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Doing so will help crowd source really important data that will help future law school applicants realistically find the schools that best fit their needs and abilities. :)
It doesn't take a whole lot of time.
You can check out my profile here! http://lawschoolnumbers.com/PublicInterested
Help! I took the LSAT in December and scored a 165 (I majorly messed up on two games). Since then, I've been seeing a lot of improvement, especially after taking a full week off following the LSAT. I'm concerned by the variation in my scores, though- my last four PT scores have been 172, 174, 180, and a 167, with BR scores at 179-180. There's huge variation within my section scores as well, with my best in each sections being -0 and my worst -4/-5 (average is -2.2 for each section). Since the LSAT I've been working on foolproofing LG and I'm thinking about moving on to working on LR next week. Does anyone have any advice on what I should be working on and how to explain the huge variation in my PT scores? Thank you!
I'm not sure where to turn/what to do, except that I know I'm re-taking after scoring a 151 in December (first take). My highest PT was a 154 with a BR of 161, which was my target score. I made this score a few weeks leading up to the test, then in the last two weeks my scores fluctuated a few points.
I guess I'll start with my studying history which has been a little crazy (and probably why my score is what it is). My diagnostic was a 146 earlier this year. I initially planned to take the LSAT this past September. I studied late June-early August before I decided to postpone. I was using LSATblog and the bibles which didn't help at all, which led me to hire a tutor. While my tutor helped somewhat, I can no longer afford the drive/expense. I often used J.Y.'s LG explanations more than any other prep resources, but at that point I had learned LSATblog's curriculum, the bibles' curriculum, and my tutor's, which ultimately led to confusion and anxiety about how to handle LG. It's like I could figure it out when I did it untimed, but under timed conditions, I froze and everything I learned went out the window. Being the last section on the December test, I definitely knew I bombed it before I got my score back. My section breakdown is this: LR (-9), RC (-9), LR (-13), LG (-14).
This is all so frustrating because I have a 3.74 GPA. I know I can do better than a 151. There were times throughout prep that I scored (-6) on a section. My target school's median GPA is a 3.56 and their median LSAT is a 161, but I feel like I can manage to get into even better schools if I improve my LSAT score. I've also been trying to work on my PS and such, but I can't even articulate what I want to say because I'm so disappointed in myself. I've considered applying to unranked/4th tier schools in my area and transferring, but I feel like that's more unrealistic and stressful than postponing. I've told my parents about re-taking and possibly even delaying my apps by a year and they act like they'd rather be shot in the foot. I've taken a couple of gap years (Teach for America) and I have experience working in the legal field. My ultimate goal is to practice immigration law. I'm also a URM.
My target school's admission deadline is August 1st and I'm now planning to re-take in June. The question is...where do I go from here, especially when I feel so defeated? I've spent close to $1k on prep at this point. Wherever I invest my money this go around, I want to be sure it's worth it. I want to score in the 160s and maybe even hit 170. Is this even possible? Is it too late for this cycle? Should I wait and apply next year?
Thanks for reading!!
I'm an aspiring lawyer but got a tattoo in my back, with a suit, it does not show it off, but if i put my head down with some buttons loose and with the shirt collar loose, it can show of just a LITTLE, here's some pictures of it:
https://prnt.sc/ht76br (tattoo itself)
https://prnt.sc/htl8as (with a shirt) (does not show, even if I put my head down)
https://prnt.sc/htl8l8 (with some buttons loose and the collar loose also, it only shows of like this if I put the shirt back, if I pull it down, does not show off)
I'll have problems w/ it ? Keep in mind that probably clients will NOT see it, cause I'll have a fitting suit on....
Any opinion its welcome! Thank you!
Hey everyone,
I just want to thank everyone for their support and helpfulness over the course of my LSAT journey. I started at a 150 diagnostic and was able to score a 165 in September and now a 169 in December. I attribute this improvement to the wholesome 7Sage community and superior curriculum. For anyone that hasn't had the experience of using the 7Sage curriculum, it is entirely worth it.
However, I did have a question about the February LSAT. My undergraduate GPA is around a 3.94-3.95 and I'm planning on blanketing the T-14 (besides Yale) for this year's cycle. Do you think I should apply now or plan on retaking in February? From what I've been hearing, most people would advise that I retake for scholarship/waitlist purposes but I'm worried about how a lower score could reflect on my chances when it's released in February. I've been really going back & forth on this and would immensely appreciate any of input.
Also,
**Question: ** should I retake the LSAT?
**Background: ** I took the Dec. LSAT (first time) and scored a 173. I know that’s a good score, but it’s below my PT average (last three PTs: 179, 180, 180). I had an unexpectedly busy week leading up to the LSAT and felt a bit burned out during the test. I am an international applicant, with a degree from Oxford law (GPA assessed ‘superior’ by LSAC) and a few prestigious national scholarships in the UK. I plan to apply next cycle and would ideally like Harvard or Yale, but will apply across the T14. Although I’m a UK citizen, I currently work in the US, providing post-closing legal analysis on large M&A transactions.
**Concerns: ** My concerns are twofold: (i) I don’t think I’ve scored at my potential; (ii) I’m worried my score is inadequate for a run at Harvard and Yale, particularly considering the weight accorded to the LSAT scores of international applicants without a reportable GPA.
**Potential retake strategy: ** I would aim to part-time tutor the LSAT between now and June, teaching 2-3 classes a week after work. This would effectively fund any retake as my time preping / delivering lessons would double as personal study time. I would then address my remaining weaknesses in the weeks leading up to the test.
Any advice would be very much appreciated!
does lsac need to get all 3 of my transcript before they calculate my gpa? I ask because I am having trouble getting one of my transcript at the moment.
Hello,
I'm probably taking the LSAT again in June. I did a lot better than last time (13 point increase thanks to 7sage) but my score still sucks. Anyway, I still have much faith in the process, and I think I just need to give it more time. I was thinking about doing what @kimmy_m66 did. However, I think I am going to need a personal study partner in order to actually do all the work I need to do to actually do well on this test. I spent 6 months or so studying for the Dec. Test and I am drained because the way I studied was a double edged sword. 6 months, full time, in my room, every day, except Sunday. I cant work and do this at the same time, so I simply studied. Don't do coffee shops because music distracts me. So I disciplined my self and went through the CC but only managed to get a tiny bit of foolproofing in and like just PT 136 in addition to the diagnostic before Dec. Yes I am for real. I didn't postpone because I was desperate, as 6 months alone in my room was starting to take its toll on me emotionally and I figured another 6 months would kill me (metaphorically speaking). Most of my friends live in the States and the few friends I have here in the Bahamas all work so I never see them. Parents work all day to support my brother and I, and my brother is always busy so I don't see much of him. I basically spent 6 months alone and I just wanted it to end so I took the test hoping I would somehow get 143-146 and get into law somewhere not horrible move on with my life, by being a hard working and SOCIAL human being. I ironically got a 136 on the December test so I probably wont get in anywhere decent unless its some kind of conditional acceptance deal. We all know I need to retake it. My mother is against it because she saw what being alone for 6 months did to me. So she made me apply to some schools I still kind of have a shot at so I obeyed. But part of me does not want to be the guy who scraped his way into law school with a 136. Most of us know that the process works. We just need to have the passion to pursue our goals. I believe I CAN DO THIS, but I need help. As I said, I want to try what @kimmy_m66 did by spending a month to Foolproof 1-35 and then resume PTing in February doing at least one a week. Is there anyone who is also about do that or something similar? I need a study partner to go through it with me, because If I go through with this retake, I have to spend another 5 months in my room, but I can't do it alone, not anymore.
Hi! Would anyone be willing to look over my character and fitness addendum? If you can do so, I would greatly appreciate if you would PM me and I will let you take a look. Thank you!
Hi all; I am hoping to write the test in June 2018 but if I am not PTing where I want by May, I was going to wait until September. How quickly do testing centers fill up? Should I go ahead and book my seat now just in case or can I wait until closer to my tentative testing date to see if I am anywhere near PTing at my goal?
Note: I am just finishing up the CC and am going to move on to phase 2 but am afraid I won't be ready by June because I work full time and can only dedicate around 12 hours a week to studying. A part of me feels like I should book it so I can have more motivation to try and put in more study hours to make it to June but the other part of me doesn't want to rush the process.
I'm debating whether to submit an LSAT addendum,particularly to my safety schools. I am taking the February LSAT, so should I just wait for that first?
For one of my safety schools, my LSAT is two points below the median, and 1 point above their 25th, but my GPA is at their 75th.
I am below the median in my target schools, so I was planning to submit an LSAT addendum for sure to those schools
I want to submit my apps for three of my safety schools already, but I am not sure how to go about writing an addendum if I am registered for the Feb LSAT?
What do you guys think? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you guys in advance!
Quick question - I have the beginners (basic) subscription to 7sage and was wondering if people Go through The CC in order. Is there a reason this subjects are ordered this way? Should I study in a different order?
Since my last post, I got quite a few messages regarding specific questions, thought it'd be nice to just share it here with anyone who's interested, or if any of you have any follow up questions.
Timing
I started at the end of July, and took the December test, so the prep time for me is roughly 4 months. To be honest I think it's a bit tight, but because I was already 3 months pregnant and would definitely want to finish the test before my January due date, so I was left no choice. If possible, I think I'd budget for at least 6 months.
Core Curriculum
I started out using the LSAT study schedule generated by 7Sage and used that as a guideline. I finished core curriculum in 1 month and started timed PTs in September.
During the CC, I followed every single course and exercises in the LR and LG session, but only selected about 50% of the RC part. As I said, my timing was pretty tight, and honestly I think to improve RC, just following the courses won't be enough any way. So I moved into timed PTs after getting myself familiar with the types of questions that appears often in RC.
For LR, something I find extremely useful is to collect all the questions I did wrong, or those I believe contained important implication for future reference, making a scrapbook out of them with detailed analysis. When writing the analysis, it's like I'm re-doing it. And also, as the test date got closer, it'd be great last-minute reading materials.
PTs and Follow-up Exercises
So based on my course package, I started with PT 36 and I do 3-4 PTs per week, depending on if I have weekend plans :) Doing timed PT is pretty standard I think, and of course BR is very important. I usually do the BR right after, so 1 PT would take up my full day schedule.
On the days I'm not PTing, I do the following things:
Score Trend and The Last Month
My first timed PT was PT36 and I scored 165; and I didn't really get my first breakthrough till PT51 when I got my first 170. I think my repetitive exercise between PTs was making a difference because my performance in LG has been stable, and RC has always been hit or miss depending on if there's any topics that I'm extremely uncomfortable with lol, but as soon as I started to get less than -3 in LR, my score showed major improvement.
That's why moving into the last month, I decided to make sure I can have stable LRs during the actual test. I started to re-do LRs from PT 36 to PT 50, in which I was having -4 to -8 in those sections.
In retrospect, I think this practice, plus my scrapbook, definitely contributed a lot to my proficiency with LR. In the actual December test, I scored -0 and -1 respectively in the 2 LR sections.
The last week and What If....
The last week was pretty rough for me as I did the last 3 PTs, and got both very high and very low score. I scored a 166 that almost wrecked my confidence, but thankfully got a 176 in the September PT, which gave me a bit last minute comfort.
I had major nerve issue the night before, and was literally up all night. I think part of the 3rd trimester pregnancy was also a negative factor for me as the baby started moving and kicking real hard during these late days. But I think my adrenalin and New York's chilling winter was high enough to keep me awake.
I'm generally pretty happy with how it turned out, but as I said, if I could have more time, I'd definitely work harder on RC. I got lucky this time because I did just ok with RC in the test (-4), which was average for me. My RC performance has always been unstable, I sometimes can make -1, but sometimes can go as high as -7; Improving RC was really difficult, and I don't think I have much to say in this area, but if you have enough time, definitely spend more energy on it.
Ok, I think I've been rambling a lot. I don't know if these things would be helpful for anyone. But feel free to leave any questions in the comment and I'll make sure to try my best to give some input.
Thanks again 7Sage and JY, this journey wouldn't turn out so great without you guys!
Hi Guys,
I found 7sage late in my studies, only after I read the powerscore bibles, and after I had enrolled in the Testmasters course. During my Testmasters course I found myself referring to JY's explanations for the logic games over the method that Testmasters used.
I was scoring in the mid 150's with my diagnostics. Since getting my December score I've decided to take a look at the CC as see if I can help my score.
I am very discouraged, and my confidence is totally shaken.
Hi,
I cant seem to print the Most strongly supported problem set.
Hey everyone, I wrote my LSAT in December and will be re-writing in February. My goal is to achieve a 160, and right now I'm typically scoring 151-155 range. I've tried the Kaplan and LSAT Trainer books but am thinking about using 7sage for my crunch time of 6 weeks. Does anyone have any recommendations on which study guide to use? My schedule is flexible and my wallet is kind of tight, but don't want that to stop me from utilizing a guide that would really help me. What do you suggest? Starter? Premium? Thanks!!! These forums are very helpful and encouraging!
Hello everyone, so I usually get 155 on my PT but unfortunately I got 150 on the December test. Since I already applied for law schools, I want to try again and write the Feb test. I usually do perfect on the game section and need to improve my LR and RC skills. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to improve in a month? I would truly appreciate any suggestions.
Sorry. Might have missed this. What is this foolproofing everyone is talking about? Or where can I find the explanation?
So I scored a 135 on my LSAT and I am shocked. I printed out the test from LSAC and retook it under test conditions as a practice. I scored a 165 and I'm confused. Maybe I did not eat a good breakfast or I was completely nervous about the whole thing. Someone help me understand where I did wrong. I had to rush my last passage off my RC and I did completely fine on LG on test day.
I wanna get into a t14 with a 3.82 gpa and a 170 score. Improved from my 158. TLS scare posts have gotten to me and I don’t think it’s just bougie pretentious nonsense when people push how important it is to go to a t14.
Honestly I think I’m just one of those stupid smart people who kind of self sabotage so I don’t think I can self study. My diagnostic score was the same as what I got on the exam after really isolating from friends and fam and studying like 30+ hours a week for months. I was kind of just trying to memorize without really understanding and once I figured out what I did wrong I was just like okay I get it now and moved on and made the same mistakes again.
I have a year before the December LSAT. I know that everyone says don’t do a prep course bc it just goes over the basics but I don’t think I understand the basics. I think I might need it just to get me going and force me to study smarter for a few months and then I’ll self study for the remainder of time. Is this a totally awful idea? Which course should I do?
Hi guys. Long time lurker here, but I felt really compelled to write this. I want to say a huge thank you to J.Y. and all of the 7Sage team for providing an invaluable and, amazingly, free resources in your LG video explanations and the analytics tools. Not having a lot of money to put into my prep meant that getting the most out of free resources such as these was a must. After getting the basics down from the Trainer, the LG videos here became a key to my LG learning, while the analytics made it possible to track weaknesses and progress. @"J.Y. Ping": If there is a chance that you see this, I would like you to know that this website has made a huge difference for me.
I also want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone on this forum who takes time to share so many helpful things about specific question approaches, skipping strategies, test day mindset, avoiding burnout, etc. I have implemented many of the things I found through lurking around this forum into my prep, and these things have also made a tremendous difference for me. Putting all these to work, I was able get from a low (embarrassingly low) start and a really disappointing first take, to a score I could only dream about before. Hopefully someone reading this will also take from it that an LSAT setback should not mean the end.
Congratulations to all who are now done with the test, and good luck to all of you who are still in the process.
What do you guys think about doing the test on February? I am still doing the syllabus and I have not taken any PT... I am freaking out! Any tips/comments?
There is so much study material out there. Also, certain company's have better material for particular sections. Like I really like the Powerscore Bibles, but I didn't find the RC as helpful as the other bibles. Any thoughts?
Also, do you think it's best to complete the 7sage syllabus going straight down? Thanks a lot!
Hello 7Sagers,
I have been studying for about a year. It's time for me to change my strategy. I have some lazy habits that I am determined to change. Has anyone else viewed the webinar "Our 89 Point Increase Story"? Here is the link in case you want to hear some inspirational advice: https://classic.7sage.com/webinar/our-89-point-increase-story/.
The most concrete inspirational takeaway for me was that studying for the LSAT reflects my work ethic. Ouch! In undergrad, I had a very strong work ethic but I'll admit that I have not turned it up enough notches for the LSAT. It's time to change that because I eventually want to be done with the LSAT. Tonight I am creating my "task board", something that worked for me in undergrad.
Does anyone else have a strategy that took them from simply studying to becoming methodically focused on the curriculum and self-care needed to do their best? I literally have to have my task board in my face to be sure I do this right.
Thanks in advance,
Sarah