Plateaued and What to do last 9 days Forum

[footballlax55]

So I'm taking the Feb test next Saturday. I took the October test and scored 169, which was below what I wanted.

I took 30 tests worth of parts/ full timed tests before the Oct one and I have/am taking 20 test (mostly all in one go, but some in parts) before the Feb test.

I started out well when prepping for Feb, going 170,174,174,172,174 for my first five fully timed PTs. Since then I've plateaued/ got a bit worse. The next 5 were 171,172,173,172,171.
I've definitely gotten a lot better at LR now, and average 3.78 wrong between both, whereas I averaged 6.27 beforehand.
My reading has also improved from 4.27 to 2.11 wrong, although part of this might be because the reading seems really easy on the tests in the 20s which made up half of the 10 most recent ones I took.
My main issue is that my LG has gotten worse. I used to average 2.27 wrong (1.55 wrong not counting 2 outliers). Now, however I average 3.78 wrong, usually about 4/5 but range from 2-8.

Does anyone know what I should do to really improve my scores in the next week and a half?
I'm thinking try to shore up my LG skills, but Idk how to do that. I misread a game set up or question basically every other test. And when I don't, I take a long time and usually run out of time. Which is odd because after like my first ever 10 tests I quickly went from 10 wrong per LG section to a buncha tests with 1 wrong, 2 tests with 6 wrong, and then the rest almost always 0-3 wrong. Yet now I can't just get back in that rythym. I've even tried drilling 10 test's worth of LG and I thought it helped a tad until i got 8 wrong on a section.

[footballlax55]

Update:

On the test I took yesterday I dropped to a 168 somehow. Probably because I was really tired. I went -2 and -5 on LR, -4 on reading and -1 on LG. The curve was crap though, only -10 for 170.

I'm glad I did a lot better on LG. Hopefully the rest was just a fluke and I score as usual on LR and R and also do well on LG when I take another test today.

[daisrt]

Sounds like you might be burned out? I would take a day or two or three off and then take two PTs between that time and the test. You know what you're capable of, you just have to let your mind rest.

[fliptrip]

(Paid LSAT tutor here, FWIW)

I try to think about two things when judging LSAT prep--your proficiency level and your performance level. Your proficiency level is likely the average of your most recent 3-5 tests +/- 3 points (LSAT's measurement error). Your performance level is how you did on any given test. From your PTs, the first five you mentioned set your proficiency at 176-170 with the range being driven by sort of random factors that can effect performance, like you having expertise in the content of a RC passage or your fatigue level/state of mind during the test. Your most recent five that you mentioned give your proficiency level as 175-169. To me, this does not signal that you've lost anything significant of what you had before, but also it does not indicate that you've gained very much either. Of course, all of this is qualified slightly by the fact that you have taken really old tests as part of your PTs, and by definition a score from a 2000 test cannot be reliably compared to a 2015 score (there's a reason scores expire). The RC in early tests is ridiculously easy, as it was more like a typical reading comprehension test, as opposed to the Arguments cloaked as RC that Reading Comp. is now.

To improve your proficiency, you have to identify question types that you are missing consistently, revisit/refine your strategy on those question types, and then drill specifically on those question types. So, over these last 9 days, you should identify what type of arguments questions you're missing consistently and then go back through and drill those types exclusively.

I know I was scooped, but from reading this, it looks like you're burnt out and its starting to show up in decreased proficiency. You definitely should consider taking the weekend off from the LSAT and jumping back in with directed practice Mon-Thurs. Do not take another practice exam...you need your stamina and focus at optimal levels for the real test.

[Hand]

Have you considered masturbation?

[fliptrip]

Have you considered masturbation?

You'd probably get more benefit out of doing this all weekend as opposed to touching another PT. Seriously.

[seagan823]

So I'm taking the Feb test next Saturday. I took the October test and scored 169, which was below what I wanted.

I took 30 tests worth of parts/ full timed tests before the Oct one and I have/am taking 20 test (mostly all in one go, but some in parts) before the Feb test.

I started out well when prepping for Feb, going 170,174,174,172,174 for my first five fully timed PTs. Since then I've plateaued/ got a bit worse. The next 5 were 171,172,173,172,171.
I've definitely gotten a lot better at LR now, and average 3.78 wrong between both, whereas I averaged 6.27 beforehand.
My reading has also improved from 4.27 to 2.11 wrong, although part of this might be because the reading seems really easy on the tests in the 20s which made up half of the 10 most recent ones I took.
My main issue is that my LG has gotten worse. I used to average 2.27 wrong (1.55 wrong not counting 2 outliers). Now, however I average 3.78 wrong, usually about 4/5 but range from 2-8.

Does anyone know what I should do to really improve my scores in the next week and a half?
I'm thinking try to shore up my LG skills, but Idk how to do that. I misread a game set up or question basically every other test. And when I don't, I take a long time and usually run out of time. Which is odd because after like my first ever 10 tests I quickly went from 10 wrong per LG section to a buncha tests with 1 wrong, 2 tests with 6 wrong, and then the rest almost always 0-3 wrong. Yet now I can't just get back in that rythym. I've even tried drilling 10 test's worth of LG and I thought it helped a tad until i got 8 wrong on a section.

You need to take a break man. You have studied hard and are plenty capable but you are tired and getting neurotic (2.27? you are evaluating yourself to the hundreth's place?)

I took three times, 167, 169, 173. I started to go down in my last three weeks of studying on the first two tests because I was totally burned out. But I let the burnout psych me out, and I started buckling down even more, trying to find validation that I could still do well in each test. It was draining and I ended up falling to way below my target on the tests I took in the week before my first and second take. Those PTs were in my mind when I took the real thing and it fucked with my confidence.

After the 167 and 169 came back, I took a PT cold to get back into studying. On both occasions hit at or above the highest PTs I had gotten in my previous study cycle. It confirmed that I had been worried, tired and burned out way too close to my first real attempts and it messed with me. I didn't learn on the first try, but I did after the second. I resolved to stop PTing in the two weeks before my third test and just do light work on games I new gave me trouble and I would do LG/RC sections on their own to stay fresh. I stopped studying altogether in the days leading up to the test and hit my target.

I don't know what your target is, but it is clear you can score in the 172-174 range on this test. If you relax and trust yourself you will accomplish that goal. Trust yourself. You wouldn't lift weights everyday of the week up until a football or lacrosse game because its the championship and you don't feel strong enough. You would trust that you had enough to get there and ride that out. Good luck man. You worked hard, don't doubt yourself. Relax, stay loose, and crush that test.

[footballlax55]

I took a week off in between the 173 and 172 because I was feeling burnt out. Didn't help much.

Now, 2 weeks later, I don't feel burned out. I'm planning on taking it easy in the few days leading up to the test, but I want to at least make sure I get LG down. Because my LG scores havent been getting worse, mostly flat or slightly improving.

Maybe I'll just focus a lot on LG and ease up on LR though because that's the most draining part and the part I'm getting worse at.

[footballlax55]

Maybe I am getting more burned out than I thought.

Got a 169 on the test I took today. It was PT 67, so not that old of one.

Idk if it's super accurate though because it was a test with a -10 curve and I do much better on one's with like -14 curves.
I got -1 and -2 on the LR, which is good, but was rushed for the LG and got -4. And the first reading passage cost me 3 alone and I got -4 on the section.

It just seems like every test I take RC hits me with some bullshit and it's like oh well nothing I can do about picking up those obscure references.
And LG I usually make one stupid mistake minimum.
So when there's not a good curve I get screwed because I always get a handful of questions wrong regardless.

I had planned on going hard this weekend and cutting back during the week because I have classes. But maybe now I'll just cut back this weekend and focus on LG and maybe reading and then take like 1 or 2 full length tests next week to ensure I have a feel of the pacing and fatigue still.

[footballlax55]

All I did today was redo the LG section of yesterday's test and take a new timed LG section.
I got 0 wrong and finished with 5 min to spare on the redo of yesterday's LG.
But I got 6 wrong on today's LG because the third game was bizarre (pt 68 section 4 game 3) and even rushing through it took me 16 minutes and I got 2 of them wrong. Then I had like 6 min for last game and ran out of time and had to guess on the last four

[footballlax55]

Update: Got a 175 on PT 71, which i took yesterday. I've been practicing getting up early this week so I was tired and kinda unfocused when the reading section came along because it was last. So I got 4 of those wrong. But I only got 1 wrong on the first LR, 0 on the LG, and 3 on the second LR, which hopefully was also partially due to it being towards the end.
When I blind reviewed I realized 2 of the LR were no brainers and only 1 of the ones I got wrong was actually tough.