@.e.w1640 congrats on that killer score, that's awesome!! Do you have any tips that really helped you improve on RC? That's my worst section right now and would appreciate anything that might help!

What I've been doing is taking my PTs in flex format with another tab open with a separate full 4th section ready to go. Since that 4th section is going to be random on the real thing, I've been rotating the type of section it is as well as when in the test that section is. For example, on my PT this week I might make that extra section LG and make it the first section, and then next week it'll be LR and the second section (and rotating so on and so forth). Hope that helped!

In my opinion, while it can help to read from similar outside sources like the ones you've mentioned (I personally read from the Economist daily just because I like to), to improve in RC you ultimately have to get better at reading for structure, improve your short term memory, and start being able to anticipate the types of things the questions will ask you about from the passage.

This is a longer post, but I HIGHLY recommend you take a look at it if you're looking for guidance on RC improvement. I've been implementing some of the things mentioned by this 7Sager who scored a 179 and it's helped me make the most improvements by far (RC is also my worst section).

https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/26560/my-guide-to-reading-comprehension-part-1-long-ish-post

@ @ @ I've taken it once before so I've had my ProctorU account setup since then, so that might be why I'm able to see it early?

Similar to what Law and Yoda said above, I've been taking my PTs in flex format with another tab open with a separate full 4th section ready to go. With each PT, I've been rotating when I do the 4th section (first, second, third, or fourth) and I've also been rotating the type of section it is since we won't know what it'll be. I'm also probably going to be doing a few 5 sections tests between now and August since it might be helpful for building stamina

I'd assume that the curve would be fairly similar to the flex since the fourth section is just an unscored experimental section

Hey! I'm in a similar boat as well after having scored a few points below my PT average and 8 points below my best PT score. It took me about a week of thinking to decide that I wasn't going to settle for my score, and that in the long run, it would be worth it to take the extra time to score in the range that I know I have the potential for. At the end of the day, it came down to whether or not I would look back years from now and regret not having given myself that additional time to get that higher score and give myself a shot at going to the schools that I truly want to go to.

Also, highly recommend taking a couple of minutes to read this great post that really helped give me some new life when I was not doing too hot after my getting my score back

https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/26958

Hope this helped, and best of luck with your studies and everything going forward!

Just to clarify, when you say you "can complete like 1 to 1.5 games" do you mean that's what you're able to complete in 35 minutes? Regardless, one of the best pieces of LSAT advice that I've gotten in general is that you should never sacrifice accuracy for speed in any case because if you are, your fundamentals probably aren't where they need to be. I understand that you don't have a ton of time with your test date being in April, but definitely take your time now to carefully go through the LG CC and get a good grasp of how to tackle each game type. From there, if you just follow the fool proofing guide JY lays out for us, LG quickly becomes one of the easier sections to tackle. Hope this helped!

Like people have mentioned above, keep this week lighter in terms of studying. Maybe a PT 4-5 days before the test, BR the next day, and spend the following day doing some relatively light problem sets, passages, and/or games.

I'd personally recommend taking the day (or two) before the test completely off from LSAT work. There really isn't a ton more you can do this last minute for prep, so spend the day(s) doing some things that you enjoy, keep your nutrition in check with some good healthy meals, and get a couple of great nights of sleep. If you do end up taking these days off, make sure to do a little warmup prior to your test to get your brain going and in LSAT mode; I liked to warmup up with 2 LGs, 5-7 LR question, and one RC passage that I've already seen. Good luck!!

Yeah, you get one minute between sections with a countdown timer on the screen. Plenty of time to get a sip of water, take a couple of breaths, and refocus for the next section!

Definitely interested!

What I like to do is use each color of the highlight function to annotate a different aspect. I use: orange to highlight the names of people, groups, dates, places, important things etc.; pink to highlight changes in tone and arguments (words like but, however, in contrast etc.); yellow for main points and anything else that I feel might be notably important.

That's just what works for me, but I think it's important to play around with some highlighting strategies and find out what works best for you while making sure that you're not over-highlighting because that will end up being counter productive. Hope this helped!

@ said:

@ Good on you for being so upfront! So I'm actually confused about this... is it that every proctor is only in charge of supervising one student? I didn't realize you would actually be able to have a convo with them beforehand.

@ To my knowledge, yes, each proctor supervises one student at a time. And yeah, during the initial check in time (when you show them your ID, scratch paper, and the room) and after the test, you're actually speaking with them through your computer microphone and speaker. During the test, they have their microphones muted so you can't hear them, but there is ProctorU chat box open in the background for you to communicate with them during the test in case some technical issue comes up.

I have an older MacBook and took the flex in November on it using Google Chrome, and I thankfully didn't have an issues! I also made sure to sit pretty close to the router in my house and that no other devices were on the wifi during my test, and I think that definitely helped as well. Although, it probably would be best to have an ethernet cable if you can make that happen.

With regards to the proctor potentially interrupting, I just let my proctor know as nicely as possible that every second mattered on this test and then asked what kinds of things would she might interrupt me for so that I can avoid them and avoid getting interrupted. She understood and said to just make sure that my face was visible on camera at all times. I made sure to do that, and everything went smoothly. Hope that helped!

One of the biggest things that helped me with this early on was trying to figure out/being hyper vigilant of what rules tend to be good nodes to split gameboards on-- usually the more restrictive rules. Sometimes it can even be a few rules paired together too. A super simple example of this would be something like a big block rule (X is exactly 3 spaces after Y) on a sequencing game. Depending on how many spaces there are in that particular game, rules like this are amazing for splitting off a few gameboards and then trying to apply the other rules.

Try to keep this in mind every time you're reading the rules of games you do, and as you continue to foolproof, you'll be able to naturally starting picking up on these rules easier and quicker, and if you don't see rules like these, you'll know it's a game to let the question drive you. Just takes time and repetition to get a feel for this. Hope that made sense and helped a little!

I think you're a little confused on the "most recent non-flex tests" part. To my knowledge, since 1991, the LSAT has been the same format of 6 sections: 2 LR, 1 RC, 1 LG, 1 unscored experimental of any of the three types, and the writing sample. Obviously, this past year it changed with the introduction of the flex being just 3 sections plus the writing sample (which you can take before or after but just need it approved to get your score).

Like @ mentioned, the flex is weighted less towards LR now than before since it's only one section. If you wanna look the raw score to scale score conversion chart (number correct to score out of 120-180) for the May 2020 flex vs previous tests, check out this link!

https://lsac.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056747654-May-2020-LSAT-FLEX-Sample-Conversion-Chart

I want to first start off with something I used to tell to my clients when I was a personal trainer with regards to fitness and that was that the only way you will fail, is IF you quit. Might be a bit cliche and fitness is certainly very different from the LSAT, but I do think that idea is incredibly applicable to almost everything in life. Point being, it's understandable to feel discouraged but stick with it!

It also might be a good idea for you to take a week (or maybe even two) off from LSAT prep in general just to give yourself a break. I've had times where I've come back to prep after taking a bit of a break, and it really help my brain process things better for whatever reason. Beyond that, I also think that you need to give yourself a bit of time considering you've been with 7Sage for only about a month. Really really really take your time with not rushing through and making sure that you understand the lessons/skills in the core curriculum before you move to try and apply them. It takes a bit of time get those skills ingrained in your brain and then learn to apply them effectively-- trust the process. With that being said, unless you have an overwhelmingly strong reason that you need to take the June exam, I'd say it might be worthwhile to consider delaying to a later date. I made the mistake of taking the test when I truly wasn't fully ready just because I didn't want to delay my test date, even though I knew it would have been in my best interest to do so.

Lastly, just remember that even though this test can be an absolute bitch, it is 100% learnable to anyone willing to stick with it and give it their best. I started out with a 145 diagnostic and am currently scoring in the mid-high 160s, and I know if I've managed that improvement, then anyone can hahahah. Hope this helped, and best of luck!!

A 176 typically ranges between -3 to -5 depending on the particular test. Here's a link to all the PT raw score to scale score conversion charts that the LSAC has released so you can look at specific tests for yourself if you want!

https://lsac.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056747654-May-2020-LSAT-FLEX-Sample-Conversion-Chart

According to Anna Ivey-- the author of a couple of pretty popular law school admission books and a consultant as well-- your status as a permanent resident vs. U.S. citizen shouldn't matter in terms of admissions or scholarships decisions. She did mention that this might come into play later down the line with federal government jobs that typically require citizenship and also that certain states have different citizenship requirements in order to be able to take the bar exam.

I'll link the article here, hope this helped!

https://www.annaivey.com/iveyfiles/is-it-better-to-apply-to-law-school-as-a-permanent-resident-or-a-u-s-citizen

@ said:

Coming from experience, you're better off postponing it. There's really no rush! :)

If you're trying to take the last three section flex; don't. The four section exam arguably has benefits that the three section one doesn't have. It sounds like you may be psyching yourself out a bit, I've had my fair share of test anxiety and for the first time my LR score is stable, every time I was battling a -10 to -6 gap it was because I hadn't properly grasped the material. Give yourself the time you require to properly conquer this exam, it will be well worth it!

I truly believe sitting for this exam when you are underprepared can be more detrimental to test taking anxiety in the future, even when you do become prepared.

^^^ As somebody who probably rushed it the first time I took the test, I very strongly second this!

Unless you have a massively compelling reason to specifically take the June administration, postpone the test! With LSAT prep, unfortunately, sometimes it really just takes time for some of this material to start sinking in and for you to be able to consistently apply the skills. So don't get discouraged, just reassess the areas you need to work on, make a plan for working on them, and give yourself that extra time!

Having a specific pre-PT routine has definitely helped me with getting focused and in the right mindset to take a test. My personal routine looks something like this:

Take my phone out of the room, fill up my water bottle, and prep my workspace

I go over some quizlet flashcard sets I made for: my LR question type strategies, common LSAT argument flaws, and valid/invalid argument forms

Short warmup of old questions consisting of 1 RC passage, 1 LG, and 5-7 LR questions

10-15 minutes of meditation to focus, relax, and get any other thoughts out before taking the PT

That's just what I do personally because it gets me thinking about things I'll need to remember during the test, gets me warmed up by seeing questions before the actual PT, and helps me relax and focus. Obviously different things work for different people, but having a set routine that you follow consistently will help you get in the right mindset if it helps in similar ways to what I've just mentioned. Hope this helped!

I would personally just stick to doing on them on the computer. Doing them on paper vs on a computer are very different experiences, and I can't think of any advantages/benefits you would gain by practicing on paper to start when you know for sure that the test is going to be on the computer. Whether you're refining certain skills, practicing timing in one section, or doing a full PT, I think it's best to just get yourself acclimated/comfortable with the experience of doing it on a computer screen as much as possible.

The LSAC website just says "Five blank sheets of scratch paper (lined, unlined, or graphed)" so my guess is that anything that isn't significantly larger than the standard 8.5 x 11 should be fine? But I'm sure you can shoot them an email or give them a call if you need further clarification.

This is probably the very compressive post you're referring to:

https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/26560/my-guide-to-reading-comprehension-part-1-long-ish-post

I definitely recommend giving the post a thorough read through along with comments and replies to them as well.