Speaking of Tests

Two weeks ago, I took the LSATs again. Strangely, I've found that I am able to abstain from companionship longer than from taking standardized tests. Demented and sad and in no way social. Maybe it's just because I'm willing to pay for the tests.

The scoring and notification process has changed since my last go round, and I am expecting my scores by the end of the week. I'm really hoping for the best. I felt a lot better about this administration than others previously. The start time of 12:30 versus 8:30 on its own made a huge difference. I still didn't study as much as I know I should have, but I do think I learned some valuable test taking strategies that served me well. I also feel that I got lucky this time in that the unscored, test portion of the exam was a logical reasoning one. Both of my prior times I had to fight through two - one real, one fake - analytical reasoning sections. Those games were my weak point, and when you throw in extra-tricky, practice questions, it really helped to throw me for a loop. This time, I'm pretty sure which logical reasoning section was the test section, and, on top of that, I felt like I did better than ever on my nemesis, the analytical section.

[I know which section type was a test section due to the general setup. The LSAT has one essay section that follows five multiple choice sections consisting of a reading comprehension section, an analytical reasoning section, two logical reasoning sections, and one other section of any type that is used to test new questions. You can't ever be certain of which is the test section, though it is said that it is usually one of the first three and that if you run into a section that seems particularly difficult or obtuse, that may be suggestive.]

I'll find out soon enough. Or almost soon enough: I've been pretty stressed trying to imagine my range of opportunities given any range of scores combined with my middlin' GPA. I'd like to believe that an advanced degree with a better grad GPA helps offset a somewhat lower undergrad GPA a decade-plus ago, but it's hard to know what admissions boards might like or dislike. In any case, I find it unlikely that I'll sit for the LSATs again. Now, the MCATs, that's a different story... And still, I'm most anxious.

Jonathan 6/26/2006 05:33:00 PM