resolved Forum

[appind]

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[fliptrip]

It doesn't sound to me like you have a preparation problem. Freezing/blanking sounds like a big time anxiety issue. I suggest doing whatever you can to learn about test anxiety avoidance exercises/practices and trying to implement those.

There's really only a few explanations for a persistent significant gap between PT averages and actual performance:

1. Small sample size of PTs
2. Taking PTs under non-testing conditions
3. Anxiety

[GreatBraffsby]

I had a similar experience. I scored 5 points below my final diagnostic on each of my 3 LSAT takes. Despite a dozen 170+ pts with someone proctoring me under LSAT conditions, I never came close to my average score. The LSAT is just one data point in a long study process, and sometimes that data point is not representative of your actual ability. Not something you can explain to law schools, but you can't beat yourself up about it.

For two of my actual LSATs, testing conditions and test site logistics were major distractions. The other one had a weird logic game that put me in a bad state of mind for the whole section (I went -8, which was the worst I have ever done on that section, diagnostic included). It sounds like you made atypical mistakes on your actual LSAT, which is hard to fix. For example, it would be easier to improve if you knew you were bad at parallel arguments/argument structure and got hit with a bunch of those on your LSATs, but I don't think that's the case for you.

I'm not sure if that's helpful, but I didn't want you thinking you were an anomaly. You're one of the misfortunate few who punched below their LSAT weight, which happens just as much as someone getting a higher than expected score. Make sure you're taking practice tests under strict conditions with an experimental section. Also make sure you aren't burning yourself out and becoming mentally fatigued by test day.

Also, try incorporating a healthy diet and/or an exercise routine if you're not already doing that, just to make sure you don't neglect your physical health while doing a lot of sedentary studying. Unhealthy slow body can = unhealthy slow mind, which might explain a negative trend.

[appind]

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[GreatBraffsby]

the thing that i barely improved on with so much prep was timing, and it causes anxiousness due to running out of time scenario. the timing just plateaued. i tried beta blocker for pts but felt it made me drowsy.

Have you tried test taking strategies, like skipping over questions strategically and then coming back? This helps a lot in LR if you can look at a question and immediately tell it will be a time suck.

For LG and RC, try doing a single game or reading in 7 minutes. I found it easier to learn pacing that way than by doing entire sections. Obviously easy games should be more like 4-5 and harder games can take 9-10 min.