Hi everyone,

I am sure most of us are anticipating the big day tomorrow... I know ideally I should be completely ready, and I feel good about the material but my final issue comes down to timing. I keep having moments when I am taking practice tests where I tell myself to move on but then I also tell myself that if I just had one more second I could figure it out. This tends to go on for a long time until I spend WAY too much time on a question, don't get much closer to answering it (or maybe I do but at a great cost) and I end up running out of time. This is especially true with reading comp and towards the beginning of sections when I tell myself I can make up for it later by just speeding up even more.

I know we are supposed to leave the harder questions for last. I really want to get most of the questions right though, and I have this fear that if I move on, I will never see that question again and it will take even more time later when I am going back to it to re- familiarize with what it is so I would lose even more time. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting out of this mindset?

I know I need to listen to that voice that tells me to move on but because of this fear and I guess because I'm stubborn and don't want to move on until I feel certain, because I know with enough time I'll get it, and then I don't move on and it really costs me later. On days when I do this I often don't even get to the last reading passage.

Another issue is if I DO get through things fast, for example on the games I might get through the first 3 games really fast and then all the sudden I have a ton of time and I relax and slow down, maybe reread the rules 3 times and play around with scenarios more than necessary. But the reason I had this time was actually because the first 3 games are easy and last is brutal and I didn't have time to relax. Then I run out of time again!

So ya I guess my question is what do other people do to force themselves to move on when they know they are supposed to even when that voice is saying, just a few more seconds and you'll get it? Specifically, do you think that it takes a lot of extra time to familiarize yourself with the question again if you wait to go back to it later? (Because that is my biggest mental block on why I don't move on.) How often do you guys look at your watch? Do you ever get lost in the test, forget to look at your watch and then mess up pacing? My internal clock kind of sucks. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Good luck to everyone tomorrow, we have worked so hard and as long as we've tried our best and keep trying our best throughout the test... we can't regret anything! Plus we have had a major advantage with 7sage... this incredible secret that most people probably don't know about! So we are going to crush this tomorrow!! :)

I may have to withdraw. My most recent PTs were going great until I got to the newer tests, and then my score sloooowly went down again. This is after I took the LSAT last December, postponed it twice, hardcore studied for at least 4+ months... and my last few PTs are the exact same score that I got last December. The schools that I want are at least 14 away from my current, 4 points away from my best scores. I already took off an additional year to study. I think the worst part isn't even letting myself down, its having to tell people that I may wait another year to apply. It's just taking so long. Like so, so long.

Is taking another year to do better really worth the gains?

I've been looking online for awhile for the answer, and I can't find one, so I thought that I would ask here. I am on prescribed medications, one of them being for ADHD. I am supposed to take it twice a day, which means I should be taking it during the break during the exam tomorrow. Are we allowed to bring medication into the test center? I would hate to have to suddenly alter my medication schedule the day of the test and not be able to focus as well. And if I do, does it have to be in a prescription bottle? I don't really want everyone knowing what I am taking by seeing the bottle, but then again I know that some people abuse these types of medications, and I don't want to be accused of that and get into some trouble without proof of a prescription. Any insights or past experiences would be appreciated!

I printed my ticket and the yellow ink was low...the top left corner that says "LSAC" turned a pink color. Does this matter? Everything else turned out fine.

I am taking the LSAT this Sunday in Asia. And I was doing relatively well with RC.

I'd read the passages and answer the questions relying on my memory without having to go back much and usually get 3 wrong. Right answers seemed to just pop out for me. But that changed with the most recent ones.........

I'd get stuck between two answer choices with a number of questions and run out of time. My biggest problem is with Comparative Reading. They used to be my favorite. I usually got them done in 5 - 6 minutes. But for some reason with the recent ones, I just feel utterly lost.......

Did RC get harder in general? Or my approaches were wrong.

With the test just a day and a half away, I am so utterly confused.

Music or something like NPR while driving in. What do you guys think? Enjoying to some music or something more to listen and comprehend on the way in. What will you guys be doing?

Hey guys I heading to Hong Kong in few days and will be staying in the Kowloon from early-December to mid-January. I am aiming for the February test and have been PT in the 165-175 range. I plan to do PTs and fine tuning RC and LR sections during my stay at Hong Kong.

Personally, I find it extremely helpful to form a LSAT group in order to PT efficiently and rigorously, as well as stay motivated. I mostly need a group for PT and not for studying or going over PT purpose, but I am also open to studying together if it turn out to be efficient. I don't care about your PT score range. If anyone is interested, please inbox me.

Hey everyone,

I hope you are all relaxing before the test and not exhausting yourselves! I am unfortunately posting this message because I woke up today feeling very very ill. I have a fever, soar throat, and my whole body is in pain. Even coughing causes pain.

If I remain at least as ill, my cognitive performance will be significantly impaired. Not to mention, I may very well get other people sick.

I already took the test once in June and I did not reach the score I needed, so I definitely don't want to attempt to retake the test without being in maximum mental and physical shape; doing the contrary will show no significant improvement. So, my question is, how much am I negatively affecting my chances of admission by taking the LSAT in February? I have read a lot about this topic, and almost everyone's opinion is that I am cutting my chances by a high margin.

Please let me know what you think, any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you very much!

I really think I am burned out. All I am thinking about is the LSAT, and took 3 tests in 3 days, with review after. My average is about 160 and my scores have been 165, 152, and 154. I know I didn't suddenly get dumber, but I don't think studying anymore can benefit me at all. I've read so many stories about how people did well after taking a few days off before the test, so I think at this point that's what I'm going to do.

Hey guys I'm very new to this forum mbut I figured I would try my luck.

I'm looking for a partner who is serious about working. At the moment I'm averaging about four hrs a day to the LSAT and I'm seeing some very slow improvements but improvements nonetheless.

However, I've been told that groups often tend to help learn things much faster than the traditional way, so if anyone is interested in skyping a few PT's or just want to do specific sections please let me know.

vincent _ cordone a t hotmail

thanks

With the following comments, I'm hoping incite from people some input, be it advice or general opinion:

First, a little about me: From a modest upbringing, my parents, though nice, do not have a high school education. I wasn't poor or significantly disadvantaged, just a regular blue collar Canadian lower-middle class family. I had a very late start in my academic life; I was diganosed with ADHD at 12, had a Grade 3 reading comprehension in Grade 9, and essentially stopped participating in Math in Grade 5. After dropping out of high school, I decided my type A personality wasn't suited for manual labor so I obtained my high school diploma and enrolled in the local community college. After two years studying 12+ hours a day I had high enough grades to transfer to a reputable University, where I finished my last two years and obtained a Criminology degree with a 3.5 GPA. It was an absolute grind but I managed to do it.

Since University, I spent several years working in law enforcement and as a Youth Counselor. During this time, I realized I wanted to be a lawyer. I've written the LSAT four times, once in 2011 and three in a row in 2012-13. Because of the three times rule, I was prohibited from writing it for a year only to return again this December 2014 exam, of which I am registered in. My first attempt in 2011 I was practice averaging 150-156 and scored a 149 (often 16/25 on LR, 3 passages at 14/25, and only two logic gams at 12/25). I then spent over three months studying logic games specifically and was able to reach a third logic game giving me 15/25 and moving my practice scores to 153-158, I would then officially score 153, 151, 151.

This last round I completed all of 7Sage's material, with a heavy focus on LR. I have managed to improve my LR scores to 20/25 but my RC and LG have not improved. I cannot reach a fourth logic game or reading passage. With 12 practice tests this month I am consistently scoring 155-159. I've been studying 30-40 hours a week since September.

I should note that although I don't have panic attacks, and i'm generally stable, I get a lot of anxiety. I tend to think of the worst case scenario(s), assuming them to be probable, and then lose sleep and be stressed out all day. This last week I have slept 5-6 hours a night, have become extremely irritable, and have dropped to 155 on my last two practice exams.

I want to be a lawyer. I have the schools picked out I would like to (and could be admitted to) attending. I have great references and great professional experience. I have applied, but all that stands in my way is this stupid exam. Unfortunately, I can't help but wonder, after all this effort and studying, given my score only ever rising from 152-159, and my pattern of choking on test day... am I just not intelligent or stable enough to do this?!

Should I finally throw in the towel? Thanks for your input in advance. I would have sought advice from friends and family but they don't seem to get it.

Brad

I know it's going to have an impact on some deadlines but I need 8 more raw points to guarantee acceptance at my 1st choice school.

Hello,

I will start studying for June's test. Following the starter schedule, it says that I do full tests at the end of my prep i.e. last some weeks. My question, how relevant are the older tests? let's say 19's or early 2000's? When it says to practise a section, which year am I to choose and which ones do I leave for the full exam? I assume that the sections I chose for training shouldn't be part of the full exam.

Good luck to all Saturday's writers.

Hi,

I just want to know if other people have this same issue and what methods you used to overcome it: I know the LR concepts pretty well, and when I take un-timed tests, I do really well without spending a lot of time on the questions (as much as I would spend under timed conditions). But, when I take the actual test, I get considerably more questions wrong. When I do the blind review, I usually don't look at the answer I picked, I go back to the question (on a second set of the same test without any marks) and read the question again and most of the time (8/10) I get the correct answer and I look at the answer I picked during the exam and it makes no sense to me. Is this me? Am I going nuts? :/

I know this curriculum identifies the first step as reading the question stem and then the stim, however I know that this is also somewhat controversial i.e. the powerscore series/lsat trainer have different things to say.

Does anyone have a preference? Do you think its critical?

Anybody in Chicago looking for a study buddy?

I just tried to take PT 72 and got so frustrated and thrown off that I quit during section 2. I printed it off from everylsat.com and screwed up in RC (section 1) bc I had to keep flipping back and forth looking at the passage for questions that were on the back side of the page. I had only 3 minutes to get through the last passage and got murdered by it. I started doing section 2 and was just so mad about the last section that I got through 5 LR questions in 8 minutes and nothing was making sense. I thought that it was just best if I stopped, bc I had had a long day (usually don't do PTs at night) and knew I was going to do horrible on this test.

It is especially discouraging because I scored a 165 yesterday on PT 71 and was feeling so confident. Should I still take 73 tomorrow?

Hey 7Sagers! Someone wrote in with a question that I thought you could help out with! Here it is:

When blind reviewing a preptest, should I go back and review the answers to all the questions or just the questions that I circled?

When I blind review LG I go back and do all the games and usually miss only -1 or 2 questions. Thanks!

Anyone at USC studying for december/February?

I can't remember if I've ever read this... but are we only allowed to bring in water in our bag? Or can we bring an energy drink for our break?

Hey Guys,

So i just finished a prep course and i'm not scoring exactly where i want to be. My diagnostic was 152, and my score has been fluctuating with the highest score being 157 and the lowest being 150. My goal is to score 165. I just recently discovered 7sage and the whole blind review thing and have started to implement it. My Blind Review score was around 163 the last time i took it. The main issue i have is with timing. I'm only able to get to 20 questions in LR, 3 Games in LG, and 3 Passages in RC. Reading Comp is my worse section, and Logic Games is my best section. My goal is to be able to finish each section but i'm not exactly sure how to practice timing outside of just taking timed sections and practice tests.

Also another issue i have is that the prep course i took kinda implemented questions from each practice test, and essentially left me with only 12 fresh practice tests that haven't been used. My plan is to just do timed sections from those older practice tests that they've utilized and hope that i don't remember much for it to affect my score/timing significantly. Since i only have 12 fresh practice tests i'm thinking i'll just do one a week, leaving me with 4 additional ones. If anyone has any advice i'd love to hear it. I feel kinda screwed in the sense that i don't have alot of unused practice tests left and i'm not scoring where i want to be.

Of course you are. You're about to take an important test. It's not the most important test though. That one you will be taking in February.

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., 71, 72, 73) and average your score. 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 not be a new day and the December 2014 LSAT will not be a new LSAT. It will only be "LSAT PrepTest 74" which will be just like PT 73 and PT 72 and PT 71 and so on.

For Saturday, remember only this: keep moving.

You will 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 those difficult questions. Maintain your rhythm.

Keep moving.

You got this.

Hey guys,

How many minute(s) (max-min) do you guys aim for when reading a RC passage with reasonable comprehension? Do you read more for comprehension, or simply for relative placement?

Thanks!!

I've been at this since the beginning of May, first by studying completely by myself, I took a few weeks off to compete in a bodybuilding comp, but I went right back into it. I work full time, but squeeze it in in the morning, in my lunch break, and after work. Now that we're a week from the exam, I literally find myself wanting to cry when I am studying.

I know they say "the moments before you reach your goal are always the hardest" and "if you really want something you'll push past it", but I honestly just don't know if I can put another full week of killing myself studying into it.

Does anyone else feel this way? What would you suggest?

So I know the LSAT doesn't really have 'guaranteed' rules that you can use (other than negation, etc), but has anyone come across a correct LR answer choice for a necessary assumption question that used the word "most"?

"Most" is used generally for trap answer choices because the negation of 'most' is 'less than half' and there's really nothing too special about crossing/not crossing the 50% mark for a necessary assumption (unless the stimulus is based on this majority/minority issue). I just looked at a necessary assumption LR question in PT70, S1, #13 for instance and speedily and correctly eliminated three answers on the basis that they began with "most." Of course I went back to read the content, but still, seeing that word makes me less inclined to believe it is correct for NA questions.

I also realize precedents can be broken, but have there been any (correct with 'most') to anyone's knowledge?