PT scores vs actual? Forum

[Poo-T]

So they say people typically score a few points lower on the actual LSAT as compared to their PT scores. For those who've taken the real thing how did your actual test score compare with your expectations, based on your PTs? Also, how different were your testing habits compared to the actual test? Like, for example, I started out practicing with pen and no answer sheet, but as time went on I changed it to get a more realistic experience.

[HuskyHopeful]

3 points higher from best pt

[VasaVasori]

.

[2014]

First test was a few points lower than my PT average due to timing.

Second take was around my PT average, maybe a point lower, but well within where I expected to be.

[gaud]

Each time I scored about 3 points less than my pts

[cc.celina]

I kept mathematical track of the last 18 PTs I took. I scored 1 point above my cumulative average, and exactly the average of my last 10 tests.

[omegaomega]

3 points higher from best pt

how many PT's have you done before test day?

[totaltest.milan]

was PTing at 176 - 180 in the last 10 or so tests before the actual thing. Got a 172, though that test turned out to have a notoriously difficult curve; same raw score would've given me a 176 in the next test.

[Nova]

I scored exactly my PT average over my last 5 PTs.

[tyler.durden]

3 points under my cumulative average.

[facile princeps]

Scored my PT average but fell below my best performance. I took it like it was just another prep test. Wish i had prepped longer, though.

[Nova]

Wish i had prepped longer, though.

Same here

[cahwc12]

I hit 180 a few times in PTs, and was averaging low-mid 170's.

I got super lazy toward the end, barely prepped for most of the preceding 3 weeks, finally got back in it the day before the test and was feeling pretty good.

I ended up with a 168 on test day. All 5 of my LR mistakes were boneheaded and if I had been in the zone I probably wouldn't have missed them. I missed a question on LG that I honestly blame on spending 7 minutes of my double-check time on #17 which was thrown out, and then RC the wheels kind of fell off. The worst part though is that that RC seemed super straightforward, and I doubt I'll get an RC section as easy as that was.

Don't burn yourself out, but don't start slacking off toward the end. I had a plan and stuck to it for nearly 5 months, and toward the end I just got lazy and suffered for it.

[haus]

Wish i had prepped longer, though.

Same here

Question, with what you know now, how would you adjust your prep duration/intensity?

[Nova]

Wish i had prepped longer, though.

Same here

Question, with what you know now, how would you adjust your prep duration/intensity?

I think my intensity was well paced (after reading PSB and M, I mostly drilled/pted/reviewed for about 20-40 hours per week for about 2-3 months). The problem was the duration. An extra month to crystallize everything would have surly helped. Also, my biggest problem was RC, and it was to the point i hated/feared it. I neglected it, even though I should have been practicing it the most.