Quote from: owlslax on October 08, 2008, 10:30:46 AM

What, Cliff, you don't occasionally gloss over key points of a stimulus in the middle of a test?

No. That would be pretty stupid to do on game day.  Almost as stupid as looking around for butterflies in the air over the field when you are the quarterback in the Superbowl and your team is down by 3 and it's 4th down and 1 yard to go after the 2 minute warning in the 4th quarter with the play clock ticking. 

Cliff, it DOES happen to some people. Others, like me, probably wouldnt appreciate calling this issue "stupid." I'm going to please ask you to refrain from posting in my thread again.

Thanks.

This actually happened to me too during the test this past Saturday where I would read but didn't know what I was reading...and I honestly felt horrible after the test. It wasn't until the third section that I started to maybe comprehend what I was reading. I think it's a mix of nerves/stress (my heart was racing a mile a minute) and also I am not a fast reader to begin with so maybe both of those combined for the best of us. For people like us, all I can say is don't give up. I've wanted to go to law school since high school and I felt like poo (and still do) after this test. I will most likely take it again in Dec. too. Hang in there...

Im so sorry you had to go through that. I know it must be devastating. Although I am sad you fell under that same hole as I did I'm happy to know that you and I arent the only ones. Let's keep the hope and use these 2 months to really concentrate and make an effort to simulate test conditions- whether it be taking an exam in a noisy atmosphere or tricking yourself into believing it's the real thing and it will count so we can get that same nervousness back and learn how to deal with it effectively.

I ordered the LSAT proctor dvd and Ill let you know if that helps me any with this problem.

Thank you for your post.

This happened to me too, during practice tests. I think it is not so much a stress problem as becoming better at actively reading, especially when you are a somewhat lazy reader like me that is used to "skipping over" what doesn't make sense until you get to a part that you do understand and then using context clues to get the hard bit. With LR, you don't always get to a part that is "easy to understand." SO, my eyes would "skip over" the whole damn thing...i.e. "glaze over." I found I had to practice slowly, then build up to my normal fast reading. I assume you are re-taking in December...plenty of time to work up towards 30-minute LR sections.

I really appreciate your response. Honestly, I know it sounds corny, but I feel EXTREMELY lost and depressed right now. It's now not even a matter of getting questions right- my worry is that I wont even be able to read! It's a horrible feeling but I'm going to take your post and try and learn from some of the things you suggested.

When you have time, could you specify exactly what you did and how you did it to overcome this? December is my last chance and going to law school (though most people say this) has been my dream for a long time. I canceled right about 20 mins. into Section 2 when I was only on mumber 3 because of this problem. I dont want to go through that again- it was heartbreaking.

For some odd reason, this happens to me at home, during the prep course I took, AND sadly on the October administration, when I get to the LR section, my eyes begin to GLAZE over the words and while I am technically reading the words that's all I am really reading- WORDS AND LETTERS.

I cant, no matter how hard I try, read for comprehension. It was something out of a nightmare. Many friends say they feel the same thing sometimes but yet they can complete the exam I cant. In the middle of it, I felt myself fighting but no matter what I did to regroup it wouldnt work- my eyes were just reading words and not meaning.

Im really scared this will happen again.

Im open to seeing a doctor about it but Im not sure if it's just nerves since it does happen at home. I recently oredered the LSAT proctor dvd to see if it's just not being used to the environment and stresses that come along with it but I wanted to reach out to LSD and see if anyone has any experience with this problem?

Thank you guys.

Thank you to everyone who has posted here.. I love you guys and I appreciate the thoughtful responses.