Duke admitted me through Priority Track yesterday!

Does anyone else here have a Priority Track invite? It's such a great program. It takes a bit of the stress off those admitted, and allows them the opportunity to negotiate financial aid early. I wish more schools did this.

With that said, does anyone here have any experience negotiating financial aid with Duke (or any other school)? What do I do? lol

Any help you guys could provide would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I just stopped at the end of section 2-- logic games-- in a prep test, after leaving one game almost completely unfinished. I think I'm ready to give up on the LSAT.

My background: went to a good school, didn't have direction, graduated with a 3.0, and I've been working in a job that I hate for three years. Public service is my passion, and I really want to go to law school (a good law school, of course). I need to crack into the 170's to be a viable candidate. I started studying in May with the PowerScore books, then I discovered 7Sage a few months ago. I've been studying pretty seriously and intensively for the last 2-3 months. My score has improved from a 155 to a 162, but it has stagnated at that 162 for three tests. I've been doing some refining around the edges, really utilizing that LSAT analytics feature-- nailing 4s and 5s.

I feel like I'm not "getting" it-- like I don't have that edge, or intelligence, or whatever it is that allows oneself to crack 170. My throat is hoarse from screaming after ending another logic games section with a game untouched. I thought, what's the point anymore? I've been working at it for so long and hard and I still can't nail these games under timed circumstances, especially when there's only one 1 in the set. Sure, I can go back afterward under non-timed conditions and eventually get it. And sure, I can do it ten times after watching JY brilliantly explain it, but that doesn't change how I perform when I try to apply what I've learned.

I've read some stories from people who have scored really well (175+), and they all share a common feature: they studied for a couple of months (usually around 2-4, sometimes 6), and ended up scoring in the range near what they scored on the test on their last few practice tests. I know everyone is different, but after 6 months of studying I feel like I should be going 150->160->162->165->166->...->171 based on how hard I'm working on this.

I try my hardest to stay positive, think intuitively, be a good listener, and apply what I learned from the lessons to the new material presented to me in practice tests, but I feel like it's getting me nowhere. Am I not smart enough? Have I just hit my mental capacity? I'm no genius by any means, but I feel like I'm pretty damn intelligent.

At this point, I don't see a path forward. And it really sucks. Anyone else relate? How did you pull yourself out of it? How did you start nailing practice tests? My test is Feb 10, and I'm really considering throwing in the towel now.

Happy Saturday everybody!

Is anyone interested in doing a PS swap? We can discuss more details in PM or on the comments, let me know!

Trying to get as many eyes on my PS as possible :D

Hi everyone!

I realized my flashcards are all over the map. I wanted to ask fellow 7sagers: what are you flashcarding?

Thank you!

Hey everyone,

Columbia is currently the #5 law school in the nation. But relative to other schools within its ranks, its 25th/50th/75th percentile GPAs are incredibly low: 3.56/3.70/3.81.

Their LSAT scores are more on par with their ranking: 168/172/174.

To me, this could be the result of two competing explanations:

If scenario #1 is true, that is a really good case for GPA splitters - people who have good GPAs but meh LSATs. For example, a 3.90 GPA with a 167 LSAT might just get you into Columbia.

But if scenario #2 is true, then sorry GPA splitters! It doesn't really matter.

I was wondering what y'alls' thoughts were on this topic. I've always been dumbfounded as to how comparatively low Columbia's GPA standards are. Is this because people who apply their don't have as stellar GPAs, or because they just don't care about GPA as much? Or something else?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories.

Thanks,

Paul

So was the perfect score v4 watch banned from the December lsat or was I the only one had his watch taken away 5 min before the exam started?

My first time writing the LSAT was over the weekend. I had dedicated a solid 4 months to studying full time using a variety of prep materials. I felt OK for most of the test until I got to the last LG section and I ran into difficulty with the third and fourth games. I ended up guessing on the majority of the questions in Games 3 and 4, and that really clouded my perception of the whole test. My gut tells me I didn't do well, mainly because of this blunder. I was PT'ing around my targeted score range for the schools I want (159 - 164), but I have no idea if I made into this range on the actual test.

Going forward, what should I do to make sure something like this doesn't happen again? I was fairly confident in my strategy for games. I've exhausted most PT's and finished the Core Curriculum on 7Sage. Could my testing blunder just be a mental miscue due to a combination of stress/fatigue? Or is there something I can do to recalibrate my study strategy so that this sort of thing never happens again?

Hello everyone,

February will be my third and final exam, and making the final push now. Was wondering what your study week looks like? Do you guys try to do a bit of LR, RC, LG in a day, or focus on one section per day?

I work full time, and usually study for an hour before work, and 2-3 hours afterwards.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.. best of luck to everyone!

This also could mean more time to register for lsat... but why? Is the pool of applicants shrinking? Or maybe LSAC fears the GRE?

What's up with schools that say they take Feb. lsats but have deadlines way earlier than the projected lsat score date? For example Yale says they take it but their deadline is 2/28

Hi,

With the recent announcement from Northwestern that they accelerated the GRE acceptance to this cycleI'm considering taking it within the next 2 weeks. My question is do you think it can compensate for a low LSAT? I have studied for the GMAT 2 years ago and scored well. And I heared that it's easier than both LSAT & GMAT. I'm an international student ( English is my second language) & majored in Finance, so the math section might give me some advantage.

Is there a specific threshold which would be considered a strong score? Any advice would help.

Here's a webinar on law school debit and related topics. It's worthy for watching before you commit to law school application.

https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/console/EventConsoleApollo.jsp?&eventid=1550217&sessionid=1&username=&partnerref=&format=fhaudio&mobile=false&flashsupportedmobiledevice=false&helpcenter=false&key=1EE4B217BF141A1DA86BC2DB58138227&text_language_id=en&playerwidth=1000&playerheight=650&overwritelobby=y&eventuserid=186904199&contenttype=A&mediametricsessionid=152255215&mediametricid=2221640&usercd=186904199&mode=launch#

Just curious, did LSAC ever release December test score before their two weeks holiday?

Thanks.

Hi All,

Interested in hearing the thoughts of my fellow 7-Sagers.

My LSAT journey has been a long learning process to say the least. My first attempt (a year ago) came after taking a worthless Kaplan prep course which had successfully convinced those of us enrolled in their course that all we needed to crush the LSAT was their three-month study plan. This was evidently false after I received my first attempt score (Dec. 2016). In hindsight, I should have cancelled.

Later, after some research into the more popular study techniques/guides I made my second attempt last June 2017 after studying the PowerScore Bibles and saw a significant increase in my score. I applied to a #50 school but was ultimately waitlist-denied.

However, it was nearly the end of my study for the June 2017 that I discovered the undisputed, most effective, most honest and realistic LSAT preparation company of all time... 7Sageeeee! Working through the CC and watching JY's explanations gave me the "ah-ha" moments I was longing for.

SO, last Saturday's Dec. 2 administration was my THIRD attempt at the LSAT. However, I don't feel like this attempt was within the score range I had hoped to be within (162-167).

With all of that said, should I roll with my score and get my applications in early? Should I cancel and retake in February? Or finally, should I keep score and make a FOURTH attempt in February? I'm not too thrilled about having that many reported attempts and also I am not happy about applying so late in the cycle but if it means scoring well within or over my ideal range and making myself a more competitive applicant, perhaps a fourth attempt is worth it..

All feedback is encouraged. Thanks!

Kyle

PS. Didn't intend for this to be a narrative lol Hopefully just provides some context. Maybe someone else has a similar story.

I graduated 2 years ago and need a rec letter from my law psychology professor. I got an A and this class strengthened my decision to study law. However, I never went to office hours, or talked to the professor. Also, it's been 2 years. I need to send him an email, but I'm starring at a blank page. Please help? What should I say?

I'm about to start writing my personal statement, cv, and diversity statement. I would like a professional to have a look at it. Someone who knows a lil bit about law school stuff. Unfortunately, I don't have hundreds to blow, and going to a school English tutor seems pointless.

I live in Columbus oh. Does anyone know about law school admission peeps in my area who could lend a hand?

On 7sage. I am retaking for february. can it be completed by the exam? otherwise what do you recommend? thanks!

There's gotta be something wrong with my learning skills. I started out at 156 and I can't top 162 practically a year later. It's super confusing and frustrating - I started out going -4 or -3 on logical reasoning and -8 or -9 on RC and -15 on games. I decided to focus on the latter two since I was worse on them but it's completely backfired. I've managed to significantly improve on RC (I just needed to go faster) and now get -3 or -4, but I haven't improved at all on the games- and my logical reasoning has, inexplicably, gotten significantly worse - now I'm averaging -6. What the heck?

Is anyone in a similar boat where they've just plateaued? My diagnostic was decent so I was sure I would be able to top 165 on the test and I'm really frustrated. Why am I getting worse in logical reasoning? So weird.

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share a bit of my experience and hopefully encourage someone. After 3 months of prepping I was PTing around 150, 153 or so. My biggest issue was that I would only get half way through each section before time was called, thus only getting half the potential points each time (and that would depend on what I answered correctly). I was using a number of study materials, one of which was a book which (though I didn't realize it at the time) was poisonous to my mentality. It said things which led me to believe that the scores I was getting at the time in the low 150's were the highest I would ever be capable of regardless of study efforts. It said that a person was unlikely to ever improve more than 10 points or so from their first PT score, and even those 10 points would be brutal to earn. I thought its advice to "accept" your capabilities and your limits was a "wake up call" of sorts, that I would never get the score I had hoped for when I first began studying (a 170+).

As I approached the September 2017 test, I felt unprepared, and I knew I hadn't done my best. My sister helped me to see that I am capable of anything I want. With hard work, I am capable of a 180. I withdrew the night before the exam. I stopped using that particular book, enrolled in 7Sage, and started working independently on fixing my timing issue so that I could get to more questions. My 7Sage diagnostic PT soon after beginning the course was a 162. I continued to work through the course and studied harder than before, and smarter than before, learning more about timing strategies and what approaches to take to specific questions. This made me faster, and improved my ability to find correct answer choices and pass over trap answer choices, sometimes with a laugh to myself.

Over time, I ended up seeing scores of 165, 168, 170, and 171. Once I broke through the 170 mark, I did not always stay there, and would sometimes see a 164 or 168 again. However at that point, it would be the result of fatigue during the test, moving too slowly on a harder section, silly mistakes like thinking the question had asked what do Sally and Jim "agree" on rather than "disagree" on, or being intimidated by an innovative (but doable) LG, and that score change would be the difference of about 2 to 5 individual LSAT questions. I knew what I was doing, I just had to practice and fine tune, continue foolproofing games and blind reviewing my exams.

I sat for the LSAT a few days ago (December exam) and I, of course, do not know what my score is. However, I said all this to say that if you are getting scores on your PT's that you are not happy with, and you feel that you are capable of more, than I believe you are. It takes a lot of hard work, and it takes the will to dedicate yourself to this even in spite of a particularly discouraging PT score or a question type that seems to get you every time. But by understanding the correct approach, meticulously analyzing every mistake, and thoroughly confirming correct, successful lines of thinking, you, dear reader, are just as capable of the score you want as anyone else.

I know that there may be some debate in the world about what undergraduate courses might help someone be better equipped for this test, or how a super genius might study one month or less and ace the test. I'm not going to fully go into that, but what I will say is this: it may not be easy for you (it was not easy for me at all), but you are more than capable of the hard work it takes to achieve what you want.

I was very nervous to share my story but, if I have encouraged someone, it's worth it. A big thank you to 7Sage for the wonderful curriculum and all the lovely motivational quotes! Fellow testers, I wish you the best!

TL; DR: After my months of improved preparation following the September LSAT date, on my absolute worst day I PT'd 14 points above my first LSAT score of 150, on my best day I PT'd 21 points above my first LSAT score. Be encouraged! "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." -Winnie the Pooh

I took the September LSAT and decided to cancel and registered for the December one. I was scoring in the range of 165-168 before the December exam and felt pretty at ease. The night before the LSAT (Friday), I received news that my cousin had died. I still went to take the LSAT on Saturday morning, but I was filled with different emotions that day, so I can't really trust my hunch on how I did.

I know the scores won't be released until January, but I was wondering if I end up scoring below the range that I was scoring prior to the exam, should I write an LSAT Addendum?

Hey all,

I am consistently missing 2-3 on each section. So no obvious weaknesses are popping out to me. Still, I need to make the jump from the high160s to mid-170's consistently. Who has done this? How does one do this? Lol any help appreciated.

Thanks 7sage (3(/p)

Do y'all get the same test for those who took the test this Monday? I'm sitting for Feb. Sabbath date.

Does anyone know what the deal is for seating at CUNY Law? I've heard from some they were in smaller rooms with spacious desks while others were in large lecture halls with the tiny pull out desks-- not sure what to expect. Appreciate the input!! :)

For those of who've taken the exam a couple times, if you do worse on your subsequent tries... I'm still unclear how all that plays out, I understand law schools are able to see all your previous scores, but if your most recent ones are worse, do they look at the most recent scores to make a determination or do they look at your highest score?

Proctors: Been the same lead proctor for all 3 attempts I have taken it here. He was in charge of the Sept 2016, Sept 2017 and Dec 2017 test. He is a really cool and fairly relaxed if not forgetful guy. He forgets little details, like telling us it was okay to open our books to fill out our names on the answer sheet. They will accommodate everyone the best they can for medical purposes (eye drops etc) They generally do not talk at all during the test.

Facilities: It's a Marriott, typical hotel. The test area is in the basement area of the hotel. The bathrooms are close, but small. Male's had no issue getting in and out of the bathroom. There was generally a large line during the break for the female bathroom.

What kind of room: Huge ballroom with lots of space. They have an analog clock hung dead center, however people in the back might not be able to see it.

How many in the room: About 75 people.

Desks: Large desks, with plenty of space, one person per desk. There were about 75 people taking the test and there were still 10 extra desks that were not used. The surface of the desks can be rough but they put blank white cardboard plates down that you can write on!

Left-handed accommodation: No need.

Noise levels: Quiet, other than an occasional sneeze and the pencils of frantic LSAT takers mapping out a LG.

Parking: Can be a hassle. They have valet parking, but who wants to pay? Walnut Creek BART station is close though and free to park at during the weekend. I parked here and walked to the test all three times I took it.

Time elapsed from arrival to test: From check-in at 8:30 it takes about an hour to start the actual test. Once everyone is in the room and the instructions given you will start. Don't expect to start until around 9:30am (but be there early!)

Irregularities or mishaps: None

Other comments: Great place in the Bay Area to take the test. I've taken 3 here and have never had an issue!

Would you take the test here again? I did. 3 times.

Date[s] of Exam[s]:

Sept 2016, Sept 2017, Dec 2017