HELP! Moving Forward From a Bad First Test+Anxiety

[nanirs2020]

Hi PowerScore!

Maybe just for the sake of potential validation or at an attempt to scream into the void, I wanted to relay my LSAT journey so far and get some advice. Maybe other people will relate to my struggles as well.

I have been studying for 11 months.... I work full time as a Paralegal in a very high stress immigration law firm so I've done my best to work studying around that while trying to have a balanced life. It took me around 6 months to read all three Bible's cover to cover including a move, holidays, a week long vacation, and many, many "snooze" button presses. My diagnostic score was a 145 and since then I've gotten my score up to a 162 (I've only taken a small number of full PTs in testing conditions, but 162 is a pretty consistent average). I would be happy with a 164 or higher, super happy with a 166 or higher. A few days before the test my anxiety really kicked in and I got a 155 and then things just really fell apart. Long story short, my confidence really fell a few days before the August Flex and I ended up really under-performing on the actual test (we haven't gotten scores yet, but I just answered so many fewer questions than usual and got super stuck). I also know I had the hardest RC and LG sections (thanks to the PowerScore podcast!) so I think getting those made me doubt my ability to tackle the test. My proctor also interrupted me which really threw me off on games. Anyway now I just feel like I'm in a big rut. My scores are dropping and I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel. My average scores are: RC -9 to -6, LR -9 to -4, LG -6 to -4, but since the test my scores have been lower.

For more context as well, I really struggle with anxiety. In May I couldn't even attempt to take a timed practice section without having an anxiety attack, bursting into tears, and having to stop. I've come a long way from my 145 and from being so paralyzed with test anxiety I couldn't even attempt a timed section. However, I would really like to stabilize my scores and I'm trying to figure out how to move forward from this confidence blow. I am feeling extremely stressed and burned out. I feel like no one has ever studied for THIS LONG and still had so much trouble. I also feel so much self-doubt and I so often take one bad section or one wrong answer to mean I'm not meant to go to law school or I can't get into the schools I want or I can't get any scholarships and I'll have crushing debt forever.... I am aware these are very unhelpful thoughts. I recently listened to the "16 reasons why people fail the LSAT" podcast and I identified with at least 14 of them (yikes). At the same time, I know I have a lot of work to do! I wanted to try and do 15 more full PTs before the October test (which I'm already behind on) and I know I should revisit my notes/the Bibles to solidify some concepts. I work 36 hours a week and study average 15 hours a week. I am also planning on signing up for the November test.

What is the best plan of action for the next four weeks? How much of my time should be timed PTs vs. reviewing my notes and the Bible concepts? I never finish the sections, should I focus on pushing myself to speed up or should I try to "slow down to speed up" again? (I do tend to anguish over problems I'm unsure of). I always review my entire test, right and wrong, but maybe I'm not doing good enough review? How can I manage my burn out without feeling like I'm losing precious time? I took three days off after the August Flex and I think it made me more stressed.

If you're not fully convinced I'd be better off in a straight jacket than in a courtroom, I'd love any advice you have on how to move forward and have a productive few weeks before the October test. Thanks in advance!

[KelseyWoods]

Hi nanirs2020!

First off, please know that you are not alone in feeling anxious about this test. It's a stressful test, it's a stressful year, and burnout and test anxiety are very real things that most LSAT takers experience at some point. I promise you that I have met students who have been studying just as long as you (if not longer!) and are feeling the exact same frustrations.

Your immediate priority is to deal with the stress and burnout you're currently experiencing. It's impossible to study effectively when you're feeling this anxious and frustrated! As you've already experienced, it can be a vicious cycle--feeling stressed and anxious makes you not perform as well on your PTs which makes you feel even more stressed and anxious. You need to break that cycle. Read up on some test mentality tips. Here's a whole list of relevant blog posts to choose from: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-ul ... urce-list/. Pick a few that speak to you and see what you learn. Don't think of time that you spend reading about and working on your test mentality as a waste of time that you could be spending taking another PT. Test mentality is an extremely important component of this test. You cannot do well on this test if you do not believe that you can do well on this test. Building up your confidence and letting go of some of that anxiety is key to LSAT success. Make it a priority.

Next, I want you to try focusing less on your timed PT scores. It's so tempting to just take a bunch of practice tests hoping to see the score that you want. But it's important to remember that your PT scores don't actually matter. They help you get a general idea of where you're at. But ultimately, only how you do on test day matters. The purpose of taking PTs is not so much to see what score you get, it's more to practice taking the test under timed conditions and to help you identify specific areas that you need to review. PTs are a tool to guide your study and build your mental stamina and fortitude. Your scores will go up and down, and that's okay. The important thing is to learn what you can from each test. Remind yourself that you've been studying for a long time and you know how to handle this test--you've already been scoring in the 160s! Start by reviewing the basics. What's the basic approach for an LR question? For diagramming a logic game? For analyzing an RC passage? Write out those steps for yourself. Having a solid grasp of this step by step approach will help you when you're taking timed tests and start to feel overwhelmed or you feel like your mind goes blank. Just breathe and take it one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. Review each question type. What are the different strategies for each? What should you be looking for in a correct answer? What incorrect answer traps should you be avoiding? Often when students review, they find that there are things they've forgotten or they understand concepts in a deeper way.

For your next PT, don't take it timed. Take it completely untimed. Go slow and focus on the strategies and methods that you've learned over the course of the past year. Identify conclusions and premises. Analyze question stems. Prephrase. Etc. Prove to yourself that you know how to get questions right on this exam.

When you start taking timed PTs again, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to thoroughly review each one. Honestly, taking 15 practice tests in the next 3 weeks is a completely bonkers, totally terrible plan--don't do it! You're working full time. At most, you should be taking 2 tests a week. For each PT, do a full blind review. Here's a link to a blog post describing the method: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-be ... ice-tests/. You might also want to check out the podcast episode in which Dave and Jon discuss practice test analysis in more depth: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/38/. And this podcast episode talks about how to spend the last 2 weeks before the exam: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/7/.

In terms of not being able to finish sections, you may want to experiment with some different strategies. Sometimes test takers do better if they slow down and focus on doing 3 RC passages or logic games really well rather than rushing through all 3 (all things being equal, it's best to do the 3 with the most questions, but if there's one really hard passage or game, that should be the one you skip!). For LR, flag questions that you feel like you are anguishing over. Come back to them if you have time at the end. You've been studying for the LSAT long enough to know that there are some questions that you could spend a full hour on and still get incorrect. Those are questions to guess on and skip! Some of the toughest questions in the section might be somewhere in the middle. Don't waste your time on them when there might be some easier questions toward the end that you might be able to get correct. Timed sections are great for testing out strategies before you put them into play on a full PT.

In these last couple of weeks, it's all about quality over quantity. Taking a bunch of practice tests isn't going to improve your score. What's going to improve your score is (1) learning from those tests what you need to go back and review; (2) discovering what strategies will help you get your best score; and (3) doing what you can to keep that test anxiety in check.

I'd take the day immediately before the LSAT completely off from studying but plan something fun to do to take your mind off of the test. And remind yourself that you're not "wasting" time that you could be studying--you're working on your test mentality which is one of the most important components of test success.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Best,
Kelsey