Hey guys—I've got some game day tips I'd like to share. This is what I'm doing this week; I think about these things very strategically. I believe these steps help to keep stress down and morale up.

1) Between now and Saturday, wake up at 6am. Waking up ~3 hours before the earliest time you're likely to start the test (in October, we put pencil to paper by 9.15 at an unusually efficient testing center) will help ensure that your cortisol levels are up and that you're fully awake. Waking up at this time between now and Saturday helps to ensure that you'll be tired enough to go to bed Friday night. Also, no screens/blue light after 9pm. This will help ensure that you're not artificially stimulating cortisol (waking yourself up) before bed.]

2) Pre-hydrate. Drink a gallon of water today, and every day 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) liquids.

3) Practice your game day routine at least twice. This means wake up at 6am, eat the exact same breakfast 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 10AM, there's a very strong likelihood that if you follow the same plan/timing, you will need to go in the middle of section 2. 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. I recommend you get to the test center early and just go for a walk around the grounds if feasible. You might see some insane people flipping out. 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: Seriously, don't talk to anyone. 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. My advice if someone talks to you: tell them you've taken a vow of silence until after the test. Yes, @Pacifico, I see the irony of telling someone that you've taken a vow of silence :) But do whatever you need to ice them out and indicate that you're not available for chatting. However you put up your personal "Do Not Disturb" status—just don't let anyone throw you off your game.

No magic.

No tricks.

No fear.

No regrets.

Game Day, Dec. 2015.

YOU GOT THIS.

<3

Anyone else finding it a bit harder to focus on studying with only 3 or so days until the test? Maybe it's just my undiagnosed ADHD lol

I'm having trouble with this question

Hi all, so I'm taking the test Saturday. In the past 5 PTs I've done, I've scored in the 160-163 range which I'm not thrilled about but I'm not hating it either because an LSAT score in that range plus my GPA would get me into my target schools. BUT Sunday and today I PTd again and scored a 158 and 154 respectively. 154!!!! Someone please tell me this is just my nerves getting to me.

Applies to many in this community. Some considerations, viz. idealism vs. reality.

"Should a non-traditional student go to law school to be a public interest lawyer?"

http://abovethelaw.com/2015/12/being-a-public-interest-lawyer/

Hey everyone,

Like many of you, I'm supplementing the 7sage course with the Trainer. The past few weeks I've been going through Mike's drills for the LR types I'm weakest in. After every question (and before checking the answers) I write out a brief summary of the stimulus (conclusion, reasoning, assumption, etc) and then the reason I chose the answer I did. If I get it wrong, I write out why the right answer is right and why the answer I chose was wrong. This process takes a long time, but I am definitely benefitting from it. Those of you scoring 170+, do you benefit from writing out summaries? Or what process works best for you during review? Currently scoring in the mid 160s and am determined to reach the 170s by Februrary. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I'm taking the December test this weekend and I'm not feeling up to my full potential. Even though I've had the flu this week, I still feel like I'll do moderately well, but not as well as I know I can do. If I apply for schools with my December test and end up doing better on my February test, will law schools still take my Feb LSAT into account? Are there any disadvantages to this in terms of scholarship money, likelihood of getting accepted, etc? Or should I wait to apply to schools until I have taken the Feb LSAT?

On most of my prep tests I've been getting nearly perfect LG scores, over average RC, but I continuously do pretty bad on LR. I usually get -10 to -12 and it's breaking down my confidence considering how well I do on the other sections. How can I improve on LR? I'm trying to go back over the sections I do worse on (SA and flaw), but it's not really helping.

We've got this!

Hello,

I'm having trouble with understanding how to properly diagram this to get to the right answer. I initially chose A, but apparently the correct answer is D. But I'm not sure as to why.

.

Did LSAC do anything weird on PT76 like a new type of game or different type of RC/LR questions? PT76 is the only recent PT I haven't done and I'm just wondering if I'm missing out if I skip it.

I'll be taking the LSAT this Saturday, and I feel much better about it this time around thanks to 7Sage. (You guys rock!) However, I'm finding that I have a LOT of nervous energy (read: I'm having trouble sitting still long enough to focus on reviewing this week). I did the same thing the first time I took the test, which culminated in a mostly sleepless night before the big day, even though I went to bed in plenty of time. I think I tossed and turned for at least four or five of the eight hours that I had allotted for sleep, though I didn't feel tired at all the next day, which I attributed to adrenaline.

Given that I didn't do as well as I wanted to that time, I'm hoping to avoid the same scenario this go round. I've taken off work the Friday before the test, and I was thinking about checking out a local martial arts studio to both take my mind off the test, and, hopefully, wear out all my nervous energy so that I will sleep well Friday night. Does anyone have any other suggestions for staying energized but focus this week and for getting a good night's sleep on Friday so I (and all my fellow 7Sagers) can rock this test?

Of course you are. You're about to take an important test. It's not the most important test though. That one is called the February LSAT.

Just kidding. This is likely the last LSAT you'll ever take.

I'm only trying to remind you that for something this important, there are second chances. That's not true for a lot of other important things in life, so that's something to feel good about.

For most of you, you already know what score you'll get. Take your last three recent properly administered LSAT PrepTests (e.g., 74, 75, 76) and average your scores. You'll get plus or minus 3 points of that average.

There is nothing separating you from that score except the mere passing of a few day's time.

You are as prepared as you can be. You have already seen everything those crafty LSAT writers will throw at you and you've amply demonstrated your ability to respond with craftiness of your own.

Saturday will be just another PT day and the December 2015 LSAT will be just another PT. PrepTest 77, in fact, when the LSAC releases it. And how different could that be from PT 76 and PT 75 and PT 74 and on and on and on.

You're ready.

That's not to say, of course, that you won't encounter a few insanely difficult curve breaker questions. Every LSAT has them. Every student who has ever taken the LSAT before you has encountered them. You will encounter them (again) on Saturday. I am telling you this now, so you will be prepared. Skip them. Keep moving. Maintain your rhythm.

You got this.

I feel like I'm psyching myself out for Saturday by looking at all these trends that show the RC having gotten harder over the years. I'm worried that I'm scoring well on most PTs because they were administered while the section was easier, and having taken more recent tests does support that. Does anyone have any advice to combat this mental block? I'm trying to go into this all "c'mere, RC, let me slam the everloving shit outta you," but I can't stop thinking about my RC going from -4 on older tests to -7 on the newer ones.

Help.

So about RC, the memory method is definitely helping my understanding of passages. Retention is better. I don’t get bogged down with every single detail. I’m currently working on “more RC;” which is the section just before “Intro to Logic Games”; so still lots of lessons to do before moving on PT's. My problem is I, for the most part still require more time than what JY prescribes; both for reading the passage and for doing the questions) Of course sometimes there are passages where I do finish in time. But on average maybe a minute or two more than what JY prescribes?

So I want to ask the veterans who had to deal with this reading speed issue- does it improve over time? How did you come to read faster? Can you retrace some of the steps you took that helped improve your speed?

From what I’ve gleaned, I’m aware of a couple things that should help.

1. Just having better developed reasoning skills (which I reckon and hope will come in time, by doing the lessons)

2. The habit of moving on quickly from one question to the next when you’re really sure of an answer and skipping ones you know that’s gonna be more time consuming.

Are there other things that should help? Thoughts? Advices?

Hi everyone. Like all 7Sagers, I will be crushing the test on Saturday. :) However, I was wondering if, under the scenario that I am waitlisted with my December score and then take the February exam and score a few points higher, it would be a significant boost in my waitlist odds? In other words, is it worth it to study a little more and retake in February if I suspect I could still boost my score some? I am definitely applying for this cycle. Thanks!

Can someone please explain how answer choice (D) strengthens the correlation between people being overconfident and starting their own business.

How can we be sure (for answer D) that a farm consists of a single CMC? Because if there is more than 1 CMC, Whatley's recommendation would not necessarily be violated.

Thanks in advance.

I've finally gotten slightly closer to my goal and I've been PTing in the 158-162 range, my goal being a 165 but I have yet to take any of the most recent LSATs (PT. 73-76). After reading everyone's comments about the increased difficulty I wouldn't want to bomb some of those exams and get discouraged. Anyone have any advice when I should be taking these?

Thanks!

Really trying to get into a routine two months before test day. I usually do 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night. I also sprinkle in some off days, around one a week. For those of you who study 5+ hours a day, do you study all at once or do you separate it into two chunks like me? Just curious.

Also, what time of day do you guys usually study? I find that my mind is much clearer in the morning. Studying in the afternoon/night is so damn hard since there are so many distractions from the day.

And lastly, what do you guys do to avoid distractions/interruptions while studying? Right now I leave my phone on airplane mode but I still usually check up some stock quotes/news once every hour or so. I really need to learn to just shut out everything, but it's difficult. Technology was suppose to make things easier but these days I feel it's a major burden/distraction.

I know it's important to play earlier--the sooner, the better. However, ultimately, could it make or break admission decision. For example, if I took the February exam, and submitted my application earlier, will this have any bearing on admission decisions? For example, I if applied in December, would I have likely received a different admission decision if I had applied in February or during the last cycle?

Just a reminder

You NEED a watch and it must be analogue.

I've done the whole 180 watch thing - It even broke on a PT.

Just keep it simple like JY recommends and get a sports watch with a rotating bezel. This one worked fantastically for me and is now on sale for 10 bucks (Cyber monday?)

http://www.amazon.com/Casio-MRW200H-1BV-Black-Resin-Watch/dp/B005JVP0LE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1448901472&sr=8-6&keywords=casio+watch+rotating+bezel

A couple of key points:

- for every section, set the big hand to 12, so it's easier to see when you get to 35 min (you have time even when there's no break)

- Use the rotating bezel marker to place on 30 min, so you'll know when you have 5 min left. (proctors DO forget to tell you sometimes).

Even if you're broke, don't be penny wise and pound foolish - get a watch and practice with it before test day - don't plan borrow from a parent and forget or end up with a crummy watch because it's all they had.

Hope this helps!

Defendants who can afford expensive private defense lawyers have a lower conviction rate than those who rely on court-appointed public defenders. This explains why criminals who commit lucrative crimes like embezzlement or insider trading are more successful at avoiding conviction than are street criminals.

I usually score 166-168. My lowest PT has been 161. I just took the June 2015 LSAT (75) fully timed and tanked it at 156. I'm taking the LSAT this Saturday and I'm freaking out because this will be my last shot at this test. Is it possible that it was just PT 75 in particular that was so difficult or is there a noticable trend among newer LSATs? I feel like the answer choices have gotten significantly more tricky, RC is more time consuming/tricky, and that 72 and 75 both had at least one odd game (the fourth game in both). Did anyone else have particular difficulty with this exam? Are June LSATs harder compared to others?