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Back in the late 70s, my dad was trying to figure out what to do as far as careers go and his brother had casually suggested law school as an option. Not knowing much my dad reached out to his Uncle Stan, a successful trial lawyer in New Jersey, for advice. The following is the letter that Stan wrote by hand and which to this day is very insightful and I thought, relevant, to so many of us who are contemplating this intense future. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

Saturday 9/7/77

Dear Robbie,

How are you? We are all fine. And so without further adieu, as the say, and in response to your recent letter.

An old law school professor of mine stressed that there is no such thing as “the law.” What he was trying to bring out is that the law is dynamic. It mirrors life. It is not static, it changes. True it’s always ten years behind what ought to be, but that’s another story.

The law has been likened to a seamless web, and by that is meant it has many facets, many areas of interest and at the same time is interesting and without end. There is no limit to the time that can be spent studying, applying, analyzing, interpreting. And for that it is also called a jealous mistress. You can keep your options open and gravitate towards that which interests you - contract law, corporate, criminal, trial work (which I find most interesting and rewarding), estates, tax, labor, to name only a few areas - and in each you can spend a lifetime and still continue to learn new things every day.

In the practice of law you live by your wits, and by that I mean it’s a thinking man’s profession. It takes time to learn the tools, which is true in any field of endeavor you choose, and these are blended with life’s experience. The student who graduates with all A’s may not be prepared for this if his time has been limited solely to books and libraries. The graduate with experience in assorted life’s jobs, with a feel for people, will do better as he’s better equipped.

Before considering the law as a profession ask yourself if you are willing to pay the price. Sacrifices have to be made. Three years of constant study are gruelling in the sense that the work is cumulative, continual, absorbing but sometimes tedious, all with a view towards making the student realize that each incident in life has many issues and how to evaluate them. No one day is terribly difficult, yet the total sum of all studies is burdensome. Along the way about one-third will drop out, if not more, and of those who graduate only about one-third will become full time practitioners, and of those who do last it will take each about three years of actual practice before he becomes worth something and can command a decent salary or be able to strike out into private practice.

Is it worth all that time, effort and money? Absolutely! It’s stimulating, fascinating, challenging, rewarding, gratifying, ego inflating and financially renumerative. As you get older and stay in the practice, the value of the attorney increases - as opposed to other non-professions, e.g. salesmen. But one has to be ready to make the sacrifices in the beginning, to desire, to want it.

Should you attempt to do it? I think it’s a great idea, but don’t count on instant rewards. Project ahead a steady growth for each year, improving your prospects, and of knowing that the cream will rise to the top, and if you can demonstrate that patience and motivation you will be guaranteed the eventual exhilarance of the practice of law, and I know you’ll do well.

Love,

Stan

P.S. you can see lawyers tend to talk a lot especially if they are asked a question and have a captive audience that they love.

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Question: I'm about to withdraw from the February LSAT so as to take it in June instead, but I just want to make sure that a withdrawal doesn't count as a take! I've already taken it two times and (even though I'm pretty sure it doesn't count) just want to be one the safe side. Also- you just withdraw on the lsac website right?

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So, ten years ago i applied to this law school and was rejected. I ended up not going to LS at all back then. Am applying again now, and reapplying to said school again. Should I "touch upon" it in my personal statement? I kind of don't want to but…Thanks all in advance.

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Hey guys—

We're hip. I promise. We do the Snap Chats, just like the teens and the youths.

So, add us: official7sage

I'll be monitoring the account between now and the exam on Saturday (and forever after, of course) and would love to share some encouragement, good vibes, pump up the jams, all of the above.

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Hey guys,

If your inbox looks anything like mine, it's probably drowning with emails from law schools encouraging you to apply and blah blah blah. Once in a while, I get an email from a school I'm actually interested in. This is where my question comes in:

If I'm applying NEXT cycle, how can I go about building a relationship with the admissions people now? Have you guys tried to? Any tips are appreciated.

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When do people tend to schedule their breaks during 4 section PTs?

2 Sections, break, 2 Sections? Or 3 Sections, Break, then 1 Section?

I'm asking because I feel like it's important to be able to get through 3 sections before the break, but at the same time I feel like 1 section after the break is too little to lock in. Thoughts?

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Update: Jonathan Wang will be joining us as well!

Feb '16 Pep Rally! Featuring JY Ping, Jonathan Wang, and Jimmy Dahroug!! (Quick Silver) | Wednesday 8pm ET

Attendance is limited to the first 95 participants so please join as early as 7:30 pm ET

Come for the encouragement. Come for the power. Come for the pro-tips.

Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose.

To join, please do the following:

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/856546613

You can also dial in using your phone.

United States +1 (646) 749-3122

Access Code: 856-546-613

1

Okay, I am in need of some advice that might sound strange to some. So, I'm not exactly a small person, in fact I'm six feet eight inches tall so I don't exactly fit into a lot of things very well. Mainly, the desks in a classroom. I find when I do some timed PTs I am slumped way over in my seat, and after about three sections my back starts screaming at me. It got to the point last Friday that I had to stop my test and stand up for a minute to loosen up and stretch. Are there are other 7sagers who have this problem? I am worried because on test day I know I will not be able to pause my exam like a video game. My back really hurts after about two sections and it takes away from my concentration. This is making me feel like an old man at the ripe age of 23. Thoughts?

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Good evening, all:

My time at 7Sage is coming to an end, as I’ll be taking my last LSAT retake on Saturday. I just want to thank the 7Sage staff and community for all their help, insight and transparency throughout my time studying. Before my account expires, to all the test takers, I just want to offer some advice. My score has increased since my diagnostic, but not only because of the sacrifices I’ve made for devoting most of my time to studying, but also, and more importantly in my opinion, is that I have made taking this test and studying for it exciting and fun. I think that everyone should be excited to take this test and not dread it when the time comes to take the actual test. This is the first step to becoming a lawyer, and regardless of what type of lawyer you want to be, this test is the first step, or one of the first, in getting you there. So for all my February test takers, and all the ones who are taking it after Feb, enjoy this experience. Enjoy taking the test. You are going to be reading and analyzing things your whole career now, so you might as well enjoy it and make it fun!

Thanks again to all the staff. JY, you have a phenomenal service and are doing the community a great service.

Cheers!

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Who's excited for these hot-off-the-presses video explanations for the December 2015 LSAT?

This guy:

To kick things off, we're putting them on sale for 80% off! Video explanations for PT 77 are now available for $5.97 (Regular price: $29.97) for a limited time.

You also get +1 month to your existing 7Sage account for the purchase.

https://classic.7sage.com/addons/?ss_select=lsat_77

Early bird discount expires February 14th.

(If the link doesn't work: Mouse over "Course" in the menu, click "Extensions and Addons". You should see PrepTest 77 after scrolling about one screen down.)

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I have two test options equi-distant from my home. Taking a complete day, I visited both test centers and realized that all of the advice on this site is paramount to finding the most optimum site to take the test. My two options are polar opposites: one is in an amphitheater venue accommodating over 100+ and the other has small rooms with no more than 20+ per room. I was fortunate on my visit that I met the director over-seeing the LSAT for both sites and she unequivocally said that the amphitheater environment was a detriment to the test takers due to the time necessary to validate all test takers credentials upon entry and after the break. They took me on a tour of the actual rooms where the test is administered, showed me where the bathrooms were and gave me advice about where to park. I went immediately to check out local hotels and with such a small mountain town, I found a quiet "Express" type hotel that I have booked for the night before the test.

With over a year invested in studying for the LSAT, my test site will hopefully be the least of my concerns.

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Some topics appear more frequently than others on the LSAT. It may be helpful to prioritize your reading in addition to the LSAT passages.

Here's a list of subjects ordered by its frequency (PT1-PT76) from 7sage.

Law 84

History 43

Science 40

Biology 34

Literature 30

Anthropology 29

Philosophy 24

Economics 20

Technology 20

African American 18

Art 16

Native American 14

Painting 14

Women 11

Latino 10

Linguistics 10

Government 9

Music 9

Sociology 9

Zoology 9

Asian American 8

Poetry 8

Psychology 8

African 7

Performing Arts 7

Environment 6

Medicine 6

Physics 6

Agricultural Science 5

Climatology 5

Geology 5

Archeology 3

Education 3

Miscellaneous 3

Energy 2

Good luck!

6

I studied hard for the October 2015 LSAT . I think I studied around 6 months but only managed to pull off a 154. I took November and December off from studying and started 7sage in January 2016. I felt like I had burnt out studying for the October exam because thats all I would do is study everyday for long hours (I am not enrolled in school and do not have a job). This time around I decided to do more of a less stress-intensive approach (I'm focusing on 3 effective hours per day). I just finished the course from 7sage and now I will be doing full LSATs and reviewing them thoroughly. Do you guys think I will be able to break 160 by June from doing LSAT prep-tests 35-75? I am focusing on 2 pre-tests per week. Also has anyone else had a similar experience to my struggle with this exam?

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