I've been studying for about a year now but joined 7Sage only about 6 months ago, which is also when I really started to take studying more seriously. I work full time so it took me a while to finish CC but I've now moved on to practice tests. Besides my diagnostic, I've only taken 3 PTs scoring an average of 152 timed, and a 162 BR. I'm aiming for a 165 on the April LSAT but starting to question whether that's enough time to improve my score for a 165. I've already pushed the test date twice because I did not feel ready and knew I would just be rushing to finish the CC. In doing this I decided to delay a cycle so I could focus on getting my best score possible (I'd ultimately like to score 170+).

My worst section is definitely LR (Yes, I have been BRing). For LG I sometimes panic under time pressure/scramble and so I don't get to every game but I plan on fool proofing games until I'm blue in the face. I'm wondering if I should just delay again (really giving LSAC all my money doing this) and give myself the time to get to 170+ on the first try, or if I should still aim for 165 on the April test and at least have one under my belt to get a feel for actually test day.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

For those that retake, how should you pick a section to retake? For example, if you wanna do an LR section, which retake should you do? I assume something farther back so you dont necessarily just remember the answer right away?

Maybe some of the harder sections?

Hello everyone, I just wanted some advice on score fluctuations. So I have an average PT score of 162, and I never really go below that. But on some days I'll suddenly spike up to 167/168 seemingly out of nowhere. What's even stranger is on the days where I feel the least confident and feel unfocused during the test are the days I score the highest. Does anyone have any idea why this is or maybe has had experience with this themselves? I would like to consistently score at these high scores instead of just having random bursts.

Thank you for your time.

Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar. You are humming along in a Logical Reasoning question. You think AC D might be the right answer choice and then you get to AC E and it looks equally as promising. You furl your brow and try to decide which one of them is correct but you are drawing blanks. 5 seconds turns to 10, and all of a sudden a spike of anxiety hits. You are sure AC’s A, B and C are non contenders but for the life of you, you just cannot decide between D and E. You’re down to two, what do you do? (D2TWYD?)

I would say this happens to a lot of us as we progress through our LSAT Journey. Often times people on forums or group chats even mention this directly when they are seeking advice on how to improve their LR Scores. They will offer some variant of the following statement: “I’m often stuck between 2 answer choices and I tend to pick the wrong one” as a reason for their lack of improvement. I’m writing this post for the many people who find themselves in this situation. I want to outline some strategies on how to maximize your chances of getting the right answer.

One Unique Correct Answer:

Say you are in your school library, trying to study for the LSAT when all of a sudden you hear a little squeak. You look at the floor and you spot a rat trying to eat your backpack. As the good conscientious student that you are, you grab a piece of your lunch and you lure the rat outside of the library where it can be free to harass the annoying philosophy majors sitting outside staring at clouds. Taken in isolation, what you did here is a good thing. You found a rat, and you dealt with it. But if this happens 5 or 10 times,you’ve got real issues. Your library is infested with rats and you probably contracted the bubonic plague. Compare that to D2TWYD? The two scenarios share a similarity in that dealing with one or two may be fine, but dealing with them consistently is a symptom of major foundational problems.

There is one unique correct answer to every LR question on the LSAT. So, if you tell me there here are 2 equally tempting answer choices, that tells me that your understanding of the question and stimulus is severely lacking. The best way to deal with D2TWYD is to NOT put yourself in this situation to begin with. If you find yourself consistently here what you may want to do is to devote extra time to studying the stimulus, coming up with potential pre-phrases ( this is your best attempt at trying to come up with a plausible solution to the question ) before you head to the Answer Choices. I understand the temptation, the answer choices are where the points are after all. Why wouldn’t you want to tackle them right away? The issue is, if you haven’t fully analyzed the stimulus in your head and digested all the implications then you are basically doing a POE exercise. POE is always your last resort, it is not an efficient use of time and can lead you to being seduced by attractive wrong answer choices. Take the time to study and fully understand the stimulus before proceeding to the answer choices, an extra 15-20 seconds spent upfront can save your minutes of pain down the road.

Down to two, what do I not do?

Despite our best efforts we will occasionally still find ourselves in the precarious position of having to choose between 2 equally temping answer choices. Before we tackle the specific strategies, I think it is wise to go over something we should not do. If you are DT2WYD what you SHOULD NOT DO is get inside your own head. What do I mean by this? You shouldn’t spend too much time THINKING OF REASONS about which answer choice is right. Instead if you are unsure you should be SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE to back up either of the two answer choices. The correct answer choice is not going to reveal itself in your brain . The key to finding the right answer lies either in the STIMULUS or through dedicated and specific analysis of the ANSWER CHOICES. Retreating into your own head will result in precious seconds lost, and these losses are insidious because unless you video record yourself doing the PT chances are you may even not even notice you did it. If you do this enough times over the course of a section, 15 seconds here, 20 seconds there, the rats start to pile up and all of sudden you are completing one or two questions less per section. If you are down to 2 answer choices, what you don’t do is just mindlessly think of a reason why one or the other is correct…I want you to be actively searching for evidence to support an answer choice!

So what DO I do?

Now that we’ve gone over what you shouldn’t do let's talk about what we should be doing. There are generally two reasons why you are DT2WYD? The first is you’ve not fully understood the stimulus or one of the answer choices. Either you rushed through the stimulus and missed something or this is a curve breaker question and the stimulus and answer choices are intentionally misleading. Regardless of which scenario you find yourself in, you will have two choices at this point. You can realize your predicament and skip the question (which if you read my last post in this series you know I always support) or you can take this as a sign that you should go ahead and re-read the stimulus to see what you’ve missed. If you decide to take the 2nd option you should have a general idea of what to look for. Here’s a list that may help if you don’t.

If there is a conclusion focus on how the conclusion and the premises are related to each other.

Often times the gap between the premise and conclusion is the key to unlocking the correct answer choice. Look for key modifier words that you may have missed that changes the meeting of a premise or conclusion just enough that it made one of your answer choices seem attractive when it’s really a dud. The LSAC will lay traps like this all the time, it punishes careless reading with trap answer choices designed to capture those who are not 100% on task when reading the stimulus.

Focus on any assumptions you may be bringing to the question.

When we are stuck on a question, sometimes the culprit is not necessarily what’s in the stimulus. It’s what’s not in the stimulus or answer choice that we are bringing in with our heads. If it’s not in the stimulus or in the answer choice we cannot (with very few exceptions that are tied to ‘common sense’ type assumptions) bring it in as evidence to support an answer choice. If you can identify an assumption you bring in (and this will be hard in real time) that will help you eliminate one of your choices.

Special Situation: Necessary Assumption

If you are DT2WYD on a necessary assumption question there are a couple things to look for.

Special Situation: Twins

Sometimes you get DT2WYD and the two remaining answer choices seem very similar. This tends to be a good sign because usually (unless the LSAT is being ESPECIALLY Tricky) this means you are on the right path towards finding the correct answer to this question. In this scenario what I suggest you do is to hone in on the DIFFERENCES between the two answer choices. Remember there is one unique answer choice. So it’s in how the two are different from each other, and how that difference RELATES BACK TO THE STIMULUS AND QUESTION AT HAND where you’ll find the evidence for support/elimination of one of the answer choices.

Special Situation: Conditionals:

If both your answer choices contain conditionals chances are they may even be contrapositives of each other. Go back to the stimulus and figure out which version you need. DRAW THEM OUT. Some people think diagramming conditionals takes too much time, but the alternative s trying to figure it out in their head and for the vast majority of people this process is slower and much more prone to error. If you are not confident enough to draw out conditionals, I question whether you are truly in a position to be writing the LSAT. Drill Drill Drill until you are.

Ace in the Hole: Loophole

I saved this for last because not everyone has read Ellen Cassidy’s Loophole. If you haven’t and you are trying to improve your performance on the LSAT I highly suggest you pick it up. But if you have read the book, you can also apply Ellen’s Provable/Powerful dichotomy to the answer choices. Based on the question type, you can see if you can eliminate a provable answer choice to a powerful question or vice versa. This is something you want to pull out if you get stuck, it will do in a pinch if you are running out of time. This is a tool that people who did not read Ellen’s book do not have, so use it to your advantage! It's a valuable tool in your tool kit.

So there you have it, a rough guide on how to handle the dreaded down to 2, what do I do Scenario. You can also use this on it’s much meaner cousin: Down to 3, woe is me scenario. This is by no means a complete document, and I welcome anyone else who has tips to post them below. Let’s make this a living and breathing post guys so that future 7sagers can make use of our knowledge.

Hey everyone! So I started 7Sage almost a months ago. My syllabus requires me to complete 15-20 hours of studying per week. When I first saw this, I thought it was a manageable study goal. However, I fell behind on this schedule and now I'm having trouble getting back on track. I'm about 2 weeks behind on my study schedule even though I've been studying for several hours everyday. The thing is that even though a curriculum may be 3 hours long, or I plan to complete 2 hours of it, I will usually spend longer hours studying a particular concept just to understand it. I've quickly come to learn that just because a curriculum is 5 hours long, doesn't mean I will comprehend it in 5 hours. For this reason, I have fallen behind. I'm aiming to take the LSAT in July. I know that this is many months away, but I still don't want to fall behind on the core curriculum.

Has this happened to any of you? if so, what do you do to prevent falling behind and/or to catch up? Thanks in advance!

How can I solve the above problem?

Thank you.

Hi everyone. I took the January test and got a 157. After much consideration, I have decided to retake the test in October. My target score is somewhere between the mid 160s and 170. Is there a chance that I could improve my score significantly if I study 2hrs on weekdays and for about 6hrs on weekends?

J.Y. and the LSAT are my partners for today lol

Good luck studying yall

I have been studying on and off for a year+ and I have taken almost every practice test 2004-2017. I am taking the March 30 LSAT.

I have just been retaking tests now, even though they are familiar, they still seem new most of the time.

I have three tests (all from 2019) that I've never taken before. Should I save them all for the weekends in March leading up to the test, or should I take them now?

Can't decide whether to save them for closer to the test date or take them earlier and then hard review them in March.

I have completed the CC. Logic games is my weakest section.

I am quitting my FT job to work PT and study for next 3-4 months.

How should I structure my days?

Logic games drilling

and then full practice tests - BR - and repeat ?

What did you find to be the most effective ways to structure your study time after CC was complete?

Please help. Any advice is appreciated

For anyone that scored higher on test day than average PT, or even just average PT score, can you give tips or just general advice besides the "dont get nervous?"

Prevailing notion is youll score 2-3 points below, but for those that dont, i think advice would be greatly appreciated for us about to soon take the LSAT

Hey guys,

I've been on my LSAT journey since September where I scored an initial diagnostic of 142 (shameful I know...) I'm now scoring in the 154 range timed with my BR being in the 157 range.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on time pressure during the exam? Do you recommend hiding the timer? I find that when I see it counting down it makes me quite flustered which is hard to control. However, when I am practicing while just timing on my phone I'm able to solely focus on the exam and my accuracy is a lot better.

I know my capabilities are really being hindered by the time pressure so if anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it!

How many highlight color options are available on the real digital lsat? Pink, Yellow, Orange? Thanks.

yes, due to the coronavirus...

But the good news is, I have more time to prepare and then give it a real shot for June test. Let's see how it goes.

Hi im looking for a full time study partner until the March LSAT. Im thinking BR a couple questions per day and maybe a full section or two on weekends :)

If possible comment or message me. 165-170 goal pls :)

I hit "save and score" without filling in any answers because I don't understand how the preptest page works. Is my analytic page now just screwed up forever because of that 0% score?

For the premium course you get a limited amount of LSAT tests to practice with that are factored into the backwards planning from your anticipated exam date. I believe it goes up to 2009 or 2012 as the most recent practice tests. Being in the year 2020, should I stick to using 2012 and up tests to gain practice in vs the recommended 1990 tests -2009/2012 etc listed for practice? Or at the end of the day is a practice test a practice test regardless of what year it came out?

looking for feedback/tips, with the 7 sage schedule going through logical reasoning in its entirety before going on to logic games then reading comp, i was wondering if it would be better to follow a approach of looking at a bit of each section every week. was contemplating using the powerscore study schedule (does a bit of each every week) but using the 7 sage material instead of the powerscore bibles. thoughts on what has worked/is working for anyone?

Hi everyone,

I am having a tough time with taking notes for the entirety of the 7Sage curriculum. I learn better with outlines where all of the info is there and I just have to annotate and fill in. In light of this, does anyone have 7Sage curriculum outlines/notes that are okay with sharing? Thank you so much guys, this forum really has been a lifesaver for difficult problems and I really appreciate everyone’s help.

I feel that I can only spend 2 hours on CC materials per day, though I do have more time to work on it. I just feel that after 2 hours of CC learning, I can't really concentrate on it anymore....

And it is 95 hours in total, which kinda kills me... Right now I only completed 18%. Thanks god that JY is quite humorous~

Hi guys,

I wrote the January exam, and it looks like I am going to write it again. I plan on writing it in September 2020. I am also looking for a job on the side, preferably part-time. If I cannot find anything part time, I was planning to go for full-time. I realized that I have been studying the wrong way for a while now. I was also pressuring myself a lot. I would like to restart everything again, and i want to take the slow and steady wins the race approach.

This is the strategy that I have in mind:

I wanted to know that is this a good study plan ?

I believe that this method would work well with a part-time job. But if I end up landing a full-time job, would it also work ? Or should I write it after September ?

Lastly, is there a tutor or someone I can privately speak to in regards to study strategies ?

I would really appreciate it :)

Thanks

over a year and a half of on and off studying and I'm finally done. The content here is super helpful, esp the LG and LR videos, and the new thing where you can make a custom made problem set. also thanks to all the people who post a lot and spread a really positive attitude.

156 after cc -> 166 jan 2019 -> 169 july 2019 -> 172 jan 2020 (curious as to what the breakdown was. I'll never know). a lot of ups and downs. wait till your PT score is where you want it to be before you sign up for a retake. take breaks. keep a journal. believe you can improve and find your weaknesses. find a strategy and stick to it

be more specific about where and how you are missing questions when you make posts asking for advice (this forces you to understand why you're dropping Qs.). take some more breaks. do something while you watch LG videos like yoga or stretching or clean.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows if there are available past recorded webinars and how to access them? I’ve done a search within the forum and see there were numerous webinars, but no links to access them, just the original links to sign up.

Any direction on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have a 3.48 GPA. In college I was a premed major before switching to a BS in Sport Management. The worst grades that tanks my GPA are two classes I took as a premed major. With that being said my dream school would be NYU Law, I've taken the LSAT twice already went from a 148 -> 155. I'm aiming for 167+ (the lower 25th at NYU) and I'm a URM which I've heard helps. With my GPA am i crazy in thinking that I'd ever get into NYU? Any input/advice would be appreciated.

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some advice because I feel lost, speechless and honestly I am not sure what to do next. I have never really posted on a forum before so here it goes.

I diagnosed at a 135 and then I studied for about 6 months for the LSAT and I was taking practice exams and my scores ranged from the lowest being 145 to 150. I intended to take the January 2020 exam hoping for a 150 (this isn't the score I am truly aiming for). I aimed for a 150 because I was trying to see whether or not I may have a chance because I had applied to a few Canadian law schools. My overall GPA for my degree is 3.2 and my best two years (also my last two years) are overall a 3.4. Overall, I have outstanding volunteer experience, work and internship experience, I have also gotten my research essay published and received an award.

Originally, I aimed to score a 161 on this exam, but I decided to take the exam anyway in hopes of getting a 150 and maybe a Canadian school may consider me (still not sure as I have not heard anything back).

I took the January exam and scored a 146. I wasn't upset at first but now I am. I am not upset at the score that I received, I am upset because I don't know how to move forward from here in terms of how do I raise my score? I have had a hard personal life and I don't have anyone to go to, to seek advice, or someone to guide me on how to improve on this exam and this is why I come to you all. I know if I can work hard, I will get in.

Here is a little bit of information on how I study and how much I score on each section usually:

LG: BY FAR MY BEST SECTION, while taking the exam timed I usually get a 11 or 14 out of 23. When I blind review, I get 17 out of 23 or 22 out of 23.

LR: I really hate this section. It is literally hit and miss for me. Timed, I usually get a 8 or 13 out of 26. When I blind review, I get 14 or 15 out of 26.

RC: This section is also hit and miss. Timed, I usually get 12/27. Sometimes I blind review and most times I don't because I am not sure how it helps, but if I do blind review, I get 15/27.

I WISH I COULD SEE WHAT I GOT ON EACH SECTION FOR THE JAN 2020 EXAM

I have used 7sage, Kaplan, Powerscore LSAT Bibles, YouTube. Do you guys recommend I ask a tutor here on 7sage? Should I go through CC again? An outline of advice would be really helpful.

Extra Information: When I studied for 6 months, I didn't have a job (I was looking for one) I found it extremely challenging to focus. Now, I work at a really great job, its full-time from 8 am to 4pm (I also have the option of going in at 7-3 or 9-5). It is not a lot of work and I literally do my job and leave (its clerical work). Usually after work I am pretty energetic, so I feel like I could either study in the morning or afternoon after work. I get weekends off.

I come to you all with complete sincerity and desperation. Please if anyone can advise me on how to move forward and what to do next, I would honestly appreciate it from my heart. Like I said again, I don't have anyone to ask for help and I come to you all because I hear 7sage is an amazing family with lots of love and encouragement.

Thank you!

Ron