I have found that listening to soundtracks really helps boost my concentration at times, but I don't want to develop a habit of being able to concentrate only when music is playing. This is only for studying and reviewing concept, not during my PTs, but should I still stay away from listening to anything at all?
Thanks.
160+ is very doable! I see that you have the Ultimate course so definitely takes notes and pay attention to the Core Curriculum. If you put those concepts into practice, 160+ is extremely achievable.
I wouldn't start taking timed tests until you have a solid grasp of your weaknesses and areas to improve. It's mostly to gauge how well you do under pressure/time constraints and if you find your mind going blank during one question or the other, then it might be best to review your the Core Curriculum. Nevertheless, I would recommend taking at least one timed test a week just to see where you're at and then Blind Review afterwards.
#7Sage or bust!
I don’t see why not. You’ll be spending around the same amount of money for three books and they will all be teaching you how to tackle the three sections of the LSAT. Like I mentioned earlier, feel free to give the trial a shot first and then upgrade as you see fit. But for many of us here, we found 7Sage to be extremely beneficial to our studies. You are asking if 7Sage is worth it in a 7Sage forum after all. :P And I would absolutely say yes.
Hey! So I was (am) in your situation. My diagnostic was also around the mid-150s. What I would consider when deciding which prep works for you is how you personally study. I own a few prep books myself and I've found it difficult to stay concentrated probably because I'm still coming off undergrad text reading. On the other hand, the videos in the Core Curriculum for 7Sage really held my attention. I would say give the 7Sage trial a shot. If it isn't for you, then I can certainly recommend some prep books. If anything, I also hear that 7Sage's LG videos are free on YouTube and they're an excellent source for improving.
Please include me if there is still space. Thank you very much!
I will be taking the LSAT slightly earlier than that, but if I don't do so well, I will be considering the January one as well. Please count me in if you're looking to setup a BR group. I'd love to contribute!
I'm not too sure about this. Of course, applying for jobs is different than applying to law school, but my resume has just enough room for my experiences and my university. The Admissions Committee will be seeing all your transcripts nevertheless. But I guess it'll be beneficial in a way especially if your grades were worse in CC.
SO HAPPY FOR EVERYONE! Congratulations! :D
Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who responded. I struggled with posting this thread initially because there are so many sources out there originally and I'm just one of the thousands of students going through the same process, but all of you are so great and I really hope to be able to give back someday.
@ For sure. The LSAT isn't some magical thing you overcome in one day, it'll take months of dedication and I guess time was just going so fast for me from the time I wanted to take the test until now. I'll definitely have to take things slowly and put everything I've learned into the test over time and get better.
@ I haven't taken two more tests yet, but I'll certainly be doing so! My Logic Games are the weakest right now and I really hope I can improve soon. I've printed out some of the Logic Games Bundle so I'm planning to start with that using Pacifico's strategy. The core curriculum definitely took me about three to four months, but I also did a lot of it during my senior year as well as a harrowing internship so I don't think I was always in the proper mindset to absorb all of the information. I will have to revisit it for sure. Do you mind me asking how you spent your one hour a day? I want to make sure that I'm using my time wisely as well.
@ Thank you so much! I will do my best.
@.ashley92 Retaining everything from the core curriculum didn't go as well as expected so I will have to be revisiting it soon. For some reason, I thought the core curriculum would have changed things a lot, but it's a matter of practice and exposure. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for patterns of weakness and thank you so much for the encouragement! I hope you're doing great too!
@ I completely froze on BR during Logic Games so that's something I need to work on. Do you mind me asking how you did BR? Did you keep a notebook and physically write down why answers were right or wrong? And did you always identify the premise and conclusion whenever possible? I guess I'm not doing it fully or correctly so I'm not learning as well as I should. Also, you're 100% correct. Finishing the CC means nothing if I can't put it into practice and hard work! Thank you for the reminder!
For the one hour a day, that seems too little, unfortunately. If I have the time to spare, which I do now for a bit, do you have any advice on how to make the best use of it? (And you're right on playing street-ball in NBA 2k, I'll just replace that with a bit of Dark Souls instead, haha.) Also, thank you for heartfelt response as well!
Thank you for the encouragement, everyone! All hope is not lost...yet. I must ace the LSAT no matter what!
No need to be frustrated or worried, you still have plenty of time to improve!
I don't know which course you signed up for or anything, but it is important to note that everyone studies differently. It could be that live courses aren't for you (they certainly weren't for me) and that you prefer self-studying through books or videos online. Either way, if you're doing all those PTs and not improving, it simply means you need to discover your weaknesses and work on fixing them.
I highly recommend giving 7Sage a shot (you're here after all!), especially the Core Curriculum. Take notes, focus on the content, and make the LSAT your life. Georgetown is your dream and LSAT is the link to that dream. You can do it!
@ Thank you for the encouraging comment! I'll definitely be looking up other threads for similar advice. I just find it crazy when I think I can spend an entire day wisely and then I look up and the sun is already going down and I feel like I haven't improved at all.
I just finished CC across the span of about three to four months (very on and off) and did my first timed PT (Prep Test 62) yesterday. I scored a 154 and BRed a 159 (admittedly, I gave up on some of the Logic Games).
My score by section was:
-13 RC. (-6 BR)
-8 LR. (-5 BR)
-10 LG. (I just completely freeze on Logic Games).
-11 LR. (-9 BR)
I got most questions right on the first two RC passages, but I completely ran out of time by the third and fourth which were far harder.
For Logic Games, I plan on using Pacifico's Logic Games Attack Strategy beginning today so hopefully I'll become a lot more familiar with them soon.
I honestly think I'm just straight up bad at LR. It's a huge hit or miss for me mostly and it's all over the place.
I'm just really worried at this point because I really want to attend Law School next cycle which means the November test is pretty much my only shot. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on how to make the most use of my time from now until then? Currently, I'm not working either due to family issues so I have pretty much the entire day to focus on prepping. Thank you so much!
On chronology: "Think about it this way. You know, every day, around 5 am. I go up to the roof and I do this really elaborate sun dance and in the middle of this dance, I actually sacrifice a chicken. And this is all true."
I couldn't stop laughing for a good minute and it still cracks me up every time I revisit the lesson.
Well, here is the prime example of missing a question because I didn't read carefully enough.
Hello! While I do not have a baby, I definitely know what it's like to have a full schedule with limited time for studying. I currently work two jobs on top of full time classes, so most times, I'm up at 7 AM and I don't get home until 7 PM and on certain days, 9 PM. What I try to do is bring my material with me wherever I go. This means printing out questions that I have trouble with and treating them like "flashcards" whenever I have a bit of downtime or in break between classes. Or if I have an hour or two, I have a laptop with me that I can pull out and review some 7Sage lessons. Sometimes I can't always have my laptop or prep books with me, so I try to keep a notebook and minimal printouts handy, like a page of some questions I've had some trouble with. Thankfully, my work isn't always too crazy so I have some downtime, but not much. Finally, I treat almost everything in life as a "LSAT question." I look at academic reading and conversations I have and try to practice logical reasoning concepts. I have an extremely strong motivation to do the very best I can on the LSAT. For me, the LSAT is the only way I can make up for the mistakes of my past so I live and breathe it as much as I can. I make no excuses for myself and the LSAT is the first thing I think of and see in the morning and the last thing I see and think of at night. Even if it's been a fourteen hour day for me and I'm tired as all hell, I come back and review until I know for sure my brain can't stuff any more information down.
Much of that has been sharing my story and not really giving you any advice! So sorry! But the motivation is definitely important and I'd definitely recommend finding time all throughout the day to practice and keep the LSAT in mind as much as you can. I remember one of JY's lessons where he mentioned that he would print out the questions he had problems with and keep it in his pocket to look at whenever he had time. Like it or not, if you want to score high, the LSAT has got to be a part of your daily routine.
I learned that often times for these type of questions, the wrong answer choices are going to bait you into making some pretty wild assumptions.
Regret: Not begin studying for the LSAT earlier (and not finding 7Sage earlier too).
I am living and breathing the LSAT. The first thing I look forward to when I wake up is studying the LSAT. The last thing I before I go to bed is the LSAT. It holds all of my dreams (and crushed dreams). One point can make a huge difference, so I am giving it the very best that I can.
Study tips: Clean up your vicinity and find a place where you can concentrate without any distractions. I did a major spring cleaning just last week where I moved my PC off my desk, vacuumed the room, and made sure everything was clean and tidy before I sat back down. It's made a huge difference. I no longer have large monitors to distract me and the only things on my desk are pretty much LSAT material (except for my Nintendo Switch because I can't put it anywhere else)!
Welcome to the 7Sage community! I'm also fairly new! Good luck on the LSAT, I know we're all going to do our very best. :D
I shouted and threw my arms up when J.Y. revealed the flaw in this question. It still blows my mind how a single word can change the entire meaning of a LR question. Mind boggling and frustrating for someone all too used to skimming college texts.
Hey, all! So I have sort of a weird question.
Right now I'm in my last semester of university and I'm currently working two jobs while going to class full time. While I love my jobs, there are a lot of downtime in between them where I'm stuck with nothing to do. Since I can't exactly have my laptop with me or any real studying sources (it will look like I'm not working), is there some way to still "practice" the LSAT somehow? Thank you, all!
So I learned not long ago that LSAC counts all the grades you have ever received. I spent two years at a CC and then transferred over to an university. During my time at the CC, I didn't do so well due to familial circumstances (3.2). Three years later, I am graduating in June with two majors and a minor at a 3.9 GPA. If LSAC counts everything, I'm very afraid that lowers my GPA down to a 3.6 or 3.7 and I'm feeling awful right now knowing that my chances at T10 have been basically dashed due to that rough time in my life. Does anyone have any advice to share?
@
Unfortunately, it does not seem to show up anymore in my app ever since I updated it.
https://i.imgur.com/MuvU8lw.png
There also seems to be no "back" button anymore when browsing the Discussion forums.
@ Hey, thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I am graduating this quarter so I don't think I can raise my GPA anymore. Had I known that my cGPA would be this bad, I definitely would have taken more "GPA booster" classes. I have so many regrets. Getting bad grades when classes were an easy A in community college just because I didn't put in the work. But I gotta work with the mistakes of the path so now I'm doing my best for the LSAT. Good luck to you too!
@
That's great to hear! I am just worried that my brain will become conditioned into being able to concentrate only when I am listening to music and I don't want that happening on test day or anything. I enjoy listening to soundtracks primarily, such as film or game OSTs because they don't have lyrics that distract and are usually designed to be "background" music.