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Hi,
Thank you for writing. Please keep in mind that the true benefit of practice tests is in what you learn from them. To that end, we should ask:
1) How was your pacing on the practice test? Did you leave many questions unanswered? There's a huge penalty for unanswered questions so that could be a pretty significant reason, and people also tend to make quite a few mistakes when they need to rush to get back on track with timing.
2) To that point, what mistakes did you make? For the questions you got wrong, did you miss them because:
-You didn't know how to do them
-You made a common mistake
-You had to guess because you were short on time
And for those that you missed due to mistakes or lack of knowledge, what categories did they fall into? Did you tend to miss algebra questions more than any other? Or sentence correction more than other verbal types?
Categorizing and explaining your mistakes helps you to better focus your study.
3) What else can you learn from the test?
-Did you struggle toward the end of sections because you were mentally tired or your head was just spinning?
-Did you rush through parts of the test that, now that you look at it, would have been manageable had you allowed yourself to relax?
-Did you employ strategies throughout, or were there sections through which you realize now you were just going on instinct?
-Was it simply different doing questions on a computer screen and not in the book?
That experience with the test is a good one - now you have a blueprint for how you perform under those conditions and you can start to work on that.
The more specific and targeted you can be in your study, the more progress you'll make and the more confident you'll be that you've conquered some key areas for yourself. Ultimatley, the score on the test isn't nearly as important as what you learn from it, so we urge you to run through that test while it's still fresh so that you can start game planning your next few study sessions.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Jenny & The Veritas Prep Team
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