We all have it in us to do our best on the LSAT. The hardest part, in my opinion, is applying ALL the techniques learned across all three sections when taking a PT/sitting for the real thing. I know from my own experience on individually timed sections that I have gotten -0 on RC, -0 on LG, and a personal best of -3 on LR which would put me in the 99th percentile. Of course that is just from individual sections and I am a ways away from ever scoring in that range on a full length test. What I do get from this is that I (and everyone really) have the ability to score incredibly well on the LSAT. This test is as mental as it is about being smart. You have to have the mental stamina to get through all six sections with minimal breaks and constantly keeping your momentum up. Mastering your stamina and mental toughness is absolutely crucial for kicking the LSATs ass. We all have it in us!!

Within the RC - Science section, the lessons do not display the estimated time for the section. Many have "0m" next to them. I am not sure if this has been addressed, but I thought I would mention it. I believe it is because it is new material.

I might be losing it. I'm plateauing in the low to mid 160's (162-166) and I'm aiming for a 172+. With only weeks left to go to the September exam, should I postpone to December? Is it even possible for me to see that kind of a score jump in the last few weeks? This would be a retake - I don't want to take it three times, so I would rather postpone than take in September and December (aiming to apply for Fall 2018 cycle).

To give some more background, I have read through all the PowerScore materials twice, have done the LSAT Trainer, used 7Sage materials, and have made/kept a thorough list of LG and LR problems that have stumped me to see the patterns of the ones that I miss.

I'm currently working on foolproofing LG but I feel like when I'm actually presented with the games, I start mentally panicking and spend too little time on the diagram and working out all of the inferences that could help me more easily answer the associated questions.

On LR, I make so many stupid mistakes it's sad...I truly feel that it's my strongest section, the one whose problems I innately "get" the most, but my performance doesn't always reflect that or the hours I've put into it.

I'm not too worried about RC as that's the section I know is hardest to improve in, though am trying to bookmark some of the passages I struggle with the most for review here and there. My performance here can be anywhere from -2 to -6 though.

What am I doing wrong? People who managed large score jumps in the last few weeks, how did you do it?

Hi there,

Writing this as I listen to the Post Core Curriculum webinar, and I have nearly finished the 7Sage CC, I am trying to organize and map out the next few months of my study--- to write in December or February. Even with relatively heavy study, its has taken me 3 months to complete CC. From CC, I created a binder predominantly of LR notes along with notes from the Trainer. I have file folders that each entail a single copy of PT's 1-80, a giant LR binder with every singe LG (1-80) for Fool Proofing, and a binder to work out of BR. I am able to study semi-full time...any suggestions/recommendations on my organizational structure? Although there are plenty of inquiries about how many PT's...I am willing to do as many as it takes, but I don't want to run out of time and there be a gap where I've skipped a whole middle chunk of PT's if I start with #1.

I am aiming for a 15+ point increase, ideally from my last unfortunate write in February. I began 7Sage in May, and have not taken a PT since (skipped diagnostic). I have no knowledge of which areas require my focus.

Should I wait a few weeks before attempting timed PT's, and begin with untimed drills while referring to the curriculum to understand structure better, and Fool Proof LG, or should I jump right in and BR? If so, how long would you suggest this phase last? Or should I ponder over CC notes over and over again without practice before going in? I am honestly a bit nervous to taking my first PT.

I will be able to transition to full time studying in September.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!!!

I feel since J.Y. has drawn out detailed explanations of almost every LSAT question in existence, that he, if anyone, would stand the best chance at getting a perfect score on new tests. But what do you all think?

The line graph that tracks our misses by test for each section... there are 2 separate lines for LR... does one of them represent the first LR of each test?

I am asking because I believe the graph is telling me that either the second LR section is consistently more difficult, or, more likely, that I have a conditioning problem. My first LR section seems to be consistently stronger than my second.

After giving the ultimate + package a shot, I just don't think I can justify 750 bucks. I'm trying to canvel.my subscription, but having a hard time getting an answer from @"Dillon A. Wright" Everybody else feel free to ignore this post :)

After being notified of your testing accommodation- Did you start practicing with your new time? I am interested in learning about how people with an accommodated time accounted for this during their prep before the LSAT.

Any feedback or comments are appreciated. Thank you!

I'm curious as to why there seems to be such a clearly delineated set of camps on the LSAT.

There is team LG - Who think LG are the best thing on earth. This is where we can consistently go -0 in 28min and feel confident in our answers. We pray we get LG as our experimental section because we love them so much. LR makes us cringe a bit, we might be okay at it, but we sure could use some improvement.

Then there is team LR - LR just comes naturally to them. Typically going -2 or less a section they blow through LR. Finishing early with time to review. They love everything about LR, no question type really throws them for a loop and they always feel confident in their answers. LG make them cringe a bit, they can get through the games but never with confidence and miss a fair chunk of points here.

I've been around these forms, Reddit and a couple of others and it seems people typically fall into one of these two camps. Very envious of the other.

I am team LG - the games come naturally to me, I love them and they are easy. LR on the other hand....how do you people do it?!

Which team are you?

Why do you think this is?

Someone please please tell me this is just an anomaly and that everything is going to be okay lol (seriously freaking out here)

I scored a 157 today on PT #69, my lowest score since the second week of May (when I started studying).

When I started studying I was consistently in the low 160s and now I have been consistently scoring in the mid 160s for the past month or so, and so I feel a bit blindsided by this score, especially because I felt confident about the LR sections and I got 16/25 on one and 20/25 on the other. I kind of knew I messed up on the LG section as I ran out of time (which hasn't happened in months). I feel like it may be because I've been super tired this week and I wrote the test after an 8 hour work shift, but it'd be nice to hear some reassurance!

Also, if this happened to you, any advice on where to go from here?

Hi all. So I took pt 43 and got a 172 yesterday. Today I did blind review, and was up to a 176. Idk if it's technically blind review , I just took the test and redid it with more time and finished maybe around 4 hours along my start of the sopranos lol.

Now, I want to see which answers I switched over correctly and incorrectly and break them down into question type and practice those sections with some questions.

Is there anything you guys think I could do better here or is my process okay? And I'm really pleased with the 172 since it was my first actual PT since the June lsat and I'm doing a lot more untimed questions by section type and I think it's paying off. I'm aiming a PT a week whereas before I did like 4 PTs a week (very stupid as I've learned). but idk, I got in the 170s a couple times pting but didn't break 160 on the actual test. I basically did much lower than my PT average and I treated this studying like a full time job. Still do for September? So idk maybe I'm missing something and it was those beers all along. Jk. /rant

Thanks

Hey guys I have been stuck inbetween 156-158 for the past 2-3 weeks and need some advice about how to proceed with my studying and ultimately achieve my goal of a 160. I began the 7sage curriculum at the beginning of June and scored a 140 on the diagnostic. After the first month I made significant gains getting into the low 150s and then into the range I'm currently stuck in. I find that I struggle the most with LR particularly (SA/NA/descriptive weakening/flaw type) questions and for most of my wrong answer choices i always narrow it down to two answers (one of which is usually correct) but happen to choose the wrong one. In addition, with blind review I have reached160, however during the PT's I make some silly errors simply because I feel pressured due to the timer. So what Im wondering is if it would be more beneficial going over past exams and drilling questions i got wrong and fully understand what led me to the wrong answer and how to identify the correct answer or continue taking PT's? Because from now until Sept 16, 2017 when i write the exam all i have left are practice exams but i feel like I'm wasting my time because I scored almost the same on literally every PT in the past two and a half weeks and because I'm on PT52 of 72 for the package I've bought and my schedule created by 7sage requires i take at least 4 a week, which gives me no time to review. In other words, will it cost me on the actual exam if I don't take all these PTs?

Sort of irrelevant but I did book a one week trip next week to take my mind off things and relax, and i was wondering what sort of studying/review/PTs i should do there and how much time i should still allocate for LSAT prep. Finally, for the 5th section on the exam (essay) should i be practicing this and actually doing some from PTs, or since it doesn't account for my grade not worry about it.

I know I asked a lot of questions but I'd appreciate some advice/feedback.

Thanks!

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I have been studying for the LSAT for 4 months now and have been consistently getting 156-157, and have been working my way to 160. I took a PT on Sunday only to get a 152... and I am feeling extremely discouraged because of it. Any tips to help remove myself from this mindset?

As I'm currently fool proofing the games, I've been noticing that my neck is killing me. I'm guessing it's because my head is down and I'm focused and most likely a tense. If it gets bad enough, the pain literally will run down my arms. I've always struggled with back issues but it's always been centered in my low back. It surely does not help that I sit at a desk all day for work as well. Any suggestions from others with the same issue? Thanks!

So my last few PT's have been 168, 170, 173.

Obviously the random noise is evident here - days I felt good, days I felt bad etc.

My question is for those of you who went in with similar scores on test day, what were your methods to prevent the dreaded 3-4 point drop from PT to actual score. Obviously there is no 100% answer, but did you do anything to keep yourself calm and focused? What did you do to prevent yourself from slipping?

Did you do any sort of warm-up problems?

Here is a short story:

A man was walking through a circus. As the man walked passed the elephants, he stopped in confusion. The elephants were being held in place by a small rope tied to one back leg. No chains or cages. It was fairly obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well," said the trainer, "when they are very young and much smaller, we used the same size rope to tie them, and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe that this rope can still hold them - so they never try to break free."

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were. Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it before?

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

Never give up on your dreams.

The LSAT is your rope - keep pulling, eventually it'll snap.

Hey guys,

I've been looking up 509 reports for schools I'm interested in, and I keep seeing where school report how much grant money their students are given. I know there are federal grants and private grants, and in undergrad I qualified for a federal pell grant based on my mom's income through the FAFSA. Does anyone know anything about how hard grants are to come by in law school? Especially federal need-based grants? And I should probably already know this, but do we have to fill out a FAFSA for law school? I think I read somewhere that we do, and even if we've been out on our own working, we still have to include our parent's financial info on the FAFSA. If anyone could shed some light on this that'd be great! Thanks.

Hi friends,

So I took the LSAT two years ago (October 2015) and scored pretty terribly. I had definitely underestimated the test, and foolishly thought that taking a two-week intensive course just a month before would set me up nicely. In the week counting down I was PTing at about 150 and for whatever reason, was content with this score. I ended up getting blown apart on test day, scoring a 145 officially. I was pretty devastated, and at that point realized that I needed to approach the test much more seriously than I had been.

In the end I got cold feet and didn't apply to any law schools, instead entering a Masters program. Law has always been my end game, and two years later, nearing the end of my Masters, I'm making a push to write again. I think I'm on pace to bring myself over the 160 hump if I stay at it -- PTed at 157 Sunday evening -- but am worried that in the end, my old score will deter schools from accepting me. I'm wondering if anyone is able to either provide me some assurance that there is yet hope, or otherwise, let me know if I've got the odds stacked against me. If it helps to gauge my chances, I'm from Canada, which I understand has much fewer schools and is thus very limited.

My GPA is solid (3.7), I have strong academic and professional references, and think I have some good soft creds with my Masters, sports involvement, and volunteering. How do you think I would fare with two scores of 145 and (hopefully) 160-165? Your insights would be very much appreciated!

AE

I'm currently at the point where my test scores range between 166-172 and I rarely miss more than two questions per reasoning section. However, my performance on the other sections is more volatile, particularly on games (-1 to -8). I studied intensively for about 1.5 months in preparation for the Dec 2016 test, which I cancelled. I then took roughly 8 months off before recently resuming studying for Sep. My improvement on games has been steady but slow and I still often run out of time on 2 or more questions. Can anyone offer some suggestions for study methods beyond the foolproof method? I drilled 20 dif games so far today but my performance started slipping by the 16th or 17th game...thanks!

So I've been trying to develop a circling method for BR/time saving.

The best thing I've come up with so far is one circle for questions I'm not a 100% sure on, two circles for questions I found the answer choices difficult, and three circles for questions I plain just don't understand. I tend to finish my sections with a bit of time 2-5 minutes so I'm hoping this can focus my spare time. Does anyone else use a similar method for which questions they address first?

Hello all,

Applied for LSAT accommodations around the end of July and still have not heard back from the LSAC. It will be 14 business days this Thursday, so they are still within their window, I was just curious, from those who have gone through this process before, is it common for them to take the full 14 business days to reply?

--

http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2017/08/07/georgetown-joins-list-of-top-law-schools-using-gre-for-admissions/

Hey y'all,

We got an email from Dean Rodriguez this morning that provides in relevant part:

At Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, we are firmly committed to meeting the evolving needs of the profession, and this means constantly evaluating the law school experience. ... With this in mind, starting in Fall 2018, Northwestern Law will allow JD applicants to submit either the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) for admission the following year (Fall 2019).

The GRE is a holistic exam that comprehensively evaluates qualitative and quantitative skills and is broadly accepted by thousands of graduate and professional degree programs, from biochemistry to public policy to philosophy. Gaining access to GRE test-takers, many of whom are engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, could benefit Northwestern Law and the legal profession at large by diversifying the applicant pool. Additionally, the GRE is offered a number of times throughout the year and in locations worldwide, making it easily accessible for prospective students.

This decision was made after careful evaluation, including a study conducted in conjunction with the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the organization that administers the GRE. In accordance with the American Bar Association (ABA) Standards for Legal Education, the study assessed whether the GRE is a valid predictor of first-year academic performance at Northwestern Law. Results showed that the GRE is in fact a strong predictor of first-year performance at Northwestern.

The ABA Council is currently reviewing its standards in regards to mandatory standardized tests required for law school admissions. ... In the end, we are optimistic that they will allow law schools greater flexibility in the admissions process, to the benefit of students, schools, and the profession alike.

Hopefully this will be of some encouragement and not distract you from your LSAT studies. LSAT remains the best preparation for the skills you need to succeed in law school. One of the reasons I've done well is because I'm super fast at assessing arguments and articulating assumptions: two skills you will not get from the GRE on its own. Also note that our JD-MBA program already accepts GMAT exclusively.