I score anywhere from -3 to -0 on an LR section, typically -1. I find that ranking my flagged LRs is helpful, especially with maintaining my timing. Most of the time, I have very few "true flags" in LR. But sometimes when a question seems easy OR if there's something about it that I'm hung up on even though I know I should move on, I write down the question number. Basically, I split half a sheet of paper into 3-4 columns. The first column is questions that I almost certainly got correct. I don't flag these on the digital format and they're my lowest priority. I find writing these down helps me better prioritize my time and not waste it on questions I've already answered (almost always correctly). The middle column is my highest priority to go back to review as these are my medium ranked questions, i.e. questions that I believe I can solve but I need more time to map out or think through. The far right column is almost never ever used and it's for when I just have no clue. I don't consider these a priority as my initial reaction is that I won't be able to solve and a guess is as good as I'll get.

I also rank within my columns themselves. I.e. the closer to the left a question is, the greater my confidence and the closer to the right (or moving into the next column) the less confident I am. This is a very personal strategy but I find it helps me manage my time and helps me better identify when my confidence lines up with me actually getting the answer correct, if that makes sense.

@ said:

Good question and I certainly see the value in discussing that. On average my RC score would be in the -3 to -1 range, but I have hit -0 a fair number of times. That said, I will still occasionally have an off day in the -6 to -4 range. My goal in trying out this strategy (which admittedly is still on a trial period) is to eliminate those off days and get my score range tightly in a -1 to -0 average. I have only used this strategy for a whole RC passage once so far, and that yielded a -0. While it is totally possible that this was an anomaly/fluke, I felt a strong sense of confidence throughout the entire RC passage and even skipped my typical blind review because I strongly believed each question had been answered correctly. I would attribute extra confidence to the benefits of the strategy (better understanding of which subjects in each passage were important prior to reading the passage itself.) I look forward to putting it to the test again soon.

Thank you! That's right around where I am, so I'll try this strategy and update. One thing to mention that you may or may not know (I didn't at first) is that if you practice your RC on Lawhub , they highlight some of the words they refer to in the passage (unlike in 7sage). This is how it is on the actual flex as well.

The other person’s method seemed easier lol.

I personally had to work while studying but if you can go without, it’s not a bad idea. There may be a sweet spot of only working part time or doing a more relaxed internship if possible while studying

I agree with taking more time based on that score. That said, if you want a little more time to to decide, you can schedule your LSAT now and then MAKE SURE you postpone the exam to a different date by the free date change deadline if you still haven’t improved your score.

I'd be happy to swap! Feel free to inbox me with your email so we can exchange!

Yes I'd love to!

Some people also take it twice. So I took one in October and one in February; however, I’m not applying for this current cycle, I’m applying in the cycle that opens in the fall. I came into this not sure how long I needed to study so sort of began studying in March just randomly. I tested in October & was messed up for technical reasons, so I pushed back my application another year & decided to take the February lsat because it is the last one that happened during my 7sage subscription... also, people may not like the LSAT being the last part of their application they work on—for example, essays may be very important for some students seeking scholarships so they may also be working on those after they finish the LSAT. Then there’s the factor of burnout. Could I have taken the LSAT in the summer and extended my 7sage for several more months and had more time to study? Sure, but at that point I’d have been going hard for nearly a year and a half & that just sounds like it would totally burn me out & not let me focus on any softs that are important to scholarships (I’m not so interested in being accepted to a school as I am in getting enough money to make attending a viable option lol).

I didn’t find it very important. I’d never take a math test before I studied the formulas. I personally think prep courses like you to do poorly so 1) you NEED their course and 2) their course looks like it did so much when in fact it was just any old studying/getting familiar with the material.

That said, a blind diagnostic means more in some aspects. For example, “Logic games” (analytical reasoning) seems pointless to do completely blind. But reading comprehension will probably give you a good baseline. Logical reasoning will probably give you an ok baseline as well.

Consider looking at the schools reported data about admitted students, which is required by the ABA. Harvard at least has information about their GRE stats as well as the LSAT.

You can look up each school’s ABA data to see how their alumni line up with what you want to do, to give a general idea if that school will help you succeed. That said, you can totally be successful outside of t-14 in most things

I worked a lot and I personally took 6 months the first time and another 5ish months the second exam, for about a year in total. I worked and thought I’d be able to study a lot more than I could. It’s a very strange test to study for because it’s hard to do it tired; it’s not absorbing information or facts which you can do tired if needed, but it’s solving problems timed. You can definitely study for it while busy but I found burnout was very real when I would study and work too much, causing my scores to dip. I’d plan for more time vs less, and keep in mind the dates to postpone the exam for free by.

To clarify, if you lose internet during the exam, you need to follow certain steps if it’s longer than a moment, but I was hoping and praying the WiFi was going to reconnect on its own very quickly which it did.

You should sign in to proctoru a little before your scheduled time. It’s a good idea to plug your laptop in, get your paper and pencils set up, and make sure to test your system requirements. If you use a mouse, don’t forget to put that on the desk as well (unlike me lol). Also you’ll need an official ID.

At your scheduled time, you will have the ability to click the begin button in proctoru or whatever it is called, and once you click it, you will begin your set up and connect with your proctor. You’ll have to show front and back of your paper, in your ears, 360 of your room, the floor, and use a mirror or the front camera of a smart phone to show your laptop screen (ie that it has no post its or anything). You turn off your phone and place it away from you. Personally, I asked my proctor how my webcam looked, like if they could see me well when I bent over to write (as if in LG) and clarified what was ok before the exam so my test wasn’t interrupted for any reason.

Another thing is, stay calm. I lost internet during my first lsat and fortunately I was doing LG so you can sometimes keep working things out (I’m not sure I noticed right away I lost it). Idk if I lost time or not because it was a very quick blip, but even though it was probably seconds, it was the worst jump scare to look up and see the WiFi message. But you just have to try to keep taking the exam based off what you know in your head, which I did & my proctor didn’t say anything about it. (Second exam that I took went smoothly with no internet disconnect). Just keep calm and do what you can while you can. Let yourself decide at the end of the section if you think your exam was “ruined” or cancel (or purchase score preview... I didn’t because I figured I’d keep no matter what & could always write an addendum about it if needed, after testing again). Push that anxiety for after the exam.

Hope this helps!

I definitely wouldn’t want to study new, timed material while sleep deprived, but I might review previous logic games or review other core curriculum material. Sometimes, though, it’s just better to rest & recover.

@ said:

Does anyone know the story with the Item Response Report? I see the section on the screen, but it shows unavailable. I'd really (really!) like to know where things went sideways for me on this test.

It’s not available for this exam. It may be released at a future date (like the May 2020 flex) but it is undisclosed at this time, meaning you won’t get to see the questions or answers you chose.

I too scored somewhat lower than I felt about the exam. I also only scored one point higher than my October flex (which had technical issues & pets going wild during it.)

Anyone else score lower than they felt about it?

I'd be happy to do an essay exchange, I just finished my PS

I made a calendar and put in the pts backwards from my exam date. You could save one from each “decade” in case of a retake. I’d use the earlier PTs that won’t be actually used for PTs as extra material to drill with.

Save your practice tests until after you finish the core curriculum. You’ll then want to then take maybe 1 (or potentially 2) practice tests a week. Plan out so the newest practice test is taken closest to your lsat date. Taking practice tests is a good diagnostic to know what you need to focus on, but for right now, you should just work on those foundational skills. Once you finish that CC, you’ll be able to take practice tests to identify weaknesses, and then drill those specific sections or question types.

Thank you for everyone who submitted poll responses & @ specifically for giving me a written out response!! Taking all of your responses together & speaking with my parents, I decided not to postpone a second time. So wish me luck on the feb exam! Going to work on my stress since that’s what I think is mainly holding me back. Thank you all!!

The flex is scored differently than normal, as each question is still weighted equally. This means LR went from counting for 50% of your grade to only 33%. RC & games both jumped from only 25% each to roughly 33% each as well. RC counts a little more I believe as it has the most questions per section. The first LSAT flex from May has been released and shows exactly how the flex is graded. Three sections also means no break.

Also, you can take the writing after the exam if you’d like, I took mine the day after.

But in August, LSAC is adding back the experimental section, so that means there will be four total sections and you’ll get a break. However, it will still be graded the same as the current flex (each section roughly equaling 33%).

I would be down to! I'll message you. Anyone else interested, feel free to message me as well

Congratulations!! So happy for you!