Hi guys,

For those of you that have taken the LSAT before - were you able to get into the test center facility before the actual signup? I'm talking about getting there maybe 20 minutes early to scope out/use the restrooms and so on.

I'm going to be taking at Suffolk Law in Boston, and on normal days the access to the building is badge based, and the security guard said I couldn't go in and take a look at the rooms or general facilities (I'm amazed some people are able to take PT's in their testing room, this guy was serious about no can't do).

Thanks!

Hi friends,

I appear to be in a bit of a dilemma. I'm registered to write the Sept. LSAT and have been practicing steadily for about two weeks. I'm scoring consistently around 168, which I realize is fine, but I just can't seem to break through that plateau. My struggles will either always be in logic games or reading comp, but sometimes I get 100% on reading comp so it really just doesn't make sense. My gpa is low enough that if I want a chance to get into a decent school, a 170 would really be an asset. Does anyone have any advice on how to break through and gain 4-5 points before the exam?

Thank you!

Taylor

For LR clearly. When you see a question involves heavy Lawgic say MBT MBF Parallel reasoning etc.. Do you start mapping the lawgic right away or read it first then read it again and Map it out?

In the course of blind reviewing LR questions, I gained a few simple insights that I thought might help some people. In the interests of facilitating improvement on LR, maybe this can get people to chime in on some of their methods.

First of all, I've seen it said many times, but I now think that the advice to write out by hand every question you're reviewing can't be overstated enough. I found that by writing out and explaining exactly what I read in the stimulus along with writing out reasons for why each answer choice is either right or wrong, I was able to expose so many gaps in my understanding and tacit assumptions that would have completely gone unnoticed had I just scribbled a quick diagram or something to that effect while reviewing. By writing things out, even if by playing around with things, paraphrasing, or putting an idea in a different light, I was able to express everything I knew, which led me to identify everything I didn't know. (I think the old adage of knowing what you know and knowing what you don't know applies well here). Writing it out also doesn't have to be formal or strict, but as long as you are able to hold your ideas accountable by enumerating them, you'll have a good point from which to improve yourself.

Second, make sure that you eliminate answer choices independently to fully understand what's wrong with them. I think a tendency of reviewing without writing things out is that we're more liable to blithely skim from one choice to the next, not holding ourselves wholly accountable and not giving each answer choice a fair hearing. You can't understand why something is wrong if you can't eliminate it for its own sake. If you spell out your reasoning for each choice before either choosing it or eliminating it, you'll better understand why you chose it or not.

Third, make sure to read the stimulus naturally first, with some light marks if necessary, and then come back and diagram. Keep in mind I recommend doing this during review, not necessarily timed PTs. I found that If I'm too ready to write something out, I might miss making some connection and seeing the larger point. Get a grasp of the idea or structure of the stimulus before you assign a specific methodology or approach. Maybe this is more applicable to harder stimuli as opposed to easier ones with a quick and simple setup and with time you'll be so good that you know exactly where things are going as you're reading and your diagramming is right at the heels of your thoughts, but I think it will take some time to gain that level of intuition.

Fourth, be sincere with yourself. Don't censor your thoughts too much in the course of writing down your reasoning and be intimately aware of the initial impressions you have after reading something. Those initial impressions may reveal something about your intuition, and if you want to improve your intuition, you should first expose them by writing them out. Improvement is made easier when you know exactly what you have to improve on, and this starts by being honest about yourself and your reasoning behind choosing an answer choice.

Finally, do not move on until you feel absolutely certain about an answer choice. I think the temptation of watching the explanation for the question by JY is just an excuse for you not doing your job properly. The videos should be a complement to what you already learned yourself by pouring in all that time reviewing the question.

Okay! Here is my dilemma, I have registered for the Testmasters course, but now I am having second thoughts and thinking about getting a refund and signing up for 7sage instead. The community have been so helpful so far, and I've heard such good things that I I'm considering changing, can someone who maybe have an experience with the live course vs. 7sage or anyone at all tell me why they find 7sage to be more beneficial. Please! I need to know by tomorrow so I can cancel and update my account.

From our blog post here (just in case you haven't seen it yet!): https://classic.7sage.com/lsat-final-stretch-withdraw-cancel-or-conquer/

When to Withdraw

If you’re confident that you have not reached your LSAT potential or still have major milestones to overcome in your LSAT journey, then withdraw from the test.

Never, ever, ever waste a take. Many of us here who have LSAT success stories needed all three of our takes to get to the triumphant chapter. Assume that you will likely be in the same situation.

To put things in more concrete terms: take the average of your last 3 PT scores. If this score is more than 3 points below your minimum goal score, you should think about withdrawing.

If you’re seriously ill, have had recent personal drama (not related to the LSAT), or have major life changes going on (particularly that are out of your control), also consider that you might be better off withdrawing. We have heard many stories of folks who decided to take the test instead of respecting the realities of personal upheaval. Few of those stories had happy endings, and most of those folks wished they’d taken a step back from the LSAT at that time.

Do not take the test "just to see how it goes." Do not take the test "just to get experience." Only take the LSAT when you are good and ready.

When to Cancel Your Score

Fact: Everyone feels awful after they take the test. Expect that you will too. The worst thing for you to do is to obsess over all of the questions you weren’t sure about or how you could have diagrammed that game more effectively. And don't discuss the test with anyone else—both to preserve the integrity of the administration per LSAC's guidelines, and to preserve your sanity. It’s over, and you did your best.

It’s important to say that up front, because feeling icky after that test is not a reasonable grounds for cancelling your score.

There are three conditions that warrant score cancellation, and only three.

—You are certain you had a bubbling error from which you were not able to recover. For instance, realizing that you started bubbling at #2 and were therefore one off for every answer in that section. If you are certain that this happened, then you should cancel your score.

—You had a medical emergency during the test, such as: an asthma attack, seizure, blackout, full-blown panic attack, etc. This list of conditions sounds extreme, because you should only cancel your score if something truly extreme happened.

—You had to leave the testing room for any reason and were not done with the section. If this happened for any reason, then this may be an serious enough condition for you to cancel you score.

Again, please note that feeling bad about how you did is not grounds to cancel your score.

How to Know You’re Ready

A combination of these three conditions is necessary for you to go forth and conquer this upcoming LSAT:

—Your PT average is within 3 points of your goal score

—You’ve done due diligence in your prep and have not neglected any major difficulty

—You do not meet any of the criteria noted in the “withdraw” section above

You may not feel perfectly ready. Almost no one does! But if you’ve done your part and your performance indicates readiness, then let us be the first to say: YOU GOT THIS.

In addition to BR and other studies, how many timed prep-tests should I take per week? I'll be taking the September 24 LSAT.

I got a text message confirming that I've been billed several hours ago. Yet the site still tells me to "upgrade." What??

Just wondering (i.e., hoping) if anyone got a higher score on the actual exam than on their PT's?

Hi guys,

I just got the Superprep II in the mail today and it accompanied a paper listing the few errors that are throughout the book. Anyone with this book that did not receive the paper containing the errors? Let me know I'll post an image or something.

Trying to decide whether I should take PT 77 before Monday. This would be my last PT. I've been scoring lower on these 70s tests, and I really don't wanna score low a few days before the real thing.

On the other hand, the 70s tests are different than the 60s and 50s IMO.And the test I'll be taking Monday will likely be most similar to the past 5 exams. Taking this test also has some other advantages: will help to see how I deal with the curveball game, newer LR and RC, etc. What do you all think?

So I hear a lot of people say "only do timed!" "Timed! Timed! Timed!" But, I've been wondering if doing all timed tests from the get-go help one build up the skills needed to do really well on the timed tests? I am aiming to do untimed tests until I start getting about 90% correct before moving into timed, I'm currently at 77% self-study untimed (I know I need to build it up), I take the September test, and have a live course with TestMasters that begins in July and ends a few days before the actual test. I'm using prep test 14-46 (untimed) to really hone in on the skills, and 47 - the rest (lol) for timed. What are your thoughts? Good strategy? Or am I kidding myself? #LSATCRAZIES

Hello everyone. I am taking the LSAT in september. As far as i understand those who have accommodations do not write the experimental section. but yet in my accommodation sheet it says the following:

After Section 1, Break(s) for X minutes

After Section 2, Break(s) for X minutes

After Section 3, Break(s) for X minutes

After Section 4, Break(s) for X minutes

After Section 5, Break(s) for X minutes

so i asked LSAC if this mistake. and they said no.

they even said the following :

There are 5 multiple-choices sections and 1 writing sample section with breaks between each section

does anyone have any thoughts on this

I can not find this video online. Can anyone let me know under which subject can I find this video? Thanks a lot.

I will take the June LSAT for the first time in my life. I saw that we can't bring a cellphone to the testing center, but can we bring a backpack and put the cellphone in the backpack during the test? I was wondering if they provide some designated areas for us to put personal belongings like a backpack, etc.

I thought it started at noon (and have been taking PTs accordingly) but then I realized that my ticket says "check in no later than 12:30". So will the actual test start at around 1?

Hey everyone!

Exciting news - I made the jump from the 140's to the 150's.

I've done only a few PT's and was bouncing between the low 140's and high 140's and I did a PT last Saturday and jumped to a 156. I'm not sure what happened or how I accomplished it to be honest - everything except for one game made sense to me and I finally got to the end of some sections within the time which I wasn't doing before. I don't expect to stay that high as I'm sure I'll drop a bit but it's nice to finally see progress.

Just wanted to share :) Have a good day everyone!

I know that this issue has already been dealt with before, but in JY's live commentary videos, he says that for certain question types, such as SA or MP questions, if you are sure, you should just be confident and move on without reading other ACs. Anybody else doing this??

Thanks to everyone’s advice to postpone my test date until Fall so that I could enjoy very special life experiences this past month. After changing my test date, I felt a huge sense of relief and was determined to unplug from everything for a few weeks especially this weekend for a family trip. While packing, I “randomly” threw a bag together at the last minute with a notebook of LR/LG questions and an Ipad – “just in case” we had bad weather.

I never had my phone with me the entire weekend, but I chose to find time to drill a few LR question types/games and check the Discussion Page because it made me happy. Seriously??? When we checked out of the hotel, I didn't realize that I had left my phone in the room until we had been on the road for over an hour but my LSAT stuff was packed safely in the car… (Yes, I ain’t right)

Throughout the past few weeks taking a “break”, I missed this community, the friendships that I have built and most importantly realized that I really enjoy studying for the LSAT. (for those that know me, it was so painful to miss Jimmy’s webinar on Argument Part/MOR)

For anyone that is similarly finding themselves studying for what seems like an eternity, I have been given a great gift of realizing once again that it can be fun to challenge myself prepping for the test while keeping a balance within my personal circumstances and obligations.

Thank you again to everyone with your Sage advice to keep this test in perspective to make the most out of the experience building my future to be a part of the 0L group next summer!

All the best to the June test takers!!!

Hello Everyone!

I searched everywhere to find an example of a traffic violation addendum, and I barley found anything. So, I basically wrote my addendum explaining the circumstances of my two violations with specific details.I then wrote a short paragraph at the end to express remorse. Do you guys know of any resources? Or is my approach fine?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Kristen

Please share your experiences at your test site!

Last Fall, I researched test sites near my home and even booked a hotel room nearby (thank you @Nicole.Hopkins for that bit of wisdom of planning, just wish my optimum test site had more than an express hotel, lol)

After withdrawing from the Dec test, I took my time to sign-up for June and found that the entire state of GA within a 3 hour drive was taking the LSAT and all test centers were full. I was scrambling to find a test site that would provide the best opportunity sight-unseen. Thanks to Sage advice, I had already visited different types of venues for test day and was concerned about finding the optimum situation.

In a complete moment of panic signing up for a test center, honestly, I was flabbergasted that their were reviews for one of my remaining options. Huge thank you to @bbutler and @kennedybj for their Test Center Reviews at Furman in South Carolina, only a few hours away from me. I booked that test site because of their reviews and my respect for their posts! If I hadn't postponed again, I knew that I could reach out to both of them to share any info about do's and don'ts about the locale to make it the best testing situation for me.

While it may seem insignificant after all that you have done to take the LSAT, sharing your experiences really means a lot to those of us who want to follow in your footsteps:)

[To view this post in our blog, follow this link]

For those of you taking the upcoming June administration of the LSAT or thinking ahead to future administrations, we'd like to share a few best practices/pro-tips to help ensure that you're in top shape heading into the exam. We've included some guidance for the week leading up to the exam as well as for Game Day itself.

Right up front, we'd like to say that you're not going to learn anything new the week before the exam. The hay is in the barn. You've already done the work that will carry you into the exam. Don't cram PT's; at most, do a few sections to keep your mechanics sharp. You need to make sure that you're fresh and in the right mindset for Game Day.

1) Between today and Sunday, go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (and this should be the same time you'll need to wake up for the June exam). Waking up ~3 hours before the earliest time you're likely to start the test (as soon as 30 minutes after the show-up time) will help ensure that your cortisol levels are up and that you're fully awake. Waking up at this time during this week and Monday June 6th helps to ensure that you'll be tired enough to go to bed Sunday night. Also, no screens/blue light after 10pm. This will help ensure that you're not artificially stimulating cortisol (waking yourself up) before bed.

2) Pre-hydrate. Drink a 3-4 liters of water every day of the week before the test. It's really not that big of a deal to drink that much water, and doing so will ensure that you are well hydrated the morning of without having to drink much (if any) liquid.

3) Practice your game day routine at least twice. This means wake up at the time you'll wake up on Monday, eat the exact same breakfast/lunch you plan for game day. Keep track of what you eat and drink and when you do it. Track your hunger, thirst, and bathroom need levels (just like in The Sims). Pro-tip: if you need to go at 2PM, there's a very strong likelihood that if you follow the same plan/timing, you will need to go in the middle of a section. Which is what we want to avoid.

4) Day of, general: Don't do anything differently from your dress rehearsals. No magic pills. No extra coffee. No tricks. No surprises. Perhaps get to the test center early and just go for a walk around the grounds if feasible. You might see some very nervous folks in crisis mode. Disregard. You are not them.

5) Day of, warm up: Whatever you do, don't score anything. And don't do any new material. Maybe take a handful of LR Q's, maybe one easy game, maybe one easy RC. Just chill out about it. You're just warming up your mechanics.

6) Day of, during the break: People will try to talk to you because they are nervous or want reassurance. You are not there to be anyone's friend. You are not there to be anyone's therapist or life coach. However you put up your personal "Do Not Disturb" status—just don't let anyone throw you off your game.

Hey guys! If you're taking the June LSAT and your account is inconveniently set to expire a few days before the test date, just email me (dillon@7sage.com) and I'll extend your account (up to 14 days) for free through the June test.

For those of you who are expiring after, good luck on the LSAT! We here at 7Sage are rooting for you.

Note: Please bring your questions!

I'll be holding office hours this week, so come hang out with me! We can talk about the LSAT, law school, Fallout 4, Overwatch, brisket, butter, steak, etc.

To join, click the link below (at the appropriate time ;) ). Bring your questions on any LSAT topic and ask the Sage!

Office Hours with Nicole (8-10 PM ET Wednesday)

1. Please join my meeting.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/382933861

2. Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) - a headset is recommended. Or, call in using your telephone.

Dial +1 (872) 240-3412

Access Code: 382-933-861

Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting

Meeting ID: 382-933-861

I realize that some people notice a drop in their scores once they reach the latest PTs. I don't know how widespread this phenomenon is, but do you think it is wise or advantageous to do an older PT (say, in the 40s and 50s) with a fifth section from a newer PT? Or if I do an older one on one day and the next time I PT, do a more recent one? I've also heard that some of the newer PTs have some experimental logic games, so would alternating between older and newer PTs (the older known for having some funkier games) be a smart move/good way to ensure I am not thrown off too much compared to progressing precisely in chronological order?