retaking the december test- HELP

[anb281990]

Hi.

I just received my score back from the October LSAT and did much worse than I expected (8 points lower than my highest PT test score, and 6 points lower than my average).

Needless to say I am extremely distraught. I just signed up to take the December LSAT, but am concerned I don't have enough time to prepare. Additionally, I am not sure where to go from here as I have already completed all the course material for the full length course and did the majority, if not all, of the supplemental material.

I am trying to figure out a study schedule of sorts and could really use some advice. The only thing I am sure about is not taking an LSAT anytime after the Wednesday before the test, as last time i took one on a Thursday, did not do well, and subsequently freaked out. I believe my panic may have contributed to my low score.

How many practice tests should I be taking a week? The month before the October test I took 2 tests a week, in addition to studying, and I am concerned this may have led to me burning out, as I say my score decreasing in the weeks before the test.
Should I only aim for one, and if i have extra time then take 2 (but not cram in a second test?). Also, in terms of the material, what is the best way to review what i have already done? I was thinking I would go through the virtual recaps of each section but I am not sure if that is redundant and if time would be better spent doing practice problems/ sections and reviewing what I am doing wrong. What would you suggest? I feel as though I already know most of the strategies and have taken notes on each lesson so should I just review the notes? I am really at a loss if you can't tell. Also, would you suggest getting the Bibles for additional review/ practice?

Any advice as to some kind of schedule or plan would be VERY greatly appreciated as I want to kill the LSATS in December, doing even better than I had been doing on practice tests

Thank you!!
Amberly

[Jon Denning]

Hey Amberly - thanks for the message, and I'm sorry to hear that the test didn't go as well as you'd hoped. I think you are very likely correct about approaching the exam so soon after a disappointing practice test, as even the slightest dip in confidence can be compounded severely by the pressures of test day. In fact, we talk a lot about mentality leading up to the LSAT and how important a positive mental attitude is, and I think it might do you some good to read through a discussion of it before your next LSAT:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/228 ... k-positive

Before I can give you any specific advice on study schedule and how to best spend the next month, it would be really helpful to have some more information about how your last few exams went. Where are you struggling, and where are you strong? What kind of scores are you getting? What types of questions/games seem to give you the most trouble? Etc. Those details are a prerequisite of sorts to preparing a personalized study plan.

Finally, as a general rule, I always encourage people to do as many practice sections/tests as they have time to adequately review. So you could approach it as "take a practice test one day, full and comprehensive test review the next, then day off," or something like "I've only got three hours of time to study, so instead of taking a full test and having little time to review, I'll only do two timed sections and spend 1.5 hours reviewing my performance." The key is that you need to fully grasp where/why you're missing questions so that you can remedy the mistakes on future tests, as opposed to having some predetermined volume of material you feel you need to get through. Focus on the quality of review, not the quantity of coverage.

I hope that helps--thanks again!

[anb281990]

What you said about the practice tests really helps. i think one of the problems I have is that I am so concerned about the volume that i compromise quality. With that said I will definitely take this into consideration on my next practice tests and practice sections.

I started off the course at a 151, and by the end of the course was scoring about a 162/163 consistently, but occasionally as high as 165. the difficult thing is that I really had no one area that was giving me trouble. It was weird, usually my LR sections were pretty consistent, with me getting about 6-8 wrong per section (about 75%-80% correct on average) and the weird thing is that when it came to logic games and RC i would usually bomb one (about 50% correct on one) and do amazing (85-100% correct) on the other- but there was no rhyme or reason. So I know I am capable of doing well on both sections, I just don't know why this pattern has developed.
I have about 2 hours to spend each weeknight and 5-6 hours a day on the weekends to spend studying, I am just stuck as to how to spend it. I figure I should start by very thoroughly reviewing the October test and evaluating everything- both what I got wrong and right. Then from there I am unsure what to do, aside from taking practice tests.
I read the blog which suggests studying as if you are teaching to someone else and I am going to try that when reviewing problems I have already done, and i know i also can't let my disappointment get the best of me.

thank you so much for your help thus far and I would really appreciate any further insight you could provide

[anb281990]

P.S. I really have no one section that is killing my score, except reading comp or logic games- depending on the test (since it alternates). So I am not sure how to approach this in terms of studying. My LR is pretty consistent (except on test day) so I know i should also work on getting that up as well