My advice to future test takers
Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 6:50 am
My prep consisted mostly of prep books (PowerScore, Manhattan LSAT) and actual preptests. I started preparing on and off in April, and went through probably 20-30 preptests in all, usually only one or two sections at a time, and under timed conditions with a digital stop watch. When I studied, it was either in my room or at the local public library. By then end, I was getting -0 to -3 in most sections under timed conditions.
After yesterday's test, here's what I wish I had done differently.
1) Get used to an analog watch. With the stop watch, I knew exactly how much time I had spent on each question and how much time I had to go. That's not as easy to calculate with an analog watch, and the proctor won't write a stop and finish time fo you on the board. You get a 5 minute warning, which is really only enough time to panic if you have an entire logic game left because you couldn't keep track of time.
2) When I practiced, I made the mistake of checking my answers after each section right away. This usually put me at ease, because of the five or six questions I was unsure of, I usually got most of them right and moved on to the next section with confidence. You won't be able to do that on the test. The doubt and uncertainty you have about your performance accumulates with each section, and you lose confidence very quickly. By the third section, I started to worry I might not even be able to apply this cycle (I'm 27 right now, so that's a big deal for me). I have no idea whether I scored a 175 or a 165, and that anxiety will stay with me until January.
3) Take preptests in uncomfortable and unfamiliar environments, not your dorm room or library. If you can, take your test in a classroom with no windows in a building you've never been in before. That's what test centers are like.
4) Don't expect your proctor to put you at ease. The strictness of the procedures makes you anxious from the start. You realize LSAC trusts no one and automatically assumes you're there to cheat the system. Expect to have an excentric and snippy PhD watching your every move for 3 hours, and a large group of Saturday morning volunteers who don't know the procedures and can offer no help.
5) Don't wait until December to take the test like I did. If this had been June, I could have told myself during the test that I had two more chances to get a higher score. But when I started to worry I was doing badly and knew there was no chance of redemption, I became depressed very quickly, and this probably hurt my performance.
Hope this helps.
After yesterday's test, here's what I wish I had done differently.
1) Get used to an analog watch. With the stop watch, I knew exactly how much time I had spent on each question and how much time I had to go. That's not as easy to calculate with an analog watch, and the proctor won't write a stop and finish time fo you on the board. You get a 5 minute warning, which is really only enough time to panic if you have an entire logic game left because you couldn't keep track of time.
2) When I practiced, I made the mistake of checking my answers after each section right away. This usually put me at ease, because of the five or six questions I was unsure of, I usually got most of them right and moved on to the next section with confidence. You won't be able to do that on the test. The doubt and uncertainty you have about your performance accumulates with each section, and you lose confidence very quickly. By the third section, I started to worry I might not even be able to apply this cycle (I'm 27 right now, so that's a big deal for me). I have no idea whether I scored a 175 or a 165, and that anxiety will stay with me until January.
3) Take preptests in uncomfortable and unfamiliar environments, not your dorm room or library. If you can, take your test in a classroom with no windows in a building you've never been in before. That's what test centers are like.
4) Don't expect your proctor to put you at ease. The strictness of the procedures makes you anxious from the start. You realize LSAC trusts no one and automatically assumes you're there to cheat the system. Expect to have an excentric and snippy PhD watching your every move for 3 hours, and a large group of Saturday morning volunteers who don't know the procedures and can offer no help.
5) Don't wait until December to take the test like I did. If this had been June, I could have told myself during the test that I had two more chances to get a higher score. But when I started to worry I was doing badly and knew there was no chance of redemption, I became depressed very quickly, and this probably hurt my performance.
Hope this helps.