Anxiety and worry are getting in the way of my reaching my full LSAT potential. How do I stop this? Or deal with it so that it's not affecting me during the timed LSAT sections I do?
This hasn't been a problem lately until this past weekend when the proximity of the November LSAT hit me.
I just reread this and will be following the tips: https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/winning-the-psychological-battle/
If you have any other suggestions, please share!
Hi! I am a super splitter! LSAC GPA 2.9 and LSAT of 169. I'm in at Michigan along with a few T20 schools. I'm also on many waitlists at other T14s. Happy to share more details via private message. :)
My advice other than study hard for LSAT is apply EARLY (October!!) and be really vulnerable with your personal statement.
"All genetic material is contributed by every female gamete."
I would say this is a biconditional.
if it is genetic material, then it was contributed by female gamete
if it is female gamete, then it contributed genetic material
Therefore biconditional!
genetic material (---) female gamete
"Genetic material is contributed by every female gamete."
This applies to your second sentence also.
This question is unique because it has two arguments in it! I haven't seen a question in which there are two arguments and both are the author's till now!!
I think this is a necessary assumption question. Correct me if I'm wrong please!
Summary of stimulus:
Context:
In the EU, schoolchildren do daily calisthenics during school.
In North America, schoolchildren rarely do daily calisthenics during school.
Premise:
Tests show that North American children are weaker, slower, and shorter-winded than European children.
Conclusion:
North American schoolchildren can be made physically fit -> North American schoolchildren do daily calisthenics
Notes:
Reading the ACs:
A) Children -> can be made physically fit by daily calisthenics. This should be crossed out since we don't need ALL children to be made physically fit when our conclusion is just about North American children. Is there another reason to eliminate A?
B ) Children -> can be made equally physically fit by daily calisthenics; I don't know if the children have to be made equally physically fit. They just need to get to a level where they are physically fit. Wrong.
C) We are concerned about physical fitness in this argument, not about health. Wrong.
D) This says school calisthenics are a necessary factor in EU children's physical fitness--this is what the author assumes.
E) We don't care about the children eating more nutritious diets/exercising daily--we care about calisthenics! Wrong.
Am I writing the conditionals in A and B wrong? I originally picked A because I thought it would guarantee the conclusion--which is wrong to do bc this isn't an SA question. Is A wrong for additional reasons that I've listed above?
Admin note: edited title
Purchased! So thankful this content is coming out while I'm about to go to law school in the fall. :)
For strategy on weaken/strengthen, I recommend trying to identify what kind of cookie cutter argument this (e.g. phenomenon/hypothesis, causal, argument by analogy) is, if any, and then using the strategy from Nicole Hopkin's webinar to weaken or strengthen that kind of argument.
One note is that Parallel Method of Reasoning and Parallel Flaw questions both use a lot of conditional logic. I recommend answering these in the first round if the structure is very obvious. If the structure is not obvious or you need to diagram, I recommend waiting till the next round to diagram. These questions tend to be long and with the additional time to diagram, the time can add up here.
I've been focusing on the LR section of the LSAT. I realized I can spend up to 3 minutes on a question during timed test conditions. This is...ridiculous...lol. I don't realize I'm spending so much time on a question. To me, it's like only a minute and a half has gone by.
I am not good at accurately assessing how much time has passed. How do I get better? I have a habit of checking my watch at the question 10 and question 25 mark. Maybe I should start checking my watch after each page of questions?
Do you have any habits/internal cues that help you keep track of time during the test (any section: LR/LG/RC) and ensure you don't spend too much time on any one question? Please share. :)
Hi all, I think my problem with LR right now is not having enough time to do a thorough second round. I have tried for a long time to get through the 25 questions in 25 minutes but have not been able to do it. Right now, I usually complete the questions in ~30 minutes, leaving me ~5 minutes for a second round. I do try and skip questions--I skip around 3/4 if I can't understand the stimulus/don't like any answer choices.
If I had 10 full minutes, I really think I could get my score higher. For those who have achieved answering 25 questions in 25 minutes--how did you do it??
When I do logic games, I usually follow these steps:
I realized one thing I neglect to do is thinking about the structure of the base. This is a bad move on my part! Thinking about what kind of base we are dealing with helps clarify the game! Below I’ve detailed the 3 main types of bases in logic games.
1. Sequenced Bases
The only difference between the bases is the order in the sequence.
Example 1: PT01S2G3
The game is a pure sequencing game. It is telling us the order of the partners joining the law firm during the years 1961 through 1968. Therefore, our gameboard is going to be 8 slots, with each slot corresponding to each year.
Example 2: PT13S1G3
This game is a sequencing game with grouping elements. We have 2 lectures, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, on 3 days. Therefore our gameboard will have sequenced days (1, 2, and 3) with lecture spots for the morning and afternoon on each day. Each day is equal. It is the lectures that are different and have rules attached to them, which affect the days.
Example 3: PT01S2G1
This game is unusual at first glance, but after understanding the setup, we can see how it’s just another sequencing game. The trade reps are sitting around a circular table in sequenced chairs. This is just another sequencing game with the caveat that chairs 1 and 6 are next to each other, which the LSAT writers have explicitly mentioned! Each chair is the same as the chair next to it, except for its order in the circle.
2. Distinct bases
These bases are different from each other. They can show up in both grouping and sequencing games.
Example 1: PT14S1G1
This is an example of a grouping game with distinct sequenced bases. Our groups are the different positions of the employees: president, manager, and technician. The groups are sequenced because an employee must be supervised by a position that is different from the employee’s position.
Each group has a different characteristic. There is only one spot in the President group. The employees in the President and Manager groups have differing supervising rules. An inference is that the employees in the Technician group do not supervise anyone.
Example 2: PT09S3G2
All in/out games have distinct bases! One group is in and the other is out. Here, we have 7 people and exactly 4 can be in the in group. Therefore 3 must be in the out group. These requirements for the number of elements that must be in the two groups help us determine where the elements can go.
Example 3: PT14S1G4
This is a great example of a game where the differing requirements for the different bases are the key to splitting. Our bases are fall, winter, spring, and summer. Each of the bases are different because Nikki and Otto are limited to playing different sports in each season.
3. Interchangeable bases
In this category, the bases are independent and have no relation to each other.
Example 1: PT15S4G4
This is an in-out game and while the in and out groups obviously differ (with one being in and the other being out), the in group has interchangeable subgroups. Let’s focus on that part. All we know about the in group is that it is composed of 4 teams with two elements each. The four bases here are the four interchangeable teams with 2 elements each.
SPOILER WARNING: There aren’t too many examples of these in PTs 1-35. This is why I’m including PT 62 as Example 2.
Example 2: PT62S3G2
We are tasked with figuring out the colors for 3 stained glass windows. The three windows are our groups and they are totally interchangeable. From figuring this out, we can start placing elements in our groups. This is because the order in which the elements are placed doesn’t matter and we can focus on placing the elements down as is required by the rules of the game.
Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions/corrections and thank you for reading!
Definitely - diversity statement doesn't need to be tied to race at all.
I have heard Chicago biglaw is intense as well. So interesting to hear about your Minneapolis experience! Makes me want to consider smaller markets such as these. :)
Hi Juliet! I am also interested. Thank you to the person who donated!
THIS IS AMAZING!! Your strategy shows incredible resilience, thoughtful preparation, and is inspiring. :)
I'm 100% checking out The Mindful Athlete!
I try to do separate sections for practice. Is there no way to grade one section at a time using the digital tester?
Hi all! Do any of you use a recording device other than your phone to record taking practice tests? If so, what is it? I have been using my phone (it's an Android) and the video quality is not very good. I'm thinking of getting a GoPro but was wondering if there were any cheaper options that people have used successfully.
I agree with the 4 hours a day. Remember these are 4 hours of focused study - not 4 hours total while you study and check in on social media every few minutes kind of study.
If you are 143, You are definitely at the stage where you need to understand the fundamentals of logic and not at the stage where you take practice test after practice test.
I agree with your tutor. :)
I've missed nearly every single Evaluate question I've come across. How are we supposed to approach these? Is there a list of all the evaluate questions anyone can share for drilling?
The air quality in northern CA is bad and getting worse because of the fires. Does anyone know if LSAC is going to do anything about that this Saturday? I'm testing at College of Alameda. I'm going to give them a call tomorrow to see what's going on. Maybe we'll just have to test while wearing masks...
Hi! I'm in the middle of scholarship negotiations and while most schools declined to negotiate, one literally doubled my scholarship. This is why I urge you to definitely ASK NYU!!!!
You will not get money if you don't ask. Consider saying you are worried about matriculating without aid. You don't have another school's offer to leverage since you applied ED but you can always say you may not attend NYU this cycle at all. Given this economic climate, I think that is very fair.
Lastly, congrats on NYU!! :) That is an amazing achievement!
How should I best handle questions I didn't get to (due to running out of time) while inputting answers into 7sage analytics?
If I input correct answers, the system will treat these as me understanding them. If I input wrong answers, the system will treat these as not understanding them.
Thanks in advance for the answers!
Dear People who take the LSAT at a test center on a weekend,
How do you do this? Just show up and find an empty classroom? What if a class comes in during the middle of your section? I'm debating whether it's worth it to try this. If anyone has done this with College of Alameda, please let me know!
What other places that stimulate a testing environment should I take my test other than my room? My local libraries have yelling children in them so those aren't great options.
Hi all! One quick question--from the LSAC familiarization tool, it looks like the "alternative" view from LSAT's Digital Tester is what the tablet on test day is going to look like (as opposed to the Default version). Am I correct? Do you think we will have to scroll through the answer choices like in the Default version?
Do you guys have suggestions for how to take a video of a practice section/PT on the Samsung Galaxy S6? I've been using the default Camera app and I almost always have problems with the video cutting out after 1-5 minutes or with the quality of the video which is sub-par.
I just heard the newest 7sage podcast. It was such a great episode and encouraged me to keep persevering in my LSAT studies. I thought I heard @"Grey Warden" mention watching J.Y. doing RC passages in the curriculum. I'm a little unclear if that was part of the explanation videos or if it was part of a timed test.
Are there videos of J.Y. doing RC passages in the curriculum as part of a timed test? I think it would be great to observe how exactly he approaches RC.
Hi all I recently modified my schedule so that I'm waking up at 4 am. I did this so I can study before work. In the spirit of keeping things consistent, I want to wake up at 4 am on the day of the test!
I want to start practicing my test day routine on the weekends. Please let me know what you think of my schedule and if you would add/take out anything! My main goal is to remain confident and calm throughout the test.
Breakfast: 2 sunnyside up eggs
Morning snack: PB&J sandwich
15 min break during the test snack: apple with peanut butter + Cheese + 1/2 PB&J sandwich
4 am Wake up, bfast
4:30 am Meditate
5 am 30 minutes of yoga, followed by a hot shower
6 am commute to test & warm up (1 game, 1 passage, and 2 pages of LR)
7 am Meditate & check in for test
How early should I get to the test center for the 8 am test to check in?
Do you guys have any easyish yoga routines/youtube channels that you follow?
Do you have better ideas for the 15 min break snack?
Hi all,
On the paper LSAT, we had (aspirational) strategies for pacing like first five/fifteen questions in the first five/fifteen mins. Is there something similar you use for the digital LSAT? How do you handle pacing in LR in particular on the digital test?
On the paper LSAT, I try to get the first 4 pages done in ~15-18 minutes so that I had the remaining time for the last two pages. It's hard to translate this to the digital LSAT.
I suppose, I could try to get the first 13-15 questions done in ~15-18 minutes.
From looking at 3 random tests, the LR question breakdown is:
page 2- question 6-8
page 4-question 13-15
page 6- question 18-21
page 8- question 25-26
In terms of RC and LG--my timing strategies have stayed the same.
Perhaps you are getting used to the slight tweaks in the language. I would recommend you slowly BR one of the tests in the 80's and identify exactly what tripped you up in the language. If you keep practicing and using the same test-taking strategies that got you far in the past, you should be back to speed soon.
I knew this and it was critical to my success: do the cc slowly and make sure you understand EVERYTHING as much as you can. Pick sections that you thought were difficult and review them every so often so that the material gets ingrained in your brain.
Valid Argument Form #2: Denying the Necessary Condition
A or B --> C
When you deny the Necessary Condition by saying /C you can end up with 3 possibilities.
A and /B
B and /A
/A and /B
In the above case, when you deny C, you must deny A AND deny B. So your #1 and #2 statements are not correct.
/C --> [/A AND /B]
It is also easier to break up OR in the sufficient condition like this:
A or B --> C
A --> C
B --> C
Therefore, when
/C --> /A
/C --> /B
and if you want to combine the above,
/C --> [/A AND /B]
(because AND in the necessary condition can be split)
Hope this makes sense and let me know if you have questions!
I had originally picked B. Upon closer look, what is the effect of B on the argument? I just realized that B talks of the shows that W&W produced and we only know about the new shows that W&W produced! We can tell nothing from B.
Compare this to D. Every single police drama that they produced last year was canceled. This strengthens the arguement the most.
Hi all!
I wanted to reach out and ask if any students scoring in the 150's need tutoring.
I started out at a 138 and am now scoring in the mid 160's with the following stats: -3-6 LR, -3-6 RC, and -0-4 LG.
During blind review, I'm consistently scoring in the 170's: -0-2 LR, -0-1 RC, and -0 LG.
I can meet Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 pm PST, Thursdays 5:30-6:30 pm PST, and on Saturdays from 2-6 pm PST.
I'm happy to tutor for free (Full disclosure: This would be my first time tutoring people for LSAT).
I have been attending the study group calls since June and I've gotten good feedback about my contribution.
Please feel free to message me and we can coordinate schedules. :)
You do not need to let them know that you are thinking of going to law school. Most employers expect you to be promoted or move on from the company in about two years anyways so don't think of it as hiding a huge secret.
I advise against telling your employer about your law school plans. You are giving them a reason to not hire you; I recommend going for the job with full gusto and as you do well, you can ask the people you have impressed and those you trust for letters of recommendation. Do not come in with the expectation that you will do well and have letters ready to go because you told them you were going to law school.
Telling them you want to go to law school may also hinder your professional development; they may not consider you for promotions because you've already told them you're leaving. They may not invest in you as much because you're leaving.
There are no pros to telling them; only negatives.
If they explicitly ask you if you're considering graduate school, it is fair to say you are thinking about it but in a few years after you've gotten great work experience. Say your work experience may even change your plans. This is all true!
Good luck on your job search!
I picked B. B is wrong because our conditional chain requires that countries need to be the ones that impose the strict emission standards!
I am not sure why I glossed over C. Perhaps because it doesn’t say the word strict?
When you are retaking a section, how much time do you allot yourself for the entire section? Do you stick with 35 minutes or do you decrease to 33 minutes?
Hi all!
I am going through the property course and have a question on how I should study. For context, I'm an incoming 1L so I have no idea how law school works (yet)!
Should I be memorizing the elements that are mentioned in the course? Should I know what the main points of the different cases that are mentioned off the top of my head?
Basically - how should I study? Any help/context is much appreciated.
Btw - This course is super helpful and I much prefer reading the outlines and watching the videos, like how I learned LSAT, compared to reading commercial outlines without any context. Thank you 7sage for developing it. :)
I don't think anyone knows but I listened to this podcast about it: https://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/will-universities-colleges-and-law-school-campuses-be-open-in-fall-2020/
Hi JY, how do we sign up for the property course?
Parallel arguement with same flaw
Most of the cats that are adopted are black. So when we choose which cats to bring in the shelter we should pick the black ones.
Flaw: most of the cats in the shelter are black. What if orange cats get adopted even faster than the black cats??
Oftentimes, when I sit down to take a practice section or a PT, I tend to psych myself out. I try not to care about the score or how many questions I get wrong, but just trying not to care doesn't really work for me. What are some things you tell yourself or do to get out of your head and genuinely not care about how you do on the test?
I'm not talking about where you don't take the questions seriously--but you take the test in a way where you don't care about doing well in terms of the score, but care about taking the test in a strategic way and just doing your best.
This is amazing!! THANK YOU!
Hello! You have truly an amazing background and it does not matter one iota that you have no experience in the law. It looks like you have customer service and business experience - I think these are even more important skills to have developed compared to being a paralegal. I say this having been a paralegal and as someone who's headed to a top 10 law school. In fact, I believe it so much that I'm doing a business development internship this summer to develop those skills myself. I believe my opinion is consistent with admissions officers - you can confirm this by doing research online/emailing them. :)
I recommend you put your limited time towards studying for the LSAT and getting as high a score as possible. This will help you get into the best possible school/get the highest amount of scholarship that you can.
For your own personal goals, you can certainly do informational interviews with attorneys to figure out if you want to go into the legal sector and make sure this is the path you want to go down.
Update: I've been going through this course and genuinely enjoying it. How complete is this? How far in the development of this project are you guys? Just curious. :)