Well done @ Your story is motivating and I'm glad I get to be part of the journey. Congratulations! :)

@ I did some retakes not a whole lot since I just ran out of fresh PTs right before the September test.

But I did find retakes could be very beneficial for improvement if doing it right. I see lots of curve breaker Qs (ones haven't seen at least over a year) in a completely new light in retakes. The patterns just jump out, things I just couldn't see first time around.

I mixed retakes and the several fresh PTs I had left and finally broke into the low 170's towards the end of the prep and I kinda attribute the score jump to retakes now looking back.

@ Yes I am, and I'll pm you :)

While I agree with the sentiment behind, I feel like @'s comment/analogy is made based on a presumption - that the pandemic was in fact the cause of his non-communication before and disappearance after. The thing is you don't know what actually happened, and I don't either. But based on the first hand personal interaction, I have doubts and reasonable ones.

It's been a repetitive pattern throughout the time long before the pandemic; we had 3 sessions total and 2 of which had be to rescheduled and none of the times I was given a notice beforehand. I had to be the one to reach out and find out he can't make it every time after having to clear my schedule and planning the lessons, and that's not a behavior exhibited from anyone I have tutored.

I do not anticipate to have this turn into a back and forth drama, you've made your case and I didn't say anything so I'd appreciate it if we could drop it now.

This is one of those instances where the you get by with meaning instead of form cuz the form still doesn’t really quite work imo

We are taught a joint condition both elements need to be met in order to trigger the necessary condition; A and B → C so we can’t just have an A and triggers C. It just doesn’t. Imagine a statement reads: if one scores a 170 and a well written PS, then one will get into Harvard. Can we just throw in a 170 and be like: yeah, the PS is just “redundant” so a 170 alone is enough to trigger. No, we can’t and I don’t think anyone would argue on that.

The difference is the joint condition above are two distinct ideas (A and B) and the one we have in the stimulus is arguably intentionally blurred (A and A’)

We know we can’t say just a 170 is enough to trigger the necessary condition when we have a wholly distinct idea (PS) as part of the sufficient condition. But I suppose one ‘could’ argue if a book is important, that alone is enough to trigger with or without ‘well written’. In all honesty, I think it’s one of those cases where what they say go, that’s it. B is correct isn’t so much ‘logically sound’ but that they say so. They say B is correct and all else is clearly wrong then B is the one, even tho isn’t airtight as it should be as a SA.

I'm sorry you feel this way Rich. Like I said, we planned the session the following week and I had put in the time and effort to prep the sessions but you didn't show up nor gave me any heads up or contact. Like I said, you literally disappeared and that was at a time the pandemic was not really part of the conversation.

I most certainly would have issued the refund had I sensed even a hint of pandemic being the reason or had you contacted me in anyway the entire time. Instead, I was blamed for not reaching out to you a few days ago in texts when you're the one no-shows and subsequently disappears; it has always been difficult to reach you.

Many tutors I know have no refund policy on cancellation within a certain time frame ranging from 24 to 72 hours and you disappeared for over 2 months, literally. Even the times you were in communication, I had to constantly text you track you down in order to confirm our next session and often times you won't text back until hours later and then would reschedule. I have tutored many students and none of them has any issues on the quality of lessons, especially on pricing as I have the lowest rate and on top of that often give them (including you) significant extra time per session and they all show up as scheduled, or, if things may get in the way, they all have the courtesy to give a notice. No one just not show up after we put in the time to prep the lessons and then ghosts their tutor for over 2 months. Even if for pandemic, which, it didn't seem to be the case since you have mentioned no such a thing during our last session months ago, you still could have given me a notice as simple as a text message and I would have mostly likely issued a refund at the time. But unfortunately that's not what happened.

On the "hostility" note, I'm not sure I was the one conveying it as I wrote you the same tone over text messages couple of days ago (have them as proof) and you immediately responded with "this is bullshit, Di..." and then threatened me with negative review if I don't issue the refund.

If "fraud and thief" is the way I operate, I'm fairly certain you would have seen many complaint posts like this. But you seem to be the only one and there seems to be a reason for it.

I wish you well, Rich.

Most of the prompts tend to be more open-ended just so that they don't arbitrarily set up limitations on the subject matter. Whatever you write should be positive, reflect growth and valuable characteristics that can potentially or directly contribute to law school success; it's just that those goals tend to be relatively easier and more effectively achieved via specific events/experiences so that it doesn't come across as empty talk. And it would be ideal if somewhere either in your PS or application you have also conveyed the interest in law. If you believe what you have conveyed the message in a sincere fashion and it's an experience dearest to you, go for it.

Yes, they are still the activities you did while in college despite of recency. That's what I did.

Thank you guys so much for the heart felt encouragement and genuine advice. I really appreciate it. That's very solid advice on retake from @ , and a reality check from @ . I did pt in the range towards the end of the prep but then I run out of fresh material so I'll have to use retakes should I decide to do it again. (Second guessing myself literally cost me a 170 on the September test, I wrote the story in the previous response, maybe I should add it to the O.P. so that more ppl would see it). I do very much need a break at this point after all those years of grinding so I'm leaning towards giving this application cycle a try and still continue to study on the side and make the retake decision based on acceptance outcome. Would you say that's an okay strategy? I'm just worried about having to write another PS that's different than the one I'm sending in this cycle since obviously we pick the best life story the first time around. But I also feel weird sending the same PS twice even with a higher score..idk..I gotta do some research on this.

Thank you guys again for the encouragement, please keep us updated on the process. I'm confident you will do well! :)

@ well, I'm Asian as you can see, and I don't think we count as URM for law school applicants. I know African American and Hispanic applicants are considered URM and there could be more but I'm not very well versed on this.

I did too and didn't know what to think of it since my LSAT score is quite a few points lower than Yale median requirement.

I did read somewhere online that says schools like Yale could invite applicants whose LSAT scores are quite below their median (me in this case) only to reject them later in order to boost the selectivity rate (one of the components in ranking).

Again, this is completely anecdotal I have no idea if it's correct as I can see the mortality/ethics argument being made there. I'm simply quoting what I read.

@ @ @ thank you guys so much and my pleasure. I'm glad my comments and explanations could help others. Best of luck to you guys as well.

@ yes I did work while prepping. And congrats on the score jump! I'm sure it took lots of hard work.

For me there was never an "a-ha" moment on RC or any sections in general. Eveything was gradual, very gradual incremental improvements (I started off not being able to finish the second passage). I did read the Economist, the Scientific American, The New Yorker etc at the beginning just as the general consensus suggests and I'm sure it helped in terms of subject matter or just the exposure for dense reading, but I'll have to say at the end of the day, practicing real RC passages is the best way to improve on RC. I have done (almost foolproofed) every single RC section there is, many of which more than once. The goal isn't completion but understanding the structure, the way they construct Qs and the way they design/word difficult trap ACs and hide the correct ones. There are patterns in RC I'm you've heard this and it takes time and practice to discover those patterns and get used to the way to read passages and answering Qs. There are many instances where I had only a very fuzzy understanding of the passage and yet get all the Qs right (or missed 1 or 2 maximum). For hard curve breaker RC Qs (or any curve breaker in general), it's unlikely we will be able to spot and hunt the correct answer right off of the bat even if we may have an adequate understanding of the passage, so work from wrong to right (aka POE). You may not see the correct one right away but you surely should be able to identify the wrong ones, at least the vast majority of the times. Of course, this is speaking of under timed strategy but make sure you completely understand everything in review. Writing out explanations is a great way to do it. It solidifies your understanding and helps organize the passage structure as well. It takes a lot of time but you'll see improvement for sure.

@ No, you can't bring in pen and pencils of your own and pencils are not allowed on LG. They only give us one pen that's also a stylus. The writing tip part is the same as a normal pen but the cap part is a soft stylus tip for gesture control such as anotating, select ACs, etc. So you write on scratch paper like you normally do with a normal pen and you flip it upside down for gesture control on the tablet. They let you keep the pen afterwards so I could take a picture if that's not against the rule, also someone will have to show me how to post pics..lol but you'll be fine it's pretty intuitive.

Thank you so much @ please know your encouragement means a lot, I'm rooting for you and firmly believe you will have a fruitful result given how hard you've been working. Thank you for being on this journey with me :)

@ hey man I feel ya and totally understand where you're coming from. If your pt average is up there I say go for it, especially given the fact you weren't retaking just for the sake of retaking. You actually went through an application cycle and decided retaking in fact might be a better option for your situation. What are your target schools if you don't mind asking? Do you think an outstanding PS resume/optional essays might be able to do the trick? I just got started with the process any advice on application would be greatly appreciated.

You are right @-LSAT the psychological effects of a 7 as the middle number definitely got in the way even though 169 is still in the 97th percentile.

I was pting consistently in the high 160s and low 170s towards the end of the prep so it isn't entirely impossible to break into 170 if retake (I actually did on this test but screwed it up myself, I'll tell u guys the story in a sec). But as @ Nikki and @ correctly point out, at this point is more about the money, opportunity cost and we gotta learn to let go of the test at some point instead of running of the risk of delaying another year just for an ego boost. I've always said to myself during the prep that coming from a 133, this isn't about a final score for me but to give it my all. Ive said this to Josh (can'tgetright) and a few others that as much as seems to the contrary, I actually don't 'have to' score in the 170s as the end result, as long as I can honestly face myself knowing that I have truly given it my all without cutting any corners, I'm happy with whatever score I get. And a 169 is indeed in my average range. I may have "under performed" for a 170 plus in terms of number in isolation, I didn't in an aggregate. So I am content with the outcome as I very well should be.

Okay guys here is the story and it's also a great lesson of 'what not to do' for all 7sagers out there as it literally cost me a 170.

Please, please do NOT second guess yourself stick with your intuition on the first choice when it comes to narrowing it down deciding between 2 ACs. It happened to me on LG, there was a Q that I was down to between A and B, felt good about B but not positive so I selected it and flagged the Q moved on. After finishing the section I still had about 40 secs left so I went back to that Q conforming my AC. I read through A and B again and somehow I changed my AC to A. Still unsure, took another look and made the final decision sticking w my initial choice B. So I erased A and just when I was about to click on B again the time is up.....swear to God I was about to smash that fcking tablet cuz I left Q16 a fcking BLANK and I had it right in the first place had I not dwelled on it changing it back and forth. It pisses me off to this day every time I see that freaking 'blank' on Q16 on my score report..I kept telling myself after the test that it's okay, it's just one point, unless you're scoring a 169 with only one raw point difference, it won't matter that much. And...I scored a 169 (-14) with that ONE raw score difference...but what makes me especially angry and regretful is the fact I actually had it..had I not second guess myself f*ck w it on the last 40 secs, it would've been a 170. But this is life I suppose, it's full of imperfections.

It's a cruel lesson for me but I hope my experience would serve others on the future tests in terms of strategies. If you have it down between 2 ACs and feel 51% or more confident with one of them, stick with it and move on (If you're 50/50 on them, pick one and move on). Please do not look back second guess yourself. It could be a reget for the rest of your life.

@ @ @ @ @ @

Thank you guys so much. I truly appreciate the kind words and am always honored to be able to help other 7sagers who are in need. I struggled so so much when I started so I fully understand and feel the frustration. Plus it's a mutual beneficial process so I strongly encourage all 7sagers do the same. It will do wonders to your study. You have no idea how many times I've come this close to giving up and am so glad didn't and continued to challenge and push myself further. Please keep at it the hard work will pay off!

@

Thank you! :)

@

I gotta learn how to post cool stuff like you do lol but thank you Josh, please know I've always appreciated your insight and encouragement. :)

@

Solid advice man, much appreciated. I'm kinda late in the process (just started brainstorming for PS topics like right now and I still haven't even taken the writing sample! lol) so I don't think I would make the ED deadline but please do keep me posted and I'll do the same!

@

Thank you so much for the encouragement please know it really means a lot. I gotta think really hard on retake since I've been ignoring the application process (really shouda started in the summer on PS, essays etc) so if I wanna start school next fall, time is kinda running out since I 'just' started to put things together now. It's a tough decision but I gotta make it soon.

Once again thank you for the advice and best of luck on the rest of the journey! You'll do well I'm sure!

@ @

Thank you! We all have been at this thing for a quite a while now and I have no doubt in my mind that we all will have a fruitful outcome given the amount of hard work and determination we have put in. I know this may sound cliche but just as the saying goes the darkest hour is before the dawn so please keep grinding, the result will be worth it. Best of luck to you guys from the bottom of my heart and please keep us updated. We are almost there!

@

I practiced on an Ipad as well (pro 12.9) and had no issues on the test day with the Surface Go. The screen is bit smaller than mine and the gesture is a bit different from apple pencil (you use the soft tip of the pen they give you for gesture control) but you get used to it pretty quickly. At least it was the case for me. The screen and texts aren't small to the point it was hard to read; it was just 'smaller' in comparison given mine is a huge tablet. And you can freely prop the device up adjust the viewing angle with the Surface Go back kickstand. It's actually better more flexible than my ipad pro keyboard case. You will do just fine device wise (except I had to use a pen for LG and I didn't like it) so no worries.

Whenever you do the writing, make sure the ID picture is clear (you hold the ID in front of the camera taking it yourself). They canceled my first writing sample due to photo ID issue so I got to have the "fun" twice.

Q19 is hard not that the Q itself is hard but the intentional ambiguity of the Q stem: “Relationship between the ways each system treats BM”. I mean, this could mean ANYTHING so you don’t know what ‘exactly’ they are trying to get at/parallel that’s why it’s hard. Is it causing harm not harm? Prosecutors burden of proof? Or special category/no special category? You see, it could be anything and word it the way they did, you kinda just have no idea where even to start cuz Q stem almost didn’t tell you anything in terms of what exactly they are looking for.

This is why once J.Y. breaks it down and shows us what exactly they are looking for, it becomes much easier. It’s an old trick, they hinge on we don’t know what they are asking and they make sure to word the Q stem in that way.

@

My pleasure and thank you so much for the kind words, I truly appreciate it and am glad we get to grow in this journey together. :)

@

Yes it was the digital. Overall I like the new format better than pencil and paper. I just really appreciate the neatness of not having to deal w stacks of stacks of stacks of PT papers and I really like how fast it is to skip and come back to questions and line space etc. Pretty much everything else is better on digital imo except for notation. And yes I understand and agree on the inconvenience of notating on LR and RC (they won't even let us use pencil for LG, it's a freaking pen and I was used to erasing things on LG) that said, things like those should not matter enough to hinder your performance but your actual skills. Same reason I never cared too much about the watches debate back then cuz things as such should not be what we focus on for an advantage; only our skills are. Plus you can still anotate on LR and RC and arguably more visual if anything w the highligher. You just need to adapt to a specific way of annotating which is an important skill (adaptation/flexibility) in many aspects in life.

You'll do just fine, trust me. It may take a little while to get used to it but I think you'll like it more once you are.

@

Hey thanks for all the info man, they're very helpful and congrats on your improvements as well! You've been very heldpful on the CC comment sections.

I read through some of the articles and you're right, it sounds like they really just care about your highest score since that's what they are gonna use to report. However, it did say one highest score is better than, say, 2 or 3? And we might wanna explain the second/third take in an addendum? (Btw, I will not take it third time no matter what I scored on second take, if I decided to retake at all) as you know I'm already leaning towards just be done with it, it's good enough for my situation, and if I have to explain a second take in an addendum, I'm not so sure if that's better way than just a 169 one time.. what do you think? And how's the application process for ya so far?

@ thank you so much sir hope all is well! :smile:

@

Thank you Dave I really appreciate it! To be honest, a bit of both. I feel like one or two extra points could open a few more crucial doors for me (w a GPA of 3.89) plus given the amount of time I’ve been at this thing along w lots of LR just started really clicking for the past a few weeks (I now see lots of 5 star Qs in a completely new light), so I’m not sure if I wanna just live with this “what if” for the rest of my life you know what I mean? I keep asking myself, after all these years of grinding, am I really just gonna “settle” for this, knowing that it actually isn’t ‘entirely’ impossible to break the mark.

But then again, it’s also this very reason that I kinda just wanna be done with it given how long it’s been. A 169 is more than an honorable score for someone like me given my starting point.

If I may, could you (and all 7sagers) be brutally honest w me on this question:

Assuming the worst that I didn’t score as high on the second take, would it honestly hurt me 'more' than just take it once and apply w a 169 considering at end of the day, still the highest score is what counts? I really don’t wanna chance it if in the eyes of the admin ppl, for whatever reason a 169 ‘one time’ just looks better than, say, a 169 then a 167 but still using 169 to apply.

Thank you so much in advance, as you can see I really don’t know much about the application process (especially for high risk decisions like this). I never really pay attention to application posts before cuz I know I suck at this test so my first priority has always been focus on the test first before anything else..

@

I hear ya and believe me, I’m really leaning towards that route as well. I’m just kinda really mentally drained at this point.

This is incredible. Congrats!

Although easy this kinda Q is actually fairly dangerous, for it’s way too air tight in terms of the language matching between the correct AC and the stimulus and we know that’s just hardly the case on the modern LSAT. Doing too much of this kinda PSA will nurture you expecting “too much” on the correct AC which may cause you points later on if not careful.

I initially chose D but changed it bc I feel like D is worded way too easy and obvious but a bit ambiguous bc I don’t know “if there is a behavior common...” that behavior must be talking about this experimental identification exercise (what if some other behavior such as sleeping? Still common across cultures) in which case negated would not have any impact on this argument so it feels like a trap.