Stress can be your worst enemy.

I thought my story might help some fellow October LSAT takers.

So, I have easily studied 300+ hours for this test over the past 6 months. I started with a diagnostic of 147, and as of 3 weeks ago, I was scoring consistently in the 162-165 range. Then, a horrible occurrence happened that most LSAT preparers face: my score was unexpectedly dropping into the 155-158 range. At the time, with only a few weeks until test day, I was stressing and soon became sick with the flu. My sickness was so bad that I couldn't even force myself to study for three days. I began to consider canceling the October test and register for the December test.

Then, something awesome happened. While walking to the library to take a practice test (PT 64), I began thinking to myself that everything will work out one way or another, and because I am still young (22), I can work for a few years and go to law school at a later time. This time, when I took the test, I had a somewhat apathetic attitude towards the test.

I finished every section with 2 or 3 minutes to spare which has NEVER happened on any section besides the logic games. Initially, this made me a little nervous. However, after finishing the test, I graded it and almost had a heart attack when I only missed 4 on the ENTIRE test, giving me a 177. I have never been close to a 177 in all of my practice tests. I thought this had to be a fluke.

That leads me to today. I have taken 2 practice tests since then (with the same type of mind set), and I scored a 176 (PT57) on Tuesday and a 177 (PT65) today. Since I had studied SO much for the past 6 months, it made me realize that I knew all of the patterns, question types, and all of that; the problem was that stress was interfering with my scores. This past week I have only studied 30 minutes-hour a day (except on practice test days) just reviewing the Powerscore Bibles and looking over questions that I had missed in the past.

TL;DR When you are in a slump and you know that you have spent the right amount of time preparing, there is a very strong possibility that stress is the cause of your scores. Find something that will relieve that stress (for me, it was knowing that I was young and could go to law school at a later time). It could save your LSAT score.