Hey 7Sagers,

For a limited time, you can pick up PrepTest 85 (September 2018 LSAT) for $5.97 here:

https://classic.7sage.com/addons/

This comes with the password-protected PDF of PT85 and a +1 month extension to your account.

Once the explanations are available, they will automatically be added to your account if you have access to PT85.

Please note that you must be enrolled in a Starter, Premium, or Ultimate course to add this PT on. Ultimate+ automatically has this PT added on.

The sale will end on Sunday, November 25.

I take the LSAT November 17th and I just finished all of the core curriculum. Should I just straight into taking the prep-tests now and doing the blind reviews? Or should I do all of the LG drills first, then do the prep-tests?

Admin note: edited title for clarity

For the easier questions in the practice set, I tend to get them; however, once the difficulty picks up, I start missing them.

Any advice to start getting the harder questions right?

I really need help. I received my BS in '13 and received a 138 on the June 2013 LSAT. Got a 136 in June 2014 and 134 in 2015. My GPA: 3.86

I do not know how to study. Also, I am dyslexic, so reading fast is very difficult. Any advise?

Hello again 7Sage fam,

I am very interested in immigration law/family law clinics, but not all schools I am interested in applying have these clinics. How important are clinics? Would it be better to attend a higher ranked school w/o these clinics of interest, or attend a lower ranked school with clinics where you can get valuable experience in?

I'm personally really drawn to these lower ranked schools because I think it would be awesome to get that experience, but I understand that other schools have ranking to their advantage.

It would be great to hear some perspective from some current or past students who have had experience with these clinics.

Thank you!

One thing I have been asked and am starting to take note of is goal setting on LG. Generally speaking, LG is looked at as a section very amenable to improvement. I believe this is rooted in the fact that upon first encounter, for many test takers LG is the weirdest section of the exam and that unfamiliarity translates into a lack of correct answers on one’s diagnostic or first attempt. It is often after one has gained familiarity with the games and developed a systematic strategy to approach the games where one starts to see their scores improve.


This post is dedicated to those who are what feels like a lifetime of prep away from their goal score on LG. It took me over 2,000 games to get from where I was (maybe 1 or 2 questions correct on the entire section), to close to where I want to be (a -1 for the whole section). I’m writing this for people who are -10,-12,-8 or even -5 on an LG section.

Let’s pretend you as the reader are attaining a -10 on a fresh, timed LG section and you want as your goal a -3 come test day. From someone who has put in so much work into the games, what do I recommend?

The first thing I recommend doing is figuring out precisely where your current problems are emanating from, is it a failure to make inferences? Do you occasionally misread rules? Is your understanding of conditional logic weaker than it should be, ie, not as sharp/quick/confident as it should be? Are you failing to keep track of your game pieces in a cogent way and therefore you have missed “floaters” or MBT placements? These are some of the possible places where errors might be introduced into our approach. The first step I recommend here would be to record yourself doing a section and review and watch the video on 7Sage for the game and see precisely where you failed to do something. Note here that you want to focus on the big things you missed, there might be smaller, stylistic differences between how you and MR. Ping set up a game board, sometimes, this is not a problem, other times it might be, in short, we are looking for substantive areas that are missed and not stylistic areas per se.

Next, use the filtering option on 7Sage’s question bank to find three or four games similar to the one you messed up on from a section of exam history you have dedicated to drills: for many this section of exam history is PT 36 and below: 35,34, etc, for me, my fool proofing/drilling “bundle” at this stage was PT 49 and below. Do these games several times along with the game you missed questions on. Look for similarities between the games on a deep level, how many rules chained together along with the inherent constrictions of what the game board allowed, for an inference on an in and out game? Where did you know to look for s possible inference? One small clue I will dispense here is that if you want to search for inferences after or during the writing of your rules: start with a piece mentioned in more than 1 rule. If a single piece as multiple restrictions/rules attached to it, there might be an inference attached to that piece!

All of this is outlined by 7Sage and by 7Sagers. Where I want to go with this post is , where to next?

After you’ve done the supplemental drills, located and hopefully fixed an issue, the next section you take (5,6 maybe 7 days later because you’ll be consciously drilling away the issue you discovered) your goal for that section is to not get a -10 or more missed questions. Your goal for that section is a -9 and maybe even a -8. The goal here is proximate: to be slightly better than where you were, meaning you have fixed something small and in addition to that kept everything else consistent. -9 here is a victory, you’ve survived and are no worse for the wear.

A quick detour: I’m reminded here of the first Pacquiao vs. Marquez fight. A thrilling match. Manny Pacquiao is, even to people who don’t follow boxing, one of the all time greatest fighters to ever live. Certainly (for my money) the greatest left handed fighter to ever live. Manny Pacquiao posses one of the greatest combinations of speed, precision and power ever. Tremendously physically gifted. But Marquez is brilliant, he knew he was outmatched in the physical areas of boxing and had to rely on what boxing experts call “ring generalship” or “boxing IQ.” In their first fight, Marquez got very badly knocked down several times in the first round: about as bad a start one can get fighting Pacquiao, who jumps on wounded opponents with precision like no other.

The fight was an inch away from being stopped by technical knock out. The round ended and Marquez went back to his corner: not defeated and deflated, but curious as to what he could do better the next round. Sure enough his corner started noticing things that he was doing wrong: not enough head movement, not enough jabs etc. From each round forward Marquez started implementing those things into his approach, one by one. His goal in the second round: stay alive and don’t get knocked down again. His goal in the third round: shake out all those cobwebs and start moving your head. Inch by inch all those things that got him into trouble in the first round, were being removed from his approach. He started winning rounds!

Sometimes we are going to get knocked down by an LG section, much like Pacquiao knocked down Marquez. But we’ve got to get to what went wrong and the next time we do a section (round) we implement that skill. Round by round Marquez started implementing all these things! And when the 12 rounds were over, it was a draw! A guy who had been knocked down three times in the first round by one of the greatest fighters to ever live was able: inch by inch to get back into the fight! If you’ve bombed a section: find one of the issues and drill it away. Bring that lesson into your next section, next time find another issue and drill that away! Marquez wasn’t looking to knock Pacquiao out in the second and third round, that would have been too much of a mountain to climb, Marquez was looking to win inch by inch. In your next section, don't look to crush the section and move from -10 to -2, instead look to turn that -10 into a -9. There are enough sections out there to implement this strategy across time.

Take a 6 minute brain break and watch the highlight:

So once you’ve improved by 1 point and you’ve improved something specific, it’s time to thoroughly review that new section, what went wrong and what went right? Your first goal is to stay consistent and your second goal is to improve upon that consistency. Consistency is improvement: for Marquez, consistency not getting knocked down again was an improvement! Drill via the question bank for the next week: your new goal is a -8 or maybe even a -7. Rinse and repeat, every 2 points in improvement taking an additional 3-5 days to drill the supplemental material along with the game in question. We do this because as you get better and better the problems might become more nebulous. Meaning, where once your improvement rested upon confidence in conditional logic, now your improvement relies on not making the inferences quick enough. Everything is great, it's just not fast enough to net a score improvement. These issues are going to take a bit more time to improve, but in the meantime you have hopefully attained a new normal when it comes to your score: a -7!

This is what I mean by LG goal setting: your process of diagnosing what is wrong and keeping the good things and fixing a single issue is a game of inches. I see many people not happy that they haven’t gone from -11 to -2. For some people-myself included- thats not how it works for us. A -11 to a consistent -7 is amazing progress and is something great to improve upon. More specifically, going from a -11 to a consistent -7 is tremendous. We want structure our goals piece by piece with games. People don’t climb Everest in one shot, they climb 200 feet and camp out, 400 feet and camp out, the next day there is a storm and their goal is: don’t lose an inch, stay where we are (consistent) and then they climb 200 feet and camp out when the weather is better.

Inch by inch, when we add up all of our progress, we will make it into that -2/-1 range, as long as we are honest with our mistakes and implement the solutions consciously. I should add in closing here that for many, this is not a linear process, there are going to be setbacks, but as long as we are focusing on sustaining where we are and building upon the foundation: improvements should come.

For further questions, feel free to reach out to me.

David

Hello 7sagers,

I am looking for some advice. Currently i'm booked to take the November LSAT but i'm about 70% complete (mid way through games) with the core curriculum. What should i do if i want to be ready for the test next month and expedite the amount of time for testing and blind reviewing? my previous score was a 151

I have taken 30 PT's and completed the LSAT Trainer Program, and purchased the starter package at the start of the month with the hopes of boosting my LG and LR scores. I have taken the test last February and in June, scoring 162 and 163. Can anyone give me some pragmatic advice for what I can skip on the CC if I am happy with my RC score and pretty happy with my LR score? I'm only 30% through and am planning on taking the test for the third and FINAL time in November.

My current regimen is 2 hours of CC and 1 hour of drilling sections/foolproofing on weekdays, and taking full PTs and doing BR on Saturdays and Sundays.

I'm averaging about 166 currently, but know that my score on the actual test will be somewhat lower. My main problem has been bad time management on Logic Games, as I can get perfect or -1 on the section untimed, but run out of time by the fourth problem set about 50% of the time.

For the people who will tell me to postpone, and that every single lesson on the CC is absolutely critical to bumping my score 3 to 4 points, this test and anxiety over it have consumed every waking moment of my life outside my full-time job for close to a full year now. I refuse to let it ruin another holiday season. Please don't try to reason with me on postponing, I am fully aware I could score higher if I postponed, but am looking for a pragmatic answer from someone who has been in a similar position.

Hi all,

I took the Sept LSAT and came up slightly short of what I would have liked to score. Due to some complications I was unable to take the Nov one, and had to sign up for the January LSAT. Is it possible for me to apply to my fall back schools right now as I would likely get in with the Sept LSAT and then wait to apply to the better schools after I retake in January (assuming my score improves), or would I be locked in at my fall back schools. Thanks for the help

Hi guys! Maybe this is not super important, but I was wondering if any of you listen to light music while studying and blind reviewing? Of course, I never listen to music while taking PTs, doing timed sections, or drilling questions, but I find it helpful to listen to music (not anything too stressful; mostly instrumental) while doing blind review and writing out my thought process for each question. Do you think this could potentially have a negative effect? It seems to help me focus and drown out any surrounding noise, but I'm not sure if it's doing something negative that I'm not realizing lol. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I am looking for some advice in regards to my exams! So I just made a huge decision to postpone law school for another year, so I decided to cancel my November test due to health related issues and just the feeling that I knew I was not ready.

Currently, I work part-time and study about 5 hours a day. I first seriously started 7 sage in June and did not touch my first PT until I was done with the CC. That exam I got a 160. Unfortunately, my family pressured me into taking the exam this past September and I ended up scoring very poorly due to having a concussion while taking the exam (not a smart decision on my part) and am now extremely worried about what law schools will think. I have talked to many people and they have stated that I need to make sure I do extremely well on the next exam I take so law schools will see that the first score I received is not representative of my efforts.

I am going through the 7 sage CC again (very slowly- I used to study 10-12 hours a day but knew this may have also contributed to my low score/stress during test day) and got an LSAT tutor, but just did my timed PT real since the September test and got a 160. I am meticulous about blind review and usually score -3 on LG (this exam I did -9). I know I have to start up doing LG games again to get those points back. But since I need a really high score, is there anything else anyone can offer. I just don't know how its been so much time but yet my score has stayed the same..

I want my recommendation request to be more personal than an email, especially since I have not seen my professors in over a year (and in one case, have not kept in contact since graduation). I was thinking of handwriting a request, and then waiting about 2 weeks for a response before I check in via email.

I would say something along the lines of "Your course ___ really resonated with me, and I was very appreciative of your time and support throughout undergrad... I hold you in extremely high regard and it would mean so much to me if you would consider submitting a rec letter for my application to law school. If you would like more information, please email me at ___ and I would be happy to forward you my resume and any other relevant documents."

I usually send a nice present or a bouquet of flowers to people who, professionally, do nice things for me. My go-to is Edible Arrangements, but they’re about $50 for a nice enough arrangement, and I have 5 recommenders soooo...yeah. This fall I’m shorter on money than usual, so how are you all thanking your recommenders? (A “nice email” is not enough in my world because it doesn’t really show that the sender had made any effort on their part). TIA

Just curious how much inflation to factor into a reused PT. I scored the highest I have ever scored on a 5 section exam, but not sure if I should just take the score with a grain of salt because I had seen the test a few months ago, or be confident that it's representative of an improvement.

Thanks!

I'm taking the June LSAT and looking for a study partner who wants to score a 170+. Can either be in-person or via Skype. If you're interested, message me.

You guessed it. I circle the question, put a tilda next to my two AC’s, select one, go back for BR, and ITS THE FREAKING TRAP ANSWER EVERY TIME. How did you all fix this problem?

remove

Just took an LR practice test & I can’t seem to understand this problem. I think I just get caught up in the language & can’t move past it.

PTC.S2.Q22

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I really want to solidify some consistent timing strategies, so if you have any specific procedures you follow for any of the sections, I'd love to hear about them.

LSAT rewards those who persevere, and what is life if not one long journey of perseverance. If you want it enough, then you will be able to do it. Temper your goals though, and go about it incrementally. Getting to your goal may takes months, if not years. Have the right mindset and expectations, and you will be able to go further. There is no shortcut, only heartfelt triumphs after profound struggling.

Personally, I have a 3.0 gpa, so to get into the top schools, I must get at least a 99 percentile lsat score. At some point you realize that improving is the easy part, and trying my best not to decline, now that gets depressing. To some degree, I think one has to become obsessed, or a hermit or a monk; harnessing motivation wherever you can and finding meaning in every little thing in life, good and bad, and devoting ungodly amounts of time to this seemingly marathon without end.

In another perspective, if you can get through this, you can just about get through anything. This is why the LSAT can be a good indicator and preparation for law school. Add oil!

Hi guys!

I am taking the November LSAT (which will be my second attempt). I have put together nearly every other part of my application except my Personal Statement. I can't seem to put pen to paper and just get it done! I think I'm 50% braindead from prep and 50% anxious about how important I perceive my PS to be.

I know logically that I need to draft it ASAP so that I can edit and tweak in the coming weeks. I just feel like I have a major case of analysis paralysis. Can anyone relate? How have you overcome your writer's block?!

Any tips and motivation would be so appreciated. Thank you :)

Any success stories to share for diag at 145 and writing 160+? Looking for some motivation and avg weekly hour of studying :)

Do you guys think that the amount of time you are willing to spend on something reflects how much you like the thing?

For example, say I really enjoy studying for the LSAT for about 25 minutes, (after which it becomes a drag) does that indicate that I don't really enjoy studying? Or to put it in philosophical terms: does the quantity of time you are willing to spend on a given thing correspond to the amount you enjoy doing that thing?

-removed-

I’m thinking of applying to U Chicago. It’s a perennial top 5 law school. But I don’t know too much about it relative to the other T14’s. And I read mixed reviews. Any thoughts on this school’s reputation and what it’s known for?