Hi guys!

Sorry this may be a long post but I am in need of MOTIVATION for studying for the LSAT. My story basically starts with me idiotically investing a TON of money to study for the LSAT through Kaplan. Long story short, I did not do my research on the course and although I'm sure it works fabulous for some people, I personally did not make ANY gains throughout the course. Being totally honest, I feel like a lot of their strategies confused me more. Fast forward to late October right before the LSAT, I was BURNT. Not only do I not feel like I learned a lot, the sessions were at a minimum one hour long and I felt drained. In the worst timing possible, I felt like I couldn't retain anything and was not making gains! I got a 147 on the LSAT and am now planning on applying for next years cycle because I don't think I have the energy needed to make significant enough gains by January to be accepted by my ideal schools nevertheless get scholarship money from them. I feel like I need motivation to start studying again (would love some success stories from possibly previous Kaplan students or other courses or 140ers?) as well as easing my fear that it's too late! I'm 24 and would have been starting law school at 25 and for some reason (I'm sure idiot) but starting that late seems daunting to me. Any other experiences with this?

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help!

Hi everyone! I need a little advice and I was hoping someone could help me out.

This is my second year applying to law school. Last year I scored a 155 on the September 2019 LSAT, and didn't get accepted anywhere. This time around, I've been doing 7Sage for 4 months, getting through 90% of the core curriculum and doing a bunch of practice tests. I wrote the November 2020 LSAT-Flex and scored a 160. I was a little disappointed in my score when I first got it, because I thought I had scored around 163-164 on the test. Now, I've pretty much come to terms with it.

I'm wondering whether I should rewrite the LSAT in January 2021. I'm applying to Canadian law schools (specifically Ontario ones) and I have a 3.87 GPA. I'm also really confident in my personal essays. All of the schools I've applied to have minimum LSAT scores of 155-157, or median scores of 161.

Is it worth it to rewrite the test in January? Or should I be confident in my 160 and hope for the best?

I just finished sending in my applications so now I have nothing to do until I start school next fall. Is the 7Sage Law School Course worth it to prepare for law school/have something to do?

Yes, I am suggesting you take a shower - First thing in the morning. I’m not suggesting this for cleanliness (though that is pretty important).

I want you to shower because it makes you alert - significantly more alert than before you shower. Be sure to get the the warm or hot water in your face. It revitalizes you and makes you less groggy.

Shower first thing in the morning every day - particularly when studying and before a PT. In addition, showering is a habit that you anchor in to reinforce that you’re ready for your day.

On days when I wait to get a few things done before showering, I inevitably realize I’m moving and thinking slower than I’d like - I need that shower to be more alert. This is even after a great night of sleep (and I’m all about sleep for peak performance).

Some people are “night showerers.” To them I recommend trying to shower in the morning - particularly with warm or hot water. You can keep your night shower, of course. But warm or hot shower in the morning will help make you alert.

Especially during Covid, people can feel inclined not to shower because they aren’t leaving the house. But don’t make this mistake. Give this a try. You’ll feel more alert. My students who try it definitely see the difference in PT scores and ability to focus while studying! I literally had a student tell me it changed her life :)

#help

Site Administrators, is there a way I can choose which LR section I want to include as part of my Flex PT on 7Sage? Currently, it defaults to the first LR section, but I'm cycling through PTs I've taken already in "Flex" mode and would like to be able to choose the 2nd section sometimes. If it's not currently available, I think it would be a helpful feature to have.

Please let me know, thanks!

I am almost through the LR core curriculum and took my second PT and not seeing much improvement in the LR section specifically which I was hoping for.

Diagnostic:

Actual-148

BR-153

PT50:

Actual-153

BR-167

My best section is LG and worst is LR....Anyone have any strategies on how to improve on LR? I am looking to get into the mid-160s but am unsure if that is possible given my progress, granted every section I did run out of time which is what killed me.

Hello all,

I would like to start by saying I am not a tutor my any means--I'm just another 7sage student. But I have worked with an expensive LSAT tutor, and I am currently PT'ing 173-175 with a 170 on my November take (my test was interrupted by connection issues and one of my roomates unexpectedly coming home). I PT'd in the mid 160's for several months and saw no progress during that time, which was brutal and made me seriously consider giving up on scoring in the 170s. But with some small adjustments, a mindset change, and working with a fellow 7sager who was scoring in the mid-170s consistently, I was able to break out of the plateau. I truly believe working one on one with other students, especially during BR, is the fastest way to improve. It forces you to explain your thinking and actually engage with the BR process. If anybody would be interested in working together, just send me a private message with your email or your number, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Good luck everyone!!!

Edit: A lot of people have contacted, so I will try my best to put everyone in touch with each other to maybe make a study/accountability group!

I did it, you can too! I started my prep in August and was able to quit my job to study full time. "Wasted" 3 weeks on free resources and then jumped on 7Sage. Scored 163 in October and 173 on the November test.

Everyone is different, some need a year or more and some can cram it in a shorter period. I didn't come across many stories of people doing it in a short time period when I was going through my prep which was discouraging since I couldn't afford spending anything more than a few months. So, wanted to share my story in case you're in the same situation as I was. Keep it up and stay calm :)

Thank you 7sage!

After more than two and a half years of studying, I scored a 179 on the November exam and I can finally put the LSAT to bed.

To give a little context, my LSAT journey began with a 147 diagnostic. I studied from a couple other sources, such as the PowerScore bibles, but got nowhere. After I found 7sage, completed the CC, and drilled weaknesses, I was about a year and a half into my LSAT prep and averaging in the mid-160s. I remained stuck at that plateau for months, unable to make any more progress no matter how much I drilled and blind-reviewed. Although LR still gave me some trouble, RC was what consistently kept me out of the 170s. At this point, I realized that there was something that I just wasn't getting, so I needed a tutor. I ended up working with @Sami who is an absolutely exceptional tutor, deserving of every bit of praise she gets on this forum and more. She showed me how I was approaching RC incorrectly, gave me advice for how to decide between two contender answer choices, worked with me on timing strategies, and so much more. I absolutely believe that without her tutelage I probably would still be fumbling around and only breaking into the 170s with luck. Thank you Sami!!

Once I was consistently hitting scores in the low 170s, I felt confident and signed up for the May LSAT-FLEX. During the RC section of that test, my connection to Proctor U was interrupted and I was kicked out of the test. I lost a lot of time, couldn't properly recover, and scored a 166. I was dejected, but I knew it was a fluke. So, I focused on preparing for the next FLEX administration.

During that test, everything seemed like it was going well at first, but once again something happened with Proctor U and my proctor could not see me. This resulted in the proctor calling me during the timed section. The connection was bad, so the call went dead. I called back, and we played phone tag for a bit. I ended up scoring a 167. At this point, I was angry at Proctor U and the entire LSAT-FLEX set up. I needed a break, so I did not even register for the August exam.

After registering for the October test, I began working in a study group with @DINOSAUR and @Christopherr both of whom are exceptionally talented, hard working, and insightful when working through questions. I took the October exam feeling much better, had no technical issues, and scored 171. I initially was going to call it a day after finally breaking the 170 barrier, but my study group encouraged me to give it one last go in November. To say that I am grateful I took their advice would be an understatement.

I am extremely grateful to the 7sage community at large and all the people who ever answered a question for me, posted helpful guides, or led free blind-reviews calls and tutoring sessions.

To that end, I will be working to put together my own guides in the near future for RC, since that is the section that I struggled with the most. If people are interested, I will make similar guides for other sections. Once I get the last of my applications out, I also intend to do some free group tutoring sessions to give back to the community in some small way. Feel free to let me know what type of thing that you feel would be most helpful below!

Thank you!

Hi everyone!

I'm a consistent high 170's-180 scorer that is looking to expand outwards and tutor others, both as a learning experience and a way to see if I'm any good at this haha.

Although I'm not by any means an experienced teacher, I want to offer some free group sessions where I would go through sections and provide my thought process on each of the questions.

If you're looking for something more individualised, I'd love offer some (also) free individual 30-minute-ish sessions where I would try my best to identify problem sections and help you chart a way forward. If we click, maybe we can organise something more long-term!

Of the three sections, LR is where I have the most comprehensive (and possibly insightful) knowledge, so if that's a problem for you, please hit me up!

Hope you're all having a great day, and please let me know if you're interested!

(Btw, I'm in Korea, so the timezones might be a bit screwed up)

I started LSAT preparation with 7Sage back in May, and I started with around -10 to -16 on RC. Having Chinese as my native language, I really coudn't see a way of improving RC since I had serious trouble just to understand the passage itself. 7Sage's low-res and main point method was incredibly helpful for me, and JY gave detailed explanations for each LSAT, which was even more helpful for me since my problem was not being able to comprehend the passages. After bombing my July test, I came back with a 11-point increase to a 173 on August-flex, and eventually ended up with this 176 on November-flex.

I would like to thank 7Sage and JY particularly for making this improvement possible. Lastly, here's a note for all fellow non-native speakers: trust yourself and really try hard for it, we as non-native speakers can achieve a 175+!

Sat down to do my writing sample last night (because I'm a procrastinator/didn't have stable wifi access before now) and 12 minutes in it crashes. Called PSI tech support and was on hold for an hour before I gave up and went to bed. Called PSI again first thing the next morning and they canceled my old writing session. Then I had to call LSAC and wait 35 minutes on hold, they give me a new link for LSAT Writing but tell me the link won't work until 9PM and that if I want access sooner I need to call PSI and have them unlock it. So I call PSI, and am on the phone with them for an hour and a half only to find out they can't unlock it and that I should call LSAC and have them unlock it?! So back on the phone with LSAC, one hour later and the representative just tells me I should try again in a few days "to be safe" but that if I wanted to take it it won't be open until 12PM tomorrow now. Is this real life or a sick game? Either way, likely won't get a score until Christmas at this rate. Rant over - just really had to get that out.

The process of studying for the LSAT is rigorous. To use a well worn phrase, it’s a “marathon, not a sprint.” I appreciate and respect the journey my students go on because I’ve been there myself. There are certainly moments of self-doubt. Indeed, you're taking a bit of a gamble because while you’re maximizing everything reasonable you can do to prepare, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get the target score you want (You’ll likely improve significantly, otherwise I wouldn’t be in this business, but with all the working parts and factors involved, there are just no guarantees).

I often find myself counseling students on how to manage their emotions and stay grounded as they move through this process. (It’s actually one of my favorite parts of the job). Throughout this process, I’ve discovered stoicism - a practical philosophy where you can apply logic to get more out of life (Who knew this logic stuff would be so useful even after the LSAT? ;) Stoicism has been a valuable resource to my students and frankly it’s been a wonderful discovery in my own life.

For this reason I highly recommend The Daily Stoic. Each day you can look at an entry for that specific date on the calendar and it will give you a piece of advice based on stoicism. Because the LSAT study process is such a marathon, it’s nice to start your day with a piece of advice that can keep you grouned.

I love this book so much I’ve given a copy to family and friends. Check it out. It’s pretty inexpensive and it’s nice to have some thing like this to start your day with or turn to if you’re having a tough time. I keep my copy right on my breakfast table so I can look at the day’s entry while drinking coffee. It sets the day!

Where can i find the video explanation for the problems in the problem sets listed in the course

Is "but" a premise or conclusion indicator?

They used to until the last couple of tests I took. Particularly "weaken questions problem sets" 8 and 9 so far.

Was anyone able to finish the LR section from question 11 onward? it was blank for me after Q10

So, I checked my score yesterday and was rather happy to see a higher score than I anticipated. I got a 159 but felt on actual test day that I really dropped the ball, specifically on the LG section, and was expecting below a 155. Though last cycle the two schools I am most interested in attending maintained a median LSAT score of a 159, this cycle, both have increased to a 163 while 159 has dropped to their 25th percentiles. I intend to retake in January with the hopes of seeing a significant increase and still being able to apply this cycle. However, I don't know whether I should keep my score or cancel? Pls help.

Honestly, I still can’t believe this is my score! Hopefully my story out there can help others like me keep fighting! Sorry if it’s all over the place!

I started studying for the LSAT back in 2017 while in college! At first I tried doing self studying, but at the time I really was not focusing and able to learn that way. I bought so many books and just couldn’t do them at the time. I also ended up doing a really expensive class that personally did not help for me. I started with a 139 and highest i got on the actual LSAT was a 146. It was about a 3 month long crash course. Not for me, maybe now with my current score would have been nice to do. But not for early on studies. It really sucked seeing everyone else learning and excelling while it felt like I was left behind. Which also did not help. I studied for about a year at this point of my story. PS. DO NOT compare yourself. Easier said than done, but it was a big reason I didn’t go farther. I didn’t believe in myself, which did not allow me to get the score I knew I could get. This exam is a confidence exam big time!

Since money was/is a huge factor for me, I know I couldn’t go to law school yet. I had no idea what to do next. I looked at my options and decided to do TFA (Teach for America) and am still teaching (in year 3). I basically took most of my first year off and started studying around February 2019. So it has been a little over a year gap since i last studied. Since I was working full time I really studied on and off. Studied full time over the summer off (teacher perk). I realized over the summer that I was not quite ready to take the LSAT. I really wanted to apply last cycle, but knew from the past there wasn’t a point to rush it. It did not work last time, and with working full time I thought best to wait it off. So I made a decision to continue studying and apply this cycle.

I finished the 7Sage curriculum around December of 2019. I have always been naturally good at games, typically no more then -5. RC has always been my downfall (-10/-12), and LR for a long time too I had issues in (-10/-11). I went through so many different routes. I went from CC straight to PTs. When that wasn’t working I did some research and decided to just practice untimed sections and slowly get faster. Honestly, most things did not work. While at this point I was consistently scoring in the low 150s, it wasn’t much higher than the 150 start that I started with in 2019.

Fast forward COVID hit in 2020 and my score was not improving. Over the summer off I was studying from the Loophole book. No offense to 7sgae, but I learned so much more from there personally! It taught me how to think like JY. 10/10 recommend this. I started seeing more consistency with my score at like a 153. Untimed I consistently only got wrong about 5. July 2020 i took my first exam since about November of 2017. I got my score of a 156. Had never scored that way ever until the exam!! I was beyond excited. But I know the work wasn’t done. I decided that hopefully the last time I will ever have to take the exam would be November 2020.

However, between July and November teaching took over my life. When I mean I sacrificed a lot, I mean a lot. Luckily everyone around me was really understanding and have a great support system. I couldn’t work out, see friends most weeks, it was brutal. I would work, study for 2-3 hours and basically go home to shower, eat, and go to bed for the next day. Honestly this was the hardest part. It was a huge sacrifice that I didn’t want to continue doing. This is the mental game with this exam, it takes a lot from you. Especially when I have been on the journey on and off for 3 years now. Also a teacher during this time has been extremely difficult. So I found myself tired most days, not really learning anything.

I went Into July feeling Not prepared. The highest I was PTing was a 160, but typically a 158. However, I went into it as relaxed as possible. I didn’t study about 2 days before the exam. I woke up at my normal time on exam day, walked to a local coffee shop, and did things that made me happy that have been taken away because of the LSAT. I think that’s a huge reason I did so well. Mental breaks are needed using this exam!

I saw my score of a 163. Honestly, I was BRing in this area, but never received this score. Don’t know if the fatigue didn’t allow me to ever get this score or what, but I am SO thankful that I pulled it together last minute.

Sorry for my story being all over the place or not detailed. I just want to end with this: don’t give up. I had so many obstacles and doubts and I pulled through. This has by far been the hardest thing I’ve had to do, especially with how long I studied. But to get that score has been so worth it. For the schools I want to apply to, this guarantees big scholarships to these schools and that is what I needed. 7Sage and everything it was has been such a big help! Good luck to those still on their journey, one day you will be the one writhing this post!

LR consistently 7 wrong, not restricted to any question type in particular (My Method is complete recognition of question type and go from there with my set processes). RC is mixed but anywhere from 6 to 13 wrong and LG is also mixed with best 3 wrong but usually around 6 wrong per section. Any Advice? I Don't blind review that much cause I personally haven't found it super helpful but I look through and try to see where I went wrong. I have been studying for 6 + months and my target goal is 165 but it's just not happening. Thanks!

Hi everyone! Writing to look for some advice on a well-paced/balanced 12 week studying schedule or general approach in anticipation of the LSAT Flex exam in April 2021. It's 5 months away but I know I will need to take advantage of all the time that I can get leading up to the exam day.

For context -- I took the LSAT twice in 2018 (140 and 141 - YIKES). The scores were lower than my first diagnostic (~156). I studied extensively for both of those exams and projected to be around the 160s while working full time. How did the 20 point delta happen BOTH times? I wish I could tell you. I was mortified to say the least and I put law school on hold knowing that I would be taking a few gap years anyways. I didn't believe in myself anymore and knew I needed time to rest. I was burnt out. I realized that I rushed the process. There are also about a million different things I would do differently to make sure the bad studying habits don't transfer this time.

Fast forward ~2 years -- I'm still working full time but I've since relocated jobs and cities. I've grown a lot as an individual and I know my limits now. I'm ready to get back in the game.

My goal score is a 168.

Question for the community - how should I pace myself moving forward if I were to begin say 12/12 to April 2021?

I'm attempting to approach this studying cycle as if I've never seen a LSAT question before. I'm sure a few muscle memory tricks may come back to me but I've largely forgotten a lot of concepts. I would love to hear what has worked and not worked for y'all to get a better sense as to how to create a more regimented schedule for myself.

Hey everyone, I am just trying to understand how the LSAT writing section works. Is it something that is optional or do most schools require it?

I'm honestly a little sad today, I got back my November LSAT score and it was around 20 points lower than what I was scoring and what my goal was. I think that last time I got a score this bad was when I was starting out and when I didn't have any knowledge of the test. Just one big fail.

I signed up for January and I'm just going to pick up where I left off. Any tips?

I'm feeling a little discouraged.

So I took both the October and November LSATs, in October I got a 155 and Nov I got a 150. I'm trying to decide what to do now. Should I sign up for the January LSAT and take that to get my score higher? Or should I apply with my score now. For reference I am applying to schools in D.C., Boston, Utah, and California. Some people have told me to email admissions offices and ask them what I should do. Is that the best course of action? Thanks!

I have the loophole, but quit after the explanations just confused me. Any other suggestions on books to add to my regime? Particularly to improve LR.

Thanks!