. I've gone from 178-167 in two pt's before. The more you do and the more you work at it the more consistency you will have, but it's literally nothing to freak out about.

Micdiddy wrote:

syr1990 wrote:

Max324 wrote:This does not constitute a trend. Two scores, both within a natural range of variability, isn't something you should read too much into. How many hours are you studying per day?

I've been studying for about 8 hours a day for the last month with no breaks.

Seriously? Does that include weekends?

Studying that hard everyday is probably not the most effective way. Your mind turns everything into a kind of white noise and nothing really sinks in. Study for 2 to 3 hour spurts, take a break, and then do another spurt so your total is a max 6 hours a day, sometimes 4 or 5, imo.

Also, are you taking the June test or October test?

Also, also, what Max said is right. An 8 point drop from your highest pt is well within normal variability, so don't read anything into it. I've gone from 178-167 in two pt's before. The more you do and the more you work at it the more consistency you will have, but it's literally nothing to freak out about.

Yeah, including weekends. I do take short breaks in between, but maybe spending the whole day doing nothing but studying is not very good. I go to UT and My GPA is at 3.96, I'm used to spending days doing nothing but studying. I guess it doesn't apply as well when studying for the LSAT. I'm signed up for the June test. If it doesn't go the way I want it to I guess I'll just end up canceling my scores and retaking in October.

Shammis wrote:1. You dont know burnout till the last month of 1L. 2. Screw the HW and just do PT's all day ereday and review them. My 2 cents at least. Fluctuations are common, dont freak out about it. Apparently you have the ability to score near the 90th Percentile, so just keep reinforcing your skills.

That's what I was thinking. I'm just gonna take a break today and get back on those practice tests for the next 2 weeks.

With a GPA like that and where your scores seem to be now, I would already be focused on Oct. (depending on where your target school is, but assuming you would go to YHS if accepted, then go for the high 170's!).
You can still take the June test, but devise a study schedule past June and into Oct. With the extra months, it will not seem as urgent for you to study a ridiculous 8 hours a day, and you can work on a more effective, less stress-inducing schedule that will hit your goals.

Micdiddy wrote:With a GPA like that and where your scores seem to be now, I would already be focused on Oct. (depending on where your target school is, but assuming you would go to YHS if accepted, then go for the high 170's!).
You can still take the June test, but devise a study schedule past June and into Oct. With the extra months, it will not seem as urgent for you to study a ridiculous 8 hours a day, and you can work on a more effective, less stress-inducing schedule that will hit your goals.

^^^ Given your GPA and your preptest score range I wouldn't take the June exam. Finish your course. And then take PT's until October and spend time in between each test reviewing and taking some breaks.

My goal is to get into the top 10, Berkeley and Stanford look really appealing to me. Do the top schools look negatively at someone who took the LSAT twice? And assuming I do take the June test, I'm planning on finishing the most recent LSAT 10 Actual Preptests. Would this be counterproductive for me if I decided to then take the October test, since I would've already gone through the most recent tests?

syr1990 wrote:My goal is to get into the top 10, Berkeley and Stanford look really appealing to me. Do the top schools look negatively at someone who took the LSAT twice? And assuming I do take the June test, I'm planning on finishing the most recent LSAT 10 Actual Preptests. Would this be counterproductive for me if I decided to then take the October test, since I would've already gone through the most recent tests?

Millions of threads have been made about whether schools care if you took the LSAT twice, for some reason two ideas remain constant throughout:

1. No, very few schools probably care at all and the amount those schools do care is probably negligible.

2. Take the LSAT when you are ready.

^^^Resolve the apparent paradox above???

But anyway, to answer your second question: Scan the PT's before taking them, take them anyway, then retake them before Oct. if you do take that test. It's perfectly fine if the second time around they don't accurately reflect your score. The point of a PT is to get you in the mindset of taking the test, build stamina and get used switching between sections and working within a time limit. No score on any PT will have any bearing whatsoever on your LSAT score. You can tell LSAC you got a 180 on every single PT 1-65, but if you got a 170 on the one you took from them, that's the score Law Schools will see.

syr1990 wrote:My goal is to get into the top 10, Berkeley and Stanford look really appealing to me. Do the top schools look negatively at someone who took the LSAT twice? And assuming I do take the June test, I'm planning on finishing the most recent LSAT 10 Actual Preptests. Would this be counterproductive for me if I decided to then take the October test, since I would've already gone through the most recent tests?

I think officially most of schools don't average, but I don't see why you would give them the opportunity to question your score change when you know this far ahead of time that you probably won't be where you want to be by June. I was talked into taking the exam earlier than I should have and now have a score on my record that I regret.

Oh and fwiw where you are testing now is not good enough for Berk or Stanford. So if you for sure want to go to one of those, and you don't think you can make the improvement necessary by June, then why bother with the June test at all?
If you take in Oct. you'll be applying same cycle, so it's not like your putting your life on hold.
I think it will help your stress level and your eventual school, if you take in Oct.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I guess I'll just see where I'm at in 2 weeks and decide on what to do then.

syr1990 wrote:Thanks for all the advice guys. I guess I'll just see where I'm at in 2 weeks and decide on what to do then.

Definitely, but again I would make a study schedule into Oct. ASAP, with maximum 6 hour days and some easy days (3 or less hours, some days off every couple of weeks or so). Also schedule the PT's you want to take (I am of the opinion every single PT is helpful, so I would focus on scheduling with all of them, others think just recent ones are best so it's your call) and leave time for review.
GL GL GL.