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Last comment sunday, feb 03 2019

Starting over?

So i've been studying for the lsat on and off for almost a year now.

I've taken the lsat 3 times already, and I'm scheduled to take it again in June. This one will be my absolute last try!

My question is, what study method will work best for my situation?

I am familiar with all the core concepts and i've been through the CC while studying for my previous lsat.

I have the books with all the previous lsats and the powerscore booka as well.

Should i purchase 7sage membership again? Should i learn my core concepts again? Or just do a lot of practice and BR until June?

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Just finished the CC and currently I am studying full time. I've watched the post CC seminar and found it useful. I plan on Fps 4-5 LGs a day but not sure what to do with LR/RC. Should I be doing sections or drilling by types? If so how much is enough but not overdoing it? Thanks

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I'm gearing up to start incorporating old material into my prep. Since retake PT scores really can't tell you much, I was thinking about simply breaking down my old material by sections I struggled with in the past. For example, instead of retaking a whole PT, I'd take 4 LR sections I struggled with from various PTs and simply retake those. I'm thinking that would bring the most value out of old material.

Anyone else do this? Or anyone think retaking full-length PTs is necessary if you're like me and still have about 10 fresh tests left.

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Ben Mauk wrote an incredible cover story for the New York Times Magazine about a small town in Eurasian steppe that China wants to turn into a hub of the global economy. Really the article is about the BRI—China's trillion-dollar bid to build a new Silk Road—and the cost of connecting the world. It touches on everything from the history of Central Asia to the detention camps in Xinjaing. I've never read anything that does such a good job of helping me visualize and concretize the notion of globalization.

Oh, also, there's an athlete who plays a horseback sport where you fight over a headless goat carcass and a man who sharpens a sickle next to Ben's head.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/01/29/magazine/china-globalization-kazakhstan.html

6

So im in my first month of studying but I want to take the July LSAT since you'll loose nothing, its a win-win. Because you will be able to cancel your score after you see it and also if you do, they will give you the chance to take it again FREE OF CHARGE.

So my question is, if I do cancel my score, does that look bad to law school admissions?

P.S I live in Canada(if that makes a difference at all)

0

Yoohoo 7Sagers!

My name is Pacaque and @"J.Y. Ping" anointed me the official LSAT predictor. I'm here to make predictions about the November 2018 LSAT. I'm not just any macaque. I'm a Celebes crested macaque and that means I can see into the future. I like to eat a lot of fruits but every once in a while, I'll have some protein too, whatever I can find crawling around. Oh and another thing. I get calls from people in Pennsylvania asking all sorts of intrusive questions about me and my mates. Like what kind of alarms call we give to warn each other of predators and how intimate our babies are with their mothers ???🐵??? This is weird for me. But enough about me.

I know you all are nervous about the upcoming test. I want to give you a hug. And I want to gift you the knowledge of my foresight. Therefore, I predict the following:

curve: -10.6

number of flaw questions on both LR: 7

number of mss questions on both LR: 4

number of sequencing games: 2

number of grouping games: 2

number of total LSAT questions: 101

number of passages on the law: 1

number of questions having something to do with monkeys: at least 1

Woah woah woah, you're thinking. All these specific, precise, and falsifiable predictions? Pacaque, you're really going out on a precarious limb there.

I know! But I'm a monkey. I'm good with limbs. And this way, when PrepTest 86 is released, we can check these predictions and you'll see why Nostradamus can't hold a candle to Paqacue the Prediction Macaque.

And I have one more prediction. I predict that you too have the power to predict the November 2018 LSAT. After all, you've done like what 30+ PrepTests? There's nothing you haven't already seen. You, my furless friend, are set. I invite you to join me in making predictions. If you turn out to be right, we can eat a banana together. 🍌

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Hello, I am starting my search for what schools I would like to apply to with a specialty in Criminal Law. I was wondering if anyone knew of a site or somewhere where I can get a list of schools across the country with Criminal Law.

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Last comment friday, feb 01 2019

Motivation/Advice/Study Tips

Greetings everyone,

I am reaching out to see if anyone can offer some advice/motivation. I have been studying for the LSAT for a little over a year. I’ve taken the exam twice, both times scoring less than my potential. I am a paralegal and my boss accomodated me last year and allowed time off to study. It looks like I will need to continue to prep for another try at the exam. I am feeling totally unmotivated and tired. However, I do not want to give up. I am not going to ask for more accomodations at work since I feel they’ve done enough. I also would like to look for a new job but haven’t done so because of the law school process. I’m feeling quite stressed and unsure of how to tackle test prep moving forward. Can anyone offer some tips? :(

2

Hey y'all—

Just popping in from 1L land per @DumbHollywoodActor 's request to share some thoughts about 1L prep—specifically, Larry Law Law's KTCOOLS course. I started Larry's course around this time last year and I don't think it's too early to start thinking about this. Here goes.

  • I have one of the highest GPA's in my entire class (I know of one person with a 4.01, I have a 3.975) and (to the best of my knowledge) the highest GPA for doctrine classes. We have a graded legal writing course, which your school probably will not. So, for all of the courses relevant to Larry's course, I may have the highest GPA at a T10 law school. I got an A+ in Crim and A's in Torts, Contracts, and Civ Pro.
  • I did this well because I didn't waste my time/energy on things that didn't matter and managed my expectations. Your grades in doctrine classes depend almost exclusively on your performance in a 3-4 hour period one day in December/April. I didn't brief cases (I have a very specific method of "book briefing" which I'm happy to share with you all over the summer) and I did practice exams early and often (not full exams but hypos that are ~45min to 1 hour, which typically represents the amount of time you will spend on an individual section/fact pattern on a law school exam; full exams you do during reading period and they should be exams your professor has released).
  • These principles (not briefing cases/book briefing and approach to PE's) I learned from Larry's course. Everything you will learn in law school is to the contrary: they will tell you to brief cases and hold off on PE's until reading period. I promise that you will have no idea how to take a law school exam unless/until you're exposed to them, ideally early on and in a context with some guidance. And I promise that briefing cases is a waste of time as far as exams are concerned. Book briefing is another matter, but writing out full briefs is, in my opinion, madness. It will make you miserable and you will get nothing for all of your effort.
  • People thought I was crazy. My study group thought I was crazy. That's because when you get to law school, the administration and mentors etc. will tell you to brief cases and wait to practice taking exams. Do not do these things.

    So—I learned all of the things that I think differentiated me from KTCOOLS. I'm not saying it's sufficient/necessary, but that's where I got the ideas for how/what I did.

    My personal tips include: take all of your notes by hand, don't have your computer or phone out in class, and start outlining by the middle of the semester. First-pass outlining is typing your notes. Real outlining (what you will actually use on the exam) you do at the end of the semester. And make all of your own outlines. The reason you outline is to master the material. Use A or A+ outlines from upperclassmen who had your professors only to supplement your own or to get ideas. Only use supplements if 1) they are written by your professor 2) the professor recommends (rare) and/or 3) to get enough of the law internalized to do hypos early on. Be warned that supplements will almost definitely lead you astray with at least a couple of your professors, so you may need to "forget" what you learned in order to practice exam taking when it comes to what your professor actually teaches. But that is a small price to pay for the experience of taking practice exams, refining your methods, and getting used to legal analysis under timed conditions.

    I'm not going to have time to address specific questions/comments, but much love to all :D Dave knows where to find me and he can bring important questions to my attention, but for now, I'm signing off and thinking of you all very fondly.

    41
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    Last comment friday, feb 01 2019

    LSAC Survey

    Did anyone else get the Post LSAT Test Anxiety Survey email from LSAC? The questions are interesting. Only a few days after the test they can’t send out stuff like this. Don’t they know we’re crazy right now?

    0

    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.

    0

    Hi everyone,

    I've been meaning to post about my September administration for some time but I've been too busy studying/traumatized. With November's test coming up, however, I figured I would share my story a) as a distraction from stress studying and b) to make sure no one else does what I did in September.

    I took my September test at USF in San Francisco. My roommate, the protagonist in this story, agreed to drive me to the test center in the early morning. I lived in the Mission District of San Francisco, which is a solid 15-17 minute drive away from the test center, and so I decided to get to the test center about forty-five minutes early. I solidly packed my ziplock bag, printed my admissions ticket, and got to USF about forty minutes before the test started. My roommate Bryan drove off with my iPhone (I wrote down his number on a piece of paper and planned to call him on a friendly stranger's phone after I got out of the test), and I decided to calm my nerves across the law school at the cathedral that loomed over the campus on an enormous hill. As my Catholic concentration began to break during my third Hail Mary, I glanced at my ziplock bag and mentally went down the checklist of the things I wanted to have with me in the test center. Beef jerky - check. Water bottle - check. Apple - check. NYT article to read before the test - check. Admission ticket - ...fuck.

    I had forgotten my admission ticket in my roommate's car. By the time I realized, there was only twenty minutes left before the test center closed its doors. I began to panic. I ran out of the cathedral and hysterically began asking undergraduates around campus for their phones to call my roommate. In my crazed paranoia, I didn't even think about asking someone to use a printer at USF's library. I needed that admission ticket - it was the only way in. Finally, a Good Samaritan (who I must have terrified by my hysteria) lent me her phone, and I was able to reach my friend. He was home, in the Mission, fifteen minutes away from campus. It was 8:17. I asked him to do whatever he could to get to me, but at that point I was resigned to sit for November.

    My friend drove a silver Acura and the law school was situated at an intersection at the top of a massive hill, where one could clearly see each car driving up from its base. Every silver car I saw for those excruciating minutes made my heart rise to my throat only to feel crushing disappointment when it turned out to be yet another San Francisco Prius/Tesla. 8:27. 8:28. 8:29. Those last sixty seconds between 8:29 and 8:30 were the most draining sixty seconds I ever felt between eight months of studying. 8:30. 8:31. It was over. Then, suddenly, I saw a silver car gunning up the hill. I sprinted in its direction, and like a quarterback handing off the football to a running back in the end zone, I grabbed my admission ticket and ran back up the hill to the front of the law school. 8:32. I was the last person in line, and by some miracle, was let into my test room. I had forgotten all my meditation techniques, my negation techniques, my focus on looking for the word "any," etc. All I cared about was that I had gotten into the test center, and although I bombed my first section (my heart rate was through the roof), I was glad I had the opportunity to sit for September.

    My September test was about six points below my average and therefore I plan on retaking for November. I attribute the lower score to some personal relationship problems that arose a week before the test and also my self-inflicted meltdown before September. What would I do differently? Probably focus less on making sure my jerky is packed and make sure I secured my admissions ticket.

    TLDR: 1) Show up early to your test center. 2) Print more than one admission ticket and staple one on your body.

    14

    Meditations - Helpful for two reasons: one, helps you keep focus during studying and tests; two, helps you acquire a heart like a calm and reflective lake. (10/10 Most Recommended)

    Fooled by Randomness - Helpful for two reasons: one, helps put into context many of the abstract RC topics; two, it helps you overcome instinctual trap answers. (10/10 Most Recommended)

    Thinking Fast and Slow - Helpful for two reasons: one, helps put into context many of the abstract RC topics; two, it helps you overcome instinctual trap answers. (9/10 Highly Recommended)

    Predictably Irrational - Helpful for two reasons: one, helps put into context many of the abstract RC topics; two, it helps you overcome instinctual trap answers. (8/10 Recommended)

    Please do share if you guys have some recommended readings for improving your LSAT performance.

    5

    Hey everyone,

    I've been searching forums for quiet some time but I am now asking for help. I just started my LSAT studies this past week. I have purchased 7sage Ultimate along with the Powerscore Bibles the LSAT Trainer and damn near every single PT. I originally started with the LSAT trainer but switched over to 7sage as I am a better learner if its visual (JY videos). I took a diagnostic around Christmas and scored a 138. Bad...I know.....I was pretty discouraged. I am currently wrapping up my undergrad this semester. I have to balance classes with LSAT studying which isn't to bad, but I need to get in a better routine. I'm planning on studying 12-14 hours a week up until I graduate in May then around 30-40 hours a week from graduation till I take it (July) which is around 9ish weeks. My goal is to score at least a 160. If I don't hit it then I will retake in September. I am currently going through the CC on 7sage. Do you recommend supplementing it with another one of my books or just sticking it out with that? I am really just trying to get the fundamentals down at this point as my diagnostic reflects that. I struggled the most with LG and LR. I have a 3.52 GPA and don't consider myself dumb. It typically just takes longer for me to grasp concepts/not the best standardized test taker. Is there any advice out there? I am pretty desperate at this point. I can get some pretty bad anxiety and get down when things don't click. I know it just takes time and its a learnable test. I know I have the motivation but some of the work problems in the syllabus on 7sage don't make a ton of sense. It's been my dream to attend law school.

    Thanks everyone!

    0

    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.

    4
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    Last comment thursday, jan 31 2019

    Cancel or no ?

    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 :)

    0
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    Last comment thursday, jan 31 2019

    140 to 170

    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.

    0

    📣Update: Unfortunately, our guest had to cancel. @"selene.steelman" and I will still have a conversation about letters of continuing interest and waitlist etiquette, and then we'll take questions. We'll still give away a free edit at the end. Sorry for the bait and switch!

    Hi everyone,

    On Wednesday, January 30 at 9 p.m. ET, I'll host a webinar with Julian Morales, Director of Admissions at Penn State Law. Julian will give us a five-minute presentation on Penn State, and then I'll ask him some of the questions you're dying to know:

  • Who hears from law schools first?
  • What's the review process like, anyway?
  • When should I send a letter of continuing interest?
  • How much does visiting help? Should I call before I visit and set up an appointment?
  • What do you look for when you talk to applicants in person?
  • How do I maximize my chances of getting gift aid?
  • You'll get a chance to ask your questions at the end.

    :warning: You’ll have to register for this webinar in advance.

    :cookie: After the webinar, we'll award one attendee a free Edit Once (see https://classic.7sage.com/admissions/enroll).

    → Please register for the webinar (Jan 30, 2018 @ 9:00 p.m. ET) here:

    https://zoom.us/webinar/register/130d808691c0dd1534538d7d4481ef37

    After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

    Zoom might prompt you to download something before you can join the webinar, so I’d advise you to show up a bit early.

    I hope to see you there!

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    Last comment wednesday, jan 30 2019

    Question about LSAC GPA

    I have been waiting for my LSAC GPA. I never get an email informing me that it has been completed. But I just log in to my LSAC account, and when I click on “academic summary report”, I saw that I have a transcript analysis and a “summary “ at the end, with a “degree(summary) gpa”. Is that the so-called LSAC GPA?

    Thank you in advance!

    0
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    Last comment wednesday, jan 30 2019

    Am I crazy?

    So I applied to schools this past fall and am 100% certain that I will be going to law school this upcoming fall. So far I've gotten into GW, BU, and Vanderbilt. I have taken the test 4 times now. 165, 165, cancel, 168.

    Am I crazy to want to take the March test just to see if I can get a point or two more? I have a feeling I will be waitlisted at the remaining schools I have applied to.

    0

    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

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    Last comment wednesday, jan 30 2019

    March or June... or Both?

    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.

    0

    So I remember reading somewhere that the international LSAT will not be going digital anytime soon (might be wrong). I actually want to take the digital LSAT since I study with my ipad regularly and like it. But I plan on staying abroad for at least another year. Does anyone know when the international LSAT will go digital?

    0

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