Another thing you can do which I am doing right now in terms of getting ready to pt is drilling. What happens sometimes is that when one does the pt it drains them just due to the shear amount of it. What you can do is that in the same section that has pt’s there is an option to drill. What I do is start with 10 in a section (for you LR is a recommendation) at 40% chance at getting them correct and at random so you get a good set of problems. Work through them and see how you do. What this does is that it gives you less to work with and it lets you focus on LR. You can also blind review with this and see each of the individual questions and answers as they would appear if you were doing it as a pt. This way you’d also see if it’s just a specific question type you are missing and what you also need to focus on. You can adjust these drills to your preferences, and what I said is just a starting point but it is a good way to hold your confidence into taking another pt and also working on you LR skills.

So when I joined 7sage about a week and a half ago I started to listen to their podcast too. At the time I thought that since their website was recommended for me to improve my LSAT score (I didn't get the score I wanted so my Law School Advisor recommended me to change my approach from what I was previously doing (focusing just on books)) I might as well go all in and look at all of their materials. Right now I am on episode 14, and were as the podcast does touch on college admissions it is definitely more all rounded. So the first few episodes were talks with sages who used 7 sage to score above a 170, and it went through their process, tips they had, and how each one of them eventually got to the 170 (from their diagnostics). The also had some admission podcasts. On top of that in the past two episodes I've been listening to (13 and 14) they have started doing podcasts breaking down questions and how to approach them. Episode 13 was on RRE (Resolve Reconcile and Explain) questions and 14 is on Weakening questions. So you may want to look into their podcasts. Especially since the other materials you are using (for example this website) is also from them, so its almost like one cohesive message/tip and not many varying approaches. Also as of right now they have 89 episodes so I'm sure you can find other helpful podcasts from them besides the two I mentioned.

The best way to think of Weakening questions is by posing the question - which answer choice would discredit the conclusion the most?

Thus the first thing we have to do when looking at this question is find the conclusion/argument the author is making. For this stimulus, the conclusion is:

Regular consumption of this tea, therefore, can result in a heightened risk for kidney damage.

Then we go to the answer choices and see how each one affects it (think of it like devils advocacy):

A - does not mean that it does not heighten the risk of kidney damage

B - this does not mean that other proponents of camellia tea do not cause kidney damage

C - says nothing about the heightened risk for kidney damage

D - does not mean they do not have heightened risk

E - the process of elimination; can mean that camellia tea is not what causes kidney damage, or the heightened risk of it.

To understand why the answer is "b" one has to think of the stimulus as if it was written backward:

Museums need to have higher security on valuable things because thieves steal what their customers are the most interested in buying, and most stolen art is sold to wealthy private collectors. (The first sentence about art theft from museums being on the rise is just context).

The obvious assumption here is that wealth collectors want stolen art that is perceived as valuable, thus that's why these things need more security, seeing thieves are more likely to steal them. With this, it is reasonable to assume that the opposite, wealthy collector don't want stolen art they perceive as invaluable is also true, which is answer choice B.

I congratulate you for even taking the LSAT in August with all you have on your late. I am in a relatively similar situation to you (except your schedule is a lot more busy then mine I presume). I also took the August LSAT and am planning to retake in November. I got a 159 on the exam, however with being a full time student, commuting to and from school (a little over an hour each way), working part time, and starting/running a local youth leadership group, there is definitely times I do not have the motivation to LSAT practice. Something I like to do that helps with burn out is taking time "treat myself". The concept is similar to that of a "cheat day" when dieting or working out, but more geared to self betterment then food. The basic concept is that whenever I feel burn out I take time out of my day to treat myself. It could be a simple as watching a few episodes of my favorite show or hanging out with people outside of this LSAT bubble. It doesn't mean no longer focusing on the LSAT it just means give yourself time outside the LSAT to be yourself. Some of the ways you can do this is by having dinner with your wife, going out with your friends, or just going out to do something with your family. I highly stress leaving the area you are studying, because having that break alone and help ease the burn out.

Also, tips to to be motivated while studying, try studying during naptimes or with your teen. When I worked at a private school that had a daycare, I would always utilize naptime for studying. It was really helpful because you have to set a relaxing zone for the child to nap also you know at one point its going to end. Which was helpful as motivation because often times with burn out it makes it seem that its never ending, where anyone who has experience naptime knows it ends (its not always that quite or peaceful). As for studying with your teen, this comes from personal experience. My college has study rooms and "study room hours" (during finals), and what I've notices is that in these rooms or during these hours, because there are other people studying around you the motivation to study comes as a result of that. If your teen is the type to not want you to be there while they do work, go to a coffee shop or something similar, the pure presence of people working around you motivates you to work. Also, for people who get distracted (especially those who have ADHD), this method is highly recommended, because it gives you enough stimulation because there is still things going on around you, but not too much where you can't say focused one thing. Also, if anything you can do what I do while I commute and listen to their live session recordings or podcasts during your work out. Your still focusing on the LSAT and getting tips on how to do better, but you can still work out and do not have to physically put yourself through drills and PT's.

So based on what I am getting from the video explanation, it is better to think of it in the sense that this question asks what question can strengthen or weaken the argument.

I chose D because I was thinking of it in the mindset that it was close related or not (however that could be my science mind thinking and assuming more than what was needed). However, instead of thinking of it as an evaluating question if I thought of it as a strengthening/weakening question, B would be a more correct answer in my head. This is because in this mindset D would still require further explanation - seeing that the specifics of evolution are not common knowledge - however, one would not need more than what was given and common knowledge to see how B is correct.

@ said:

Awesome, how about we start as a zoom group and see who is willing to meet up in person/who will stay on zoom?

Does Thursday (9/22) at 5:30pm est work for everyone? If not just let me know!

That time doesn't work for me, however maybe later, or on Friday?

Also do you want to just make a GroupMe for everyone (AKA those who want to be part of a DMV group) to join so it is easier to coordinate?

So I have taken the test with proctor-U and have had various experiences. I took the LSAT twice so far, and had to reschedule once due to technical issues. So I have had it once where everything went great and it was even better then having an in person proctor. However, I have also had a really bad experience where I was being bounces from proctor to proctor and was eventually told different things about my equipment by each one (in regard on whether or not I could take the test or not). However, I was able to retake (free of charge) due to that experience. Then again at one point during my retake the proctor accidently unmute themselves so I could hear them talking while in the middle of LG. They fixed the issue when I contacted them but like it took time away for them to put me back into the test after I contacted them seeing that the time was still running. So I guess to sum it up, when it comes down to it the human aspect of Proctor U is the most problematic, but since you can't control that part I would not stress too much about it.

Other notes:

It is a little weird though because at one point they do take control over your mouse to ensure you have nothing running in the background that is not supposed to be there. That being said they ask your permission to do so prior to doing it, so it is not out of no where.

I do want to stress doing an equipment check prior, preferably the night before test day, it really helps. They also have 24 hour tech-help which you can reach out to, so it helps assure you doing in that you won't have any technical issues, or things of that nature.

Also do not do it on a desktop monitor unless you have a moveable camera. They ask you to do a tour of your room up and down and for that reason the device your using and/or the camera your using needs to be able to move around the room as your doing it. Also, you need to adjust your camera to a certain angle before the start of the exam so they can see both you and the key board. Also, bring a mirror or phone with you into the room you are testing in. This is because they are going to use it to check that you have nothing that could aid your performance in relevant to others on your keyboard area of the laptop or device. Also with the phone, I found it really helpful to have near by because I was able to contact LSAC with it when I was experiencing issues with the Proctor-U proctors (they have special test day numbers and are on call during that period in case you have any issues). Because phones can be useful they are not forbidden in the room however during the test they do need to be placed in a position of the room that you can not easily reach. So keep that n mind if you are to bring a phone in.

I tries to point out as much as I remember and I hope this convers some of the things you may be worrying about. If you have any other specific questions, just message me through 7Sage and I'll try and answer them for you.

-Bazgha

Also you don't need to cancel your test, you can defer it to another test date if you are not feeling prepared enough. Many people who I am studying with or have bee talking to in regards to their law school journey have been doing this. Don't rush, you've done it 4 times already just make sure the 5th one you are confident you will get the score you want.

Here is the link to LSAT Test Date Change policy:

https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsat-dates-deadlines-score-release-dates/what-do-if-youre-unable-take-lsat/test-date-changes

Bazgha

The most important thing is that when you submit the application it is strong. So it is up to you wether submitting it now or after you take it, however, factor in how strong it is without taking account for the lsat before you submit. Like ask yourself if the LSAT was not part of this process - for everyone not just you - how would you compete with everyone else based on the other parts of the application that you are submitting?

Okay so I would be interested in this, however, I am EST, and am usually busy during the weekdays.

I understand what you are going through, Personally when it comes to academics and testing do much better on paper then online, and this really showed when I took the LSAT for the first time. Where I was testing at the 160-165 range consistently sometimes (on the rare occasion) even getting above it to 170, 172 when I took it on paper, however, when I took the actual one online I got a 154. So, after that I looked into ways to see if I could take it on paper, and I found out that you can ask for a paper version of the LSAT to be sent to you (the proctor will still be online via proctor U), however, you need to submit a form and some paperwork to verify that the paper version is what is better for you. Seeing that you have ADHD I do not think it should be that hard for you to get the approval, the process is very similar to what you may have to go through for DSS accommodations for extra time on an exam.

Here is a link as to the various services the LSAT provides (including extra breaks and time extensions if you need it), they list paper exams towards the bottom:

https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsac-policy-accommodations-test-takers-disabilities/accommodations-may-be-available-lsat

Here is the website with all the procedural forms you would need to fill out and directions on how to do it:

https://www.lsac.org/lsat/register-lsat/lsac-policy-accommodations-test-takers-disabilities

Hope this helps,

-Bazgha

So what happens is that about 2 weeks prior to the exam test date they will send out a link for you to sign up for a time slot that ranges from 8am - 8 pm every 15 minutes. It can be either a Friday or a Saturday, and you can choose the timing. General recommendation though is to take it at a relatively relaxed time, around 12-1 pm I found was ideal (I took the exam twice and had to reschedule one of them due to a technical issue). I am not a mornings person, and though you can take it early in the morning similar to how other standardized test are (I did this with my first test) I would not advise it. Perhaps, because I was not a morning person, what ended up happening was that I did not get enough sleep panicking that I would not wake up (even though I regularly woke up before that time for work). Also, even if you are a morning person I would recommend giving yourself enough time that you can have breakfast, relax your body, and maybe do a few easy practice problems to not over think things. Just because all those things are very important in making sure you go into the test with a good mindset. You also do not want to do it too late, because there is a tendency to overthink things and to try to put in those few more hours of PT's or studying that won't really help since they'd put you in an exhausted state prior to the test which you will need a lot of stamina for.

Are you willing to extend this group to the DMV area. I go to GW currently, however, I don't dorm and am based in NOVA

So if you just called LSAT the day of or right after the test they would have approved a retest for you. I personally experienced something similar to @ and was able to retake for august ( got a response the Monday after I filed and I filed right after my test - with the help of a Rep on call who walked me through what to write and how to file).

Also had a similar situation this time around (Nov) towards the beginning and the LSAT people were very sympathetic and even offered me a retake if I had further proctoring issues. I choose to work it out because at that point having to stress for the exam for another week was not worth it; especially because I had classes on the retake day would have been unneeded stress and I had done so much the calm myself that day that even the representative complimented me for how level-headed and unpanicked I was. However, they also connected me to a really sweet proctor so that was also nice of them. When in doubt just use the hotline and they will help you.

If they are not working there 5 years later, then the result of the strike would have no impact on them. It is really hard to disassociate with the real world here, but something to keep in mind is that the LSAT world is only that given in the stimulus, not the extra stuff one has learned through their studies. So though C is tempting the true answer is D because if they only expect to work for 3 years then protesting would get them nothing seeing how the impact of the strike would not be felt till after 5 years.

So to explain the answer here. It says that clothing manufacturers require straight fibers in order to make clothing. The passage also states that the reason that clothes made out of natural fibers shrink is that they are curly in natural form. In the work of the passage, the two types of fibers are natural and artificial. Artificial, we are told is unlike natural fibers because it does not shrink. Seeing how the natural fibers shrink because they are curly in nature, it can be assumed that artificial fibers are not curly seeing how they do not shirk. With clothing manufacturers requiring that the fibers be straightened in order to make clothing and the assumption that artificial fibers are not curly, we can assume that they are straight (based on the passage).

Visualization helps in understanding the answer. When one visualizes, focus on the fact that a water droplet needs to hit something in order to form the pillar. If it just hits water then the pillars would not have formed because the droplets would become part of the water already there. Thus if we think of it as a picture, the cave is filled with water and had lots of pillars. These pillars are made by repeated hits of water droplets to one area. For that to happen water can't be there because the water droplets would just become part of the water if it were to hit it. Thus, to make the pillars the water that is there now must not have been there when it was forming. This means that B is correct, seeing how the water is higher than it was when the pillars were formed.

If you want a general LSAT book, one that I found useful and relatively fun to use was the LSAT trainer. it was the only book that I could sit and read and would not avoid going back to. It also focuses on skills, so I feel like it compliments the 7 sage curriculum, since 7 sage focuses on questions and how to approach different questions, were as LSAT trainer focuses on the different skills one needs to generate for the LSAT in general. I did not finish it completely before moving on the 7 Sage, however, I remember progressing in terms of getting right answers as I would progress through the book. It is also comprehensive in that it focuses on all sections of the LSAT not just one. Also I did not finish the Logic part of the course yet, however, one thing I liked about the trainer is that it did break down how to map out LG in a more concise and easier to understand method (in my opinion) compared to the Power Score LG Bible (which I also did).

The answer is in the last line. "The museum store also sells prints of some works that are not part of the Museum's permanent collection.."In that sentence, it tells you that the Museum sells prints of works that are part of the Museum's permanent collection. Also from the premises, we know that only the works that are on loan from private collectors and the Museum's permanent collection are on display. Thus with the last sentence, we know/can safely assume that of all the things on display except for the works on loans, everything else would be printed at the Muslims because the "everything else" is the Museum's permanent collection which we know from the last sentence is available as prints at the Museum's store.

No points get deducted for guessing. The only way one gets a point deducted is if it is wrong, and no answer is 100% wrong. So if you are running out of time start guessing you have a higher chance of getting points then not answering.

So I’ve been listening to the podcasts from 7 sage and the admissions people who come on say that due to the amount of files they go through they only have a set time to review your file. So whatever you add will take from that time. Also, they do care more about your personal statement and resumes (in comparison to LOR) and will usually only jot down something from the LOR if it’s memorable (for the wrong reasons). So if a school only asks for 2 only send 2 in especially if they are both strong. You want to submit the strongest application you can just just a really good application.

So a way to see why B is right (how it clicked for me) is by perhaps seeing the argument as applied to a psychopath. The topic itself was legal permissibility and how even a psychopath can argue that their motives were for the greater good (altruistic). Now if one thinks about it in terms of a psychopath one can see how C makes sense because depending on what that psychopath did they should still be responsible for their actions seeing how psychopaths are really good at manipulating other people's emotions though they themselves lack them. However, in this same sense, B makes a more legitimate argument because it takes emotions out of the equations as a whole when it comes to legal punishment and in fact takes account for emotions by being "harsher" so that whatever the psychopath does terms of emotional manipulation won't excuse them for not going unpunished.

This is sort of a fun way of seeing it, and also helps the explanation stick for me. Hopefully, this works for others.

Fun fact I just got over that curve from consistently getting mid 150 to now scoring low 160s (which is around my goal score for Nov).

So my number one tip is think about timing. I found that with me my low scores wasn’t basic understanding but timing. For timing, drilling is much better because then you can really target the sections that take you the longest instead of just being fatigued with taking another PT.

Also if you have been taking PTs, one thing that really helped me was the analytics section. It’s under the prep test section and I love it because if you scroll down each section is broken down into question type and how you do on the actually versus how you are expected to do on it. It also ranks each question type from what you need to worry the most about to the least and does it in each section. Then I went to the course section of LSAT and brushed up and made sure I understood the fundamentals of the top 3 question types I struggles with drilling those questions to gauge my improvement.

As a person who is of a racial minority if I was the admissions person it would seem that you choosing to not answer means you are trying to hide that you are from a privileged background, and will probably just confirm you were white even if you don’t say it. Which would make me think your a privilege white individual even if that is not true. However, if you do answer it I think with how fast they read over the application they won’t pay too much attention to it, adding to the point that not answering will bring attention to that portion of the application.