- Tue Nov 19, 2019 5:31 pm
#72129
Hi Prelaw183,
First off, keep your head up! One of the most important factors in the days leading up to the test is a strong sense of self-confidence and optimism (even enthusiasm), so if you're testing on Monday try like crazy to maintain as positive an attitude as you can until then.
I say "if you test" because at this stage I'm not entirely certain that's something you should do. I'll explain. It's awfully hard to pull your score up significantly in a short period of time—often even over the span of months, as you know—so I'm somewhat wary about the prospects of seeing a big jump over your high in July, or over your recent practice tests. So if you take another test or two between now and, say, Saturday/Sunday and don't see results at least approaching your target score, it's probably best not to put another score in the 146-147 range on your record, since (1) it won't help you (you already have that number), and (2) taking November would count as the second of your three attempts, leaving you with only one more shot before next summer...i.e. before having to sit out a full year.
So if your scores aren't where you want them to be come this weekend it's probably wise to withdraw and then consider registering for January, where you'll have more time to prep and improve and get yourself into a more favorable position.
That said, if you do decide to take the test on Monday—or, for that matter, in January!—I highly recommend focusing on the most common question types: main point/must be true questions in Reading Comprehension, linear games (especially basic linear) and balanced grouping in LG, and Must Be True, Strengthen, and Flaw in Logical Reasoning. Those are not only fundamental to success everywhere on the LSAT, but they also serve as a huge proportion of the overall test content you'll face! Your tutor should be able to provide more specific guidance in that regard based on your unique strengths and weaknesses (see below), but that's a solid jumping off point!
For example, if time is a challenge for you, you may want to skip any LR questions that immediately strike you as difficult/confusing on your first pass-through. That's because a wrong answer you spend time on is the same as a wrong answer you guess on in terms of your score, but attempting only the easy and medium-difficulty problems may mean you have enough time to do your best on them. In other words, there's often a greater overall reward in doing fewer questions well, particularly targeting the easier or more accessible ones, than attempting to do every question and either running out of time or making mistakes you wouldn't have otherwise because you're rushing. So keep these sorts of things in mind and I am fully confident that you can incrementally increase your score by Monday, and significantly increase it by January.
Good luck, and wishing you the best!
