@ said:

Thank you so much for the response Castillo! I started really studying in November as well and am planning for an April take. Can you give me an idea of your study schedule? I ask because sometimes I get stuck on a section and focus on that only for too long and then feel like I get behind on another. Thanks again for the awesome response!

I bet almost anything you can make that score jump! Take stock of your score breakdown and see where you can pick up some "easy" points. Use the 7Sage score tracker to look for patterns and let that dictate how to move forward. I used to try to do 2 sections a day. Always an LG + LR/RC.

So a typical week would look like:

Mon - LG/LR

Tue - LG/RC

Wed - LG/LR

Thurs - LG/RC

Fri - Practice test

SAT + Sun BR + Review

I found this helpful because I was always keeping fresh on every section & perfecting my timing.

NB: This was after I had completed the CC and FP'd games.. Also, I'd take days off to review if any obvious problems arose. For example, there were def game types and LR question types that I found really unintuitive. I'd take all the time needed to study and address those issues. Lastly, check out some of the tutors on here. Looking back my only real regret with the LSAT was not getting one sooner. Oh, and maybe using Kaplan and Powerscore before I found 7Sage lol.

Good luck :smile:

@Eugene said:

So I didn't purchase a score preview for the August test. I want to purchase it now if its still possible, but I cannot find where on LSAC the option to purchase it is. Does anyone know if I can still buy the score preview, and if so where on LSAC? I went through the whole website.

Thanks

https://www.lsac.org/lsat/taking-lsat/lsat-scoring/about-score-preview

It appears from the LSAC website link above that you still have time to purchase the preview (6 calendar days after test administration). This is assuming you are a first-time LSAT taker.

I can't access my old LSAC account right now, but I would call the LSAC tomorrow. I also can't find where to sign up on the site either.

@ said:

I am taking the LSAT in October and November and am applying in hopefully November or December. Should I start thinking about my application materials like personal statement now, or should i spend all my time studying for the LSAT?

I'd highly suggest starting on your application materials. I think the PS that I ended up submitting when I applied was like version 4-5. It's certainly something you want to have sufficient time to revise and edit! More importantly----make sure to reach out to profs for your letters of rec early! One of my LOR took about a month. Profs are busy during the school year and can take a while to get back to you. So you'll want to leave plenty of time to follow-up.

Good luck!

I think it looks like a good plan. I might suggest doing some timed sections to get acclimated and inured to the timing pressure that's inherent in the test. Don't be dogmatic with your studying and be willing to try out different things!

@ said:

I feel that I can only spend 2 hours on CC materials per day, though I do have more time to work on it. I just feel that after 2 hours of CC learning, I can't really concentrate on it anymore....

And it is 95 hours in total, which kinda kills me... Right now I only completed 18%. Thanks god that JY is quite humorous~

When I was starting out and going through the CC, I would probably do around 2 hours of lessons per day. If it takes longer, then so be it. A good LSAT will change your life!

@ said:

I have a 3.48 GPA. In college I was a premed major before switching to a BS in Sport Management. The worst grades that tanks my GPA are two classes I took as a premed major. With that being said my dream school would be NYU Law, I've taken the LSAT twice already went from a 148 -> 155. I'm aiming for 167+ (the lower 25th at NYU) and I'm a URM which I've heard helps. With my GPA am i crazy in thinking that I'd ever get into NYU? Any input/advice would be appreciated.

If you can nail a 167+ as a URM, you will have a solid chance at getting into NYU!

What type of URM are you? I'm a AA URM at NYU. If you wanna chat feel free to DM and I'll let you know my stats.

I personally found that doing real reading comp passages was most helpful. There is nothing better than practicing with the real thing, and luckily there are so many tests that it's highly unlikely you'll run out anytime soon.

@ said:

@ said

Here's a thread on fee waivers last cycle:

https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/17398/fee-waivers/p1

This is great, thank you!

@ said:

@ said:

How early should we start emailing schools about being considered for a fee waiver? Would love to apply broadly but there's no way I can afford it.

Are you eligible for fee waivers from LSAC? I was able to secure 4 through them and 2 free takes for the LSAT.

For the other schools, I emailed them after I had my score on record, but that was later in the cycle. However, they all got back to me within a few days at the latest.

I don’t think so. I didn’t know about LSACs fee waiver and ended up paying for CAS and two takes. I’m positive I would’ve qualified but since I’ve already paid for it I figured it’s a done deal to get the waiver for apps.

oh, okay. Yeah I was told by a friend after I had already been studying a while thankfully. I wish they would make this info more accessible by sending a mass email or something.

@ said:

@ how often do I have to revisit the CC? Since I’ve done it once..

What I did was use the analytics to guide me. I would return to the lessons and review and drill whatever was giving me trouble. How often varied greatly; however, it was fairly often following my first time through.

@ said:

How early should we start emailing schools about being considered for a fee waiver? Would love to apply broadly but there's no way I can afford it.

Are you eligible for fee waivers from LSAC? I was able to secure 4 through them and 2 free takes for the LSAT.

For the other schools, I emailed them after I had my score on record, but that was later in the cycle. However, they all got back to me within a few days at the latest.

Don't sweat it. Your diagnostic score tells you absolutely nothing about where you have the potential to ultimately score. Yes, you have a shot by September!

My advice is that you should use 7Sage and follow the core curriculum and that you should make the 163 the goal to work towards and not the arbitrary September test date. The fact that your BR score is not too far off from the score goal is very hopeful though.

Good Luck

@ said:

@ Any advice? Thanks

There’s no specific advice on the new LR imo. You just have to do enough so that you get used to them. It’s not like you’re going to be doing them any differently.

I disagree that they’re just different — I think they’re harder across the board. Just compare the first 10 questions from a 40s test vs. the first few from a 70s or 80s test. Right away you can see the difficulty differential. A simpler test is just comparing the MP questions from the new vs. old tests. Haha! It’s not all in your head.

Part of getting over the newer stuff is examining and exploring exactly what is making them harder for you. That might be more of subjective thing. I remember always feeling like the newer questions redlined my brain more; like there were more steps to get to TCR. Basically, the newer tests are harder because they force you to really understand your sh*t. There’s a ton of misdirection that you don’t see on the older tests, and that lack of misdirection makes it so you can kind of intuit your way to some of the answers without really fully understanding the argument on the older tests.

So like @ said above me, focus on the fundamentals. That’s usually the answer, even if it’s not what we want to hear.

You will work on them enough so you get to a point where they’re just the new normal. Even so, when I did finally get to that point they never felt as easy at the 40s and 50s did. So just be mindful of that and don’t let it kill your confidence.

TL;DR Just get exposure to the newer tests, focus on fundamentals. At the end of the day, they’re testing the same skills.

Best of luck!

It certainly felt that way when I was studying... At least from the 70s and up.

PT 77 game 3

PT 79 game 4

PT 72 game 4

PT 62 game 2

PT 65 game 4

PT 67 game 4

PT 70 game 3

PT 57 game 3

PT 41 game 4

PT B circle game

PT 2 game 3

PT 2 game 4

PT 27 game 2

PT 15 game 2

PT 40 game 3

PT 29 game 2

PT 33 game 3

PT 31 game 2

PT 27 game 2

That’s really amazing! Congrats @ !

Started studying in October 2016, and hit my first 170 in September 2017. So just short of a year.

@ said:

Anyone else have no life and is about to lose all friends because of LSAT? haha

I am curious how others balance studying and personal life?

When I studied I never had a ton of of time for social stuff. What I did do was make plans to do something fun almost every weekend. Often, this just meant grabbing a quick dinner with my GF or meeting up for a drink with my buddies. An hour here, another hour there type of thing. I generally wasn’t staying out until 2am at the club or going on any weekend trips though.

I took Sundays off from prep and that allowed me to have Saturday nights and all of Sunday to have fun.

Having a social life outside of the test is something I found to be important. It made studying a whole lot more manageable knowing I had something to look forward to.

I haven’t researched the schools to know enough to help you make an informed decision, but if the outcomes are the same and you’d be okay with working in TX, I don’t think you can go wrong taking the money. Plus, being closer to family and having some familiarity is important. Those things certainly factored into my own decision.

@ said:

The one thing in common with LR: arguments. Are you correctly isolating them?

Find the argument FIRST before you seek assumptions, strengthen, weaken, etc.

@ said:

Reviewing your fundamentals by going over the cc and doing untimed practice to figure out your thinking process as you approach the questions will help you to see your weak areas and improve your accuracy.

Couldn’t agree more with this advice.

LR is complicated because it has so many different variables and question types. There are no easy tricks or tips, silver bullets or shortcuts to getting better.

As @ said above, a crucial skill is your ability to both understand and isolate the arguments before you do anything else. I would argue that this is the most important skill on LR.

I reviewed the CC until almost everything was second nature. I did this in conjunction with tons of untimed work. I think there’s a lot of value in untimed work... my thinking was, “if I can’t nail everything and anything untimed, I sure as hell won’t do better under the gun.” And with that in mind I changed my prep. I stopped taking PTs. I stopped doing timed work. I reviewed the CC and did a ton of untimed drills and sections. I consider this to be one of the most important turning points in my prep.

So, if you want to get better at LR, I would suggest doing everything you can to master the basics. Because that’s really all there is ...

Understanding on this test is never binary. It’s never that you either 100% get it or 0% get it. There’s always room for improvement with the fundamentals. Always.

For example, my logic was strong but I was constantly having to second guess myself and diagram out logic chains on easy-medium LR questions. That under-confidence and time spent diagramming out the logic robbed me of time on the harder questions. In turn, my score plateaued until I was able to really know this stuff like the back of my hand.

Use the CC like you would a piece of exercise equipment. The more you use it, the more progress you’ll see.

Best of luck!

Like most LSAT answers, it depends...

Experiment and keep data points to figure out what a sweet spot for you will be.

I found that I did better the more I warmed up. I’m sure there would have been a point of diminishing returns, but I never pushed it that far. I would do a set of games and the first half of an LR section I had already seen. However, for me, fatigue/endurance was never too much of an issue.

I’ve learned there is no best way... try it different things and do what works for you. It’s also going to depend on your personal life and schedule and how much energy and time you have to dedicate to your prep.

I didn’t have a ton and instead studied for 5-10 hours a week over the course of about 2 years. I did mostly timed sections & fool proofed with an emphasis on the modern tests (52+).

Welcome!

I tweaked it. I would constantly change the date to reflect my progress and anticipated test date.

If you can pull of 20 hours a week, 5 months seems like a reasonable goal to shoot for depending on your diagnostic score and ultimate end goal, of course.

Yes, I found the schedule to be comprehensive enough. The Ultimate package will have just about everything you need to succeed!

Good luck :)

I wish I would have known how important the most basic fundamentals are to your success. There’s really not a whole lot of advanced knowledge and strategies required to do well. The most important thing is having a strong understanding of the fundamentals outlined in the CC. If you can master all of that, no score is out of reach.

Congrats on completing your first run through the CC!

There’s a fantastic webinar titled “Post Core Curriculum Study Strategies” that I recommend checking out. It will give you a good outline of how to proceed.

It’s under Course —> Resources —> webinars.

Best of luck on your journey!

What do you mean when you say “good” school? Like a T14? Yes. You’ll be a super splitter, but with a high enough LSAT >75th%tile you’ll have at least a shot at some great schools. Apply early and broadly because splitter cycles are highly unpredictable.

I know Northwestern seems relatively kind to splitters and put a heavy emphasis on work experience.

Good luck!