Were you disappointed when you saw your score? Do students tend to over-predict or under-predict there scores walking out of the test?

To be fair most people on this forum who have written multiple times probably did so because they did poorly the first time so we might have a bit of a confirmation bias here. But is there any consensus that students generally overestimate / underestimate there score on average?

I plan on taking the March LSAT and I could get through all the PTs before then, but I am considering whether I should save at least 10 or so in case I want to also take the June or July test. What is recommended in this situation?

Hi. I took the June 2018 LSAT. I did not do well on it at all. I scored way under 150. I need over 150 on the LSAT to be competitive for my first choice local law school. I did minimal preparation for this last exam. I just did the Power Score accelerated course two times and Insight LSAT free on YouTube. I did not really do any practice exams. All of this did not obviously help me out enough. I have a few questions for paid 7Sage members. I have to repeat the LSAT again in March of 2019 in 4 months. Here are the questions. Thanks! :) 1) Is 4 months enough time to fully prepare? 2) I was thinking and planning on getting the basic $179 starter 7Sage package. Is that package adequate enough for me to do well on the next LSAT? Or do I really need a higher package? 3) Should I also get all of the Power Score bible books to supplement the $179 7Sage package? Or that is just too much then? 4) How many practice tests do you recommend taking and fully going over? Thank you for all of the help!

There has been some discussion lately about the difficulty of PT 83,84 and 85. I want address an aspect of these discussions I have yet to see fully articulated as of late. I am by no means the first person to come to this conclusion, but I hope you find my take both helpful and reassuring. This process is what has worked and continues to work for me personally, I mean this advice as respectfully as I can.

Several people have written about the difficulty/subtly of these newer exams. Yet, almost by definition, the exams should not truly be that different from the previous exam which shouldn’t be that different from the previous exam before that and so on, because if they were markedly different, the LSAT would no longer be standardized in a way that any meaningful data could be gleaned from someone taking the exam. The exams would become “non-standardized” at that point. Imagine the shock for instance, if you sat down for an LSAT PT marked “PT 95” after all the hours of drilling valid argument types and the common flaws only to find the entire exam was a manual on how to disassemble and troubleshoot the transmission of a 2006 Honda Civic. Then the entire process of taking this standardized exam would be defeated.

Obviously, no one is claiming that the exams are now that different from previous exams, but nonetheless: this raises a question, if the newer exams are different, what are the primary differences? The answer to this question is usually something like: the reasoning patterns on LR are more subtle or “the answer choices are wrong because of the inclusion of a single word,” or “the flaws aren’t really as cookie-cutter as they were on older exams.” Obviously, there are more tangible differences between the PTs in the 80s and the PTS in the 40s: the inclusion of rule substitution questions on LG and the comparative passages on RC for instance, but these differences are by no means “new.” In fact, some of them have been around nearly a decade.

So, the general consensus seems to be that the newest exams are more “subtle” than exams 10-15 years ago. Which brings me to my central point, I am in no way claiming that the exams have remained completely unchanged, but I do claim that the changes have been subtle enough that if we have been doing pretests in order, we shouldn’t have noticed a big change from PT to PT and we should have in our approach inbuilt fixes to whatever has arisen.

So what should we do to minimize the struggle the newer material poses? After you’ve gotten through the CC and you are comfortable with the material: do the pretests with thorough blind review in order. Either from PT 37-present day with thorough review of each PT, or if you are like me and you need a few more PTs to drill from to get comfortable with the material then from 49-present day with thorough review. This helps us get a great foundation, hone our test day skills (pacing etc) and also mitigate any newer elements of subtly or surprise that might come our way.

So, ideally, the process would go something like this:

-You leave the CC having what you believe is a decent understanding of the material

-First PT 37: score 151

-Revisit the CC while thoroughly doing BR, because you thought you knew how to do necessary assumption questions but on the PT you missed 3.

-You watch the videos, you interact with the community, you walk away from that exam knowing how to explain every question, maybe not as fully as you one day will be able to, but nonetheless, you can explain it in a way where your strategies are being used.

-You take PT 38 rinse and repeat, maybe get in on a study group to answer questions and ask questions. You do this through all the PTs. This takes time, but can lend itself to the student getting used to the subtle difference between exams.

What I argue emerges here is a process in which by the time we go through the 60s, past the 70s and into the 80s in order, the “subtly” of the newer exams should be something we are acclimated to. If we have done this process correctly.

In summation, I have met a ton of elite high scorers in my journey. From them telling me their stories I have come to view the process these used in two rough categories: those that got a super high score by doing a process similar to this, if not more in-depth and those who come into the LSAT with amazing LSAT skills already in place who could start with PT 70 and do this process, but greatly abridged (either due to some combination of previous training in logic or other skills.) Basically, every high scorer I have met has done some iteration of this process, the only question is how much did they do.

On test day there are going to be people who get elite scores, how do they do it if the exams have this new subtly to them? They simply have become acclimated to the features of the exam that might be new or slightly different and assimilated this newer subtly into their already built approach of general skills honed through taking PTs and thorough BR. A wise person once told me that we have enough PTs available to us that the LSAT has in a very real way already “showed us their hand.” So the process can be done: go out there and do every post CC PT if you have to in order with super thorough review building skills you can carry forward to the next PT, you’ve got this.

TL;DR: if the newer tests have a unique subtly to them, we can mitigate this difficulty by doing pretests in order. That way we build our core skills along the way and also try to become acclimated to the subtly the newer material poses.

David

premise: Group A took medicine X.

premise: Group B did not take medicine X.

BUT identical results were found in both groups.

conclusion: Hence, X is ineffective.

I'm trying to approach this in a formulaic way but I always find myself being led by answer choices. What do you think is the most LSAT way to strengthen(assumption)/weaken the argument above?

PT 43 destroyed me. I missed more on LR than ever before AND I missed more on RC than ever before. By a lot. No idea why. Has anyone else experienced an off-day to this degree or am I actually burned out and just need to walk away for a few days?

Hey guys, I'm gathering my list of schools I want to apply to and I want it to be very practical. So, is it more important to apply to schools in the area that I want to work in. Or should I be applying to the best ranked schools I think I maybe able to get in (regardless of location). For example, is it better for me to go to a school ranked in the 20's in the midwest, or a school ranked in the 50's that's in the state I want to work in?

Hey everyone, so this is my second time applying to law school. I've been looking up whatever or not I have to change my application from last year to reapply. I don't have much to update besides a summer job that I had. I've seen an article that said they can't be exactly the same, and I've seen some that said it's not necessary to change anything. I think I might change my PS slightly and update my resume. Is it necessary that I do anything else?

Hi everyone!

I have just started working my way through the CC and I'm already glad I chose 7sage as my study course. For context, I am a non-traditional applicant 7 years out of undergrad and almost 4 years out of my masters program, working full-time in a policy advisor position for a federal agency in DC. My undergrad GPA was low (2.94) so I need to rock the LSAT. My cold diagnostic a week ago before I started 7sage was a 151.

I am planning to apply next fall for the 2019-2020 cycle and I would like to apply as early as possible to give myself a good chance. I am trying to nail down which LSAT date I should aim for while still having time for a retake if necessary. I was originally thinking March 2019, but I want to give myself time to foolproof LG, drill, and take PTs so I don't know if that seems too aggressive. Would either the June or July 2019 exam be best? I am also concerned about whether the July exam possibly being digital is a positive or negative.

I am stuck between 2 PS topics and would love your feedback on one of them.

At some point in my college career, I was part of a student teaching placement, wrote a scathing letter to a Superintendent (oops!), and got a call from the Dean of my college to meet. Entering the meeting, I thought that I was getting kicked out and leaving the meeting, he offered to set me up with a meeting with the Regents of the top law school in Texas (and a warning of course!).

Is this topic too risque for my PS? I dont want to seem like I question authority and go rogue. Thoughts?

PS--I didn't take him up on that offer...

LSAC notified me that one of my recommenders has submitted his LOR few days ago. Should I write that professor a thank you note right now or wait until I know the admission results? I kinda want to thank him now but don’t want to seem too kiss-assy either .. any advice?

Is there still office hours tonight?

Some of you asked us if you can use emojis on this Forum. (s)The answer is.....you can use a very limited number of emojis.(/s)

Updated on Nov 20, 2018: Now you can use other emojis by just typing it!✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

JY said it wasn't a relevant game, but the video was made years ago. Curious to see if anything has changed.

With a week left in my subscription, I wanted to say thank you to this awesome and supportive community, as well as a huge thank you to JY for creating and continually innovating this 7Sage program.

I know my stats aren't amazing, but after 2 years studying on and off for this exam and working full-time, I was able to go from a 139 diagnostic,144, 147, 152 and hopefully 154+ (Nov) on the real LSAT's, so I'll take that dub.

7Sage definitely has my recommendation, and the people on here are amazing. For what it's worth, i'll finish this post by saying what i'd change if I can do it all over again.

Dedicate studying for this exam full-time for 5 months

Burnout is real, but I also felt great momentum was the biggest factor in my score increasing. I have been studying inconsistently, but the time I took a 4 month hiatus from Jan through April then began to study for the Sept 18 LSAT has so far been my highest score. Point is 2 years studying for this exam was too damn long.

Sit for the September LSAT

That was my highest score, and as a teacher who gets the summer off, I thought getting those two months completely off was a huge difference and its also pretty early in the cycle. I would think this is also the case for students. Sure, things start ramping up in August and September, but its not so bad, right? (syllabus stuff? lol)

NOT BECOME SO FREAKIN OBSESSED, WORRY ABOUT STUDYING ONLY!

The current market for attorneys, medians, obsessing about stats, on and on. Sure,its reality and it is important. I'm not denying that. But it won't matter until you get the sore you want, and you have to bump all that noise until you're done busting your ass for this test.

I wish all the best for everyone on here. Your hard work will pay off. Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers,

Carlos

Its almost 10pm in snowy Jersey and I remembered to withdraw from the test because, ofcourse, I'm not ready for it. Again. This is becoming a very nasty habit. I mean, I'm not working right now so giving the LSAC $190 is not my idea of being charitable. At this point I think I've paid their kid's college tuition.

Anyway, this is not a pity party (I will drink myself to sleep later) but more of a reminder that if you are not taking the test you still have time to withdraw and no one will ever, ever know.

The discussion forum will be temporarily unavailable today for maintenance.

The maintenance will start at:

5pm Pacific

6pm Mountain

7pm Central

8pm Eastern

(very soon!)

We are planning for the maintenance to take an hour, although we hope to get it done faster. Sorry for any hassle!

EDIT: And... we're back! 14 minutes downtime on the discussions. Thanks for your patience while we did that!

Hi Everyone,

I recently made a post about the severe anxiety I encountered during this previous administration and wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful advice. I plan on addressing this problem with my doctor and hopefully he will be able to point me in the right direction.

Anyways for the upcoming January LSAT, what should my schedule look like until then? I went in to November scoring where I wanted to be although I suppose it wouldn't hurt to earn a few more points in RC. With that one exception I figure I have the skills and knowledge necessary to hit my target. So my questions are:

When should I hit the books and start studying again?

What should my study regime roughly look like?

Any other pieces of wisdom?

If someone is able to help with even one of these questions it would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Linked is my previous post for reference

https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/18534/how-to-overcome-lsat-panic-anxiety

Hello everyone! I am wanting to join a study group, suggestions? Thank you

So I have been reading the discussion on the exam and now I'm getting nervous about my score. The LGs were unfortunate due to the the mining question as I usually shoot to get -0 for LG. Due to one of the substitution questions and the mining question I probably missed a few. Also I remember struggling a little on the last LG question too. I did terrible on the experimental LG, so I almost cried when I found out that's not being scored. To me the RC didn't seem too bad, but then again my brain is fried and I can't remember much. I also feel like since June 2017 they have changed the language of the LR sections to use softer answers, where sometimes two answers can work but we have to pick the best one that for ex: "weakens the most." So I don't know how to feel about LR, and this seems like this will be the direction of future exams. Many people are saying it was difficult and now I'm scared that I shouldn't feel confident in my efforts, and maybe I should be studying to retake. So please leave your feedback on the overall difficulty of the exam. Was it way more difficult than the other exam this year?

Hello all! I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far and managed to take some time away from studying because I for one am still recovering from my first Friday night R&R in months. I am curious as to how you all approach the 7Sage Core Curriculum? Personally I am a rather slow and methodical learner that is just so fixated on excessive note taking and the details that I basically move through the 7Sage course at a abysmally slow glacial speed. Honestly after assessing how I was studying I felt that this slow speed that I move at and basically writing down everything that JY says and trying to memorize it as the word of a venerable God Emperor I seem to almost forget some of the lessons learned previously. I watch every video and basically comb through the comments in the videos to pick out some worthwhile tips but, as I said before, I fear that I may not be grasping the bigger and more important concepts forsaking it for the details of an individual question instead.

I have began to set aside days where I plan to only review and compile important information whether it be concepts, rules, or important takeaways from certain problems onto a Word Document so that I may more effectively review past lessons in a more concise manner as well as drilling certain problematic problem sets that I just failed miserably in while balancing it out with days where I devote all my time to moving forward with the video lessons.

Just some information I am studying for the LSAT full time and I plan to take it sometime in 2019 so that I can apply the upcoming cycle. I initially had planned to take it in January but due to an injury I had to take a significant amount of time off to basically heal and return to 100%.

I was wondering if anyone could be so kind as to give me some tips or tricks as to what worked for you because I would love to learn how to more effectively study and manage my time so that I do not get so bogged down that I end up barely ready for test day. Thank you all so much!

I just finished the LR section of the CC. Wondering if it will be helpful to BR one section of LR a week while I continue on learning the curriculum for LG. Any thoughts?

I was supposed to take the November administration on Saturday at University of San Francisco, but due to half the state being on fire, the testing center cancelled the test. Wondering if anyone knows what kind of test will be administered as the make up test, how to best prep for it? I've heard past undisclosed Feb tests are usually given as make up tests, but am wondering if it will be a 70's test from 2015 or an 80's one from last year?

-removed