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chrisobrien17852

Joined: Apr 2025
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General · Any advice on getting over a plateau?

chrisobrien17852

Wednesday, Nov 27 2024

Depends a bit on how long you've been studying and if you're having problems with any particular set of questions. I was doing PT's every 2-3 days and stuck at virtually the same score, took a week off with light studying, and then came back and PT'd twice more and got the same score. It was really frustrating. I would recommend stepping away entirely and taking up hobbies and practices that can help your test taking abilities in other ways.

Practice reading unfamiliar text, like books you wouldn't normally read or news from a different source or foreign country.

Practice a mindfulness routine, like meditating or yoga, running etc. Even something like cooking a medium-difficulty meal each night.

I felt my problem was I would just keep drilling to try and bolster my understanding of the concepts of the test, where I think my problem was more keeping my mind clear and being able to digest each question better, rather than harkening back to the tricks and mindset I would have when drilling

LSAT · Help deciding what to focus on.

chrisobrien17852

Monday, Nov 04 2024

If you can identify consistent LR question types you are missing, I would focus on those. RC passages are IMO very difficulty/topic dependent, so if you already have a strong enough strategy for RC I would try and foolproof your LR. I'm in the same boat

Admissions · To take again?

chrisobrien17852

Saturday, Nov 02 2024

Keep the 166 and pour yourself a tall drink - congrats!

General · Personal statement weight

chrisobrien17852

Monday, Oct 28 2024

Just went to a law school fair this past weekend and spoke with ~10 admissions officers from different schools ranging from mid-size mid-rank to larger and higher ranked. I would say I've also had unique circumstances surrounding my education journey, though none so as varied and drastic as yours it sounds like.

I asked them all specifically they would look for most in someone who is a few years out of an academic career that they maybe felt on paper doesn't look as strong as they think it should. All, every single one, of the admissions officers said more or less the same thing.

Your personal statement, and less so your professional resume and letters of recommendation, are the MOST IMPORTANT THING to address these concerns by displaying your strengths in ways that cannot be measured quantitatively in tests and degrees. HOW you write, WHAT you write about, and WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY about yourself on your own essay are the biggest advocates you can establish for yourself.

So to answer your question: yes, absolutely. In fact, in your case, it may matter more than it would for most other people. But, by the same way, this can be your biggest strength in the application process. So, take time to figure out the "how" and "what", ask yourself those sorts of questions and find ways to show it on paper.

PrepTests ·

PT145.S2.Q7

chrisobrien17852

Sunday, Oct 27 2024

this is so stupid

LSAT

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Thursday, Oct 24 2024

chrisobrien17852

Spiraling - My PT score has never changed

I started studying by taking a diagnostic and scored a 160. After a week or so of fundamentals, I took a PT on an off day and got a 152 which bothered me a lot, but I decided I wouldn't PT until completing the courses and understanding the concepts. The day after completing the courses (about 1.5 months later), I scored a 161 or 162. Since then, I have done 4 more prep tests, all 4-7 days of studying apart, and have gotten a 160 every single time. The past 2 times I have taken a PrepTest, I have felt really good about each section. I usually always have 5-10 minutes left over every section where I go back and review the questions I have flagged, and regularly get to review every question I'd flagged.

I'm taking the November LSAT in just two weeks and I'm a bit disheartened that I have been working for 2 months and making virtually no progress. I'm desperate for any advice or ways to renew my approach.

LSAT · October LSAT Score Received

chrisobrien17852

Wednesday, Oct 23 2024

Haven't taken the test yet so I'm not sure how detailed the returned scores are - but I am assuming based on your comment it is just the total and raw score without any detailed analytics.

I would say this: The only way to keep a "bad score" to continue to have a negative impact is to let it. What I mean by this is, there is ample opportunity to crush November and establish a score you feel will better represent you to schools. Even more so if they can see such marked improvement in a short amount of time. If you spiral out about getting a bad score and keep that mindset going into November, you've already done more damage than whatever score you got could have done.

Put the "bad" score in your back pocket, spend the next couple weeks drilling the items you had the most trouble with.

General · Just Started 7Sage

chrisobrien17852

Thursday, Oct 17 2024

Hello! I would recommend just watching and taking notes through the foundations, go at your own pace to make sure you're really absorbing the information. As you get into specific problem types and question type units, there will be a blend of "you try" questions, where you are prompted to try the question first and then it will be discussed in a video after, or just example questions dissected by the instructor.

On all questions in videos, there is a "quick view" button (its a bit small and easy to miss), I would recommend clicking it and trying the questions before the video, untimed, in most cases, while the "you try" drills are timed. This way, you're staying interactive and you can compare your approach to the approaches detailed in the video.

Practicing problems "right away", as your friends are FOMOing you with, is useless if you are not able to learn from the approach as well as the result. You will have PLENTY of time to do as many practice questions as your little heart desires if you are taking the test in Feb. Establishing fundamental understanding and absorbing information at your own pace is more important than mindlessly drilling for the sake of it.

Lessons · You Try - A Just System of Taxation

chrisobrien17852

Tuesday, Oct 08 2024

think about it more as an exercise in understanding concepts of "rate", usually more starkly utilized in math or science related stimulus.

Income = rate of wealth

Wealth = static measure of value

Lessons · How to Use 7Sage Analytics

chrisobrien17852

Thursday, Oct 03 2024

I usually pin questions I got wrong, then sort my question table for a PT by the pinned questions first. From there you can just go down the question type column and make note of any type that comes up frequently - i.e. if I get a particular kind of question wrong 4x I make sure to make note of it

Lessons · Phen-Hypo Passage, Paragraph 2 (Late Heavy Bombardment)

chrisobrien17852

Monday, Sep 30 2024

Science RC Passages are like Xandlebars, got my eyes heavy with no backwoods

Lessons · YOU TRY: Implied - Other's Perspective Question 2 (Greek Dramas)

chrisobrien17852

Sunday, Sep 22 2024

With the preemption that Barbu is drawing psychological conclusions, the answer choice of "B" follows that Barbu recognizes that the individual being understood in a novel way as a "free agent". Does this not require less assumptions on Barbu's behalf in regards to an accurate reflection and subsequent perception of Greek society?

Lessons · YOU TRY: Implied - Other's Perspective Question 2 (Greek Dramas)

chrisobrien17852

Sunday, Sep 22 2024

I am not convinced that B is not the correct answer. I have not watched the video. And I won't.

Lessons · LR Question Stems Grouped by Level of Engagement

chrisobrien17852

Friday, Sep 13 2024

you can manually check off the lesson on the syllabus page

Lessons · You Try - Vidmar's Private Collection

chrisobrien17852

Friday, Sep 13 2024

Kepler2-A Jungle Haze with a Terpy slug in the backwood

Lessons · You Try - Strike at AutoFaber

chrisobrien17852

Friday, Sep 13 2024

AC "D" is the only AC with probability language matching the conclusion I am a god so hurry up with my damn croissant

Lessons · [OPTIONAL] Lesson 3 - Endorsement by the Citizens League

chrisobrien17852

Friday, Sep 13 2024

mostly

Lessons · You Try - Education and Political Economies

chrisobrien17852

Friday, Sep 13 2024

Should I just accept that I will be skipping these every time they come up (hopefully once per section) and then planning on using my leftover time on them? Nothing else in LR comes even close to taking me as long

Lessons · Lesson 7 - A Trip to Mars

chrisobrien17852

Friday, Sep 13 2024

Do AC's of the "inadequate argument" persuasion always fall short of being correct for Flaw questions? i.e. can they always be eliminated for POE?

Lessons · You Try - Medical Information on Google

chrisobrien17852

Thursday, Sep 12 2024

For "B", I find it helpful to create a straightforward "If, then" like JY did. So AC "B" is

If people who attempt to diagnose their medical conditions do not rely exclusively on scientifically valid information, then they are likely to do themselves more harm than good.

The logic follows that the condition posited in the "IF" is true, THEN you have confirmation of the conclusion. So think of it like if people qualify for what the "IF" condition ascribes, then they have successfully climbed up the ladder of the waterslide. And if you're at the top of the waterslide, you get to ride down. Weee! And now you land in the pool, where you can only swim if you have gone down the slide.

Now for E, the key phrase is "only if". You've chosen answer choice E and you cannon-balled into the pool. Can you say "I'm in the pool, so I must have gone down the waterslide. I can be in the pool only if I've gone down the waterslide". No! It is not logically sound to have arrived to that conclusion. So applying that to answer choice E, reword it:

"People must rely on quackery instead of scientifically valid information to do themselves more harm than good if they are attempting to diagnose their medical conditions."

This is not true! You can rely on the WRONG KIND of scientifically valid information. You can rely on NO information of any sort and do yourself more harm than good.

Lessons · Lesson 1 - Learning the Lessons of History

chrisobrien17852

Wednesday, Sep 11 2024

We are so back

Lessons · You Try - Reducing Class Size

chrisobrien17852

Tuesday, Sep 10 2024

AC E is a glasses wearing dork in desperate need of a swirlie i am so mad

Lessons · You Try - Intrinsic Brightness of Stars

chrisobrien17852

Tuesday, Sep 10 2024

I'd also like to know this, was in a groove and didn't read the stem and chose D thinking it was NA.

Lessons · You Try - Shrinking Applicant Pool

chrisobrien17852

Tuesday, Sep 10 2024

While the phrasing of "A" is kind of BS compared to what we expect AC's to be, it is a really good example of the power of the negation strategy.

AC A refers to a premise explicitly stated in the stimulus. So let's negate and say "the proposed explanation...does NOT apply in this case" is our new AC. Because we have this "proposed explanation" in the stimulus, we can actually see what it looks like when we apply this negation.

With the negation of "A" applied, here is the new stimulus:

"Our pool of applicants has been shrinking over the past few years. So, if we want to increase the size of our applicant pool, we need to raise our tuition and fees."

This is a non-sensical argument. The conclusion does not bear scrutiny.

Contrast this with the very attractive AC "D". Negate "D", ("There is another explanation") and then cram it into the stimulus, between any sentence, it doesn't really matter.

Adding that sentence certainly weakens the president's claim. It is almost analogous to a concession point. BUT, the conclusion the president arrives to is not entirely obstructed by applying the negation of that AC.

Lessons · You Try - Shrinking Applicant Pool

chrisobrien17852

Tuesday, Sep 10 2024

The first level 5 question ive gotten in like 2 weeks I could bend steel rn