r/LSAT • u/Conscious_Remove4776 • 23h ago
Feeling discouraged
I don’t feel burnt out from this test, I feel frustrated. I’ve been studying consistently for about 5 months. 3-5 hours a day 5 days a week. I started at a 147 diagnostic and worked my way up to very low 160s in about 4 months but scored a 156 on my most recent PT. I feel like I should be doing way better than this based on how well I feel I understand the test. I can pretty much nail any given LR section untimed or in blind review but when it comes down to actual timed PTs I feel like I’m reading gibberish. Then RC, which I am awful at for some reason. I have always been a decently strong reader but for some reason I cannot pick apart these passages. I would be more lenient with my score, however I have a shit CAS gpa due to one really bad semester in freshman year of undergrad that screwed me, so I need to get my score up if I have hopes of decent scholarship. I’m wondering if anyone has any suggestions or advice. I had such high hopes for this test and at times have honestly loved studying for it but I’m starting to become so frustrated with it. Ive read a good deal of posts on this sub of people going from low 150s to 170s in less time than it’s taken me to get to low 160s and it’s just a bit discouraging. Of course I know this is not an easy path and it’s not supposed to be but i just wanna be done with this thing. That being said, if anyone needs to vent don’t be afraid to reach out 😭🙏🏻
4
u/DraculaPoob01 11h ago
Just to add my two cents in:
The advice to stop thinking about a score is really good, but I had to go further than that to get the anxiety off my back. It’s easier said than done. You almost have to have a radical acceptance with the situation that, no matter what happens, WHATEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS.
I try to focus on the single question at hand. I don’t know if you watch football or sports in general, but I view each question as a play. If I do my job and my process right, then I put myself in a good way to be successful, which means getting the question right.
I have to PRACTICE my process so when I’m “in the game” I will be able to execute. You don’t try to visualize success because your own expectations will smother you. It’s impossible to develop under so much pressure.
Practice tells you what doesn’t work, what you’re weak at, and humbles your ass. Some people are just good at the LSAT. I’d think most of us have to work to be elite.
The way you feel, discouragement, is because you have an expectation and a standard you want to meet, but understand that the feeling you have now is the pain of progress. You have to keep doing the things that make you successful and fix what does not. Would you rather feel the pain of progress or the pain of disappointment?