This time last year I was starting to write my personal and diversity statements for law school. I was frustrated and getting nowhere, so I bought different books and started doing online research to figure out what exactly to include in my essays and how to frame myself in a way that was appealing for admissions. After a few months of hard work, I had two quality statements completed.

I know that not everyone has the time or resources to personally review their application materials, or they do and just don't know where to start. There are a lot of gaps, and I'd like to help where I can. I was lucky enough to have a strong support network and access to resources that let me put together my essays. If any of you would like, I can review your essays and provide feedback. Send me a message and we can go from there :)

Hi all,

I recently discovered that I'm in a bit of a pickle. Due to my poor foresight and somewhat recent decision to write the LSAT, my Amazon delivery for PTs 28 - 38, 52 - 61, and 62 - 71 will arrive as early as 2 weeks and as late as a month and a half... Unfortunately, I'll be writing in September and I'm about to finish the core curriculum, and require the PTs rather urgently.

I was wondering for Canadian 7Sagers if the aforementioned PT volumes delivered earlier than listed, or if there were viable alternatives to the paper volumes. Would printing a collection of silent video screenshots suffice?

Thanks!

So am I understanding right, it's beneficial to practice the same questions? Or do them once & then never again. Or even if get right keep doing again & again or better to move on? My first & main focus is the getting great at the LG as I did well on other sections. Well enough anyway. I'm just trying to raise 10 points & my weakness is LG. I plan on spending then next several doing nothing but games. Along with working full time & raising 3 kids.. Ha

..ha

Hi 7Sagers. Wanted to post my improvement stats and also see how others faired on their first LSAT after completing the course. For reference, I purchased the LSAT Ultimate package. Anyways my results:

June 2007

LR -7 LR -9 LG -9 RC -12

Raw Score: 63/100

Actual Score: 152

PT:36

LR -10 LR -3 LG -3 RC -7

Raw Score: 78/100

Actual Score: 162

Raw Improvement: +15

Actual Improvement: +10

Over all I'm pleased with this progress. In my first LR section I got destroyed but that was more due to being nervous and not being strategic enough with the harder questions. Once I settled in things went much smoother. Anyways, feel free to post your improvement if you'd like.

I've been looking at this website and have been contemplating whether or not to buy the program, and if so, which to buy. I know I am asking the 7Sage crew and I hope no one is offended by my question - I'm just trying to figure out what may work best for me, while also keeping in mind cost! That said, I am impressed with the sense of community and the approach of this site, so I'm definitely leaning towards getting a course/program, I just don't know which one.

I did well studying on my own, using Powerscore & Kaplan materials as well as prep-tests, but I never did the Blind Review method, which I first heard about on here, and I think it is a good way to look at studying for the LSAT. I'll definitely implement. Anyways, I was practicing at about 168-172 but I admit that I wasn't always as strict as I should I have been with timing myself, so its possible I went over a few minutes on a few exams, which could have bumped up my score. Unfortunately, I had an anxiety attack prior to my June 2016 test and didn't sleep for two days. I've never had test anxiety and the experience was totally foreign, but it is was it is. I got a 159. Totally bummed, but was fearing even worse. I've gone back and taken parts of the June test and performed way better, even acing the LG part (which I often do, but got a -6 on the June 2016 test). I blame the lack of sleep and test anxiety, but I still know there are skills I can improve on and dedication/hard work with a good prep-course would do me good.

Basically, I feel like I know a lot of the core principals, but need some reinforcement. Which program would be best? I am retaking in either Sept or December for 2017 admission.

Any advice? I'm not a beginner, but I also don't think I need to do the entire full course. Looking for some input. Thanks, guys!!!

Hi All,

I will be writing my LSAT in September and, hopefully, will be applying to law schools shortly afterwards to start law school in Fall 2017.

Some context: I suffer from a chronic illness that has impacted my grades in undergrad. I had more hospitalizations/ER visits than I had semesters in all of my undergrad program. However, as I learned to cope with my illness, my grades improved. All in all, I ended up with a 3.23 CGPA and a 3.5 in my last two years. I also worked at 3 of the largest banks while finishing undergrad as an intern (In Canada, we call them co-op programs, which are tough to get in and stay in). After finishing undergrad, I have worked in various capacities in finance, marketing, and branding at some of the largest Canadian and Multinational companies. I am currently working in strategy for a large packaged goods company. I also volunteer in my free time with various charities and have recently been asked to join the Community Advisory Council at the busiest hospital in Canada after I stood up for the rights of some patients whose care was being mis managed. All in all, I have had some great experiences during and after undergrad.

I have talked to all law schools in Canada, who have advised me to apply in their "Access Category". Basically, they have spaces reserved for people who have had to deal with extraordinary situations which has impacted their undergrad performance. I will need to fill a separate section in the application reserved for people applying in the access category. I will also need to provide documentation as proof. I will still need to be competitive to get into law schools, however, they will consider my condition before judging my undergrad performance.

I was wondering if the US law schools have any similar categories? Any help would be great and appreciated.

Thanks for your time. Hope you have a great weekend.

Hi 7Sagers,

On Thursday, July 7, at 9 p.m. EST, I’ll tell you everything I know about choosing a topic for your personal statement. I’ll give you prompts, explain some common mistakes, and show you a few examples.

The presentation will probably last about twenty minutes. After that, I’ll take questions about any aspect of the admissions process.

To join, just follow this link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/283859861

Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP). A headset is recommended. You can also call in using your telephone:

We’ll use Citrix GoToMeeting. The meeting ID is 283-859-861.

Hey guys, I just wanted to let y'all know my general situation and ask for advice if you have any. I'm in between my junior and senior years of undergrad at Mississippi State with an anticipated Law School start date of Fall 2017. I will be graduating with a B.A. in History this December. I started studying for the LSAT in March. I went through Mike Kim's LSAT trainer, and I have a decent grasp LR (-4 or -5 per PT, I know I can improve) but I'm really struggling with Logic Games (-12 or more per PT, mainly as a result of time), which is how I arrived at 7sage. I was registered for the June LSAT, but was forced to cancel after a death in my family the week of the test. Is the the 3 months before the September test enough time to improve to -3 or -4 on Logic Games? My target schools are Alabama (Median of 163) and scholarship at Florida (157 median, 160 75th percentile). My highest PT so far has been 159/160. My UGPA is 3.93. I'm about 13% of the way through the core curriculum.

To all my lovely fellow Canadians on here...Happy Canada Day!!!

No better way to celebrate Canada Day then to do some inference / must be true questions, followed by some Poutine in the afternoon !!

So I took the LSAT for the second time (cancelled my first time) in June and I got a 160, a few points lower than I was expecting. I have a 3.5 GPA and I am an URM (son of Mexican immigrants). I have very good LORs and a pretty strong resume as well as a nontraditional back story. I am aiming to get into a top 20 law school with a scholarship and I am wondering if I am delusional for thinking that I have a shot of that happening with my current stats.

I am considering retaking in September but I don't know if it would be more trouble than it's worth. For example, if I were to retake (this would be my third time) and I got a score that was very similar (or god forbid, lower) than a 160, would that just look bad? I don't want to go through the laborious process of studying for this damn thing just to make myself an even less competitive applicant. Thanks for any input!!

Edit: I am also currently working 45 hours a week and I would be doing that leading up to the Sept LSAT. That could end up being beneficial since I was doing nothing but studying LSAT for the months leading up to the June one and I felt really burned out.

So I am a bit lost about what I should do. I got a 158 on my first LSAT in June, it was an 11 point increase from my 147 diagnostic. I attend Fordham University and have a 3.3 GPA. The reason for my low GPA is because I am epileptic ( I have uncontrollable seizures), my first two years at Fordham I barely kept a 3.0 because I was in and out of the hospital and once the office of disabilities got involved my GPA drastically increased my junior year. My fall semester of junior year I earned a 3.918 and my spring semester I earned a 3.6. This was a drastic increase especially because I learned how to manage my time especially with my disability. I was thinking about writing an addendum about my GPA explaining my situation. I was wondering should I re-take my LSAT in September, my dream school is Columbia University but I would be more than happy to attend schools such as Emory University, Georgia State, ASU (Arizona State University- O'Connor), Boston University, or Boston College. I come from an unprivileged background (grew up in poverty) and I am a minority ( middle eastern). Please help me!!! I am considering taking a re-take of the LSAT in September and I want other peoples opinions before July 4th, because July 5th I hope to begin studying again if I decide to take it over. Really need some input!! Thank You!! =)

Studying for the LSAT has been a daunting process to go through alone! I could realize use someone to study with who understands the struggle!

So uhhh, should I be signed up for the CAS on LSAC already? Or is that something I can wait to do? I really am clueless about all this stuff, because I've been focusing on LSAT LSAT LSAT the whole time so far.

Anybody have any ideas on what the service is, when I should sign up for it, etc.?

Has anyone taken the LSAT without finishing the course? How did that go? I don't think I'm going to have time to finish, but I would like to.

Hey everyone,

Slightly underperformed on my June exam so I'll be back at it in Sept. I just checked Cambridge's site for their LG pdf bundle and I guess it got taken down with all the PTs during the lawsuit.

Is there anywhere I can still get pdfs of all LGs? Or could I buy them in sets from somewhere?

Thanks!

I just got my score for the June exam. 159. Not happy. I was practicing at 172… so you can imagine my disappointment. I got about 3 hours of sleep in two days because of nerves, I guess. And the tropical storm hit our testing facility, knocking out the electric and causing a big commotion. I got totally frazzled. Because I was practicing so well, I was hoping to take it once and move on. Obviously, I have to retake.

Anyways, I am left with retaking in September or December, wanting to apply for Summer/Fall 2017. Problem is that I will be in Europe for all of September (my brother is getting married in Italy). I can take the exam in Rome, which leaves December if I am still not happy with my performance. Or, I can wait until December, but that means applying later than I had wanted (I know a lot of schools make scholarship determinations as they receive applications, and are on rolling schedule), with a worst case of taking it again in February.

Long story short – has anyone taken the exam abroad while travelling? I know it isn’t ideal, but I have limited options. I can study from now until Sept 4 full-time and study part-time while I am abroad, as needed until the Sept 24 exam, but I have no idea what to think about taking it abroad. I am in Europe until October 5. Being in the middle of vacation may be good for me (given that I think my poor performance was due to anxiety and stress, in addition to storm), but it could also totally suck.

My GPA was 3.86 from a good undergrad but I’m very worried the LSAT will hinder my scholarship opportunities!

Any input? Anyone ever do this before? I know it’s not the norm, but I’m sure someone has had a similar situation…

I have drafted two personal statements... and I am unsure of with which to proceed. As of right now, I am not financially able to purchase the package to get David's help but I hope to be able to before application submission this fall, so meanwhile... would any of you like to take a look at my two personal statements and tell me if you think I should go with one or the other? They are in extremely rough formats, and I just would like input on which one to proceed with using before I spend the time on one or the other in editing, revising, polishing, etc etc etc. One is a story of an event in my life where I made a difficult decision. The other is basically about me and what lead me to where I am. The latter is so cliche` and I really want to stand out (as we all do). I plan on doing a diversity statement about myself and single parenthood, so I feel like if I use the PS that speaks about "me" and single parenthood, that the diversity statement is then redundant, so that leads me to think the event story is better to go with, if I do the DS.

Do you keep them? Throw them away? I'm not sure what to do. I usually don't go back to them, and try to get a fresh copy instead. But I was just wondering what you all do with yours. Thanks!

Anyone have any insights on how this cycle might shape up? Is the number of law school applicants on the rise or is it falling? Will schools be more flexible when it comes to splitters/reverse-splitters? Did the number of June test takers increase, decrease, or stay about the same?

I've tried researching but I haven't found much. Mike Spivey did mention though in a tweet that he'll be coming out with some predictions for the 16/17 cycle within the next few weeks. Hoping someone here may have some info.

I just noticed I have access to this. Where can I access? TIA

Hi, just wondering if anyone has any advice with this section? I've gone through the 7sage curriculum and also have done the powerscore bibles. I'm generally getting -0/-2 for critical reading and usually perfect on logic games. The reasoning section is completely killing my score, with me missing -5 to sometimes even -11 on one section. I've taken 4 prep tests and even after blind review sometimes I just don't fully understand. Generally after reading an explanation I have a base level of understanding, but I don't think it's thorough. When each problem is presented and gone through in 7sage and powerscore I understand them and I've gotten the practice ones right...but when it comes to the actual prep test it goes terribly.

I'm not sure if I should just keep going with prep tests or blind review or...if there's something else I should be studying/looking for before that? I don't want to waste tests and feel that there must be something at the base I'm not comprehending well enough.

Thanks!

Hey 7Sagers,

My worst nightmare happened. I underperformed on the June LSAT. I knew I royally fudged up RC, so at least I expected the score I got in my email yesterday. I already moped around for a few weeks, and now I'm ready to gear up for a retake.

I was consistently going -0 in LG the months leading up to June, and yet I froze during G3. I've done every game ever released (multiple times) using the FoolProof Method. I think test anxiety contributed the most to my score decrease. Any retakers out there with helpful advice on how to combat this? I was thinking of doing 30 minute sections instead (to allow some time for freak-outs during the real thing, lol).

Congrats to everyone who reached their target scores!! Hoping to join y'all later this year :)

How do BAD past scores come into play with admissions? I have a lingering feeling that this LSAT (September) will not mean much for my chances for a good law school. I am studying but the feeling of worry is there.

Little back story. The last time I took the test I had life hitting me pretty vigorously. I was taking an accelerated summer session in undergrad and two days before the test, I was in a car accident and got a concussion. Being as how the accident kind of knocked me out for a few seconds without knowing it or blacked out one, I didn't believe I had one. Walked into the test with sleep deprivation already from trying to keep up in class, but with an added concussion. I do not believe that was my best test ability because I was there in my seat, but could not focus. The whole time I had a headache or wanted to sleep. After the test day, being told I had a concussion, I decided to cancel the test (obviously) but with everything that happened, it slipped my mind. My own fault for not canceling it in time I know, but now with the number sticking I am worried it will stick in my admissions decision.

I had watched a few lessons before purchasing the starter package. Do I need to start over from the beginning- is there any difference in what I watched up until purchasing? ...if that makes sense.

Has anyone ever gotten to this point/what did you do to increase your score?: I am missing consistently around 4-6 per section and I need a 170 on the LSAT so I need to improve big time. I have read the powerscore books and have taken about 11 PTs.