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35 posts in the last 30 days

This has probably already been hashed out somewhere, BUT, I can't find it, so...

Is there somewhere on 7sage (or elsewhere) that ranks the difficulty of all the PT's? - or maybe ranks the sections? It seems like I've see this somewhere before, but not sure where.

So for example, I just took PT 72 this evening. I want to know where this test ranks overall, and/or the difficulty of the sections. Was the RC on this PT considered, easy, hard, average etc? Was the LG section easy, hard, average?

I want to compare this information with what my feelings are about the tests, as well as use this info to make decisions about how to best spend my studying hours.

I'm hoping PT 72 is considered "hard" compared to other PTs, because I scored my highest score yet, and that would make me feel like I'm getting somewhere with all these hours and hours I spend studying. If it's "easy", then I won't put too much weight into the higher score.

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I took the October 2015 and did not receive a score that I am satisfied with. I actually ended up getting the same lsat score as I did the first time. I registered for the December Lsat and this will be my 3rd time taking it.

For those who took the October exam and are retaking in December, what are some strategies you plan on implementing in order to raise your score? Being that essentialy we have one month to study, how many hours do you plan to study a week?

Lastly, I scored a 156 both times :(. I'm trying to be as realistic as possible and want your opinion as to whether or not I can raise my score to at least a 160 by December? Is that unrealistic?

Thank you so much in advance. :-)

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I've been trying to find an answer to this question for a few days now. I know that all Ontario schools have an application deadline of November 1st, but does anybody know if this extends to supporting documentation (transcripts, LORs) as well? I phoned the admissions offices at Queen's and Ottawa to ask this very question, but my call hasn't been returned yet. I know schools like UBC have separate deadlines (Dec. 1st for application, January 31st I believe is the deadline for supporting documents), but I'm not sure if that's a policy that only some schools have that the Ontario schools do not share. Thanks!

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I had some questions in regards to mental exhaustion and loss of focus.

During the test, I sometimes experience mind wandering off, especially during the difficult LR questions and Law and Science reading passages. The loss of focus forces me to read again and re-evaluate the argument, which has a detrimental snowball effect on my time management.

What are some of the methods that I can utilize to improve my concentration and reduce mental fatigue?

I have read some posts on 7Sage in regards to caffeine. So before taking a PT, I usually take 2-3 shots of espresso and eat some dark chocolate. I do some meditation as well. During the 15 minute break, I snack on almonds and walnuts (and other common brain foods).

I’ve also read that nicotine aids in memory retention and focus, so I may consider applying nicotine patches or start smoking, haha. (I wish I was joking…)

Most of my friends, who attend Law School now, tells me that my mental exhaustion during the test will get better as I get used to taking more full PTs.

In the case that I am not completely acclimated to the intensity of the test within couple of weeks, what are some methods that I can impose during my PT sessions which can improve my mental strength?

Best,

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Hey all,

I purchased the budget course to try out the curriculum. So far it's been great, I'm even considering upgrading. Problem is for now I'm having a small issue with the Study Schedule, it seems convenient as it gives me a reference point to map out how much I would need to study.

But, with the budget option it gives me a bad estimate because it only takes in account the parts of the course available in the

budget option. Meaning maybe 1/4 of the total curriculum. Like I said, I'm considering upgrading but for now I'd like to make an estimate of how much I need to study.

I'm aiming at the 2016 June Test, possibly even next October. Study Schedule says I should be studying 6.5 hours a week. That's hardly enough to take and review 1 PT.

I was thinking 15-20 hours would be appropriate seeing as how I have all the way till June. Comments are appreciated.

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Hi all, I just got back my Oct score yesterday, which turned out to be very disappointing157, 6 points below my average score, 163. I've never gotten below 162 on my PTs for the past two months, so this was devastating and unexpected. I don't know what happened, but I guess I was especially nervous during the first section, RC, on which I got almost half of the Qs wrong, twice as many as what I typically get. On LRs, I typically range between -7~-10 and I got -15 on the real one. Usually, when I do well on the RCs, I do poorly on the LRs and vice versa so it balances out. This time, it appears that I under-performed on almost all the sections. I'm considering to retake in Dec but with barely a month left to prep with full-time schooling, I'm afraid I will make the same mistake and get a similar result. Re-taking in February would be better because I graduate this December and I'll have two months to prep for the LSAT full-time at home. However, this would mean that I'll have to possibly wait a year and apply next cycle since my dream school fills almost all of its class before the February LSAT results are released. If I decide to apply next cycle, which I prefer not to, I'd like to save up my LSAT attempts and take the February and June exams.

My target score is 166, but anything more than 160 would guarantee my acceptance to all the schools except my top-choice school. I've never thought I'd get anything below 160 and looking at my score on the real one, I'm uncertain whether to see it as a true reflection of myself or just an outlier. Since I felt that I put in a decent amount of time and efforts into studying for this exam, I've never thought I'd be worried about not getting into any of the schools on my list. I spent the entire evening yesterday thinking about whether I have the capability to do well on a standardized exam or go to law school. My fellow classmate who spent much less time than me studying for the LSAT pulled off a 170 even though he said that he "bombed" it. It's quite discouraging to see that this entire process is slow and that I haven't seen much progress even in my PT score. It's really difficult to keep out the negative thoughts.

Sorry, if this post makes anyone feel uncomfortable. Any advice on how to tackle the issue and when to re-take would be appreciated.

PS - I took the 7sage ultimate course and studied with the Trainer book...

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Plan on re-taking in December. At this point the only relevant fresh PT's I have left are PT's 50-54 and 67-69.

I have about 5 weeks left before the December LSAT and can't decide if it would be better to take these fresh PT's or just re-take 70-75 while using the fresh PT's for drilling? I can really only manage to take one full timed PT with a thorough BR per week right now since I'm taking a full semester and graduating in December. I've never re-taken any PT's yet and don't know if it's at all useful or not. Any advice is much appreciated.

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Hello,

When I take a PT timed I score around 154-156. I have time at the end of each section, so I am not guessing, but When I BR that same test I score 166-168. What should I do to get my PT timed to be in the 160s. I plan on taking the Dec LSAT. My ideal score is 163-165..Please help!

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I scored a 171 on the Oct. 2015 LSAT, below my 174.5 average, which has really dampened my expectations.

I am not sure what to expect after underperforming. Do you guys think I should...

1) retake in December (hard to do with 50+ hours of work each week)

2) push off law school and retake in February or June

3) go for it and see what happens

Let me know what you guys think!

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So I was admitted to a school in the US in Fall 2015 and I deferred it until Fall 2016. I just got my October LSAT score and it is 6 points higher than my June LSAT, which is usually the minimum threshold for having to explain the discrepancy in scores. Do you think the school I am already admitted to will request an addendum to my application explaining the 6 point jump? Just wondering if anyone else has ever gone through this. I am not worried about having to explain it as I already know I have a good reason for it. Thanks in advance.

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Powerscore claims that recently PTs have had a lot more science experiment questions in LR. I've obviously taken a bunch of science classes and know the basics, but I still think it's weird to see these scenarios in the LSAT world.

For example, on PT 71 Section 3 #4, E is the right answer because it shows that there is a control group, and every study should have a control group. Though I know this, I wouldn't think that really counts as strengthening.......but I guess it shows that the experiment is a good one.

Either way, whenever a science experiment shows up, should I be checking to see that all/most requirements of a good science experiment are mentioned? I don't know if my question makes sense haha but I'm trying to find a general approach for the future

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UPDATE: Hey folks—just in case anyone has trouble joining or the Webinar fills up, there WILL be a recording and a PowerPoint—and I'll give out my email address during the session.

Due to popular demand, we will be holding this webinar using GoToWebinar. Please continue to use the sign-up link below. You will receive an email prior to the webinar with instructions.

NEW! 7sage Webinar (RC) | Saturday, October 24th 6pm–8pm ET

Hey y'all. A few of us Mentors are going to be hosting webinars on a variety of topics. These are free and open to the public (and to folks at all levels of LSAT mastery).

RC with Nicole: It's Hammer Time

In this webinar, I'll share my notation strategy and talk about how to effectively turn the passage into a toolbox with which you'll eliminate 4 wrong answer choices for each question. This strategy is for beginners, strugglers, and experts looking to refine their own method.

We'll also talk about what makes a good RC answer choice, and how to sniff out the bad ones.

If you'd like to join (we will be using GoToWebinar), fill out this super simple form.

http://goo.gl/forms/poB0E5eSez

If you're unable to attend, don't worry—we'll cycle through the list of topics periodically, and a recording will be available.

Note: no special materials or preparation necessary!

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Hi 7sagers,

I am currently attending and pursuing a bachelor's degree from a foreign school(outside of the U.S./Canada). Meanwhile, two years ago, I have studied for one semester at a university in the U.S. as an exchange student through a study abroad program at my home school.

From what I have understood, I need to submit two transcripts from both my home school and the school in America. However, since my school is an international institution, those two GPAs will appear separately on different reports and will not be combined together. The thing is that my home school GPA is good - but apparently law schools will not care it much because it's not from a domestic one - whereas the other from the America school is not(3.59/4.00), which worries me as it being the U.S. school and my future law school would see it carefully. If it were a cumulative GPA, those grades from the U.S. school would be smoothed out a bit, but it turns out that's not the case.

Is there anyone who has a similar issue with me? How will law schools consider this situation?

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So basically I scored 166 in June and bombed the October one(163). I intend to do my third take in December and I really want to push myself to >168.

I guess I just found myself in some 160s plateau. For LR, I've read both Bible and Manhattan. But I still don't think I've mastered LR. For my practice tests, I usually got from -2 to -4 for each LR section. For my October test, I got 7 wrong for my first LR(ughhh). So I think I definitely need some serious improvement for my LR. The recent PT70s' LR also hit me hard. I think the assumption family questions(and flaws) just became a lot harder.

But unfortunately I have used up all my PTs(except the ones in 90s) I guess I can redo the games but I remember too much of the LR to not be affected by memories.

So is there any good advice to improve my LR in one month and a half? Will drilling packets(PT1-38) help me at all? I am a little desperate now...

Thank you so much in advance!

(I posted this in TLS but apparently there is no response yet : ( )

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My friend Daniel wrote a great blurb about Canadian Law Schools and told me to share with whoever. I thought this would be a good place to post it!

"Daniel’s Great Canadian Law School Brain Dump

So I’ve been asked by a bunch of people about which law schools to apply to, how to apply, etc. So here goes.

Below is a scatterplot I made for a story I was working on for the10and3.com, which everyone should visit and read all the time because it’s a fantastic website. I went and plotted the median LSAT and GPA scores for each entering law school class in the top 50 US schools, and every single Canadian common law (read: not Quebec law) school in 2014. So some of the data’s a little old.

[insert graph here]

As you can see, these scores matter significantly more in the US than they do in Canada. On the top right hand corner, there’s Columbia University, with its unbelievably high entrance averages, and if I were to continue and plot the remaining 100+ US schools, it would form a pretty clear correlation. In the US, the top students go to the top schools, with very little deviation from the concept.

As you can see, it’s a little different in Canada. The top students are still going to the top schools, of course, but there aren’t really especially “top” schools in Canada in the same way. Instead, they kind of cluster into three categories that I’m about to go through. Since there’s so many fewer law schools (and they tend to be smaller here too), there’s good news and bad. The good news is that lawyers in Canada are considered to be some of the best in the common law (British Commonwealth) system, and a Canadian law degree can actually travel much more than most other ones. It’s also not as difficult to find articling positions in Canada (Western claims it has a 90%+ articling rate, but I’m highly skeptical of that), because relative to the US and UK, we graduate fewer lawyers a year. The bad news is that Canada is one of the hardest places to get into law school! As a result, there’s a bit of a cottage industry in law student tourism that I’ll get to in a bit.

But first, everyone’ s main question to me: Which school do I apply to?

My first piece of advice here is to ignore the tables on the internet that you’ll find that detail the average entrance grades and the like of Canadian schools. They’re usually wrong and really don’t tell much of the story (entrance averages on their own are dumb – you need them with the standard deviation and some idea of how normal their distributions are). The next thing is to ignore the Maclean’s Ranking guide. Maclean’s again only tells a small part of the story, and they tend to skew towards schools that focus on training academics – not much weight is put on things like global reach, firm hiring rates, class sizes, and student experience. What’s freely available online is also quite a bit out of date.

As I mentioned earlier, there are more or less three clusters of schools.

Tier One – The Tough Ones

These schools are ridiculously tough to get into, because they have the highest entrance averages (which I gleaned from their 2013 or 2014 prospectuses, not stupid internet tables), and tend to attract competitive students.

Toronto – unquestionably the best law school in Canada, with entrance averages that seem to rival the top US schools. The good news is that graduates tend to be the first ones hired on Bay Street to play Harvey Specter and wear $5000 suits. The bad news is that tuition is now about $30,000 a year. So you go deep in a financial hole, to hopefully pull yourself out of it sooner rather than later. Also, living in downtown Toronto is really not cheap. So get used to commuting on the subway. Not really the Specter lifestyle for your three years. The school’s good at just about every type of law too, and there isn’t a textbook in this country that is at least co-penned by one U of T prof. U of T only looks at your best three years of undergrad when determining your marks.

UBC – Also an extremely competitive school, with very high entrance averages. Part of UBC’s allure tends to be that it’s probably the best value degree in the country, with a comparable standing to U of T but quite literally half the price tag – BC froze their grad school tuition rates a few decades ago and it’s now made their law schools incredibly attractive. As an added bonus, there are only three (relatively small) law schools in the heavily populated province, and so there’s a good chance that you’ll find articling positions upon graduation. Vancouver living isn’t too cheap either. UBC ignores your grad school marks and will drop your lowest undergrad marks when calculating GPA.

McGill – This is a bit of a strange case, because McGill tends to have very high GPA averages but relatively lower LSAT scores. This is mostly because it teaches both English common law and Quebec Code Civil, and their Civil Code program doesn’t require students to write the LSAT (duh, because it’s in English). So the LSAT score it posts is a little misleading, and there’s quite a few students who are at the school that never wrote it. Nonetheless, if you have any interest in practicing Quebec law, this is absolutely the best school to do so. McGill also has, in my opinion, the best school brand in the country, and anywhere in the US and Europe will know, and be impressed by, a McGill graduate.

Tier Two – The Great Mushy Middle

Once we’ve dealt with the three really big, famous, and fancy law schools, then we need to deal with everyone in the middle. Unlike in the US, where schools are carefully streamed into certain scores, there are a core group of six schools in Canada that claim identical entrance averages – usually a low A-, and an LSAT of 162. Someone with a ton of time on their hands might apply to them all, but an astute reader and stats nerd (like me!) can figure out that even with the same averages, they are not all alike; each school has a tendency to pick students with a certain ‘mixture’ of the two. Furthermore, students with pretty strong grades might get two or three acceptances, and so each school has a tendency to specialize in certain fields of law. So some research, and knowing your own grades, will give you a pretty good idea on where to go.

UVic – Picks students in probably the most straightforward way. It just looks at your LSAT and GPA and then takes those with the best combo. Since the school gives 50% of its consideration to your LSAT grades, it has a tendency of picking students with higher LSATs relative to their GPA – someone with a B+ average but a 165 stands a very strong chance of going here. They also make you write a personal statement just because. Goods: smallest class size out of the six (only 110 students!), and focuses on public law, mostly environmental and Aboriginal laws. Also the cheapest law school in the country, with a tuition of around $10,000/year. Bads: not great international exchange opportunities, and as pretty as Victoria is, the school is kinda parked in the centre of a 1960s subdivision.

Western – Puts a ton of emphasis on your personal statements, and seems to care about the LSAT more than a number of other schools. In 2015, it claimed an LSAT average of 163! It also completely ignores your grad school marks. Goods: second-smallest class size of the six (170), and designs their program so first year students take all of their classes with the same 20 students. Has a fantastic exchange program and is considered to be the second-best school in the country for business law, behind U of T. Bads: relatively expensive ($20,000/year), and London, Ontario.

Queen’s – tends to take students with very high GPAs and less impressive LSAT scores. It tends to train students with a focus of pushing them towards legal academia, and most of their professors are known more for their writing than their teaching. Goods: strong public law program and academia-focused faculty – tons of textbooks are also written by Queen’s professors. Bads: I’m skeptical of some of the students they seem to let in – people will get into the program with a 4.0 GPA in a relatively simple undergrad, but then a garbage LSAT score (158, in this circumstance)

Dalhousie – Another GPA-focused school. Much like UVic, it calculates almost entirely its marks from GPA and LSAT, but puts a much bigger weight on the GPA side of things. Claims to choose applicants by reserving a good number of spots for Nova Scotians. Has a really neat combined MBA/JD program, which can offset the ridiculous tuition that would accompany an MBA/JD program. Goods: it’s Halifax. It tends to dominate law firms in Atlantic Canada, and I’ve heard that it’s relatively easy to get work out there, if the firms are hiring. Bads: I hope you like rain!

Osgoode – Despite its name, this is York University’s law school. The school itself is on York’s campus, not in Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto. Don’t let them try to trick you otherwise! This school, like Western, puts quite a bit of emphasis on the personal statement. Goods: focus is a strange combination of business laws and criminal law, as the school churns out tons of Crown prosecutors and defence attorneys. Bads: York is a savage hellscape in North Toronto. My brother describes the campus as “a 1960s concrete bunker in a sea of grass.” This is one of the largest law programs in the country (~300 students), and it is famous for an extremely competitive atmosphere amongst the students. It’s the second most expensive law school in the country, about $27,000/year last I checked.

U of A – I literally know nothing about this school, other than it’s in Edmonton. So you’re on your own here.

Tier Three – The Regional Schools

There’s a demand for lawyers just about everywhere in Canada, but obviously, they tend to gravitate towards big cities (read: Toronto and Ottawa). So there’s a number of smaller universities around the country that offer a law program specific to the province that they’re in. Usually, these schools will have lower entrance averages, but they cover for this by giving preference to applicants from the area around the school, as encouragement to keep the lawyers in the area. I’ll just list them, because this is starting to take awhile to write all this out, and this paper has already gotten way longer than I anticipated.

Lakehead, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Thompson Rivers (brand new!), UNB, Moncton, and I probably missed a couple but you get the drift.

The Curious Case of UWindsor

For the life of me, I’m still confused how this university got a law school, but oh well. The law school itself is really and truly not a bad place, even though it gets a ton of flack from lawyers and other applicants. It’s considered to be the ‘lowest’ Ontario law school with the least reknown. The school doesn’t publish its entrance averages, which to an extent demonstrates its own point. But the school does have some really neat programs – there’s a joint-degree program with the University of Detroit Mercy, which will let you graduate with both an American and Canadian law degree, letting you practice in both countries. It also has a very strong social work and JD program and is considered to be a great school for studying family law.

The Curious Case of uOttawa

Very strange things have happened at this law school. About five years ago, on an admissions error, the school accidentally let too many students into the program. They never fixed it (obviously on purpose). Now the program is 310 English law students and 80 French ones, creating a whopping 390 students a year, and giving it the title of the largest law school in the country. Like McGill, uOttawa offers both English and Quebec law programs, in both languages. Like McGill, only the English program writes the LSAT, so they don’t publish their LSAT averages, though it’s commonly understood to be lower than the six schools listed in Tier Two. They specialize in public policy law, and I believe they’ve also got a part-time program available. What’s scary about this school is that it used to be one of the very best law schools in the country, but, over time, it has actually fallen in reputation and rankings pretty much universally. So buyer beware.

Daniel, my grades and LSAT score aren’t good enough for these places, what are my options?

In my opinion, law school is really really tough and a lot of work; there’s a reason why schools are always so selective about these sorts of things, because it’s really not for everyone. That being said, there are other options, indeed, IF you really really really really really really really really really really really really really want to pay a fortune.

In general, there will always be a law school in the US that will take you, no matter what. But you likely need some sort of scholarship, because these degrees usually cost around $60,000/year.

New Zealand and Australia are also expensive options. Bond University in Brisbane actually offers Canadian law courses, and it’s common for Canadian students to go there, get part of their degree, and then transfer back into Canada to finish it. Each course you take will cost you between $5000-7500 though.

UK law schools are designed quite differently, where students can actually go and enter them directly out of high school. There are some good ones (holla at Oxford), but there are also some real shitty ones. Because of this direct from high school component, the entrance requirements are quite a bit different and I’m not entirely sure how they work.

Finally, there’s India and South Africa. The schools exist and do have some good reknown. But again, I’d imagine it would be extremely tough to transfer your degree back to Canada.

What did you do?

I made a couple small mistakes in my applications. When I applied, I had about a 78-79% average depending on the school calculating it, and I only ever wrote the LSAT once, and scored a 162. I applied to Dalhousie’s MBA program (but not their JD), UVic, Western, uOttawa, UWindsor, Lakehead, and Queen’s. I got my first acceptance in early December for uOttawa, I heard from UWindsor in January, and then UVic and Western at roughly the same time in April. I was waitlisted in January at Lakehead, with the understanding that I would get a spot in the school if they could not fill it with Northern Ontario students. If I were to do it again, and based on how my marks were, I would have likely not bothered to apply to Queen’s, and instead applied to Dalhousie. I chose Western over UVic mainly because my interests lay in civil law, not public law, and job prospects are very strong for Western grads.

More than anything, don’t go into this thinking that you’re going to be so much less intelligent than everyone else. There are definitely still some dolts in my class.

I hope this all helps! What a great way to kill an hour instead of doing actual work."

13

After receiving my score for the October LSAT, I am both happy and sad at my result, which is likely to allow me to enter the law school of my choice through the wait list, but it is heavily dependent on the grades in my current term. I'm currently taking six courses, as well as juggling some extracurricular stuff and a job so I haven't studied for the LSAT at all throughout October and I'm unlikely to have any time until the second week of November (I'd probably get a couple weeks of infrequent drilling/PTs). As a result, I'm not sure if I should retake the LSAT in December.

The fact that my 180Watch broke 10 minutes before my LSAT really threw me off for the actual LSAT (I actually ended up writing the whole thing without being able to check time) but I'm worried that if I retake without practicing enough then I'll have wasted my second attempt. I ended up going -8 on both LR sections and -10 on RC which is well outside of my usual scores (generally around -1~-4 for LR, -10 is actually normal for my RC) so I feel the 160 is really not indicative of my actual LSAT ability.

I was PT'ing 163~170 (quite a wide range from what I can tell) prior to the October LSAT, so I'm not sure if waiting the extra year would be worth it. This is the final year of my degree and I'm not sure if I should find work for a year before law school.

Any ideas/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

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I got my Oct score last night while waiting for my luggage at the airport. That was fun.

I wanted to say a hearty "thank you" to everyone who kindly responded to my various posts during my six-month stretch of studying on 7Sage.

I earned five more points on my scaled score this time around compared to my rushed Dec 2013 LSAT, so it is true that you can improve your score, even though the experts usually say it's not and that you might actually do worse.

Even though my score isn't HYS-material, I'm going to run with it this time because I have a strong uGPA, leadership history in my industry, and perhaps most importantly - an interesting (hopefully convincing) story to tell about how I can bring more to the healthcare industry as a lawyer and/or compliance leader.

My plan is to apply to Loyola Chicago and probably Chicago Kent, which both either have a certificate or concentration in Health Law. Depending on my fate, maybe I can try to transfer after 1L to get back into the NU system, but then again, they don't have a Health Law concentration. :)

I don't think that cramming for the Dec LSAT will help boost my score by much, and so I'll have to make some tough decisions when it comes to how much funding is offered to me - if/when I get in.

It's been quite the journey, and it's not over yet. Thanks again to all who responded to my cries for help. And best of wishes to all of those shooting for the stars, and to those of us who think that the horizon is plenty fine. :)

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