Hi all!

So.. I did the June Lsat. Bombed it horribly. Call me shocked when I get a hand-written looking note from WashU inviting me to visit (and offering to offset costs). I realize they probably mass send these things to whoever triggers something on their radar, because I haven't applied anywhere (retake in Nov).

But that's where I'm confused. My June LSAT sucked. Definitely not a #18 score. I have a really fantastic gpa and am first gen though, but everyone says that matters very little in comparison.

Can I just assume this is a mistake? What gives?

How do you learn the mistakes that you made from questions that you’ve gotten wrong on previous practice test? When I review them, I kind of feel like I don’t remember what I learned two weeks later. How do you get around this?

Does anyone know if Admissions Officers favor (weight) undergrad GPA's more so than graduate GPA's? Just curious if anyone has insight on this?

So I feel like I have a pretty solid understanding of the overall concepts from CC, but I've done 2 PT's post CC and received scores I'm terribly unhappy with (153 and 156) I am aiming for 165+ on the September LSAT and so I am asking for advice on whether i should go back to the CC or just continue PTing until the LSAT and hopefully my score will improve as I practice? I think my main issue is time atm because I am rushing to complete all the questions and thus compromising on accuracy. Once I BR my score improves by 5-6 points. RC is my weakest point but again it's mostly because of time, because i am averaging -1/-2 on RC when untimed... thanks for any advice!!

Hi 7Sagers,

I will be taking the July test next Monday. In my last few PT's, my scores have dropped from around 170 to 168, 167, 165. Previously I was averaging around 170. The last test I took was PT 84 and blind reviewed yesterday. To my dismay it was a 162. The tests I have taken over the past few months have been a combination of 40's and 50's tests and retakes of PT 60-83 as I have ran out of fresh new material. I believed PT 84 would be a good gauge of test day performance since it's a fresh test and so new. Now that I have seen this consistent drop I am unsure of my test taking ability and don't know what to do, resulting in major panic mode. I also work full time in addition to studying. I've been advised to stop studying altogether until the day of the test to prevent further burnout, but I am afraid to stop exercising my LSAT brain muscle a week before test day. Any advice is appreciated.

Suits new season premiering just days before the July LSAT... coincidence? I think not!

If you are sitting in July, may your LSAT get Litt up.

https://media1.tenor.com/images/f911b108831c4cb0f45810cea047470c/tenor.gif?itemid=4883674

I am taking the July LSAT. I just took PT 84 and my score dropped significantly. I went from scoring up to 175 to mid 160s. RC was my worst section. I had RC down to -3 or less but this was just bad. Don't know how to feel about this.

I took PT 63 yesterday and scored on the low-end of my PT average (158). This is the same score that I got on my last 2 practice tests and I am starting to worry that there is something seriously wrong with my method. While my LG scores have increased from a -7 to a -1 in this time, my RC has gone down from a -9 to a -12, and my LR per section has gone down from a -6 to a -8.

To address my problems with RC, these last two weeks I did around 20 sections of RC, timed. Toward the end, I felt more confident in the section than I did two weeks earlier (-12). During practice, even for 5/5 diff passages I was able to swing a -1 in around 8 minutes. Come PT 63, no such luck. I struggled through the first two passages and then hit a tough science passage which ate up the rest of my time. I didn't even get a chance to read the last passage. All in all, the passages seemed more challenging than the ones that I had done previously - the structure was less straightforward and the arguments were more well-hidden in the superfluous-word-weeds. Is this just a factor of the increased difficulty of RC in more recent tests? How am I supposed to prep for this level of difficulty without wasting new material? Should I start drilling by section in RC? I am just really lost for the method of how to improve here. I know that RC is challenging to improve but it doesn't seem out of reach for me to improve from an average of -10 to a -5 for example.

Secondly, I also drilled all of the question types that I had a problem with in LR between each test. I watched my video of the latest PT and gained some valuable insight into where I was wasting time. I felt great about PT 63's LR sections actually but I totally bombed them. On the second LR section in the test I scored a -11 which is the lowest I've ever gotten in a LR section - even worse than my diagnostic a year ago. I don't feel hopeless, but it seems crazy to me that I can feel like I did well on a section and get a -11. Does drilling by question type actually work? If so, where does the emphasis need to be? Is it in the BR of those question types, or is it just by understanding the theory and then applying it quickly? Should I switch to section drilling for LR?

I realize there are more questions in here than one person really wants to answer, but if you have any insight into this type of score plateau I'd love to hear about it. If you feel that you have a good answer to any one of these questions please let me know :)

PS: I was wondering if consulting a tutor would be worth my time, maybe some of you can throw in your two cents about the tutors for 7sage if you worked with them and if they were worth the money.

So I recently found a way of printing the questions from the question bank. While it is impractical and takes a little while it is worth while for reading comp questions. I use the Snipping Tool. This allows me to snip around the reading comp passage, copy it and then I paste it onto a word document. Then I do the same for all the questions that come with that passage. I am then able to re-adjust the passage and questions and then I simply print it out. Hopefully the LSAT ninjas don't come for me.

Admin edit: You can now print questions in PDF from the Question Bank:

https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/18378/new-feature-print-pdfs-of-custom-drills-from-the-question-bank

Hi friends!

Trying to stay cheerful after my trainwreck of a practice test today. I’m wondering if any other folks saw a drop between their diagnostic test score abd their first practice test score (after completing the core curriculum).

I’m planning on taking the September test, but today’s results have me freaked out about whether I’ll be scoring where I want to be by test day.

I didn’t feel as alert/“on” during today’s test as I did for the diagnostic. I also think I was trying too hard to use things I learned from the CC that it slowed me down further. Timing was definitely a big issue as I didn’t finish any of the sections.

Words of wisdom/encouragement to help keep the hope alive will be greatly appreciated. :(

Forgive me if I sound like a geriatric, but how easy of a process is transferring PT video footage from an I-Phone to a computer?

UPDATE: And the winner is…

The Brief

Thanks so much for submitting your fantastic ideas, everyone! I can't wait to share the blog with you.

Congrats to our winner, @"samantha.ashley92"!

7Sagers! We're rolling out a new blog with information about everything from the LSAT and law school admissions to the legal profession in general—but we can't think of a good name. Please help! If we choose your name, we'll give you a free Edit Once!

From our brainstorm:

LSAC says it takes place in the Arizona Ballroom. Is in the same vicinity as all there other ballrooms? I went down there on Thursday and none of the people that work there knew what I was talking about.

Hey all,

When I skip a question with the intention of coming back to it after, I lightly circle the question number on the answer sheet. If I don't do this, find myself wasting a bit of time when going back for bubbling in round 2 as I can't see instantly where the 'missing' bubble is. I know it says 'make no stray marks' on top of the AC sheet, but was just wondering if this would interfere with the scantron, or the proctor would pull me up on it?

Thanks

Hi all.

I'm an international student studying for LSAT. My English is not perfect so please excuse me for my awkward writing.

So I received my June LSAT score this week: 161. Not too bad for my first test ever, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed because I've dedicated the past 3 months to studying full-time for the test. I have another 3 months ahead of me before I take the October LSAT in Asia.

In retrospect, I believe I've overworked myself these past months by cramming 3 PTs into a week's study schedule. I would take a full 4-section PT, BR, check the answers, watch video explanations for the Qs I got wrong, and move on. It was a tough task indeed, and it really took a toll on me that I was feeling too exhausted to go on at the end of each week.

A friend of mine who also studies for LSAT suggested a different approach: doing PTs one section at a time instead of doing 4 sections all at once. According to this method, I would complete one section, BR, check the answers, analyze the Qs I got wrong, and move on to the next section. Kind of like drilling for each section I'd say, only this time it's proctored.

She says it worked wonders for her performance but I'm not so convinced myself. My doubts are twofold. First, I might get too comfortable with taking PTs on the section-by-section basis that I would fare worse on an actual test. Second, I have a feeling that doing so would be waste of the more recent PTs I've kept pristine up to this moment; I think making best use of them is by taking them under the same (timed) conditions equal to a real test.

What do you think? Would you recommend trying this method? Thanks to all in advance for sharing your thoughts.

My diagnostic (not quite cold) was 157. After going through the Powerscore LG and LR bibles my personal high score was 168. Just took my first PT after finishing the CC, and I scored 172 with a BR score of 174! Thank you 7sage!

Hi! Basically my question is: is ultimate plus worth it if I’m gonna only use it for two months (I test in September)?? Or will a cheaper plan get the job done as well? I want to score a 170, and I already bought every preptest up to 83, so I’m not concerned about having less not enough preptests if I go with a lower plan...what do you all think based on your experience? So I’m kinda in a unique situation, I’m wondering if 7Sage would be worth it for me. I want to retake the test in September. So previously i studied for the LSAT for a year and took it this past June and got a 163... i missed 1 on LG, 9 on RC, and 5 on the first LR and 4 on the second LR. in the practice tests leading up to this score (79-82) I received a 165 four times in a row. I had also received a 169 ond my lowest score in the two months leading up to the test was a 162. The way I studied was I worked through all of the powerscore bibles and then took a practice test every weekend starting with the 40s, and I used all the practice tests lower than 40s as practice questions. Honestly this was a dumb choice because I’ve used every single preptest there is and I don’t have any fresh ones left to practice. I’m wondering if it’s worth it to buy lsat ultimate ($749 for 18 months) when I’m only gonna have 2 months to use it? Also Im thinking about just buying the lowest level, but I’m afraid that the questions mgt be too easy? What was your all’s experience. Also I want to score 170+ and I was wondering if you guys think ultimate+ package would be the best choice for me or if 170+ is just unattainable at this point. I noticed ultimate plus is the only package hat offers hard questions, and I’m worries about buying the basic package because I feel like I already have a good grasp on the basics and I need to focus on the hard questions. Also I’ve already bought every preptest available, so I’m a little hesitant to spend more money. But if it’s truly really worth it to buy the ultimate plus at this point, I’m 100% down. Also if you guys have any success stories, I would love to hear them!

Thanks!

[Admin note: Ultimate+ includes 12 months now]

Anyone have any tips on how to improve accuracy– especially with the LR sections? Timing/speed is not an issue for me, but I can't seem to improve on accuracy. Thanks in advance!

I'm just wondering if unreleased PTs should even be considered in your score average. I just did really well on PT C2 but I'm wondering if this is just an easier test or it was just made a while ago so it's not as nuanced as the newer tests.

It's a good read and hopefully it will motivate some of you like it did for me for some reason.

https://psychology.berkeley.edu/news/intense-prep-lsat-alters-brain-structure

Check out this interesting article from The Economist!

https://www.economist.com/business/2018/07/14/law-firms-climb-aboard-the-ai-wagon

What kind of camera/camera setup do you find most useful?

Title says it all. I bombed the June LSAT (159) vs. my average preptest scores of 169. I attribute this decrease to a few factors: nerves, primarily, and the fact that my preptests were all generally older tests, so I had little exposure to the most recent exams. I've since purchased preptests 62 - 81, I use 62 - 71 as drills and 72 - 81 as full exams. Beyond that, I did not do 5 section tests and am doing that for all my full practice exams (2x a week).

My drilled sections are still timed, I'll divide tests 62 - 71 into sections, which I'll time myself through to completion. The only difference between these "drills" and a full timed test would be that a full test conforms exactly to the structure of the real LSAT, so fatigue becomes a factor.

Has anyone else had a similar decline in prep vs. actual scores? Further, do you feel it's reasonable to approach my practice scores by the September sitting? Initially my scores for 62-71 were lower, but have recently climbed up into the 169 range, and my full exam marks are still a bit lower, 163-167 range. (Fatigue is evidently a major factor for me!)

Hi!

Does anybody know how long letters of recommendation are good for once uploaded to the LSAC website?

Long story short I had to postpone applying until this year after I already had asked for and received my LOR on the LSAC website. Do I need to ask them to send them in again, change the date on their letters, or anything else?

Thanks for the help!

For the past several weeks I've found recording my PTs quite helpful.

But I'm curious if people have any strategies they follow when reviewing their footage? Are their specific aspects that you focus on?

At the moment, I have two main aspects of my review.

First, I record my times for each question to try and focus on which questions I struggled with, even if I was confident I had the right answer once I selected it. This has been helpful because, then, I go ahead and review those questions more in-depth even if I got them correct under timed conditions. Second, I try to keep a notebook of various observations about my strategy, trying to tweak my timing to be more parallel to my confidence level (e.g. I can tell from the footage that I was 85(ish)% sure that I had the right choice after A (and did), but I spent too much time closely reading the other answer choices.).

Are there other techniques that people have used that they find helpful? @"Cant Get Right" , I was listening to your AMA the other day, and you seemed to be a strong advocate for video recording/review. Any suggestions?

Thanks, everyone!