I wanted to make sure I was doing correctly, are we supposed to BR every question immediately after done or just the ones we had troubled/skipped?

Hi all,

I recently upgraded to a new Mac with the silicon M1 chip. Any tech-savvy people know if I might have any issues with proctor U? I've heard that some software has issues because of the new chips

Hi guys, I’m a little confused with how the study schedule is set up. I know it starts with core curriculum but when I build a schedule it makes it so the only “lessons” in the last months are practice tests. Is that really how I should be studying or should I incorporate other things like drills and what not towards those last few months or should I truly just be taking full length tests and blind reviewing? Thanks in advance

Hello , I have finished the CC and taken the PTs up to 42 so far. I will most likely do the April Flex and wanted to know how many and which PTs should I take for score improvement (~15pts) . I do not want to take the flex without having enough pts under my belt and also was concerned about saving some in case of a retake. Thanks so much!

Hello Everyone!

After looking at the results of the poll I put up about what sort of free tutoring opportunities people would like to see, it is clear that (by a relatively small margin) the people have spoken and BR calls for full length PTs has a plurality of support. Therefore, that is what I shall do. I want to involve students as much as possible, so here is another poll. You let me know what era of PT would be most helpful and I will select one from that era that I think presents particularly noteworthy pedagogical opportunities (likely a challenging RC section among other things). Once I have these results, i'll make an announcement with more details, a PT choice, and a date within a day or two! Thank you!

Wanted to do a study write-up because I read a bunch of these while I was preparing for the LSAT, hope it helps a couple of people. I began studying in January, diagnostic of 148, then took Aug-Oct-Nov (163, 163, 167)

Study materials: LSAT Trainer, PowerScore Bibles, Loophole, Blueprint for RC, 7Sage. I think these were all great resources, and even the ones that weren’t necessary taught me a couple of things that helped out in the long run. HIGHLY recommend 7Sage—JY’s videos are unparalleled and the subscription is comparatively cheap. Also listened to the PowerScore and 7Sage podcasts, which I found really helpful. As an aside, not going to post link, but online library websites do have a majority of free PT PDF’s if you are not planning on getting them through LSAC.

LG: My strongest section, all due to 7Sage. I averaged -0 pretty early on in my prep, even though I did notice I was slower at grouping games for some reason. I pretty much did every logic game at least once, and then re-worked the ones I struggled with. Key for me was to get really good at making inferences up-front and splitting whenever possible, learning when to do so became natural after lots of practice and drilling. Find the split-node, and just do it— I know you might be worried about timing issues but: accuracy > speed, and in the end I was usually faster when I split. Work on conditional logic, it is necessary if you want to score below a -5 in the section; if you read unless or [either or, but not both] and don’t immediately think negate sufficient/bi-conditional, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Get good at chaining up rules, especially for in-out games and linear. I also was soooo worried about having a Misc. game come up on my first test, so I spent alot of time working on them even though I didn’t get any on any of my three tests; take a look at the classic Misc. games, but try not to get too caught up in them, focus on mastering linear and grouping games first. Also, do not fret over skipping a hard question and going back later. I routinely entered the fourth game having skipped around five questions that I just didn’t seem to understand quickly, and after I went back at the end I was able to figure it out easily. Always keep moving and don’t get stuck, whether it is in regards to a singular hard question or a game that is difficult.

LR: Second best section, didn’t really struggle on a specific question type‚ it was more of an overall missing the harder questions. I really liked Loophole, and how it built on the Core Curriculum foundation I had through 7Sage—I would definitely recommend the book. I made a big jump late in my studies from averaging about -5 to -1 after listening to one of 7Sage’s podcasts, I don’t remember exactly which episode it was but it was one of the first five. JY and a student were talking about their speed and skipping strategy in LR, and it was something I focused on and it was arguably the biggest thing I did to raise my score. I felt confident enough that I could zoom through the first ten questions, usually in about 5-6 minutes where It took me about thirty seconds a question (confidence is key). I slowed down a bit towards the middle of the section, and often skipped three or four questions that were difficult, but I would have about ten minutes or so to basically do a second run through of all the questions, which is where I would pick up on mistakes, or use the extra time to figure out a tough question. It takes time for you to build up that speed, and you definitely have to be making sure you aren’t missing any of those first ten, but if you figure out the cookie-cutter and simple questions at the beginning without second guessing yourself, you’ll have so much extra time left over at the end. Learn the classic flaws, get good at conditional logic, and work on your skipping!!

RC: My enemy. I tried everything for this section; I bought every RC book from every test-prep company, I blind-reviewed, I slowed down, I sped up and read passages twice, and the lowest score I was able to get was -4, and it definitely wasn’t consistent. What helped out a bit though was to write a single sentence/ word per paragraph during timed run through’s. I found this would slow me down, which I wanted, and helped me connect the paragraphs in my mind. I also blind-reviewed the section after and used PowerScore’s VIEWSTAMP method, which was useful. I switched up my approach for the November test, and actually slowed myself down while reading considerably. This helped me pick up the two or three questions that I would miss out of pure carelessness and helped shore up the section. I guess biggest advice would be to try out the different methods, find what works best for you, and just keep practicing. I let myself focus on LG and LR to the detriment of RC, and thought if I could do -1 between those two then I would be fine with the variability I had on RC, but it definitely is learnable and you start to get good at finding what to look for in the passages.

Random tips:

Take real-condition PT’s, early-on I would do un-timed PT’s and would lie to myself that it was like the real thing, mainly because I didn’t want to kill my confidence with a low score. However, this didn’t help me out in the long run, and I definitely struggled a bit with the pressure of the clock on my first take.

I know the stress is real, and the majority of us know the importance of this test. While I am confident that this test doesn’t define any of us— be real with yourself and make sure you are putting in your best effort. A couple of questions makes the difference between an admit and a deny, or years of debt vs. a scholarship. Study diligently, blind-review, make sure you are spending time with your wrong answers, re-do games. I promise you this test is learnable, and you’ll only regret it later if you half-assed your studies or didn’t believe in yourself to get a high score.

Don’t get discouraged, this really is a marathon and not a sprint. My diagnostic was low, then my PT average was 170+ for months, and then I underperformed considerably on August and October. After seeing a repeat score in October (a test I thought I had killed), I was devastated. But the November test was only three weeks away, and I knew I had another chance. There are going to be games that floor you and passages that destroy you, learn from them, pick yourself back up and keep grinding.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, never forget throughout this process—that practicing the law is what we will one day do, it is not who we are. Don’t let this test make you think otherwise.

I blind reviewed but it still doesn't give me an option to check my answers etc. Someone tell me how to proceed. Thanks

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to recommend a book for anyone who is worried about underperforming on the LSAT. I know for a lot of people January is their last shot to apply this cycle so I hope this recommendation helps. The book is called "Performing Under Pressure" written by Hendrie Weisinger and J. P. Pawliw-Fry. This book basically talks about how the people you see on TV that seem to be "clutch" don't have a clutch gene but probably utilize various tools to ease a high pressure situation. This book also explains various tactics/tools that can help you. This book has definitely helped me as I was definitely underperforming during the real LSAT vs practice tests - the real thing is a whole different beast for sure.

If you don't have a lot of time and don't want to go into the science of "choking" you can skip part 1 and focus on part 2 and 3!

Hope this book helps anyone!

Hello 7sagers!

This Saturday, I will be hosting a discussion panel with three amazing 7sage members: @Christopherr (173), @Jmarmaduke96 (179), and @DINOSAUR (167). They will be sharing their personal LSAT journey with all of you and what each of them had to overcome to get their score. You really don't want to miss out on this as they are incredible students and have a lot to give!

Join Zoom Meeting

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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?