The night before this Jan 26 LSAT, I got 2.75 hours of sleep.

I tried to close my eyes at 10pm only to fall asleep at 4am. My heart was racing the whole time; it felt like adrenaline was coursing through my veins. The thought that months of prep could be singlehandedly ruined from the effect of one awful sleep made me feel so helpless. It got to the point where I woke my mom up at 3am to ask her what I should do. I fell asleep crying.

But, to my surprise, I woke up at 6:45am feeling ready to fricken rock. Any thought that ventured into the dark territory of "what if your lack of sleep slows down your thought processing?"...I ninja kicked it out of my head. I got to the test centre at 8am (forcing myself to think positive thoughts) and wrote the test feeling as sharp as I would have writing any other PT on a good nights sleep.

If anyone reads this and then come test night experiences this same involuntary alertness, at the very least you can recall my experience to feel a bit more at ease: it is possible to write the LSAT on minimal sleep and still feel confident performance-wise. Be sure to stay positive.

This was my third time taking the LSAT. I have been studying for this beast for the last 12 months - eight of those months working a full-time job, three of them being an LSAT unemployed bum, and one month (the most recent) at a 30-35 hour gig. In that year, I moved across the country and back, had my heart broken and torn to pieces, reunited with my pooch, applied to law schools, learned how to cook and iron my own clothes, and read every possible Baldwin book I could get my hands own (dm me for Baldwin suggestions - that beautiful man deserves more attention and every prospective law student should read/see If Beale Street Could Tak).

Through all the volatility, the LSAT was the only constant. I fucking obsessed over that test. I never realized in high school what a high standardized score could do for someone like me, and I committed myself to not making the same mistake twice. I sat for September, after consistently averaging around 166 (my diagnostic was a 151/152), and scored a 162. Sat for November, consistently hitting over 168 on my PTs. I scored a 162. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. For someone who is consistently a positive person, I was so incredibly beyond bummed after that score. I felt like giving up and was definitely depressed. I had put so much time on that test, that it became part of me, and, becoming part of me, came to define my worth.

But somehow, miraculously, some law schools looked past my scores and admitted me. Through this process, and I realize my insane luck and blessings, I realized that a score does not signify self-worth. So many things go into an application and a life story, and although a high number is incredibly important, it is just one factor.

With that mindset, I sat for January, felt the same anxiety as always being bombarded with absurd conditionals, and nearly threw up when I read one of those rules in the last game. But after writing January and reflecting on these last twelve months, I realize that this test, this fucking test that has brought me to some really shitty lows, actually taught me a lot beyond differentiating between necessary and sufficient assumptions. I read more intently. I can sit people with some really peculiar needs in a circular table (“are you fucking kidding me Harriet? give me one good reason why you can’t sit next to Karl at this picnic table?!?!”)* which will probably come in handy when figuring out wedding arrangements for in-laws in the very very very distant future. I am more inclined to yell bullshit when I hear x political commentator talk nonsense about y issue.

So even though this test has cost me so much anxiety, and needless to say money, I am glad I spent the time I did and hope that silver linings, whether obvious or obscure, manifest before you all as they did for me. And may waves fall now and forever on my fellow 7Sagers. Thanks for the support y’all.

*PT41, Game 4 for reference

So I just got into my top choice for law school! I quit my job in December and have been relaxing/fooling around since. But I'm starting to get bored and feel unprepared for law school. I have all this time (Feb-August) before everything starts up again this fall and would sincerely appreciate any advice on how I could be utilizing my time wisely!

Thank you in advance!

I'm looking for a March 2019 exam study buddy. I'm scoring in the 160s, but am aiming for the 170s. I'm looking for someone in a similar boat, but I'm down for tutoring the right person (this would also be something that would help me study).

If you're in Chicago, and are interested in meeting in person, then that would work out pretty well and we could meet up to study/review/PT. Otherwise, I'm down to Skype. I prefer early mornings and evenings.

I'm looking for someone motivated and committed to having a regular study schedule. We can figure out our study logistics and game plan over discussion. I'm hoping to PT and do some blind review, but am pretty flexible in what we choose to do.

I am on the Logic lesson in the CC so i am in the beginnings. I'm a bit worried since I will take the test on September and it will be digital. For example in LR questions, if we wanna draw the arrow(sufficient, necessary), how are we supposed to do that? Does anyone have any idea? or is drawing the arrows are not necessary in general? If someone can give me insight on this I would really appreciate it.

HI everyone,

Looking for some advice and thought this type of thing could apply to some other people in similar situations. I Just took the January LSAT and am expecting a score in the 167-171 range based on my PT average of a 171 and how I felt about the test. I have a 3.85 undergrad GPA and currently work full time. I have one specific law school that I would like to attend and am probably going to be around their medians. However at this point I haven’t even started a single part of my application. No letters of Rec, no essays, absolutely nothing. Is it worth it for me to try and put an application together and apply at the end of the cycle this year or should I just be waiting until next year at this point? I’m also worried that getting rejected this year could hurt my chances next year if I was essentially just to reapply with the same numbers.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Hi everyone, I am need of advice.

I wrote the LSAT yesterday. I don't think I did too well. I have a feeling I am going to write it again. I am debating if I should cancel it ? If I cancel it, will this appear on my record ? But at the same time, I think it would be smart to get an idea how I did. I am just worried that if the score is too bad, it may look bad on my application.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

Do yo time yourself when doing the problem sets in the CC? And do you throughly BR the problem sets?

I am already familiar with the LSAT as I've taken it before but I'm trying to go through the CC as if I know nothing. As of right now I've been doing the problem sets untimed and instead of BR after, for each question in the set I say or circle why the AC is wrong and why the answer choice is right. So I sort of do a quick BR while doing the questions untimed if that makes sense. Since I am familiar with the test already the problem sets I have done (I've only gone through two) have been the easiest ones so BR just seemed pointless as I was 100% confident in the answer choices. But...I also wasn't timing myself. Since I'm not too far along if I'm doing this completely wrong I want to change my ways now versus later!

Hi, all.

I'm barely scraping a 154 (138 cold diag), and after choking on the exam yesterday, I've decided to delay a year and take the July exam.

My typical breakdown is as follows:

LG: -4 LR: -10 LR: -10 RC: -13, I can BR up to about 164

I plan to continue to fool-proof games until I can consistently go -1 or -0, I think this is very realistic for me considering I started at -18 on games. I will restart the CC on LR and RC, I am missing a lot of basic fundamental skills.

I've burned through a lot of the recent PT's, does anyone have advice on how to start over? I have about 5 months until the July test, I'm really hoping to sit down and really learn the test. I really feel like if I learned LR like I've learned LG, I could break into the high 160's. Please let me know if this is a pipe dream lol.

Thanks to all!

Does anyone think that the curve will be -12 for January? I don't think anyone got that one question on the logic games correct. Last December had -12. What do you think?

Hello Tutors,

I'm looking for a 7sage tutor who can help me reach a score of 170+ on the LSAT. I'm currently scoring in the late 140s.

Should I even bother taking March? Or is it smarter to focus on June/July? I've already got one take under my belt and I know taking the test before you're ready isn't ideal. Should I be aiming for March if I'm totally comfortable studying until June? I know the unlimited takes rule is a thing now but I certainly don't have unlimited funds to shell out for these takes.

Hi 7Sage Community,

Was hoping to get advice on my study plan between now and the March LSAT.

I work full-time (830-5) and have been recently taking 2 tests a week (one on Saturday and then usually one on Monday). I BR the Saturday test on Sunday and the Monday test throughout the week day nights. Candidly, I am a bit selective in BR process (because I feel time constrained) which I know will likely get some criticism from the community- ie. if I get less than 2 wrong on a passage I will quickly see where I went wrong without BR'ing the whole passage (I also do this for games).

On a 4 section test, I just hit my target score of 165 fully timed for the first time. I have had issues properly timing myself in the past (adding a few minutes to each next section) which is a bad habit that I have now broken. I want to hit my 165 score a few more times before March 30th and perhaps do a bit better than my target score.

I scored the 165 on PT 58

Section 1 LR (-6), Section 2 RC (-4), Section 3 LG (-4), Section 4 LR (-4).

RC has been a HUGE problem for me in the past (-8 usually), but I have been drilling hard passages which has helped a lot. I drilled 5 star LGs last year, but do not remember them (and any benefit from that has now worn off) or 5 star LR questions (my hardest ones are NA and Flaw).

My question is should I cut down the weekly test amount from 2 to 1 and focus on continuing to drill RC, LR and LG (and maybe BR one test inside and out/week vs. 2 in a more condensed fashion) or should I keep going down my 2 test a week path. I will take off the second week before the exam so worst case scenario I do the drilling at that time (but I would not have the benefit of the practice for the majority of my PTs between now and the March test). My big issue is still timing- for example the questions I get wrong in LR I usually do not have time to do properly- I have only recently broken my bad adding time habit which is why doing more timed tests has been focus (despite not having the time to review them onerously). Additionally, in the month of March I will introduce the 5th section of the exam to my PTs where I will be making the 5th section count each time (to test stamina; again this is another reason why I have been focusing more on the art of test taking and timing at the expense of some BR benefits- really hard to quantify what that trade-off is).

Any feedback is appreciated and welcomed. Thank you #help

I know the LSAT scores are primarily emailed after three weeks from taking the test. And if you don't have an LSAC account, or your email isn't properly registered, then the score is sent physically through mail after four weeks. But if you already have your score emailed to you, is the score then physically mailed to you as well?

Proctors: Between seven and ten

Facilities: Like the rest room? Perfectly adequate.

What kind of room: It was a vast, high ceiling conference room with retractable walls, all retracted, so we were in Navesink I, II, and III. Large windows facing a forested scene.

How many in the room: 60-80

Desks: Long, comfortable, widely spaced. I could stretch my legs in a V and my legs were still under my desk. Much more comfortable than what I was practicing on.

Left-handed accommodation: I don't think a left handed person would experience a problem.

Noise levels: Low. I heard almost nothing.

Parking: Parking isn't a problem anywhere in Monmouth County, NJ.

Time elapsed from arrival to test: Probably a full hour.

Irregularities or mishaps: I noticed several rule violations that there didn't seem to be an enforcement mechanism against. No one checked my watch and on the break I noticed at least six students had left their watches on the desks but they were LSAT Chronometers, and pretty clearly so. Just said 1-35 on the face. Kind of a relief actually, here I was worried a Palomnio Blackwing 602 was not a permitted pencil. Probably a problem intrinsic to large sessions in general.

Other comments: Very convenient coat rack offered before the door! Though I saw one guy get refused the opportunity to use the bathroom prior to the test just because he had presented his ID at the check in desk. Seems to me like they might as well have told him to leave. I don't see how he was "checked in" having not entered the room.

Would you take the test here again? Definitely!

Date[s] of Exam[s]: 1/26/2019

Hi Everyone,

I just finished taking PT 65 and was wondering if anyone else wants to BR this test as well.

Before I took the LSAT, I repeated a little mantra to myself: “I will not get distracted. I don’t care if the person next to me hacks up a lung. I don’t care if someone’s using a jackhammer right outside the building. I don’t care if the power in the test center goes out and I have to bubble in the dark. Nothing can faze me.”

I think it helped. People study for this test for so long that they sometimes act like perfectionists about something they can’t control: the world. I know you want to take the test in ideal conditions, but you won’t. You’ll have a crappy proctor, or a distracting neighbor, or a flickering light, or a really itchy foot. Something will go at least slightly wrong. Accept that in advance and promise yourself to do your best anyway. Go in with the attitude of a Spartan. It doesn’t matter what the world throws at you. You’re going to calmly, methodically, do your job.

Hi,

I just found out registration is now open for the June and July exams. I'm wondering if this means the spots will fill up faster...it's kind of risky if I register this early because I can't get a refund if we get closer to the test and I realize that I'd rather take it in March or September. What are the chances of the June/July spots filling up sooner than usual?

Thanks!

I would love to hear J.Y. do a podcast/webinar on how to study for the digital LSAT. I'm starting to study this month and hoping to take the test this fall. Since I'm at the beginning of my journey I'd love to start out by building good study habits and approaches for the digital test, but there aren't many resources since the announcement of digital is fairly recent. In the meantime, does anyone have any tips?

Due to circumstances in the classroom we were taking (speaker in the classroom was on and for some reason only making noises when the test was in session), our exam was halted after section 1 and then again after section 2. We ended up moving to a new classroom before beginning section 3. I personally wasn't too bothered by the circumstance while solving the problems, but I do think the constant interruptions affected my concentration. The proctors said they noted the issue and would be reporting it to LSAC, specifically that the people taking the exam in the classroom were affected in section 1 and section 2 and that we ended up having to switch rooms. I surely don't wish this to happen upon anyone, but I was wondering if anyone had any idea what would happen next. For example, will LSAC follow-up? Will they leave some indication for admissions officers in the case that applicants choose not to cancel? I'm not cancelling - I can't, really, since this was my last exam and I'm applying in this cycle. So it was disappointing that my last LSAT ended up being in the worst standardized testing environment I have ever experienced but there's not much I can do about it. But I am still curious as to what, if anything will happen. Any thoughts?

Took the LSAT today for a third time, I scored decently well the first time (around 80th percentile) and the exact same the 2nd time. I thought I'd take it a third time because I really thought I could do better, but completely messed up on the logic game today. (I'd say I guessed at least on 8 questions and just ran out of time) I felt strong about the rc, and one LR; however, the second LR was quite tough. I've sent in applications but have only heard back from one school. For most of the "top" schools I've applied to, my lsat score was around their 25th-50th percentile. I've asked these scores to proceed with their review of my application as is just to meet priority deadlines, but haven't heard anything back.

To complicate matters, the school that I've been accepted to offered me a free ride, however they are not necessarily my top choice and for lack of a better word, are one of my "safety schools". They've given me a deadline to take their scholarship offer and that deadline is before this jan LSAT score would even post.

What should I do? First, is it smart to cancel my score? Or should I see what I did? How much would it matter to schools I've applied to if I did worse? Secondly, how should I navigate the scholarship offer? Am I crazy to not accept it? If I ask for an extension, are they likely to grant it?

#help

Hi everyone,

Today I took the January LSAT as my first official test. Overall I feel like I did fairly well (Don't think I bombed any section). Although this may be a bad habit, during my practice PTs I usually put a little mark on the answer sheet next to the number of question I choose to skip. The mark I make is directly to the left of the question number and is usually completely outside the column (medium to dark shade). I like to mark questions this way so I get a bird's eye view of the questions I circled so I don't have to flip through the section to look for them.

I am now aware how this could be risky, since the answer sheet says to make no stray marks. I don't want to lose points due to a machine reading error. If I get my score back and it is unusually low, I may submit a request to LSAC to have my test hand-scored. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I didn't want to erase the marks after the time was called and risk getting kicked out. I kinda feel like a moron for not catching this behavior before hand in my practice PTs. Does anyone have experience with marking on the answer sheet?

This bad habit could cost me $100, but if my score improves based off hand-scoring it will be well worth it.

So I just wrote my third attempt at the LSAT today. And I am not feeling too great about it. I had 2 LG game section, and i really struggled with one of them ( was able to complete on 2) and did very well on the other one (finished all 4 of them). It turns out that the one I struggled with was the real section!

I also struggled on one of the LR section.

that being said, I'm 90% sure i did worse on this LSAT than on my last one. So will it be a good idea to cancel my score? Since I've already attempted it 3 times and I don't want another bad score to be on my record (not sure if so many attemps will impact my applications?)

Or should I not lose hope and just wait to see how i did?

FYI-I am a Canadian Lsat taker.

I started to feel sick on Wednesday and took that day off but last night I didn’t sleep well and I’m feeling really fatigue when drilling LG now..I took might&day quil. My plan was to review one more RC passage and redo a LR section that I thought was hard.. but I’m not sure if that’s a good move now. I’m also afraid to just go to sleep now and end up not being able to fall asleep tonight ... I really want to take the test and I hit my target score range last week T_T

Any advice would be highly appreciated!

Hello. I was wondering if I fail to cancel LSAT registration by tonight 11:59pm, the schools will get to KNOW that I withdrew from Jan exam. I want to make a decision tomorrow morning depending on my physical/mental condition....so I don't want to cancel it tonight in case I do want to take the test for the last time.