110 posts in the last 30 days

I have taken the November 2019 LSAT. I will say that it was everything I expected and more. I didn't see the need to complain and took the attitude, "Do your best and don't worry and don't complain". But "Press forward".

I didn't eat the Raisin Oat Bran like I had planned because I tried it the day before the test and took a couple of small spoonfuls. It was awful and tasted like cardboard. I want to try it as recommendation from other people online had that taken the LSAT. I wondered how could anyone eat this stuff. I threw it away. I opted for the McDonald breakfast menu with country buttermilk chicken biscuit sandwich with a hash brown and a large orange juice on test day. It hit the spot. I had studied my test strategy plan and stuck to it.

I am a person of faith and prayed that I would do my best to pass for 20 minutes on the test before I left for the test center and the ask G-d to be with me while i was testing and help me pass. I felt calm the whole way and wasn't bothered.I felt at peace even after the test.

I hugged and kissed my 6 year old nephew and 9 year old niece to tell them I was on my way to take the big test. I said I will see you later on this evening because I expected to get out the testing center around 5:30 pm. I said my goodbyes and headed to the testing center.

I took the Uber to the testing center and was calm the whole way to the testing center. I was not nervous nor was I anxious Once I arrived, I asked the front desk receptionist where the LSAT is and they told me where it was. I silenced my phone completely.I had my cell phone left at the front desk and got it back later on after I had finished with the test. I arrived the hotel where the testing was to take place at 10:50 am. I was lucky to take the exam by myself I was in a room by myself with no others. I started exactly at 11:30 am. I showed my accommodation letter because I am high functioning Autistic and with my admissions ticket was able to sign in at 11:00 am. I had my eyeglasses in the zip lock bag.

I had put all of my energy and everything into the test. I used a time management strategy that was built into my LSAT strategy and served me well during the test. I stayed calm because I remember that a leader has to have a head in a time of crisis. This is especially true of the LSAT.

If tablet broke, I didn't worry because the testing place had huge supply of them and didn't count against the time. I did have one tablet that got stuck after coming back from break. I didn't start the 4 section right away and was given a new tablet after the test administrator graciously gave me a new one after scanning code on the back of the tablet. I was able to continue on.

I didn't want to guess what was the experimental section because I went in with the attitude do well no matter what. I went to do a job that was the most important thing. I decided that remaining calm was most important. The way sections were laid out was not important to me. Just the goal was working the exam effectively and only working my plan by sticking to it. I didn't care about what my score might be. I went with a plan and stuck to it all the way. I was able to make couple passes after each section and had 10 minutes to spare for each one of the sections. I went over them with a blind review and corrected the mistakes along the way. After I was sure, I felt confident that I did well

The first section took me bit longer and was able to gain traction after question 8. I had skipped 2 questions and came back to them later on my second pass. I was able to think clearly and sharply about the answer and was able to. The first section was hard but I was able to get through it without worrying. I blind reviewed it and was able to untangle the section effectively. Skipping hard questions was a part of my overall plan and worked out well.

I had my break after the 3rd section and ate my granola bar and drank my orange juice. I went to the bathroom not worry nor

feeling horrible about my performance on the test.

After completing the final section and took a blind review to check my work on it and was satisfied after correcting a couple answers that need to be corrected and re-reading it my notes one last time. i finalized it and gave back the tablet. I proceed to get my phone at the front desk of the hotel for testing and took the Uber home around 4:15 pm. I felt a sense of relieve and felt illuminated. I was very tired and exhausted. I didn't go out anywhere and decided to crash at my brother's house where my niece and nephew are. I went to sleep for a while. I decided whatever the score is not worry good or bad. If it is bad, i will take it again. I won't worry nor fret over the questions while waiting for the score release. What is done is done. I felt that I stuck to my strategy to and stayed calm the whole time that it worked. That is what matters most.

11

Hey Everyone,

Starting to fool proof logic games and have a few questions:

  • Do you keep your additional attempts to refer back to? Or do you throw it away? Please provide a rationale for either or.
  • How valuable is it to fool proof when you know the exact answer to the questions off of memory?
  • For example, when you read a question and you already know in your head that the answer is C. Do you go through the motions to confirm C?

  • Any advice and/or tips for someone starting Logic Games?
  • Look forward to your responses.

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    Last comment sunday, dec 08 2019

    159 --> 171, thanks 7Sage!

    It's been a few months, and I've been reflecting on how great 7Sage was as a prep for my second LSAT. I took my first one after working full time for a summer, and was definitely underprepared. I dedicated two months to working on 7Sage and doing many(!) practice tests last summer, and it paid off. I jumped 22 percentile points with the basic version of 7Sage. I thought JY's approach was fantastic and helped significantly more than the other course I did. Explaining the reasoning and linguistic reasons for why answers are what they are, rather than simply identifying patterns, makes all the difference. Thank you JY and 7Sage!

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    Last comment saturday, dec 07 2019

    Long Text

    Hi guys,

    I had a quick question. I am struggling with timings when it comes to LR questions. So when there is an LR question that is long, I tend to skip it. I was wondering, are there any specific strategies that you guys apply to deal with long text LR questions.

    Thanks

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    I'm going to be on two long flights at the end of this month and am planning on running through lots of printed logic games. However, I'm not sure the best way to go about reviewing the games since I'll be unable to digitally access the answers (and explanations) to the games while on the flight.

    Has anyone found an effective review method for LG that doesn't require the internet? I suppose I could try to simply print off answer sheets for each relevant LSAT, but wasn't sure if there was any other option. Thanks!

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    I took the November 2019 LSAT last Monday the 25th at John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Everything seemed fine; we all completed the test and were in and out in about 4 hours. Nothing went wrong with the test center or the tablets as far as I'm aware. Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from LSAC with the subject line "LSAT Test Center Reassignment." The email says that since I was unable to take the test I registered for, my make-up exam will occur this Sunday Dec 8th at John Marshall Law School (same test center as before). I checked my LSAC account and it, too, says that I'm registered for the December 8th LSAT and that I can print my admission ticket. I've tried calling LSAC multiple times and every time I've been on hold for over an hour because all of their lines are busy.

    Has this happened to anyone else over the past couple days? I'm so confused as to why LSAC thinks I was unable to take the exam on the scheduled date. I already spent a lot of time and money traveling to Chicago for last week's exam, and I'll be in a really tough spot if I have to re-take it this Sunday.

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    I just started to study for the Sept LSAT. I did terrible on the logic games section in the diagnostic test. I have since then purchased materials, 7sage's course and did some online research.

    Now more than ever am I confused with the games as I thought there were a couple of types and I just had to learn them. But, in each type their are sub-types and it looks like powerscore, 7sage, and the online resources I have found have different names for them?

    Game 1 - Grouping: Splitting (Division)

    Game 1 - Grouping: Matching

    Game 2 - Grouping: In & Out (Selection)

    Game 2 - Grouping: Matching + In & Out

    Game 2 - Grouping: In & Out

    Grouping: Defined fixed, unbalanced, underfunded

    Grouping: Defined moving,balanced numerical distribution, identify the possibilities

    Grouping: Defined fixed, unbalanced, overloaded, identify the templates

    Grouping: Undefined

    Grouping: Linear Combination, numerical distribution

    Grouping: Partially defined, numerical distribution.

    and there's TONS more. At this point I feel like I am wayyy in over my head. I believe that I am making it more complicated then this all is. But, I need someone to tell me how this all works then. I want to later on do drills and all these websites and my books call it different things so I don't know how to make practice "packets" for a type of game when there's 20 diff. grouping games.

    Thanks in advance for any help!!!

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    Last comment tuesday, dec 03 2019

    What do I do next?

    So I’m honestly starting to believe that this test is impossible for me to even get into the high 160’s. I’ve been struggling with this exam since last May and haven’t gotten as far as I would have liked. I’ve taken a live prep course and invested a few hundred dollars in private tutoring but I still think the November exam was a dud. I don’t know what to do. If I delay, I feel like I’m gonna grow old before ever going to law school and if I don’t delay, that only leaves a little over a month before the next exam. I was planning on going to law school last year and have already delayed until now. I do not believe delaying another year is going to help, but I honestly don’t know what to do. Could someone provide some specific advice?

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    Last comment monday, dec 02 2019

    LSAT Writing Redo?

    I took the LSAT in June 2018 and did the writing section then. The rules say you don’t have to retake a writing section if you have one on file, but would it be detrimental to my application to have a hand-written writing section as opposed to computerized?

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    I know it’s probably been discussed before, but what should I expect on test day? I’ve taken the LSAT before as the paper format. I would expect same registration process blah blah blah, but during the test as it is digital, I’m sure we’ll have scratch paper for the logic games section, but what about the others? Any advice would be much appreciated and thank you in advance.

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    Last comment saturday, nov 30 2019

    Is it that tiny in tablet

    I’ve been testing on digital (in my fire tablet) and I think that makes a huge impact on my score. It’s so uncomfortable reading RC on tablet. Any tips would be appreciated...I’ve taken lsat but on paper. January will be the first time taking it digital.

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    I’m confused and worried. I just received an e-mail from LSAC apologizing for my “test center issues” (I had none) and offering me an option to retake Dec 8th or January. Anyone in the know want to fill me in on what this means? I feel like I performed very well on the Nov exam and will be extremely upset if this message means what I think it does...

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    Last comment thursday, nov 28 2019

    A Note on "Most Helps to Justify"

    Many of us dive into PSA mode as soon as our eyes scan the words "Most Helps to Justify". That is, hunting for the answer choice stating: If premise then conclusion. This is efficient and works a large majority of the time, however, I have noticed that recent tests have thrown a wrinkle into this strategy. The trick lies in the wording of the stem.

    For example, the full stem looks like: "Which of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning in the argument?"

    Let's break this down. We are going to be given an argument: Premise + Conclusion. The answer choices will provide us 5 principles. We are to assume each one is valid or true. It is our job to identify the answer choice or principle which would most help to justify the reasoning. By reasoning it is meant how the premise supports the conclusion. In other words, we need a principle that most helps the premise be considered good evidence to reach the conclusion.

    I bolded the word "most" twice because it means that we need the best answer choice in relative terms. An answer choice which creates or comes close to creating a valid argument is great, but, it is not necessary! An answer choice which lightly strengthens and requires less assumptions than all other answer choices also fits the task required of us by the stem.

    Interestingly enough, when LSAC uses the "Most Helps to Justify" stem, the credited answer choice usually makes the argument close to validity. That is why the stem is commonly classified by 7sage analytics as a PSA question.

    But remember, the wording of the stem does not necessitate reaching near validity. All we need is an answer choice that most helps the argument get closer to validity.

    On the past few tests I have noticed that there will be a "Most Helps to Justify" stem whose credited answer choice is not the traditional "if premise then conclusion". Instead, it lightly strengthens the argument, while the other answer choices are irrelevant. Because the answer choices did not match my pre phrase, I panicked. Consequently, I eliminated all answer choices and had to skip the question. But, if I kept in mind that "Most Helps to Justify" does not require near validity, I would have been fine and saved lots of time and stress!

    Takeaway/TLDR; "Most Helps to Justify" is a PSA question 95% of the time, but, the wording of the stem does not rule out that these types of questions are just light strengthening questions, which is the case the other 5% of the time. Be flexible and do not panic if your "If premise then conclusion" pre phrase is not found.

    16

    I felt like I over performed on last week's test and I'm typically a horribly slow starter. I wanted to share what I did that worked well for me.

    The morning of the test I went on a jog, had a hearty breakfast, went over 10 LR questions at home and didn't grade them, ate lunch then got to the testing center about 45 minutes early.

    After I got my parking tag I did my warmup in the car which included 1 of each of the following: MSS, Main conclusion, SA, NA, PmoR, weaken, strengthen, descriptive flaw. I'd already done all the questions before and I knew the right processes I wanted to get my mind into. I did 1 double layer sequencing game and didn't have time to do my RC passage but by that time I felt warmed up.

    My motivation to stay focused and not get nervous for the test is a bit silly but it really worked for me. I made a deal with myself that when I reach my target score I want to buy myself a nice watch so I went in with the mindset of "today I'm going to earn my watch!" This mindset helped me stay aggressive in LR and not freeze or start slow like I usually do because I was focused on my goal and not letting myself get nervous.

    The carrot on the stick approach really worked well for me, hope this post is useful!

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    Last comment wednesday, nov 27 2019

    No improvement on RC

    Hey guys, I have been studying for the LSAT for a bit over three months now, and I haven’t seen any improvement in LR in a very long time. On the last four timed LR sections I have taken, I consistently get -10. I went over the cc a second time and still haven’t improved my LR score at all. I think maybe it’s because I go through the questions too fast and don’t spend enough time thinking about the logical structure of each question; I always finish an LR section with about 3 minutes to spare. I get really stressed when I spend too much time on a question. I am scheduled to write the November LSAT and I am hoping to improve to -5/-6. Any pointers would help, thank you!

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    Last comment wednesday, nov 27 2019

    LG Freeze

    I have this problem with logic games and I hope someone can diagnose this and tell me what to do....I’ve done so many logic games without timing issues but for some reason, all the logic games on the real exams always seem completely different to me and I find that I cannot make inferences or diagram them effectively. But I can do difficult games outside of the test center; what is going on? This is really damaging my scores, so can someone tell me what is going on? I’m not even panicking when doing the real test

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    Hey 7Sagers! Did anyone else see this from Dave Killoran over at PowerScore?!

    “Probably the strangest thing from this LSAT is multiple reports that a released LR section from PT67 (October 2012) was used as an experimental section for some students. If those reports are true, that should never happen.“

    Did this happen to anyone? That’s crazy if it did! If true, for anyone that made a mistake on the LSAT: you’re not alone! Apparently even LSAC makes mistakes!

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    Last comment tuesday, nov 26 2019

    Experimental vs. Real

    Hello everyone, I got two LG sections on my test and I really want to figure out which one was the real one vs. the experimental. I feel like I did well on one and not so well on the other one. One of the sections had a game talking about the departments to be approved by a University and birthdays and the other one had games talking about ingredients on a recipe and people visiting different countries. If anyone got just one LG section and tell me how it looked like that would be awesome! I feel like the RC passages were pretty straightforward. There was one science passage that was a little convoluted but the rest were okay. I hate RC but I feel like on this test that was probably my best section. LR... well more of the same. Not so much to talk about those two sections. I have no idea of what to expect in terms of the results. Anyone else feeling anxious?

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    I’ve been to nearly every lsat tutor and training program there was, and I just haven’t given this test the effort it needs in order to improve. I’m hoping by taking a test a day and doing my best to practice all that I can, whilst being in my senior year at NYU can help!

    If you have any tips, advice, or ANY comments at all please let me know below!

    How should I study?

    Too ambitious?

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    Last comment monday, nov 25 2019

    LSAT Writing

    I have received my LSAT score but due to technical difficulties I'm unable to complete LSAT writing section for 5 days. Do you think I should submit applications in the meantime?

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    Did some searching on the forums and couldn't find a clear cut answer on fool proofing.

    For context - I am scheduled to take the JAN 2020 LSAT (may move it to FEB 2020).

    I am currently just through the CC on LG, about to start RC. I am almost always able to solve the logic games with -0 or -1, however, time is almost always an issue. New games definitely take me longer than what JY recommends, but I can usually get them almost perfect with more time.

    I took the SEP 2019 LSAT and scored 153 and went -11 on LG/AR, -10 on RC, and -18 on LR.

    I feel that the core curriculum will definitely improve my LR scores - there was some basic concepts that I was missing that I think will enable me to improve there. At this point - does it make more sense to spend the time to start fool proofing AR/LG or to move on to RC? I went close to -10 on both, but understand the concepts behind LG well enough to solve them, albeit slowly.

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