107 posts in the last 30 days

I took both the September and December 2014 LSAT administrations, and I got a 171 each time. In both instances, I got a -5 on the logic games, which really killed me. I have been doing the foolproof method religiously for 6 months now, and in the weeks before my December LSAT, I was doing 30 games a day. I felt comfortable and really thought I would get a -1 or -0 on the section. Instead, I got -5. The story was very similar for September (although I was only doing about 15 games per day for that one).

In my preparation I did fully simulated practice tests for September 06 onward, and got -0 on games six different times, -1 or 2 five times, and -5 or more on three tests (June 10, Oct 12, and Dec 12). The games seem to have gotten harder for me in some recent tests.

I have done every single game from Preptest 1 onward, and I've done many of those 13+ times. All the games are familiar to me by now. I'm always -2 or better on each LR section, and -3 or better on RC. LG is really holding me back.

I was wondering if you guys had any ideas for how I can get better. I am willing to try anything. I think it's possible that I get time-pressured a bit, and coupled with the pressure of the actual exam, stop making deductions as clearly and resort more to "brute force". Also, there is an intimidation factor of seeing a brand new game, whereas now I'm practicing with games I know I've done before. I'm planning to take the LSAT for a third time in February (I have already submitted my apps), because I know I can do better than a 171 --- my average on 14 fully simulated Preptests was over 176, which included 2 consecutive 180's. One idea I had was to start doing four games at once in only 24 minutes in order to train with the pressure of reduced time. And also maybe do some fake new games I find online. But again, I'm just looking for any tips or insight. I'm willing to try ANYTHING.

I am confused between the difference of these two forms of conditional logic

not A -> B

not B -> A

versus

A -> not B

B -> not A

Do both forms above really mean either or, but not both?

In one of the games explanations, I remember coming across a point that starting with a negative term as the sufficient condition, meaning where the absence of a sufficient condition guarantees a necessary condition is somehow different than starting with a positive term for the sufficient where the presence of a sufficient condition guarantees the necessary condition. BUT I am having trouble seeing if there is a difference in the meaning of the above two forms and hat kinds of inference I can make from them.

Can someone please clarify this? I am really confused.

Thanks,

Pamela

So my relationship with the LSAT has unfortunately been long. In college, I was determined not to/freaked out about taking a couple years off after school--which meant I had to get the LSAT done before I graduated. My initial diagnostic was a 157 and at the height of my PTs I was scoring in the mid to high 160's, my highest being a 167 (this was also before I took 7sage). I was scoring well for my goal (168-170) but was still over the time limit on each section by a couple minutes. But being the neurotic person I am, instead of pushing the test back--I took it. Weeks before the test my PT scores were fluctuating all over the place from a 166 here to a 155 there and that only made me more nervous (I have anxiety in case you couldn't tell). Anyways, test day roles around and I ended up with a 153--BELOW MY INITIAL DIAGNOSTIC. I was heartbroken--and still am. Anyways now my confidence is totally shot and I'm about to start taking PTs again so I was wondering if anyone has any tips on managing stress before and during the test and whether my goal of a 168-170 seems reasonable. Thanks a bunch in advance for all the help, I love this discussion board so far!

Last comment monday, jan 12 2015

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logic game timing

Even though I went with a different prep company than 7sage, I learned how to do the games faster from 7sage. However, I am still struggling with timing. It's takes me 9-14 minutes to do one game whether it's easy or not. One game used to take me the whole 35 minutes so I am improving but I don't know if I am doing this the right way. Here is how I do it:

First I'll do the game by timing myself

Then I watch how 7sage did it and see if Jay made any inferences that I didn't make. Usually it's the same inferences but he does 1 or 2 things differently when starting off the game which makes the time difference between how I do it and Jay does it.

So I try to redo the game again using the same way Jay set up the game which does reduce the time but then I go onto a new game using what I learned from 7sage and the same trouble again with timing. Ugh what am I doing wrong?

With my account access, I have access to test content from the early 2000's to 2009. But RC passages that use the comparative Passage A, Passage B format aren't until the later years. Should I still be using the earlier tests as practice for RC? Does anyone have any suggestions? or know where I can access to some of these type of RC passages?

Cheers,

Mark

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Last comment thursday, jan 08 2015

Does RC come down to strategy?

I would consider myself a very good reader, and I have an expansive vocabulary. Yet RC on the LSAT is a different beast all together. I took a Blueprint class, read the LSAT Trainer, and read significant information online. I feel that my poor performance is that I am looking for a solution that doesn't necessarily have an exact answer. Can anyone with an experience in improved RC give insight on how they were able to overcome early struggles and tackle the daunting task? Thanks guys.

So far... got every "wrong" question right within seconds of scanning the answers. Had I had the same luck on test day, my score would have been low 170s... instead, high 160s. Bummed, but don't feel like sitting a 3rd time. Bah humbug.

And for anyone who remembers me raging about Han purple.. turns out I went perfect in that LR section. WORLD MAKES NO SENSE!!! ::facepalm::

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Last comment wednesday, jan 07 2015

Advice needed ASAP!

I originally wanted to sit for the sept lsat but my brother died and I just couldnt get back to studying. I have been studying consistently since november. I purchased the 7sage starter pack around the second week in december. My plan was to take the Feb Lsat. The holiday break set me back a week. I havent taken a practice test since nov and I am concerned that If I register for the exam and won't begin taking pt until next week that I won't be ready to tests. I am not working so I have been studying about 6- 8 hours a day. I have a family and I have been using this time to study but I will eventully have to get a job to begin to pay for all the lsat apps and etc. My family and friends say I should just take the exam being that I currently have the time and free schedule to do it, beacuse once I get a job I will have to juggle family, work, and lsat study time. Im just confused beacuse I dont want to waste an exam and limit myself. I really wanted to start law school in the fall as well. I dont have the money in my budget to pay additional fees. I would appreciate as much advice as possible.

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Last comment tuesday, jan 06 2015

Timing Issue

I would first like to hear from anyone who has already taken the LSAT about strategy/time management. Was there a certain way that you practiced, or did you have a certain strategy going into the test, but then sat down to take it, and something went wrong? I guess I'm wondering if there are certain management strategies that one should have really nailed down to avoid any crisis situations. For example, I practiced with an analogue watch for the first time the other day, and I didn't even get to the last 5 logical reasoning questions, which has never happened before. Glad that didn't happen on test day.

Next - on my first diagnostic test I scored a 150. From there I went to a 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, then 163 (I'm not kidding, it really happened that way). Ideally I want a 167, but it seems like during my study sessions I'm stuck at around 162/163. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to improve upon time management in the final month of studying? I'm wondering if I should go back to what I did in the beginning, and have a few study sessions where I do everything untimed. But maybe this is a waste of precious final-month study time. Please let me know any ideas?

Lastly - on my first diagnostic I got 11/23 on the logic games.. So I tackled logic games first in my study plan. After a month of studying just logic games, I was getting 18, 19, or 20s out of 23. Once I got 23/23. But now, it seems like I'll either get a 21/23 or I will completely bomb the section and get 15 or 16. Has this happened to anyone else? These test makers drive me crazy. I decided I couldn't risk getting a 15 on test day, so I've embraced the strategy of focusing most of the time on just 3 games. This way I pretty much guarantee about an 18, and then I'll spend a few minutes on the last game and pray I get a couple of them right, putting me at 20. With only a month left to go, this strategy seems like a rational way to go, but it still kind of bums me out that I'm not going for a perfect LG score. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this.

Has anyone ever completed any research as to the total percentage of LR question types that have appeared throughout the years? For example, what percentage of total questions have MBT appeared? Or MSS, Strengthening and Weakening questions, etc. I haven't been able to find anything empirical on it from a source that I trusted. Has J.Y. ever put anything out on the subject?

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Last comment friday, jan 02 2015

Thank you

Just got my score for the Dec LSAT and my score improved by 14 points. Of course the huge jump was in part due to my own mistakes but I just wanted to say THANK YOU to 7sage and thank you to everyone else for creating such an awesome community.

I've reviewed JY's videos, but I'm having issues. On the most recent tests I've done, I'm getting ~55% of these questions. On the weakening, I'm trying to "punch the arguments in the face" and on the flaw I'm trying to imagine how I can "punch it in the face." This is an absolute immediate concern since test day is Saturday. I can't explain it. I'm doing acceptable on argument parts, MP/MC, so feel good about identifying argument structure and support. But I can't seem to figure out how to "punch" effectively. Anyone have similar issues and how did you overcame them?

On a side note (and not important to the above question), I've recently read the books; "lawyer bubble" and "learned optimism." In the lawyer bubble, he talks about lawyers having more pessimistic behavior than others. In learned optimism, which is a great book and I would highly recommend to those looking to increase their interpersonal communication effectiveness, someone is not solely either pessimistic nor optimistic. However, people tend to exhibit behavior that is closer to one side. I generally consider myself closer to the optimistic side, or open to exploring ideas, as opposed to shutting considerations down. Anyone who thinks they have a more optimistic personality have similar problems with these questions?

The problem I have with Reading Comprehension is that for some questions an answer choice is considered to be correct even though its not necessary valid. But for others, it seems as if we can eliminate answers because of the very same reason. I'm obviously lacking intuition on how/when to eliminate answer choices.

Can anyone explain why certain answer choices can be eliminated while others cannot? What typically constitutes a wrong answer? I would like to hone my intuition on what constitutes a wrong answer and which answer choices aren't necessarily accurate, but still considered correct.

Hi,

I think I'm 80% prepared but didn't perform well in Dec.'s test. I am going to retake it in Feb.

Since, English is my second language, I do poor in time management, and in timed condition I cannot finish the whole section. Now, I am a little bit disappointed and emotionally don't have any motivation to work as hard as before. I am posting this to ask you for help. Maybe finding a friend who is in the same boat helps me to be as assiduous as before. If you are in Bay Area and you are thinking to retake the test in Feb and looking for a study buddy, please let me know. Thank You!

Good Luck to all of you!

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Last comment thursday, dec 18 2014

ADHD/ ADD and Studying?

I was recently (as in 2 days ago diagnosed with ADHD) been studying for about 3 months (taking the Dec Test) and having a few issues. Makes sense now with the diagnosis. I was just wondering if anybody else is dealing with this and how you're handling studying? Are you asking for special accommodations on the test or are your meds helping enough? Any tips or idk general info would help. Thanks.

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