do you consider the January LSAT too late to apply for that cycle?

Hello dear community,

first of all, besides the high-quality content 7sage provides, I'd like to express my admiration for the positivity among the users on this platform, both in the discussion forum as well as in the comments etc. Definitely healthier to seek out for advice here compared to some other platforms (cough ... reddit ... cough).

My issue can be summarized into the following phrase: I have the suspicion that I am heading to LSAT-burnout.

In March, I quitted my previous job, got a new one in April and pushed my start date back to October in order to invest 5 months in the preparation for my applications for JD/MBA joint degree programs (which included LSAT, essays and some other stuff).

I've invested the vast majority of this time so far in the LSAT, started off with the core curriculum and untimed psets, and have done 16 timed PT's so far (including full review), averaging at 173 (took PT June07, 36, 37, 38, 39, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 80, 79, in that order). In parallel, I aim to read 15-20 articles of The Economist per week to practice understanding passages via the low resolution memory, and elongate & go over an vocab Excel-list consisting meanwhile of 800+ words (since I'm a non-native speaker and RC has been by far my weakest section).

Today I took PT 79, and had to realize that in sections 2-4 my brain was just running on auto-pilot mode, my mind was not 100% inside the test, I felt tired and exhausted. To my surprise, as opposed to the last 4 tests, my RC score wasn't that bad (-2) and that pushed the score up to 175 (seriously, don't ask me how this happened - I'll need to review the test, honestly I thought I totally, totally bombed RC this time). I believe that in the last 5-6 PTs I also felt kind of tired, but today it was really worse... I mean during the last section I even had impetus to just stand up and walk around rather than read even one more LR stimulus. For the last couple days, I also feel slower even when it comes to reviewing tests, and procrastinate a lot more compared to when I started...

I know, the obvious advice would be "take some days off". However, following worries keep me back from this:

I consciously chose to start later at my new firm (thereby creating opportunity costs in form of lost salary) for the LSAT. Therefore, I kind of tend to feel guilty every moment I do not do anything for the LSAT, and other people in my age work full-time.

I already was involved in LSAT prep (by far not full-time though) from September 2019 to April 2020, but did not really take it seriously and just kept burning PTs without reviewing them and without taking a rigorous preparation course. I decided to take these months off and do it correctly this time, and this decision increases the pressure I impose to myself to get a 175+ even more, since not achieving this would be a waste of my time (and maybe kind of an indication that my mental capabilities are simply not enough to get into Harvard, Yale or Stanford Law School).

I am not sure whether it is burnout or problems with sleep. For some time, I've been having issues with falling asleep at night, with the result that I've rarely gained sleep of 7+ hours. Therefore, in case it is sleep issues and not burnout, I'm afraid that this break will be unnecessary and won't do anything to face the potential root-cause of the problem.

As mentioned before, I am a non-native speaker. On top of that, I've never really been intrinsically motivated to read in my leisure time (be it for the sake of it, or in order to learn about what's happening in the world etc.). Therefore, I have the dilemma, in case I do decide to take a break, whether I should keep reading The Economist or not. On the one hand, RC is my weakest section and I feel like I need to improve on it and time is really running against me, therefore, ideally, I would have to utilize every single free second to improve my reading skills in English. On the other hand, investing time in an activity that I do not intrinsically perceive as "fun" would not really fulfill the purpose of taking a break...

That said, I would really appreciate it if you could give some answers to the following questions:

Does the above sound like LSAT burnout?

Have you ever had the above thoughts? If so, how did you cope with them?

What do you think is the best way to get into the routine of a fixed sleeping schedule (e.g. go to bed before midnight and wake up before 8 am)? For some time, I managed to go to bed before or around midnight, fall asleep relatively quickly and wake up at 8.30-9 am, but meanwhile I went back to the vicious cycle of not being able to go to bed before 1 am, staying in bed without being able to fall asleep for at least 2 hours, waking up at 9.30 am, being tired for the rest of the day though paradoxically fully energized at night... and so on. Do you have some tips for breaking that cycle for a longer time period?

Thanks in advance guys! As I said, I really appreciate the positivity of the 7sage community and try to give my advice wherever and whenever I can as well :) Excited to read your comments before going to the final stage of taking PT 82-90.

Hey y’all, I had something really strange happen to me and I’m wondering if this happened to someone else. I faced “connectivity issues” when I took the LSAT flex so I called the LSAC immediately after to request a makeup test that week - an option I only learned existed through this forum (their website says nothing about it). I called again on the makeup test day to ask why my request was denied and I was told on the phone by an LSAC representative that I was ineligible for a makeup because one of the sections on the makeup test was the exact same one I had on the test I took. I thought it was really odd that a makeup test would have a repeated section as this obviously denies some test takers the chance to sit for it should things go awry during the test. Has anyone else been told this by LSAC? What do you know about the eligibility criteria for a makeup test? The lack of transparency is deeply concerning.

Hi everyone, I am seeking some advice on what to approach first in regards to studying for the LSAT. I’m planning on taking the June 2022 LSAT and am start prepping to prep for it.

I bought the Manhattan prep books last year so I’ve been reading the RC , I found RC a bit difficult as I got 2/10 on the short exercises and it was mostly because I looked at the RC’s in a different perspective, although I did have the correct answers underlined. I was planning to enroll in the 7sage ultimate plus for additional support and instructions. However, is there a specific order that I need to study like would LG and LR possible make the RC’s clear? Any suggestions or tips?

Am I only one having trouble to access LR explanation video for early PTs?

Unlike LG and RC, I can't access to LR videos.

I had recently been going about taking PTS but rather untimed to see whether or not I'd be able to decipher the correct answer with the choices provided. On LR using this method I have gone -2 and -1, but I continue to struggle with timing. I possess the same issue with RC buts it way worse as I don't even have time to reach the the questions of the final passage before time expires. Any suggestions to improve on timing in these two sections?

Today was my third time writing the lsat. My previous attempts were around 150 so i completely changed up my studying technique. I was consistently scoring 160-165 all on PT before todays exam but my test anxiety was so high and someone in the office next to me was talking loudly so I feel like i bombed my final attempt. I think this may be the end of my journey to law school as I studied full time for four months and had accommodations and still became highly stressed and blanked during the actual exam.... so frustrating.

Title basically.

Hi, I started at a 142 and am currently PTing between 155-157. Any advice on how to break out of this? My goal is a 165 by October.

I need to definitely work on logic games timing, but any overall tips would be helpful. Or any books/course/tutors!

This is something I wish I could tell my younger self when I first started off studying. When I first started, I had this mindset of "If I study 5 hours a day and do 100 questions... yeah I'll definitely crush this exam." Yeah, I was definitely cocky with that mentality and now I realize how foolish I was back then to think that haha. But the reason for that is much of our exams in college and high school were fueled by this kind of approach. Whether it be a biology exam or history exam, if you memorized a fact, YOU KNOW and can regurgitate that on paper. "What year was the Declaration of Independence signed? Oooh easy, 1776!"

The LSAT is different. It is less a content exam and more of a skills exam. The exam tests very specific skills that, if you hone them well, will serve you extremely well come test day.

For example, in Logical Reasoning, it is all about evaluating the argument. What does it mean to evaluate the argument? It means you have to be able to find the Conclusion, identify the Premises, pause and think about any assumptions being made, and then figuring out why the correct answer is correct while all the others are bad. To be able to do all this quickly is a skill and the most critical skill on the section.

When I started off, I didn't think much about the above and my basis for success came down to how many questions I got right on a problem set. "Yes, I got 4 out of 5 right! I'm ready for this man!" But the I would just keep getting the same low score over and over and over.

The problem was that I may have gotten the correct answer a few times but I never fully understood why nor did I fully integrate the correct processes to be able to get them consistently right.

The best example is shooting a basketball. I was lucky enough to hit a few shots in a row but come game day, I couldn't hit them consistently time and time again. The only way to make this work is to make sure you integrated the correct processes into your brain so that it is seamless. That's why players like Steph Curry no long think when they shoot. They just shoot because the skill is so embedded in them.

That's where you want to be in LSAT prep. It is far more beneficial for you to take the time to figure just what skills the LSAT is testing and then figuring out the methods to consistently practice those skills over and over.

Your goal should not be "I want to finish 50 questions in 3 hours," but rather "Did I understand just these 5 questions and how to correctly approach them next time?" The latter is far more beneficial and will serve you well because the LSAT repeats the same concepts over and over. The same flaws, the same games, the same RC passages come up over and over. If you could to figure out the best way to tackle these problems the first time around and integrate them, you'll be ready to ace them without blinking the next time you see them.

I just finished by Blind Review for PT 69 and got a 162 actual and a 180 on my blind review, something I've never done before. Before that I was averaging around a 160 with a 170/172 BR. I would go over questions I got wrong in depth, watching JY's explanation videos and such until I was sure I understood why the right answer was correct

I am so happy with these improvements because I got a 159 on the June test and I am retaking in October to hopefully hit a 163. I want to stay motivated and continue to see progress.

Should I continue doing timed practice every other day and blind reviewing, or should I include other forms of studying as well? I have 100% free time from now until mid-September. I'm leaning towards timed practice (i.e., practice tests) since clearly my weakness is the timing.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated! thanks so much

I just finished my first ever LSAT and have a rough impression of how I did on each section relative to the others and relative to my usual PT performance on each section type. But will I be able to confirm this impression with more specificity when I get my results? As in, do score reports actually detail the number of questions right/wrong per section? Or do they only report the final overall score out of 180?

I took the august flex this past weekend, it was my second time taking the lsat. I really have no clue how I did but everyone seems to be saying that it was a hard test which is making me nervous. Im worried Im gonna get the same score or worse, but then again I could have done better. The registration due date for October is before scores get released... if I sign up for October but am content with my score can I cancel and get refunded? Or If I want to retake can I take it in November and still apply on time? thanks

Those of you who have managed to study while working full time.. how long did it take you to reach your dream score? any tips/advice on time management/ study schedule?

Hi,

I am a non-native speaker of English. The RC is my weakness. Right now I am -6 to-8 in RC. I am looking for a good tutor.

If anybody wants to join, I created a meeting link below. As the title states it is Monday, August 16th 5:30pm MST, 90 minute session.

meet.google.com/mgo-zmvo-prv

Looking at this forum it seems people want to study with others, but a lot of the meeting links are dead or don't give specific meeting times, therefore I am creating a meeting time. (do you like my conclusion indicator :)

This first session will focus on LR and it will last about 90 minutes. We will do some LR questions so there is nothing to prep for, just show up and participate. I am not a tutor, just someone looking to work on practice problems with others. I am scoring around 154 on PTs so there is plenty for me to work on.

If you can join, cool. If not, all good I will try to do another soon.

Within the last week, I've taken ten practice tests. Three of them were in the high 150s, two in the low 160s, three in the high 160s, and two in the 170s. I do not understand why my test scores are varying so wildly; maybe it is a time of day or confidence thing? My average across all the tests on each of the three sections is around -5 for LG/RC and -4 for LG, so it's not that one of my sections is particularly weaker than the others.

I'm taking the test on Tuesday and it's really psyching me out that I could end up scoring 157 or I could end up scoring 173. Did anyone else experience something similar? What do you think could be the biggest reasons for it?

Does anybody know the deadline of registration for the October LSAT, as well as the specific time it will be administered on the day? Knowing the time in advance will greatly help by allowing me to make adjustments in my study schedule as early as possible.

Thank you!

I took the November 2020 LSAT and scored a 160. Since then I've gone through the 7sage CC for LR and LG. I've taken 3 practice tests in the last week and my scores keep dropping (i.e. 166-->163-->162). Should I slow down on the practice tests? The toughest section for me by far is LG (-8 average) and my best section is LR followed by RC. I will most likely take the October 2021 LSAT and am aiming for a 172. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you!

Hi, I have been starring LR & LG questions I want to re-do. How do I find them on 7sage?

Have you noticed that you score better on sections and PTs at a particular time?

I seem to score better in the evenings, though I have on signed up for my LSATs in the mornings (9:30)

In the mornings, I'm groggy - but when I feel good, I do well because I have more energy.

In the evenings I seem to be more focused and 'in flow' - but I am afraid of being tired by the time my test rolls around.

What are your observations?

I take the exam on Sunday and don't plan on doing much before then. I do want to drill some misc. LG games though that have been weird or just hard (LG is my best section) just to keep my brain fresh and prepared. Anyone know any?

I've thought about this for a little while, and decided I'd just go ahead and ask. Anybody test with a mac, and have the Doc on their mac be an issue. It seems random, but once while doing a Practice Test, I went to input the correct answer choice and accidentally pushed open an application from the doc on the bottom of my screen. I'm trying to temporarily remove it, but don't see how I can. I moved it to the left of my screen and made it smaller, but was wondering what other folks have done. Or is this a non-issue with the Proctor taking over my screen?

You got this!!!

Hi everyone, hope you're all doing well.

I will be taking the LSAT on Tuesday and have been studying for 4 months intensely. My prep-test averages ranged from 162-169 up until last week and this week, they've dropped down to 157-163. I'm not sure what happened? I did start using LawHub to get more familiar with it, and started my PTs in the 80s. I had been doing the ones in 60s and 70s before that. From your experience, would the drop in my score be because of the more recent prep-tests? I'm not sure what to do as I'm testing this Tuesday.... It's very frustrating because my LR today was a -11 when up until last week, the lowest I was scoring was -5 or -4.