PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point? Forum

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damask_rain

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PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point?

Post by damask_rain » Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:14 pm

Hello! I need some advice.

I am PTing between 171-174. I have about 28 untouched PTs left. I noticed that my score has dropped to 171 for the past 5 PTs because I have been taking the newer PTs this past week. I am only struggling with Flaw and NA question types from LR.

On RC I get between 2-5 wrong each time and it fluctuates. On LG I sometimes get -0 sometimes -1.

What should I work on at this point? Should I redo all the PTs I have already done to practice timing and perfection? Should I do individual drilling of different types and sections? Or should I work on the fresh PTs? I don't want to waste PTs as there is still a month and a half left. What would you do and why?

I appreciate any help.

Also, I have noticed I make some dumb mistakes which just varies from test to test. When I see it while checking answers, I can tell I made a dumb mistake before even looking at the correct answer choice. I catch my own error, but I don't know how to avoid making it in the first place.

tinycatfriend

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Re: PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point?

Post by tinycatfriend » Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:19 pm

Are you a good or bad test taker?

Because, sometimes, the answer is - there's nothing you can do. My friend and I both PT'ed in the range. He got a 176 and I got a 180, because we just do well under stress. I'd recommend working on stress techniques, and also, going through super weird LGs (pattern games, mapping, iteration games etc) just so you know you can do them. Old PTs are great for those.

damask_rain

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Re: PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point?

Post by damask_rain » Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:23 pm

tinycatfriend wrote:Are you a good or bad test taker?

Because, sometimes, the answer is - there's nothing you can do. My friend and I both PT'ed in the range. He got a 176 and I got a 180, because we just do well under stress. I'd recommend working on stress techniques, and also, going through super weird LGs (pattern games, mapping, iteration games etc) just so you know you can do them. Old PTs are great for those.
How do I work on stress techniques?

I have done all LGs from 1-38 at least 4 times including really old weird games. I will continue redoing LGs, but I guess I am wondering how I can make my 174 more consistent. I feel like once I start the test, I don't get stressed anymore because I am so into it. I only feel stress in my free time worrying about the actual test date.

sev

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Re: PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point?

Post by sev » Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:32 pm

I was briefly in your situation shortly before Sept. I did two things to move out of the low 170s: (1) focus hard on RC timing. No substitute for doing full sections for that. Do each section with the same intensity that you'd have for the real thing. (2) Aim for perfection (because you almost certainly will make the occasional mistake), but practice not losing accuracy due to second-guessing. At that level you're missing ~6-10 questions per test, not a lot of room for error. There's a tendency among high scorers to feel like they can't miss a single question, which leads to second-guessing. Learn to recognize when you're about to second-guess something that you should be sure about.

damask_rain

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Re: PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point?

Post by damask_rain » Thu Oct 12, 2017 1:41 pm

sev wrote:I was briefly in your situation shortly before Sept. I did two things to move out of the low 170s: (1) focus hard on RC timing. No substitute for doing full sections for that. Do each section with the same intensity that you'd have for the real thing. (2) Aim for perfection (because you almost certainly will make the occasional mistake), but practice not losing accuracy due to second-guessing. At that level you're missing ~6-10 questions per test, not a lot of room for error. There's a tendency among high scorers to feel like they can't miss a single question, which leads to second-guessing. Learn to recognize when you're about to second-guess something that you should be sure about.

Thanks. This gives me hope that I can overcome my current situation. Just to clarify, are you suggesting to drill full, timed sections of just RC? I think I can manage that. I just feel like there is less patterns in RC.

And yes I do second guess myself a lot, but I've been working on going with my intuition lately (which often means choosing the first answer choice that I think is right instead of going back and forth).

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sev

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Re: PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point?

Post by sev » Thu Oct 12, 2017 2:40 pm

damask_rain wrote:Thanks. This gives me hope that I can overcome my current situation. Just to clarify, are you suggesting to drill full, timed sections of just RC? I think I can manage that. I just feel like there is less patterns in RC.
Yep, that's what I did. RC definitely had the highest variance of the sections for me as well, and the best defense I found against that was to have steady but fast timing.

tinycatfriend

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Re: PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point?

Post by tinycatfriend » Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:58 pm

damask_rain wrote:
tinycatfriend wrote:Are you a good or bad test taker?

Because, sometimes, the answer is - there's nothing you can do. My friend and I both PT'ed in the range. He got a 176 and I got a 180, because we just do well under stress. I'd recommend working on stress techniques, and also, going through super weird LGs (pattern games, mapping, iteration games etc) just so you know you can do them. Old PTs are great for those.
How do I work on stress techniques?

I have done all LGs from 1-38 at least 4 times including really old weird games. I will continue redoing LGs, but I guess I am wondering how I can make my 174 more consistent. I feel like once I start the test, I don't get stressed anymore because I am so into it. I only feel stress in my free time worrying about the actual test date.
There are many ways to work on stress response! The first is taking care of your mental health (exercise, eating right, etc). The second is meditation/yoga techniques - it sounds cheesy, but honestly, I meditated before each test and did breathing counts when I got anxious and it helped me a lot in just pure focus. Re: the RC discussion - check how you order answering your RC questions. If you always miss a certain question type, start doing it last and see what happens.

Before test day, I had a whole ritual planned to knock me out. I made sure everything was ready, and basically went through it in my mind so I ended up with a full night's sleep - which definitely helps!

Tpb5493

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Re: PTing 171-174, what should I do at this point?

Post by Tpb5493 » Sun Oct 22, 2017 10:48 am

tinycatfriend wrote:
damask_rain wrote:
tinycatfriend wrote:Are you a good or bad test taker?

There are many ways to work on stress response! The first is taking care of your mental health (exercise, eating right, etc). The second is meditation/yoga techniques - it sounds cheesy, but honestly, I meditated before each test and did breathing counts when I got anxious and it helped me a lot in just pure focus. Re: the RC discussion - check how you order answering your RC questions. If you always miss a certain question type, start doing it last and see what happens.

Before test day, I had a whole ritual planned to knock me out. I made sure everything was ready, and basically went through it in my mind so I ended up with a full night's sleep - which definitely helps!
I'll second this. I was PTing in your range OP and underperformed by 6 points, most likely because of stress, eating poorly, not taking care of myself in the weeks leading up to the test, etc. The one thing most prep materials don't underscore is the importance of being healthy and in a good frame of mind going in to the test. Do NOT overcaffeinate, and try to get some days off work before test day.

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