Just curious if anyone keeps a spreadsheet or anything of the questions they get wrong on the PTs? Or do you all just track it in LSAT Analytics? If you do log the questions you are are getting wrong in a spreadsheet, do you actually write out the questions, answer choices etc. and make notes of why you got it wrong? Or do you just write the test number section, & question & type of question. Just trying to figure out if it would be helpful for me to do this or if it would just be wasting valuable time I could be spending more productively. I'm already doing a BR. Although I think I'm going to change the way I have been doing that. I am going to start doing an untimed BR of the complete exam instead of just reviewing the ones I circled in addition to the ones I actually got wrong. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to make use of the 7Sage Core curriculum, the LSAT Trainer, and a bunch of grouped LR questions based on question-type (going up to PT 30) which I'm using before I go into the whole PT/ BR phase in preparation for the June 2016 test. If you've used both 7Sage and the Trainer how did you approach your studies? Is it generally advisable to go through the course and then read the Trainer or vice-versa? Would you make use of the grouped question-types at the end of each lecture on that specific type or use them later for review? I'm considering starting the whole PT/BR regimen at the end of January at the latest which would give me at least a solid 4 months before the test. I really need to structure my studies so any advice/ comments going forward would be great.

Hey all, Al here.

Throughout my long (and I mean LONG) journey with the LSAT, I've come across this specific issue more times than I can count! I'd like to give my own personal thoughts on this topic.

Fellow LSAT students (non-7sage included) have reached out to me time and time again about this recurring topic: advice. I think it's safe to say that many (if not most) people think advice is inherently good. It is after all rooted in the premise that advice helps to inform and guides those that are lacking in certain information that can help others in the long run. And in many respects, the right advice can provide an enormous positive impact on the person receiving it.

But what's rarely talked about are the devastating effects of bad advice. Bad advice can lead us to do things that we normally wouldn't consider and the negating effect can be as substantial as any good advice. Not only does it deviate a person from one's initial trajectory, but it can undo a lot of the progress they have made on their own.

But what really is the distinction between good and bad advice? Here's what I think are the major distinctions:

1. Advice is inherently subjective. What may be great advice for one person maybe horrible advice for another.

2. Good advice has specificity, whereas bad advice is openly vague. The LSAT is a great example of this. So many of the nuances embedded within concepts can be very hard to absorb and the advice provided has to not only be logically congruent within the parameters of the LSAT...it also has to make absolute sense to the person receiving it. I've seen many people (including myself many times) THINK they have an understanding of a certain tidbit of advice but really have no understanding at the core of it.

3. Good advice more often than not takes time, whereas bad advice is usually impulsive. I've noticed this for myself when I've been asked for advice. When I have the time to really think about a problem, I more often than not have something worth telling the person asking for advice.

I have been the benefactor of both great and bad advice. All three of these tenets that I've mentioned applied to me. Yes, it does suck when we get bad advice. But the onus cannot be entirely on the person providing the advice...the onus is on the one receiving it. At the end of the day, it's all about personal responsibility and knowing what truly works and what doesn't work for you.

Just food for thought.

I'm trying to significantly improve on logic games. If I study every day for an entire month for so many hours, what are the chances of me seeing major improvement?

Hi y'all, I'm studying for the upcoming Dec LSAT and am currently scoring in the low 160's. I'm interested in working with someone(s) to do PT'S/BR/Drill etc. Shoot my inbox and let's set something up to crush the LSAT. It's almost time!

What lessons are the best to review for mapping out logic? Perhaps maybe a couple rule of thumbs to always go back to would be great! I use to do very well on SA questions and now I see myself getting more than half of them wrong, I know these type of questions usually play leave on mapping out the logic.

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The Trainer wants me to use PT62-71 for drills and full exams. Can I use PT40-50 instead? I don't want to use newer tests until I'm somewhat ready.

May I ask: what is the trainer?

Hi everyone, I posted a couple days ago saying I would do a write up of my study experience, and here it is. For context, I scored a 180 on the October LSAT after nine months of studying. I didn’t think it would be quite so difficult to recall everything, but I suppose part of me is trying to block it out. I’ve separated this beast into a few sections in case people feel like jumping to a section, but in writing it I got the feeling responding to individual scenarios/questions might both be easier for me than trying a one size fits all and more helpful to you, so for the next week or so I’ll try to respond to any personal messages/questions. I’ll be around for a week or so after this, at which point I’ll be retiring from the LSAT for the foreseeable future.

I tried to address everyone’s wishes in here, but I’m mentally fatigued from work (it doesn’t end with the lsat I guess) so let me know if I forgot something! I never took a cold test but after the powerscore books and before the 7sage course I took the 7sage diagnostic and scored a 167. Also, I know people asked about my approach to the sections and I tried to outline them below, but a lot of that just came from instinct and not from a method. What will be more helpful I hope is my experience with mental fatigue and dips. I also would heavily emphasize planning and organization to avoid needing to cram work in. Cramming is death.

Also, the fact that I got a 180 means I did really well on the LSAT. It doesn’t mean I’ll make an excellent lawyer, that I’m a genius, or anything outside of the world of admissions. Through personal experience I know a woman who got a 158 on the LSAT and is an incredible trial attorney. Just for some perspective for those stressing. Strive for the best score you can, but don’t think it determines your entire future. A 180 also does not make me an expert on everything. All of this is only my thoughts, experiences, and beliefs. They aren’t a rigid guide or what you must absolutely do (except restricting the number of PTs). You know what works for you. Just experiment first to find your optimal approach.

For my final last minute addition, when planning plan for a minimum of six months. You cannot guarantee reaching your max in less. At the same time, I wouldn't do more than 8 or 9 months. I'd say an optimal schedule would be to plan on 30, 2 per week. Count back the weeks, so about 15 weeks, plus one for a break. Give another 15 weeks for studying the material. Probably more than you'll need but you can always take a break or explore a bit. That'd be about 7 months, as an example.

Overview

I began studying for the LSAT in February 2015, intending to take the June LSAT. I began with the Powerscore Bibles, doing a couple chapters of each book a week. While I found their techniques to be overly complicated and not very useful for me, there were some ideas that were beneficial, and I found them especially good for hammering in the basics and formal/conditional logic. I’d recommend them if you have plenty of time before your LSAT, to lay the foundations for the 7sage course. Do the drills, not the practice questions. Save those for 7sage. Plus while I generally found 7sage’s techniques more useful, perhaps you’ll take away more from the Powerscore approach than I did.

Starting 7sage in March, I began to get more serious about my studying. I altered my schedule completely, going to sleep at 12 and waking up at 8 almost every day. I set aside 3 hours each day for 7sage, completing the course and all of the practice sets by mid April. I then planned for taking four practice tests a week until the test itself in June, totaling 28. I started well with improvement from 170 to a high of 174 over three tests, then fluctuated between 170-172 over the next ten or so. I became increasingly frustrated and stressed, not understanding exactly what was going on. I didn’t feel that I was doing too much or that I was mentally tired, but I made mistakes that I found easily when going back over tests. I also barely BR’d, just wanting to speed to see what my score was. With June approaching, I decided to postpone until October, feeling that I had so much more room to improve.

Now saddled with almost too much time, I re-evaluated my schedule. Since I would be graduating, I would soon be free from my student job, school, and extracurriculars. I decided to cut my PTs down to three per week for July and August, then 2 per for September., totaling 33 tests. Since I had taken 13 of the earlier tests, but one new one would be available, there would be a few tests of overlap but I figured retaking those would be a good way to ease back in. However, I took the last two weeks of April and the first two of June to relax, studying only one day a week on Mondays by going over my weak spots in LR in 7sage, basically just to keep it in my mind but also shoring up my fundamentals. The last two weeks of June I basically went through the 7sage course again minus the problem sets, taking handwritten notes on approaches and tactics. The act of writing it helped cement it in my mind.

My approach to studying now was rigid and disciplined. My daily approach I’ll go into more detail below so people can skip to it if they wish but I began to adopt a more serious method. I also began meditating to improve my ability to focus. My first test after my “reset” I scored a 176, a new high. I then got a 177, then 179, then 180. My review, my new approach and mindset, and my patience with BR all helped me improve. I maintained my scores in the high 170s for the next month, taking three a week. However, by the end of August, I began experiencing the same mental fatigue I’d felt when I was taking four a week in April.

This time I realized the issue, and cut back to two tests a week immediately. However, I kept studying on between days, with breaks only on Fridays. I couldn’t accept that studying less might be the key to doing better. Stress mounting, my scores lowered to 173-175 range. I eventually accepted that additional practice sets and games could not possibly prepare me more, and cut back to two tests and nothing else. I realized stress would only hurt, and decided to just enjoy the rest of my time and cut out as much stress as possible. With two weeks to go and three PTs left, I got a 177 on my Wednesday test, then a 179 on my Monday. I decided to skip the Wednesday, figuring the rest would be better and I didn’t want a freak poor day on the most recent test to tank my confidence.

They don’t give the test in my town, so I booked a hotel 5 minutes from LMU for the Thursday and Friday before so I’d have some time to acclimate. The night before, I slept horribly. I didn’t feel nervous, but I kept thinking about how important it was for me to sleep, which made it impossible to sleep. Eventually I drifted off. I then woke up, ate my breakfast, and went to the test center. I was sent in to the first room, where I had a large desk. We started early, which was a huge advantage since during the break there was no line for the bathroom and I had less time for nerves to sink in.

During the test, I had to do some breathing techniques to calm down. When we started, I tore through that first LR section. I finished the section in 20 minutes flat. I checked every question, corrected one, then sat and waited for the next. RC. Great. My weakest section because I would always lose focus during one of the passages. This time, I focused no problem and finished with a minute to spare. Next I had what would be the experimental LG. Super easy, done in twenty minutes. Then the break. I felt excellent, and beyond excited to be so close to finished with the LSAT. I came back in, finished the more difficult LR without a hitch, then turned to the last section, another LG. I came dangerously close to blowing it here. The whole time I kept thinking the questions were a bit off so it was probably the experimental. I finished with time to check my work, but found I had truly made a mess of question three. I fixed all of the questions but one, which I managed to eliminate two of the answers then blindly circled in E, by some miracle getting my guess right. And that’s how I got a 180 instead of a 179.

Study Approach

While I was doing the 7sage course, I broke up my studying into smaller 30 minute chunks with plenty of breaks, giving my mind time to soak in the information. I made sure to do three hours a day though. For July through test day, I woke up at 6:45 and went to sleep at 10:30 every night without fail. I meditated for 15 minutes every day from 5-5:15. On test days, I woke up, showered, ate breakfast/coffee, did a warmup, then simulated waiting for the test to start, then began the test between 8:30 and 9:30 to simulate possible variation. On non test days, I took it a bit easy but did a couple games and an LR section, sometimes throwing in an RC. I set aside Friday as a rest day, since I intended to do nothing the Friday before the actual test. I took tests on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. During my PTs, I circled every question I was unsure about and followed the 7sage method. The keys to a good study approach to me are replicating whatever you will do on test day, and adopting a consistent sleep schedule. Sleep is crucial, and an easy way to improve the quality of it is consistent hours every day. When working through the course, designate one hour each week to plan your study hours for the entire week up to your designated hours. For example, I always set aside between 18-20 hours in 30-45 minute segments. Find aa time segment that works for you, but don’t try to study for three hours straight. The PTs are for training your mind’s strength, when you are learning the approaches and skills you need to be able to absorb it permanently, and there’s a limit to how much you can take at once. Lastly, re-evaluate your needs honestly. If with three weeks to go you feel you have room to improve, maybe you should take the extra months instead. If you feel you’re suffering from test fatigue, take a couple days immediately and scale back.

Mental Approach

The LSAT is a mental beast. I don’t mean in terms of the difficulty, that mental aspect is obvious. The less obvious one is the one that kills you just as surely but far more subtly. I’m talking test day nerves, long term stress, fatigue, negative attitudes. People who score 180s on their PT can tank test day because they didn’t mentally prepare for the actual test, and others get a test day boost by channeling their adrenaline. This is my advantage. I was a pitcher for years until I tore various ligaments in my shoulder, and learned all sorts of mental fortitude tricks and methods. When I sat down for the real LSAT, I felt nervous. Then I changed those nerves to adrenaline, breathing in and out in a pattern and viewing the next four hours as a battle that I was going to utterly dominate. The LSAT was my enemy, and I was going to crush it. I’d found my way to combat those nerved from years of sports. I recommend anyone starting to study go find a book on mental toughness (there are dozens of good ones about sports) and study up. Can’t hurt.

As far as long term mental issues. This approach will vary hugely from person to person, on temperament and what else you have in your life. Most important is to avoid test fatigue. DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN THREE TESTS A WEEK. Maybe, maybe if you’re two months away and want to nail down your routine for each section take more, but scale back asap. If you feel fatigue, take a break. Do nothing mentally fatiguing for a couple days. Then reevaluate what you really need to do and how much you can handle. The LSAT feeds into my greatest strengths of logic, reasoning, and reading. I experienced test fatigue. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, it doesn’t mean you aren’t as mentally strong as the people at TLS pretending to take a PT a day, it means you need to step away. I did, and I got a 180. So if that helps you take a break, tell yourself that. I studied for nine months, about a month too long for me. By the end I was so sick of the lsat, I never wanted to think about it again. Even with all my breaks and stress relief, it weighs on you over time.

Also, test fatigue isn’t limited to tests. Any sort of studying fatigues you, as does reading, writing, or any mentally demanding activity. This was hard for me to accept, since I read all the time, but you may just have to go for walks or watch tv instead to rest your mind. Again, evaluate this for yourself, but when I stopped reading my RC score jumped a question or two since I wasn’t glossing over words anymore. If you read too much you read too quickly or carelessly.

Lastly, I cannot recommend two activities enough: meditation and exercise. Download a meditation app and just spend 15 minutes sitting or lying down clearing your head. It’ll help. Spend an hour a day four days a week doing serious exercise, it’ll help your brain be active without fatiguing and it’ll give you more energy, plus everyone should exercise for the myriad of health benefits anyways. So now’s your chance to start!

Individual Sections

LR

For LR questions I did not generally note anything or write anything, with the exception of the most difficult parallel reasoning or disagree questions. I found I didn’t need to. I would read the stem, then the stim, then the stem, then go through the questions and eliminate those I could, then weigh those remaining. If I couldn’t come to a 100% solution, I’d circle what I was leaning towards, circle the question, and move on. I aimed to finish 10 by 10 minutes, 20 by 20 minutes, and the section by 30, leaving 5 minutes to review those few questions I’d circle. LR was the section I was most affected by test fatigue with, but otherwise I usually missed one or none, occasionally two.

LG

My approach to LG probably will not be great for most of you. I would write each rule, including the contrapositive when appropriate, and make a quick number of inferences. If there were many questions that seemed to be scenario or inference based, I would spend more time on that initial inference step. Otherwise I moved on through the question. If I was wrong, I often could work through the inferences required quickly enough to not lose much time when I skipped the initial setup of game boards or alternatives. Essentially I went with my gut feeling on a given game, which is frustratingly hard to describe but the truth.

The most important part of any approach to Logic Games is mental flexibility. Every game is unique in some way, but the good news is every game you practice on helps you see another possible scenario and gives you a framework for approaching future problems. Lastly, find your system. I didn’t use strictly the 7sage or Powerscore methods/notation, I created my own bastardized system that worked best for me because I made it. It didn’t work or make sense to anyone else, but it was for me, not them. Experiment and find your system, and don’t worry about being able to explain it. Just make sure it’s clear to you, useful, and flexible.

RC

RC was my least improved section, going from average of -3 to -2 by the end, although I got a perfect on test day. This is where the ability to channel nerves into focused energy on test day is so crucial. Normally I would glaze over for at least one passage, but on test day I was uber focused and sailed through.

RC is also where you really, really, really need to develop your own approach. Everyone reads differently and will find different things helpful. For me, it was scribbling while reading. Not summarizing, but writing in-between the text and the questions as I read. Rewriting words, paraphrasing sentences, all of it just kept me engaged and slowed me down a tad so I didn’t race through. I didn’t read my writing during the questions, but it helped cement in place where things were in the passage. Basically I took the 7sage method and tweaked it to fit me. Find your tweak, it’s what the practice sets are for.

Test Day

If you’ve been simulating test day each PT for 2 months, you’ve nothing to worry about. It’s just another test. You’ll be nervous, but you’ll be fine. Everyone is nervous. Use it. There’s an excellent Dr Who scene talking about fear as a superpower because of how much it pumps you up and increases your physical abilities. Nervousness can do the same for you. Just wake up, eat your breakfast, and take the test. Follow the same methods you’ve used before. Know that if you make a mistake, you can retake it.

And that’s it. I wish I could be more specific about my month by month process but to be honest when I was working through the course was 7-9 months ago. I can tell you to do alllllll the practice sets, every LG, and plan everything. Plan when you’ll take your first test through when you’ll take your last. Plan your weekly hours, your breaks, your meditation, your workouts, and do everything else AROUND THAT. This is the most important thing for the next few months. Organization is very important, since when you get into the studying you’ll be stressed. Do everything you can to remove possible stressors. Give yourself leeway in your schedule for breaks when you experience fatigue. It won’t hurt. You won’t forget everything with a few days or a week away. My scores always improved after a break.

Best of luck to everyone! Bring two watches and lots of pencils on test day, because I had a watch die in the middle of a PT, but had it been the test I would have been lost. I'm sorry if there are any errors, this grew longer than I expected. Oops.

I've looked at about 3 different courses with explanations for this question and none of them really make an sense to me... I still see answer choice (B) as an attractive answer choice... Can someone please explain why all the answers are incorrect and perhaps a better way to approach PSA questions for next time? GREATLY APPRECIATED!

What are some of the best ways to improve LR section?

Someone last time recommended "The Great Dissent" by Thomas Healy and I absolutely loved the book.

Figured it would be good to start another thread of book/article recommendations that can help improve reading skills + make you more familiar with LSAT subject matter.I struggle with Humanities passages so if anyone has any recommendations...

I mentioned last time that Bill Bryson's " A Short History of Nearly Everything" is a great read: will help you become familiar with a lot of the topics that are tested on the science passages and is also interesting.

Just curious if being significantly older than most students applying to law school (lets say hypothetically speaking 20+ years) would qualify you as being URM? Not that I would actually know anyone who was of course :)

I can't seem to be able to find the answer key to the questions on the Question Bank! Is there a way? Thanks in advance.

I just took my first PT in months to prepare for the December LSAT. I finished the course a couple days ago and I scored a 151, and after BR 162. I did miss a significant amount of questions in each section averaging about 7 in each. I'm not sure where to go from here... Should I keep PTing until the exam or....? PLEASE HELP!

Admin note: Please don't post thread titles in all caps!

Can someone please explain the correct answer?

Hey guys! Can anyone recommend an optimal study schedule from now up to the December test? I'm averaging 158 on my PTs and I am hoping for 165+. Is this a realistic goal?

I am on PT 45 right now and I hope to work up to the newest one. I understand that the December test is in less than a month-- should I try do a PT everyday (or would I burn out)? Or should I do a PT every other day and blind review/drill on the other days?

My weakest section is RC; I find that I rarely have the time to even read the last passage. Any tips?

Should it be true that the assumption of "/A -> /B " in the causal relationship is A -> B

I know there was a discussion thread going on about the 180 watch or just a test watch in general... But, I wanted to get a confirmation. Is it okay to bring multiple watches?

I was going to order the 180 watch.... but, I guess they ran out of inventory or something because the watch is on back order.. So, I am wondering whether anyone has brought 3+ watches, set them all for 35 minutes, and used them for each different section?

I would really appreciate all the answers! Thank you!

Hey 7Sagers, had someone email me with a question and I thought you guys could help out! Here it is:

I have a question or comment regarding LSAT 46, game 3, section 4, question 12. The game ask for the order.

In accordance to the rules P=3 and L and N are before J. The rules don't state that L or N is immediately next to J. Thereby the explained set up is:

L N P J O or L/O N P L/O J. As with the rules, I agree and can understand this except for N = 2. With L = 4, that places L immediately next to J for LJ.

That is my problem. If LJ then why not LN. For set up with J=5; L = 1, 2, 4; N =1,2, 4, and O = 1,2,4,5

For order choices question 12

L N P J O O N P L J N L P J O

O N P L J N O P L J L O P N J and so forth.

The answer choice

L N P O J - Answer A deemed correct answer choice.

L O P N J - Answer B deemed incorrect answer choice. However, both L and N are before J with P =3

N L P J O - Answer D deemed incorrect answer choice. However, both L and N are before J with P = 3

Please explain. Hail and rain is not a factor to answer this question. In addition, the rules and the scenario do not include N = 2.

Thank you.

Hi all! I have exhausted all test materials from 30 -75. I am redoing tests 50+ and plan for the December retake. Although I am doing these tests again, I am plateauing around 170. I wouldn't say that I remembered all the questions and answers but I think with this kind of performance I would not be able to score 170 in the real thing. Any thoughts on how to improve? Thanks!

J.Y. and friends,

I qualify for, and will be granted, extended time on the LSAT as an accommodation for my learning disabilities. I have been using the proctor on the 7sage app and i REALLY like it because of the "distraction" features and proctor announcements at the beginning and the "five minutes remaining" at the end. I am having to pause the app mid-test, then use an additional timer to complete the extra minutes using an online timer, then go back and start the app again for new sections. For obvious reasons, I am having trouble emulating "real test conditions" in this way, and it's eating up a lot of time and causing me to lose focus because of the switching back and forth issue. I'm wondering, especially with the new criteria for disability accommodations on the LSAT, if y'all might consider adding a "time and a half" proctor on the app for students with accommodated testing that also has the distraction/background noise feature?

Hey all,

Just wondering how I can increase focus/concentration? I keep on thinking about other things while doing PT questions. I take longer than I should/could on questions.

I starting meditation right now every morning.

Is there anything else anyone recommends?

Hi everyone, do you know if there are any real time RC videos where J.Y. Ping reads the passages and answers the questions in real time? The videos I've watched so far are really great but I would love to see and hear him processing the passage and working through the questions in real time. I'm thinking it might help me to see how I could process everything more quickly and accurately.