Hey 7-Sagers! I'm applying to law schools and am hoping to land somewhere in the T-14. I have a 3.87 LSAC GPA and 163 LSAT score as a Hispanic URM (the LSAT has been a tough journey for me lol). I also feel like I have a strong PS/DS and resume. Although I'm below some of the T-14's medians, do I still have a shot at the T-14s? Should I wait until next cycle and try to bump that LSAT up? Thanks for any advice!

Saw the other thread about writing a GPA Addendum and I was wondering if my situation would apply/it would be worth it. I have a cumulative GPA of a 2.91(Yeah I know) due to a couple of instances that occurred throughout my collegiate career. The first 3 semesters of college my GPA was a 3.2/3.6/3.98 until the spring semester my sophomore year. The night before the first day of classes I was involved in a DUI Hit-and-Run in which I hit my head on the window and suffered severe trauma to my brain. I was on academic accommodation's for pretty much the entire semester and ended up getting around a 2.1. Following that semester I transferred to ASU and got around a 3.0-3.2 the rest of the time that I was in school. The reason I was wondering if I should write an addendum is because I had a strong GPA up until my accident and noticeably had to work harder in school and to pay for my bills because of the trauma and financial obligations that arouse due to the accident. If I wrote an addendum I would probably approach it from the point of view that the accident made it to where I needed to work harder in and out of school due to the cost both mentally and financially. Wonder what you all think, any feedback/input is appreciated! I took the LSAT last year and got a 150, had a little bit of bubbling error due to me rushing. Taking it again in November and should hopefully bring my score closer to the 160s

EDIT: I was the one hit by the drunk driver. Wasn't sure if that was clear.

Hi Im korean and I took October test in korea.

It was a terrible day for me. I didn't do very well on virtually all sections and expecting lower score than my previous test in July.

So heres what happened.

When the time for section 5 was about to be finished I found that one of my answers in section 2 of the scranton was not fully erased. So I erased the mark fully and in the process of doing so I erased part of my answers and blackened them .

The proctor saw it and told me it was a violation as I "worked" on different section and gave me a gold slip saying 'I marked on one question in section 2.'

In doing so I did not turn back the pages to section 2 or anything of that sort but just erased the incomplete marks and blackened the answer that was recorded so as to avoid the technical difficulties because of the machine's misreading my answer.

From my search I found out yellow slip is a deal breaker and considered as a serious offense. But i feel like erasing the incomplete marks as a 'violation' that wil be on my record permanently seems rather disproportionately harsh

The proctor did not deny he didnt see that I turned back to different section but merely saw me marking on different section. The whole incident destroyed my day and the prospect that this would go in my permanent recors is disheartening. I want to make my case to LSAC though it would be very difficult to overturn the case in my favor.

Anybody had similar experience? I really beed some help on how to deal with this entire mess.

Every 10 or so PTs I just get slapped with a 10 or even 15 points below average score. Seriously. Does this happen to anyone else? I don't even really know how it happens, maybe a confluences of bad circumstances, but all in all, it's an extremely curious experience.

This time, in particular, I think part of it was because of the stress. I had promised to record and show people a full 5 section PT, to both give them a different perspective and get feedback, and I think part of me felt pressured to do really well. I wanted to prove myself, because I've always had a -10 decrease from my PT average when taking the real LSAT, and felt like maybe I was a fraud. Because of this doubt, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, I had a restless night, and got sick.

And at last, I proved myself to be a fraud. It felt really uncomfortable to have this fear, and to have an experience confirm this fear. Even though my average score tells me otherwise, I can still honestly believe my fears have come true. I start to think that maybe my previous 5 or 10 tests were the outliers and that my real abilities are truly reflected solely in this one test. This is probably a form of cognitive dissonance, and it freaks me out. Since then, I've taken another PT, and it was at a formal setting, with other 7sagers. So I know it is a legit score, and my score immediately jumped back up to my previous average. Deep down, I am still confident in my capabilities and my ability to overcome this fear, but there's now a constant little feeling clawing at the back of my mind.

I honestly view this as a very revealing and positive experience, because I've realized perhaps my biggest weakness: severe performance anxiety. I now have a clear goal, and like Ray Dalio says, terrible is better than mediocre. Moving forward, I will be recording myself and showing it to others again. Hopefully it will help me get over this nagging thought in my mind. Thanks for reading.

All,

Quick question about the test proctor available through the 7Sage app.

I have “real time” set to 33 mins but the app’s analog clock runs until from 0-35 mins. Is the clock sped up to make it “really” 33 mins or am I just taking a 35 min section?

Does anyone else ever feel like the RC is sometimes total wild card? Sometimes it's a breeze and I get -2, but sometimes the passages just don't click for me and I end up getting -8.

Has anyone else experienced this? What are your tips for narrowing down this wide variation of error rate?

Thank you and happy Monday :)

Is it a bad idea to use tests prior to 34 for practice? Clearly, the LSAT has evolved quite a bit. However, I venture to guess that there is still a lot to be gained from earlier tests, even outside of LG.

Hi 7Sagers,

I just published a new blog post about whether you should study for the GRE. Spoiler alert: probably not!

Check it out: https://classic.7sage.com/should-you-take-the-gre-instead-of-the-lsat/

Hi

I am looking for tutor who could provide some guidance on contract or international law.

Please message me if you have done these courses.

Thank you.

Hi everyone,

Is there anyone out there who primarily practiced with 4 section PTs, took the actual LSAT, and wished they had practiced with 5 sections? In other words, did taking the actual lsat throw anyone off due to it containing an extra section?

I know in the course J.Y. says something about 4 section tests being sufficient and that the adrenaline of test day will help you get through 5 sections. Can anyone confirm this through experience? Of course it will be different for each person. I don’t want to canabalize a fresh PT just to simulate 5 sections, but think it may be in my best interest. Maybe a half and half approach would be smart?

Hey future lawyers,

I will be applying to a few schools in New York this cycle. I was wondering where do these students live. Housing in the city is unreasonable, and the commute from other burrows can be quite far. Do students just take out loans for housing? Plus it seems like most NY schools don't provide housing. What's going on NY law students?

Hi. I'm an international and I took the October test in Asia today.

Score cancellation was never an option, until this afternoon after I stepped out of the testing room feeling absolutely defeated.

I took my first LSAT in June after 3 months of study and got 161. From then on I drilled through most of the PTs except for the very recent ones (PT 80 onward), scoring in the range of 162-169. I felt better prepared and so decided to retake this month.

The exam was a lot more challenging than I expected, definitely so compared to the recent PTs I've been practicing with. I didn't make any Scantron mistakes, finished every section in time and bubbled in all the answers. But of course, having finished every section in time doesn't mean that I nailed each of them. I am pretty convinced that I bombed an LR section, for which I circled around 7 questions and had to take a wild guess on 2-3 of them. LG has always been my strong suit, but today I got stuck with a grouping question and had to guess 3 questions. As for RC, I don't feel so confident either - don't think I ruined it but I definitely could've done better.

My target score is 166+. It was my plan to apply this cycle, but I can wait a year and apply next cycle if I must.

I'm considering cancelling my score because I heard that law schools tend to view multiple scores negatively. I would wait for the results if it was my first go at LSAT, but seeing that this is my 2nd test I can't afford to take chances. Trying to gauge all the possibilities before I make a big decision.

So, here are some questions I wanted to ask:

Please excuse the poor writing. I would appreciate honest opinions.

Thanks.

Is it just me or is everyone else's drill packs down?

Hi everyone,

So far I have taken 9 RC timed sections. On all 9 RC timed sections I do at worst -10 and at best -7. My BR score is usually around -3. I am looking for advice on how to improve from here. I usually finish all four passages right on time, meaning I typically only have around 30 seconds to spare at the end. My average passage reading time is around 3 minutes. I notice I tend to spend most of my time on the questions, I have been trying to implement a skipping strategy so I don't spin my wheels on any one question.

Strategies I have tried:

Spending 10 minutes on each of the first 3 passages by confirming as many answers as I can by referring back to the passage and then essentially speed reading and "throwing a hail Mary for the 4th passage"

Increasing my speed + skipping questions so I finish all passages and have a reasonable shot at answering questions - this is my most recent strategy.

I have seen the slightly greater improvements using the second strategy.

I do not have a consistent notation strategy for marking up the passage, I have just been focusing on understanding as much as I can and underlining what I believe to be important sentences.

What is the best way to improve from here?

Should I continue to drill RC sections, knowing that the actual test consists of 4 passages at a time, or should I work on perfecting my abilities on single passages?

I would love to break this plateau. Ideally I would like my average RC section to be -5 or better.

Any thoughts appreciated!

Hello!

I hope your studying is going well. I have taken 5 PTs post CC and have not been able to get my actual score up to my BR score. My actual score is usually in the low to mid 160s, but my BR is usually between 170 and 175. I am taking the November test and was wondering if you guys had any tips for getting the score closer.

I'm currently registered for the November test, and I'm looking for a study buddy who can Skype or meet in person in the NYC area.

I would like to review and discuss questions to timed sections/PrepTests, as well as general/specific question type strategies to LR and RC. We could meet in person and also discuss by phone. Please send me a PM, if you are interested. We can decide if our score ranges, objectives, and schedules are compatible.

i feel like there's no way i can keep up the study pace i've been at for 5 more weeks until the test, but i don't want to backslide the progress i've made thus far.

tips for staying focused/motivated? useful drills to keep skills sharp?

Would anyone be willing to email me their notes they have from the CC?

Hey future lawyers,

I am in the midst of applying for accommodations for my disease. This condition causes me to have various complications when it comes to concentrating. My condition becomes worse under stress, which is inevitable when taking the LSAT. I was wondering if anyone has requested for accommodations before, and if so how did you go about it? Also I am applying for 100% extra time. However, if I get denied, will they deny me without considering me for 50% extra time? Anyone who has been approved for accommodations, please help!

Hi all,

I’ve been stuck in the high 160s/low 170s for a while now; my average for the last 10 PTs I’ve taken is a 171. I’m typically -0 or -1 on logic games, -2 to -4 on LR and RC.

Does anyone have any advice for how to make that jump to getting those last few questions right?

I have not given the LSAT a second thought since getting my September score, however it popped back up today. I went on a field trip with my daughter’s school to an Indian mound historical site. The introductory video talked about the early impact of corn in their society. I immediately wondered what impact it had on their tooth health (Dental Caries) and whether soybeans would have been a better option (team #soybeans).

I've been a member of 7sage for a while, just lurking the forums. I'm an international student and scheduled to take the October LSAT this Sunday. I've been PTing for a few months now, and my scores have been really erratic and not in my goal range. I'm also scheduled to take the November exam, and I'm going to try for the January one too if I don't make the score I want (lhigh 160-low 170).

My concern is this is my second take, and the first time I took the test I went in underprepared and got a 157.

Would it hurt my chances for admission if I got two low scores, even if I improved and got a higher score in the future tests? If so, should I sit in for the exam and cancel afterwards? The deadline to withdraw was weeks ago so I don't think I have that as an option.

Help :(

Hey all,

I bought another course before I bought 7Sage. In that course, the day before the practice/real LSAT was a scheduled off day. I have been using that scheme but have wondered if it really is optimal. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume there is no single best way, as I'm sure different ways may work for different people.

If anyone would like to share how you schedule your days off, and maybe a little explanation on why that works for you, I would love to hear.

Thanks in advance to all who share.

Hi everyone,

I recently just took my first fully timed PT after completing the CC. I did not take a diagnostic test so I don't know how much I would have improved by. I got a 152 on PT 37 with a BR of 166. My section breakdown is as follows:

Section 1 RC: -6 / BR: -4

Section 2 LR: -12 / BR: -6

Section 3 LG: -11 / BR: -0

Section 4 LR: -10 / BR: -4

I'm disappointed with this score, as I was hoping it would be closer to 160. I have fool-proofed 1-35 by individual game and am working on finishing the FPing 1-35 by sections. For the past several days leading up to the test I was going -3 or less on logic game sections. During the PT I finished logic games on time, but I think I was so stressed out with the clock that I made dumb errors on easy questions.

During the BR process the games seemed much easier and the inferences really stood out to me, maybe since I was more relaxed with no clock. To fix the issue I plan on continuing to FP 1-35 by section and the new games I complete as I do PTs.

For LR I feel like I know how to solve each question type, but the time constraint + mental exhaustion seems to bring my score down. When I BR LR I can quickly and clearly see why my answer was wrong. (except for some 4 and 5 star questions).

Honestly I don't really have a strategy for RC, although I have been practicing with the LRS method.

The somewhat good news is that my goal score is 165 so at least I know I am theoretically capable of scoring in that range. I don't plan on applying until September 2019 so I have plenty of time and 4-5 attempts to take the test.

I plan on using Analytics to hammer out all my weak areas for LR.

Is there anything else I can do to decrease the stress when I take a fresh PT? I would assume my familiarity with taking PTs will lower my stress after a while.

Does anyone have any advice on how to best improve? I have watched the Post-cc Webinar and plan on implementing all the strategies offered. I would imagine I probably just have to serve my time now as it relates to drilling, intensives, FPing, and BRing.

Hey guys, I don't know why I'm making this thread. But I just bombed another logic game set, and wanted to remark how really tired and burned out I am from studying.

With the November test about a month and a week away, really feeling the drag now.

If those of you who's taking the November test feel the same, you have a company in me. Cheers! Haha.