Nervous about test day!

[czila25]

Hello all!,

Little bit of background info:
I have been prepping for the October 2013 LSAT test for a long time now. I started last fall just reading the Powerscore Bibles slowly so I could absorb everything. I took a few practice tests over the winter and began prepping really intensely about March 2013.

My first practice test, when i took it in the fall of 2012 was 128, over the summer I took a diagnosis preptest before my lsat course began on June 11th. I scored a 138. Which was an improvement after reading the bibles. The course seemed to help immensely and ended at the end of August, on each practice test through the course i could see improvment, but my scores have slowly been on a downslope since. I am currently taking MBA classes, so that was a nice change of pace, but I continued taking practice tests scoring as high as 152 on one test, But my average since the course has been about 148.

So heres the problem. I have taken 22 practice tests in total at this point. And Im about a week out from the test. My last two practice tests scores were 145, and 138. 138 being the most recent one I took on wednesday, i was pretty broken up about that score with just a few weeks remaining.

So ive been prepping for this test for about a year now. I will be applying to about 5 or 10 schools in october and was hoping to score a 155. At this point, I have studied intensely for over 500 hours of prep time, but am not scoring near where I need to be. Its making me really nervous I have done everything possible as far as prep. I have even been exercising, eating right, and laying off the alcohol.

Im going to review some of the course materials and Im afraid I only have one more practice tests to take. DO you guys have any additional pointers or advice going into test day that will help me cement a good score so I dont have to retake the test in December?

Thanks guys!

[Adam Tyson]

Thanks for the info, Czila. Sounds like you have put in a lot of work, and now that we are down the home stretch we really want all that to pay off. I have a few ideas, and I hope some of my colleagues will join in with more.

First, let me suggest a few resources that would be worth looking into (if you haven't already). There are a lot of good tips and useful ideas in our LSAT Blog, found here: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat

Also, this coming Tuesday will be a free Test Mentality seminar led by Jon Denning and Dave Killoran that you might want to participate in. Here's a link: http://shop.powerscore.com/PSStore_Clas ... 007dee3IAA

Without knowing more about how you have been studying, it's hard to say what you should do next. If you were one of my students, I would ask, among other things, what are you doing besides taking practice tests? Are you analyzing every question after each test to better understand what was being asked and why you answered the way you did (right or wrong)? If not, then you are probably repeating a lot of the same mistakes over and over. I would also ask how you are doing on time - are you finishing each section or falling short? If you are finishing, and still scoring in a range that you aren't happy with, my first piece of advice would be to slow down. Remember, there is no prize for finishing the test - the prize is for getting the maximum number of correct answers. What's better - finishing all 4 games and getting 8 answers right, or slowing down to just do three, or even two, games really well, getting 10-12 right plus however many more you might pick up from your guesses on the rest?

With the scores you are reporting, I would have to guess that slowing down might be a good strategy for you. Relax, take your time, read carefully and make sure you understand the stimulus and the stem and that you have a really powerful prephrase for each question. Then, confidently eliminate losers and pick contenders without over-analyzing or second guessing. Run out of time? Doesn't matter, since you will be doing better with the ones you did answer, and that makes all the difference.

Like I said, without knowing more there's not much I can tell you. It sounds like you are already doing a lot of things right - taking care of yourself, making time to study (not letting the MBA classes get in the way of LSAT prep, are you?), and keeping up your studies rather than coasting. I suspect the key for you will be in the way that you study and in your application of some test-taking strategies (like knowing when to give up on a question and move on).

Tell us more, and we'll see what we come up with. Meanwhile, do check out those extra resources for ideas and inspiration.

Good luck!