When I went to do my digital writing sample I had my phone in my backpack, and I forgot to turn it off. I got a text during the writing sample, so the reviewers could probably hear the notification. I just kept going on the test and didn't reach into my bag or anything. I haven't heard back to see if it was accepted or not. This is probably a new issue with the separation of the writing portion from the actual test day, but is it necessary to write an addendum or anything if you get a rules violation, or will LSAC just send whichever writing sample was accepted?

I cannot thank the 7sage community enough for the advice of recording oneself. I shot up 8 points after one session of recording myself. It is amazing how much time you can spend on a question without even realizing it, and how little time you can spend on an entire passage or game set-up. Timing is a huge deal and recording yourself is the way to go.

Thank you again 7sage!

Hello all,

I am currently on track to take the November LSAT, and I am currently averaging 151 and was wondering if it is still possible to raise that score up to a 161? My goal would be a 164/165, but I would settle for a 160/161. The school I want to go to the median is 157. I know it is not that high of a score but I am still struggling with LR and I was debating if I should still take the LSAT in November or cancel it and take it to where I know I can absolutely reach the score I want.

Thanks for reading!

I've heard so many terrible things about the highlight function on the digital test and it's making me nervous. I use it regularly when I'm doing problem sets on 7Sage and would love to use it during the test. Did anyone have a positive experience with these features on test day? And if so, any tips? I heard a few folks had an easier time highlighting/underlining with their finger instead of the stylus.

Hi all,

This is similar to a post below so apologies if it's just askig for redundant advice. I did read that thread but thought I might post my own question with my own score range.

Basically I feel I have plateaued in the mid 160s. The last 6 PTs I have taken I have gotten in the 160-163 range, this includes PT 73 and 74. PT 74 I got 177 with BR which I was quite shocked/happy about. PT 73 I got 173 BR.

Previous to taking PT 73 and 74, I bought LSAT trainer and have been using it and Cambridge packets to drill on my weak points -- namely LR Flaw, Weaken, Strengthen and MSS questions.

I have noticed a marked improvement in untimed Flaw Qs which is great! I can finally identify the Flaw which I was really struggling with. On my last few timed PTs I got only 1-2 flaw questions wrong.

My LG still suffers, usually getting 1-2 wrong per timed section. PT 74 I totally bombed the last two LGs so will foolproof that one.

My RC is quite good - 0 wrong in BR and 2-3 wrong in timed conditions.

So all this boils down to... How can I get my Timed score to halfway meet my BR score?! My goal is 170.

Perhaps it is not possible with just a few weeks left in the game. I am open to the possibility of taking Feb test. However I would like to do everything possible to get my timed score as high as I can in the next few weeks bc I am registered for December and will sit for the Dec test regardless.

Any advice or thoughts is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I recently graduated from a somewhat competitive university (top 70 US News ranking, whatever that’s worth) and landed a case assistant/junior paralegal job at a Global 50 BigLaw firm. 3 months in, I can already see why the attrition rates for associates are continuing to rise. The work is pretty soul-crushing, and associates can’t bill for a lot of the work they used to do (clients are refusing to pay for doc review, research, etc.). I could go on, but in short, BigLaw doesn’t seem worth the time and financial commitment of law school. As someone who took all the med school pre reqs, would my time be better spent in medicine? Just for reference, I graduated with a 3.98 GPA in chemistry (top of class) and am PTing at an average of 172, so I think t14 would be fairy attainable.

#help I work full time, 8:30-6. i wake up before work and study for 1.5 hours and another 1.5 after work. I go through the courses but i don't get enough practice to actually retain what im learning. Should i continue courses and finish the curriculum or should go through a section and go to the Qbank to practice? is there any point of the syllabus where it actually makes you practice more of the things you learned instead of the few questions it give you? what would you guys recommend i do. saturdays i can work from 5 to 10pm. sundays all day.

.

Hey friends, I've been working through the CC since June and between work and illness, it's taken me much longer to complete than I'd planned. I've registered for the Nov 25th LSAT and I now have six weeks or so to PT and about 22 hours left in the CC.

I could change my test date to January; however, while the schools I'm applying to accept it, it would be very late in the cycle. I've also contracted out for much of December because I'd planned to be done by the end of November, so I doubt I'd have much time to study then anyway.

For context, my diagnostic from 2 years ago was a 146 (BR 156) with my lowest scores in RC. I've seen quite a bit of improvement overall from the problems sets in the CC, but I won't have an accurate estimate of my current average score until I PT.

Any tips on how to maximize the time I have left?

Hi all, Looking for general advice. I am applying to multiple Canadian law schools for the 2020 year and had originally planned to take the January 2020 test thinking it would give me the most time to prepare and that the disadvantage in the application process would be worth it. Currently, I am doubting myself and have set up to write the test in November. However, I am doing applications and haven't had a huge opportunity to do full tests yet as I am still finishing the curriculum (just starting Reading Comp) and I feel I will just do the November test and will do awful. On my first test I took I got a 150 and I am hoping to score above a 165 with the knowledge from the curriculum and with at least 10-20 tests completed from now to November. so I guess I have two main questions - What is the cost of writing in January as opposed to November and do you think I am being reasonable? Thanks for any help!

Hi, I haven't taken the exam yet, (my first time will be December), so please take this post with a grain of salt.

I know that many of the September takers under-performed. Although I haven't taken the LSAT myself, I know that my PT scores used to drop dramatically when I get nervous. I've been developing strategies for a while now to address this universal question: how can one be nervous/anxious/feel pressured and still perform well?

I think there are many outside resources, like meditation, exercising, positive thinking. But these are to set up one's mindset for the test day; but what if something goes wrong during the actual exam? What if meditating for 10 seconds during the exam doesn't help?

So I developed some strategies that I can fall back on.

Let's first think about what happens when we get nervous. From the fight or flight perspective, if we are in the "fight" mode, I think we develop an urge to move as fast as we can, to CONTROL the situation as quickly and much as we can. This is absolutely detrimental to performing well, especially for the LSAT, because LSAT rewards picking up on subtleties that can only be noticed when we are completely engaged and immersed with the text. Engaging, and not controlling, is the key. Similarly, if we are in the "flight" mode, we are probably panicking, not knowing what the next step should be. This is also detrimental, because LSAT tests what we can infer out amidst of uncertainty.

Regardless of whether we are in the "fight" or "flight" mode, we stop engaging with the text, which I think is the biggest reason for under-performing.

So the question becomes how to engage with the text when we are nervous. I think this is such a crucial question to performing well, but no one really discusses about it. The key is to internalize a consistent process that would force us to engage, so there is no room for your urge for control (or panic) to take over. The urge or panic will be there when we are nervous; This is out of our control. What is within our control is how we respond.

I'm sure that many of us normally engage with the writer, but lose the focus when we get nervous, because being nervous means that the attention is shifted back to us ( and how we are feeling). Below strategies help me to do shift my attention back to the author on a consistent basis.

For LR:

For example, if it is a scientist speaking, I take a moment to imagine a scientist talking about some study and hypothesis. If it is a mayor, it is probably something about a city policy and its effects. This is a part of prepping myself to listen and immerse with the speaker. This is helpful because as I am reading the stimulus, I can quickly identify and predict the function of the sentences. Oh, here is the study. So where is the hypothesis? So on and so forth.

When I start a new LR question, I slow down, doing the following:

Doing this might be counter-intuitive in the beginning, but with practice, this becomes second-nature. I can usually do all four in a couple of seconds (it's really more like a spark of thought), as they are not really a separate task. It's literally just stopping for a moment to orient myself. These strategies help me because I force myself to focus on the author and engage with the text and prepare my mind to be that way for every single question. I imagine a scene that the author created for me, give a personal response, think about why s/he wrote it, and capture it in my mind. The strategies also help me to manage the stimulus. I am not trying to control it; I am trying to break down the complicated information and sort it out into manageable pieces.

That way, I don't answer 10 questions mindlessly only to realize too late that I was going too fast.

I have similar strategies for RC and LG as well, but the philosophy is the same. It is finding the way to consistently engage with the text, so that the immersion beats and prevents nervousness.

The above strategy is just an example of what works for me. I am sure that everyone's strategies look different.

But I am writing this because I think we are overlooking that the half of the battle is psychological, and finding a way to be present and engage with the writer is probably the solution.

Also, please share any insights you have, too!

Thanks :)

Hello 7sagers, I know this question has been asked for multiple times but today is the last day to make the deicision, so I would love to hear your thoughts. Currently I have a 166 from Janurary, and I plan to take November's test (signed up after I was destroyed by September test). My prediction for my LG would be (-2 to -7), that would give me 163 - 169, depending on how lucky I am. I was about to cancel after I walked out from the test center six days ago, but there was a slight hope in my head that I might be doing as well as or higher than my previous test...(ugh)

I really appreciate any thoughts or feedbacks, and good luck everyone on October and November tests!!

Hello. I have to do the 'blind review." I watched the videos & took my first practice test. What exactly do we have to do? I am a bit confused.

Thanks!

I am registered for the October LSAT and have been studying for the last 3 months. For the most part, I have put 3 to 3.5 hours in daily (sometimes more if I’m able to) and am taking my 5th practice test on Saturday (work full time and am a single mom, so although I’d like to have more under my sleeve by now, it just hasn’t always been possible to get them in).

My first PT I got a 144 and am currently teetering between 146-148. I’d be satisfied if I’m able to walk away with a 155 on test day. With that said, 1) is it possible to obtain in the next 4 weeks, and 2) if so, how would my time be best spent in the next month, keeping in mind that there will be days where I’m just not able to put in as much time as I’d like.

It's hard being a new hire, but this guy seemed to do okay.

https://www.boredpanda.com/homeless-cat-hired-employee-dr-leon-advogato/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

A bit of backstory. I took the July test and got a 165. Since I am aiming for T14 schools, I wanted (and expected) something a few points higher. I took the September test and fear that I absolutely bombed the LG section. Everything else was fine, but I guessed on at least half of the LG questions. Although I didn't leave anything blank.

Originally, I was planning on cancelling this September score and taking my chances with my 165 (and applying by the end of September). I have a very high GPA, so at least I have that going reverse splitter thing going for me. After reading some people's posts, however, I am wondering if I should wait to see if some kind of miracle happened, or if the curve is super generous (seems unlikely to me).

There would be very little harm in doing this if I knew FOR SURE that law schools (even the T10 and HYS) do not average your score. I feel like I still don't have a clear answer on this specifically. I was also wondering if it would look bad if I got a much lower score on my second test attempt, since I think admissions officials expect to see some improvement with multiple retakes.

So, long story short: cancel and resign myself to 165, or wait to apply on 10/14, hoping for a miracle?

Thanks for your thoughts.

I've been searching all over for if a policy exists about how soon we can take the LSAT. For example, if I took the September LSAT, can I still register for and take the November one? What if I cancel my score, will that allow me to take November's?

Hello, I originally posted this in the comments under the question but the more I look at it I'm second guessing if my reasoning is correct. I've pasted it here with a couple alterations because I accidentally put "understand" instead of "know" in the other post. It got me to the correct answer but could someone please confirm if my reasoning is correct and if not, where I went wrong. Thank you.

59.3.19

Premises:

A := Understanding a word

B := Knowing its dictionary definition

C := Understanding the words that occur in the definition

(A →B) → (A → C)

Premises: we have an instance of people (e.g., babies) who don’t understand the words that occur in the definition.

==> C

Necessary failed, contrapose back.

==> (A →B)

which is equivalent to

A and B

In other words, it could be the case that people (e.g., babies) understand the words they’re saying even if they don’t know the word's dictionary definition.

Which matches AC (E).

Hi everyone!

I've recently decided to take one more year off before I start law school so I have adequate time to prepare for the LSAT. I'm currently in Colombia working with a grant and I absolutely love being here. For my second gap year, I would love to be abroad somewhere else for about 6 months at least before I start law school, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to begin looking for opportunities. I'm here with a grant that took a year to apply to and I don't really have the time to do that all over again, but I'm learning that it's not as difficult as I once thought to just go and work in another place.

Any advice you guys have on programs or how to look for jobs in a new country (digital or in person) or anything at all would be so appreciated.

Hope you are all having great days :)

Hi everyone,

I did my cold LSAT prep test and scored an awful 140. I just did another prep test yesterday and scored a 143 after completing 45% of the core curriculum. I was wondering how long on average does it take for things to “click” before score starts increasing!? I for some reason struggle with LR more than anything!

Hi everyone,

Been on 7Sage since earlier this summer and have gone through the coursework. Now I'm working on PrepTests. I have access through PrepTest 55 and plan on upgrading to get access to the full PrepTest library.

I've seen people comment on how the LSAT changes over time - usually to get more difficult and ensure the curve. Anyone have a general timeline of the step changes, e.g. Preptests 55-68 are one level of difficulty (usually LG), but then Preptests 69 onward jump it up a notch in the RC section, etc?

Sorry if this is a duplicate post.

HI there! :)

whenever you finish a problem set, do you watch ALL of the videos on the explanation of each question? Even the questions that you got right? I feel that there are some questions that I don't need to watch the explanations for but I do it because I don't want to jinx myself. Is it recommended that you watch all of the explanations on each question? or is it recommended that you watch the explanation video on only the questions that you got wrong? I'm asking because a simple problem choice marking session seems to be taking a long time and I wanted to know the best way to go about it...

Thank you for your inputs!

Hi all, I need some help on deciding whether to cancel or not. I’m not sure what people mean when they said they “guessed on 10” - if it’s that they tried and made educated guesses or blindly picked B for all of them like I did.

I currently have a 162 (March 2019),165 (June 2019) and no cancellations on file. I got wrecked by this LG like everyone else, but I think I did pretty solid on all the other sections. But here’s the problem: I’m not sure if I ACTUALLY did well or if it just felt like it...I’m not also sure how bad I did on the logic games (if it’s -10 or -15 or if I’m lucky and get -7).

Worst case scenario, I think I’ll get a 160 and best case scenario I might squeeze 168. It’s crazy to expect a 168, but hey, like 3/5 of the answers for the last game of the June 2019 LG section were B’s so...it’s not entirely impossible right? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Maybe I’m just traveling along the five stages of grief and am currently in denial that I just actually wrecked this exam. But the “what if” is just killing me. My goal is to get a 170 to have a fair chance at Cornell or UC Berkeley (I have a 3.81gpa).

Please help. I am in a-g-o-n-y.🥺

Consistently in practice tests, my first section is my best with each subsequent section scoring worse than the previous. On the PT I just took, section 1 was LR and I got -3. Section 4 was the second LR and I got -11. I find that my stamina greatly diminishes after each section, especially with the digital test. It’s harder to concentrate, both on what the words mean and the screen itself.

Does anyone have any stamina tips for the digital test? Is it just practice? Also, is it possible that the two LR sections vary that drastically in difficulty?

Thanks!

I'm going through 7Sage's LR videos and I can't help but think these might be a huge waste of time. Video after video of going over questions and J.Y. saying "so what?" to all of the wrong answer choices barely clarifies anything for me. Going over questions doesn't provide me with any additional substance that I wouldn't get from practicing the questions on my own. I make more progress wrestling with the questions myself. I tend to believe that the only way to get better at LR questions is to do a ton of them and BR. If there's someplace I lack understanding, I can probably just go back and watch the video for whatever concept it is. I'm only up to weakening questions in LR, so I wanted to reach out to the community and ask if these LR videos get better or if there is anyone who has skipped the videos and had good results doing so.