Hi!
To give a little background information , I have taken the LSAT multiple times and haven't scored higher than the mid 130's. I'm honestly not sure where to begin, how long to study, or if I should i purchase a tutor? I've taken a year off from studying to clear my mind and now I'm wanting to start back studying again, so I purchased 7 sage self pace study plan. The only thing is I am a hands on learner. I do plan to take the LSAT in fall of 2027; which i do have accommodations for, with extra time and removal of the experiential section. My overall LSAT goal is 150's or higher but I'm just not sure where to begin. I don't want to give up on my dream for law school nor give up on the LSAT!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :)
Thank you!
16 comments
I think you should start with "loophole", its really important in building the foundations, and you should do all the exercises. I think to get to a 150 you just need to understand the foundations.
@MaryOlaletan Thank you!! i bought the book but never used it yet because i felt so overwhelmed and wasn't sure where to start! Have you used loophole before?
@TeeS. Hi, I know you weren't asking me but the LH is a great resource for you. The writing isn't condescending, she explains everything very thoroughly and if you take your time working through it you will be rewarded for your hard work. The key here is to take your time and not move on from a chapter until you 100% understand it. Scoring in 130s suggests you will benefit from reading really any LR textbook. For RC, the biggest thing you can do to help yourself is to pick up reading as a hobby.
Good luck, you will do amazing on this test!!!
@Rubyjesuslover thank you soo much ! I really appreciate it ! I will look into Loophole and the fundamentals here on 7sage!
Hi! I just wanted to reach out after reading your post to share my experience with you. I was in a very similar position, and I remember how overwhelming it felt to not know where to even begin.
I took a diagnostic last year where I scored a 134, and it took a LOT of work to get myself consistently into the 150–160 range. The LSAT is absolutely learnable!
One thing I would gently suggest is being selective about the advice you take from the discussion board. There is a lot of genuinely helpful information here, but I also remember feeling like some of the advice I was reading didn't really account for what it feels like to start below 140. Some of it can feel a little overwhelming or, at times, out of touch. You absolutely do NOT need to follow everyone's advice. Take what resonates with you, leave what doesn't, and don't let a bunch of different opinions make you feel like you need to do ten things at once.
I also saw that someone already recommended The Loophole by Ellen Cassidy, and I completely agree with that recommendation. That was actually the first resource I used, and I genuinely think it could help you tremendously with LR.
I would also be a little cautious about giving yourself such a huge amount of time without building in some structure and consistency. Having a long timeline can definitely be a blessing, but sometimes when we have too much time, it's easier to lose momentum or let studying become inconsistent. Sometimes we really do need a little fire under our butts to get us where we want to go 😂. You absolutely don't need to rush yourself, but I would make sure your timeline has enough structure to keep you accountable.
Spend most of your practice really learning how to get those 1–2 star questions right and understanding why you're getting each question right or wrong. Once you're consistently comfortable there, you can gradually work your way into harder questions, timed sections, and full PTs.
I approached it something like this:
Fundamentals first (again, The Loophole is a great starting point for LR)
Work slowly and prioritize accuracy in the beginning.
Understand WHY you're getting each question right or wrong
I'm obviously not a professional or an expert, so please take everything I say as just one person's experience. I wanted to reach out because I know what it feels like to see a 134 staring back at you and wonder if you'll ever get where you want to be; I wanted to report to you: yes, you absolutely can!
I actually took a break after my January score (had to focus on graduating and moving cities) and didn't start studying again until last month; let me tell you... Getting the rust off is VERY hard 😂! I wouldn't recommend it! But it honestly reminded me just how much consistency matters with this test.
Please feel free to message me anytime if you want to talk through studying, resources, or just need someone who understands the struggle. I'm rooting for you and sending you so much love and encouragement from H-town! 💞💞💞
You've got this. Seriously.
@hadisa Awhh thank you so much!! I really appreciate it! This was very much needed!! You don’t even know! 😭 I’ve taken about over a year off from the LSAT, from my last test because it was just too much on me but now I wanna start back up and give it my all! so I definitely understand having that for lol! But thank you again!! I will be messaging you soon!! 🤎
i am on the same boat with my score.
I noticed a big change when I was more consistent with studying at least 30 min a day. I always enjoy someone teaching me 1 on 1 and i recently changed to 7sage and feel it has mimicked that very well. Give yourself grace, its a process. Practice makes perfect and it would not be a bad idea to reach out for a tutor at least once! God bless, wishing you the best!
@EdnaJMandell Thank you!! and you got this!! WE GOT THIS!! I've looked and had a tutor but i still scored in 130's, but I will definitely keep my options open!! Wishing you the best as well! God Bless!!
Try not to pressure yourself as you are developing.
A mistake I made early on was studying too much, which reinforced bad habits or flawed thinking.
Take things slowly going over one concept at a time, making sure you fully understand each part before moving on.
Do not do too much in one day or a short span of time, you need to allow yourself to absorb the content and not lose it by trying to do too much.
@NoNamed92 Thank you!!
Scoring in the 130s, especially mid, shows that you are having trouble understanding almost everything you are reading. I would pause studying LR/RC and go right to the grammar section and thoroughly review that, especially if English is not your first language. So many questions on the LSAT is a word soup of confusion that even high levels of readers have trouble understanding. The grammar section is amazing!
@rwhyan thank you!!
I think the core curriculum here on 7sage would really help you. Go through the entire foundations section, take notes, and make sure you understand something before you move on. Then start with the logical reasoning section of the lesson, and same thing; take notes and dig deeper if you don't grasp something. I really see no point in you taking PTs or drills or anything until you do this. It's just wasting valuable material and time and effort when you don't grasp the fundamentals. Throughout the logical reasoning lessons it has you try Qs throughout so you're still getting practice in.
If you finish all of the lessons (fundamentals, LR, &. RC) on here and are still scoring lower than you'd like, try out the Loophole or the Powerscore Bibles. Sometimes different ways of teaching unlocks something that was stuck.
You got this! Don't give up or be down on yourself.
@lawkittycat thank you soo much!! I did buy the core curriculum. I wanna start off with foundation / fundamentals 1st then move into LR & RC like you mentioned!
Just seems like you need to take your time to really get an idea of the core concepts and question stems of the LSAT. In my opinion with just that alone you can comfortably score above a 140 without anything else. There are just certain ways we need to think about different questions that is not the typical way we would think about them.
I would recommend spend a good amount of time watching the core curriculum videos from the very beginning and learning all about conditional logic, question stems, and core concepts. That's how I begun studying before I did any questions and that really helped me tackle the questions.
If you are going to take in fall of 2027, you have more than enough time to score in the 160's and 70's, best of luck!
@vlee05 Thank you so much!! i will definitely look into the watching core curriculum videos! Do you know if the 7sage study plan compressive has those videos or where i can find them by chance?