Gone grey but no score yet.
I can say from experience that you need to learn how to cope with a section that is not going well. For me, the test-day-nerves never completely went away for LG, so I had to make sure I knew what to do when it wasn't going perfectly and I was panicking.
For me this involved getting really clear on setting up correctly, accurately, and in a helpful way. This means you can confidently go for the low hanging fruit on a more difficult game.
You also have to time yourself and get a real solid feel for when you - personally - need to skip questions/games (IMO).
Just to add some confusion to how fee-waivers are decided; I don't have a reportable GPA (foreign) and I've received unsolicited fee waivers from Penn, Cornell, Vanderbilt, UCLA, as well as some lower-ranked schools.
All these new comments making me think scores are releasing! Stay strong, friends.
Hey all,
Any tips or advice on when to employ these two very different BR methods? I've found in the past that when I do full-test BR a few days later my BR score is significantly higher than when I only BR questions I circled during the normal PT (the ones where I felt (100% certain). I know this indicates that over-confidence is an issue, but I'm not sure how to address it.(/p)
Hey, hope this is the right place for this to go. I had a search of the forum and didn't see this question discussed before, so thought I'd throw out my 2 cents.
Doing some drills before this week's test I noticed a much faster way of getting to the right answer choice on Question 1 of Game 1 in this PT, compared to the video explanation. In the video JY skips Q1 because by the end of G1 you have more points of reference with which to brute force it. But I think it's perfectly do-able with just the rules, and I think it's a fast inference.
I set the game up the same as JY, except instead of representing his rule 1 with two crossed out and stacked boxes of BB (boy, boy) and GG (girl, girl), I just used the notation 1+ ---> BG. I think this notation helped me more quickly spot the inference I'm about to explain here.
So from the initial setup and from the first indented prompt we know that the game is going to have 3 lockers with one person in, and 2 lockers with two people in.
Combine this rule with JY's (or my) rule 1 and we then know that there is going to be two lockers with BG in there.
For the next two rules (rules 2 and 3) I used the exact same notation as JY.
As JY explains, from rule 2 and 3 we know J will have to share with N or T, since R must be alone. This allows for a further, vey simple inference which I didn't see JY make with respect to Q1.
We know we have two shared lockers with 1B and 1G in there, and we know that one of those two shared lockers is J and N/T. Since we know that the other shared locker has to have 1B and 1G in it, we then know that the other shared locker is going to have a girl in it. But there's only three girls. And one of them is going with J, and the other is always on her own (R). So the girl that goes in the other shared locker is just the one left over from our choice in the J, N/T locker. (T/N)
Thus, just from this basic inference from the setup and rules 2 and 3 we know at the very least that in the two shared lockers we will have J and N/T and, in the other, T/N. This allows us to completely solve question 1.
All we need to do is look for an answer choice that has J, N and T in it. Since only one answer choice has all these three in it, we know E is right straight away. If there was another answer choice that was, say, J N T and F, then we would have to check to see if F needs to share. But luckily there isn't, so you can answer it right away.
Hope this makes sense!
https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-31-section-1-game-1/
@ said:
I just don't see the point because you either had more time to study or studied harder and adcoms would know that.
Sometimes there are mitigating circumstances that need to be explained. It’s not a black/white issue of studying longer or harder, which is precisely why schools want the addendum. Maybe OPs 7 point increase is because they worked harder, but it could be because their dog died the day of their first take...
Also if a school tells you to write one then write one. If they say explain an X point difference in an addendum, do it. The fastest way to get rejected from a school is not following their instructions.
@ said:
I can tell you from personal experience this cycle, gaps in your resume draw questions.
As an aside, stay-at-home dad is apparently not good enough to cover the gap, but that's a conversation for a different forum.
That's sad to hear. You have my sympathies. It's already rare for Dads to stay-at-home and it's something we should be encouraging as a society, not discouraging!
@ said:
Yeah, I ran into this as well. I listed the same job twice using the different hours. Just make sure the dates line up right.
Yeah, this might be the safest thing (with full disclosure in mind). Either way, I have emailed a couple of T14 schools to see what they say. I'll feedback with anything useful.
In the generic Employment section of schools' online applications you list all your jobs, including internships. Because of the way you fill in the information, you aren't able to list one job with multiple hours worked (e.g. lower hours for a while when studying, then back to normal hours).
How do you handle working the same job but with periods of different hours? Do you list the same job twice with different hours? Just list one job but using your current hours? Any tips? It feels a little misleading just using current hours, but then it feels really silly putting the same job twice (as if you're trying to make yourself look busier than you are..?)
@ said:
I kept mine at Times New Roman 12 for everything, including resume. (12 pt seemed to be a size that worked for all schools, so I kept it that to not have to re-size things all the time.) My resume is all the same with the exception of my name at the top in the header. I don't know that it would have to be the same, but I personally think it looks nicer and more consistent to have your resume match the rest.
That's what I'm thinking, just keep it consistent wherever possible.
I felt size 11 was a little small on my résumé, since it isn't double spaced. But then size 12 makes my PS just over 2 pages, which isn't acceptable for some places. I think I'll go for size 11 PS if needed, and size 12 résumé. I figure I'd rather they notice I used two font sizes than they have a résumé they're struggling to skim read.
... so I recently decided to go all-in and buy the exact same pencils J.Y. uses in his live videos.
They arrived today so I had to try them out on a fresh PT. I just got my first 180.
It works guys, I promise!
@oshun1 said:
I don’t even know what type of font or size my resume was, I was just trying to shrink it to a page and make it look pretty. I don’t think it matters for your resume since it’s an entirely diff format than an essay. For your PS and additional essays I think it would be best to keep it all the same font and size. I really doubt adcomms would be paying attention to that though. Double check the prompt too as some schools like UCLA say to keep your PS to a 12 pt font.
Yeah, that UCLA one is tricky. 12 size font plus 2 pages max. Sigh.
Is it acceptable to have, say, a size 12 font resume and a size 11 font personal statement (or vice versa)? Or am I taking the "be consistent" advice too far?
Hi everyone,
Sort of a long question. TL;DR: How strongly can I lean on my good graduate GPA vs my weaker undergraduate GPA when looking at places to apply?
For the sake of argument let's assume that my LSAT score is at, or slightly above a given school's median... Now for the background.
My undergraduate GPA (converting it from UK grades using an online tool) is a disappointing 3.64. However my graduate GPA (also converted with the same tool) for my recently completed Master's Degree is 3.95, which will go up to 3.98 if my thesis comes back at my expected grade come November. I got my 2 degrees at 2 different universities, but both are members of the Russell Group (sort of the UK equivalent to the Ivy League, except maybe less prestigious). Basically it's not the case that I simply got the better grades somewhere less rigorous, I just developed a lot between degrees. For what it's worth I also did a full credit undergraduate class at Harvard one year during my undergrad as part of their summer school program, for which I got an A.
This 3.64 UGPA is at or below the 25th percentile for most T14 schools. However, that's is in the past and my most recent GPA from graduate school would put me in almost any school's 75th percentile. I'm almost certain my undergraduate GPA will hold me back somewhat, but I'm wondering if I should I let it entirely put me off applying to places where it's below the median, given that my graduate GPA is so much better? In other words, is it unreasonable of me to think that my graduate GPA can make up for a slightly weak undergraduate GPA?
Thanks!
This question assumes the person has T-14 credentials. My answer is prefaced on a choice between T-14 sticker vs. lower-ranked full-ride.
Before law school I had a T-14 or bust mentality. After being waitlisted or rejected at the T-14 I took a full-tuition scholarship to a T-20 school. If I'd have got off a T-14 waitlist I would've been paying a lot more for my education and taking on debt. I had not anticipated attending the T-20 school before their offer, but something told me it was the right choice. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
My school is in a cheaper part of the country, so I pay bills with savings from post-undergrad work. My tuition is covered, so I don't spend all day thinking about debt. I know my classmates worry about this. I started school knowing that this school wanted me. They didn't treat me like I was lucky to have been offered a seat. I felt good being here. I knew that they thought I could succeed. I wouldn't have felt this getting off the T-14 waitlist. That difference, if only slight and marginal, helped me get good grades. I now have a 1L summer associate position at my first-choice firm.
When I applied for the SA role, I told them a compelling story about why they're the right fit for my career goals. I knew this through networking and law school events. I seriously doubt they cared about the prestige of my school. They cared about grades, work experience, soft skills, interveiwing abilities, creativity, personability, "fit" within the firm, shared goals, things well beyond the law school name on my resume. They didn't care about geographic ties either. A T-14 won't give you those skills any more than a T-20 will. If anything, a T-14 might hamper your chances at getting top grades (assuming they are more academically competitive, which isn't certain).
TL;DR - I think people underestimate the burden of debt. I think employers care more about grades and soft skills than they do the name on your resume.
@ said:
Do admissions committees tend to regard more highly the title/position of the referee or the amount of experience shared with the applicant?
The latter. Knowledge of the candidate trumps rank any day of the week.
Yep. The stress and anxiety is worse than the exam itself.
During my final year of high school I volunteered every Saturday morning for a local charity until I left for college. I know the advice is to leave high school off your resume, but this seems like worthwhile experience to list. Should I list it in my Activities section?
Hi everyone,
Been a while since I posted. How's everyone doing? Just wanted to check in, say how my cycle is going, and send love to anyone else out there riding this slow, slow cycle.
I ended up with a 169 LSAT, which was disappointing given my PT average and my last fresh PT. The LSAC engaged in some last minute shenanigans and changed our exam from an afternoon one to a morning one, which didn't exactly calm me down. And I was unwell the week of the test, right through to test-day. In the U.K. we call this Sod's Law.
As for applications, I almost blanketed the T-14, and also Vanderbilt. Let me just say, I was naïve to think GULC, Cornell and Vandy were safety schools. Lord, have mercy. So far I've had 4 waitlists (GULC, Cornell, Michigan, Columbia) and 4 rejections (Penn, NYU, Chicago, Harvard). The Cornell waitlist stung the most as I really liked the school and didn't think my interview went badly. Was pleasantly surprised by Columbia. For context, I don't have a GPA as my undergrad is international.
Hope everyone on here is doing well. Whatever you're doing, just remember that you're a beautiful, valued person who isn't defined by a number! (3(/p)
When you register for the LSAT, having selected your region, the LSAC provides a list of testing centres along with dates and times. I know that things can change before the test, but are these times typically accurate?
For example, if I register for a test at location X and the date and time given is "02/10/2018, 2:00 PM", can I start preparing for this test safe in the knowledge I'll sit it in the afternoon? I don't want to prepare for my exam thinking I'll be taking it in the afternoon only to find out they moved it to a 9am a week before! :'(
jacobseeley861
Hi everyone,
Anecdotally I have heard that the LSAT standards for law school have already, or are currently slightly declining. My understanding is that this has something to do with fewer applicants, and thus colleges having a harder time keeping high LSAT numbers.
Does anyone know if this is supported by any data?
I had a quick look at UVA for an example, and a year or two ago their median LSAT did dip by 1 point, but then it went back up again the year after. UChicago's has stayed the same in the last few years as far as I could tell. I'm wondering if this 'declining standards' idea is just an urban myth? Maybe it's only true of some schools? Just curious if anyone has read anything in detail about this topic.
Hi all!
I know the advice is to have a professional style email address for use in admissions. But what counts as professional? For many years I've used a hotmail account which is simply my first and last name @ hotmail.com
Is that suitable? Or should I be ditching hotmail after all these years?
Hey guys,
Looking for pointers on how you guys use the LR drill packets. What have you found helpful?
Since we only have a finite number of 'fresh' questions from PT 1-35 I don't want to squander my packets needlessly. I'm at the stage where I really only need to reinforce some fundamental strategies (like looking for weak claims among NA answer choices etc.) and solidify my trust in my intuitions.
So say I want to work on RRE questions having bombed an easy one during a PT. To reinforce my approach I revisit the CC, work through the example RRE questions again with JY (the ones before the problem sets). What do you guys do after this point? Problem sets? Drill packets?
At the moment we've got 3 and a half LR packets covering PT 1-35. In the first group (1-9) there is something like 20+ RRE questions. As a drill "session" would you burn through all 20+ of these RRE questions? Would you do fewer of them and do them in more detail? Do them timed or untimed? Do only do the harder ones (I don't even know if they're arranged by difficulty in the drill packets)?
Sorry this is dense and I hope it makes sense :)
I've got in multiple times with the same picture. It had a weird shadow on the wall because we'd just plastered it. Was never an issue for me.
If you're set on those two schools, and we're ignoring the issue of scholarships, then I think @ is spot-on with their analysis.
But @ raises a good point, there are other schools that you could attend which would allow you the mobility to work in NYC, and which might offer scholarship money that wouldn't be available by EDing at either Cornell or NYU.
@ said:
@ said:
I never got the impression that it was more of a Big Law factory than any other T-14 school.
Only Columbia has a higher percentage of biglaw-bound grads.
My claim was based on these stats (sorted by "Large Firm >100 attorneys") https://www.lstreports.com/national/
Per these numbers, Columbia is by far and away the leading placer of Big Law grads, followed by Cornell. Chicago places #6 on this list - basically average for the T-14. The obvious caveat is that this all depends on how we define 'Big Law', and we both might mean different things.
Relatively speaking they have a high proportion of students with a philosophy background and have a number of philosophy-minded law faculty. I've followed the blog of one of their staff for many years and I get the impression that students coming from Chicago are well supported if their goals are academic. I never got the impression that it was more of a Big Law factory than any other T-14 school.
Hey everyone,
Can anyone offer insights on how to start prepping again after a somewhat long break? I sat in February and scored a couple of points below my average, but without a score breakdown I don't know where I went wrong. I haven't touched the test since then and now feel a bit lost as to how to start again. My hope is to sit again in October. My February score was only 4 points off my goal.
Has anyone had a similar experience? How did you approach things? What worked for you?
Hey everyone,
TL;DR: Should I, as someone from the UK, write a diversity statement?
So the long version of my question is what exactly counts as 'diverse' in the sense of law school admissions? I've seen the usual indicators - socio-economic disadvantage, race, etc. I don't tick any of those boxes, but I imagine that since was born in the UK and have lived and studied (BA and MA) here my whole life I could contribute something (relatively) unique to any given US law school. Add to this my relatively unique education, with respect to the UK system, I think there's not many of me knocking about each admissions cycle! (haha)
Should this be something I elaborate on in a diversity statement? Or am I over-thinking things? I'm a middle-class white dude (putting it crudely), so should I just leave it? Hoping you guys can help!
All the best.
deleted
You will have to get very good at getting the low hanging fruit on LR. Easy questions should feel easy and you should be able to breeze through them. This will give more time for the curve breakers. You should be doing enough LR blind review and watching enough of J.Y.'s explanations that you start to get a really good feel for LR questions. That's what worked for me.
I had my worst illness in years the week before my test and I still performed +/- 3 my PT average. If that's an acceptable outcome for you I'd consider taking the Nov. test.
Title says it all really. Curious to know how many questions you all have circled after a typical PT. I suppose here I'm more focused on LR and RC since with LG I feel you either 'get' the game and feel confident about all questions or you don't 'get' the game so you're not certain about any...
I'd also be curious to hear what your criteria is for circling for BR. Do you circle anything where you're (100% certain?(/p)
AFAIK it doesn’t affect anything. If you’re a citizen you should be eligible for all the normal loans etc. I’m in a similar position as you and I have seen nothing to suggest we’re adversely affected. Even if you’re a US citizen who’s never lived in the US you aren’t treated as international.
I would suggest getting back on the horse. Doing nothing won't help (IMO) as you will simply focus on the recent poor performance. I would recommend being pro-active. Blind review the test that gave you problems, as this should give you the reassurance that you can do this!
I'd then suggest building confidence with your remaining time. I used to do this by taking a full section of whatever gave me problems. I'd BR a new section, and after that I'd do a timed section. E.g. if I bombed an RC section I'd go back to the CC, revisit some core concept, BR a section of RC, then do a timed RC section.
Since we're compelled to report them to the CAS, do Summer School classes factor in to your undergrad GPA even when the Summer classes weren't part of your undergraduate degree?
Example: I earned a BA at University X. I took unrelated summer classes at University Y during the penultimate summer of my BA course. These summer classes contributed nothing towards my BA degree from University X.
I'm having a bit of a hard time deciding whether or not I should include a brief period of volunteering on my resume.
Context: I volunteered with a legal advice centre for up to ~3 months (I have yet to work out the exact dates). The organisation has a training course for their volunteers to complete before they do solo work with clients. The course is meant to take many months to complete, and I didn't finish it before I left. Much of my experience at the organisation was spent shadowing trained volunteers and sitting in on cases. I stopped volunteering when it became clear I didn't have enough time to commit (1 full day per week + training), given my paid job and my LSAT studies. I left on good terms and was told they would have loved for me to stay. I was officially counted as a volunteer for this time period, but only as a trainee.
Question: Do I include this on a resume?
Arguments against:
Arguments for:
Just need as many 2nd opinions as I can with this one. I don't want to include anything which would make me seem like a flake, or make me seem like I'm struggling to pad a resume.
Hi guys!
Any advice on choosing a final schools list when I don't have a reportable LSAC GPA? I got my undergrad education outside the US and my CAS report gave me the "above average" categorisation. My graduate degree is also non-US and was categorised as "superior".
Obviously you can't compare these directly to a UGPA, because it's not the same fine detail. So my question is; should I consider UGPA a wash when looking at schools? Am I right that my transcript is unlikely to help, nor hurt my chances? In which case, should I judge reach/target/safety status on LSAT score alone?
Thanks.
Am I just blind or is there no information on WUSTL's fee waiver policy on their website? I got an email with a "request a fee waiver" button but it just redirects to your email app. I can't find out whether I should bother requesting a merit based fee waiver or not.
@ said:
Spivey does hourly consulting....
Thanks! I might take a look at this after trying with a 7Sage consultant.
@ said:
7Sage does hourly consulting that may be what you want. I had an extremely positive experience using it myself.
Thank you. I had a 7Sage editing for my PS and was very pleased with the process so I'll shoot them an email.
Hi guys,
I've got one very specific admissions question and can't really find answers anywhere. If I posted the details publicly it'd be close to personally identifying, so don't really want to open it up to the various forums. Buying a full consulting package isn't sensible given the size of the problem (relatively minor), so does any one know anywhere I can go (and pay) to get advice on a very specific, niche question? It's regarding cross-over between a (possibly) necessary addendum and my PS.
Any input welcomed.
If you're registered for an upcoming international LSAT, please double check your reporting times!
I just went to print my ticket for Saturday and noticed the registration time is now 8:30am, not 2:30pm as was listed when I registered.
I've phoned the LSAC who said that yes, the time was changed from 2:30pm to 8:30am some time in mid-September. I asked if there was some sort of error - was I supposed to be notified, or did I receive an email but just not see it?
The answer is 'no', it just so happens the LSAC doesn't have a policy of notifying registrants if the test-time changes from the advertised time. They just change it and hope you notice when you print your ticket - which they instruct you to print as close to the test-day as possible..!
Brb while I try and find a last minute hotel or figure out how to wake up at 2:30am for a 9am test and not feel like garbage.
Also, this blog post from Spivey helped calm the nerves that come with waiting.
https://blog.spiveyconsulting.com/this-will-be-a-slow-cycle/
One school made me chuckle as they had my file recorded as 'waiting TOEFL score'. I'm English, live in England, and went to an English university...
@ said:
How are all your apps going? Where are each of you in the process?
All submitted. Heard nothing from most (as expected), but Georgetown got back to me within ~3 week to say I was a strong candidate but that they were postponing a decision until the new year. I'm above their 75th so I didn't feel so great about that. But in hindsight, if they wanted to reject me they could have done so right away, so it's not so bad.
Scores are out for me. 3-pts below my PT average but I'll take it given how ill I was. Good enough for most of the T-14 so I'll see how the cycle goes. Hopefully that's me done with the LSAT. Thanks, 7Sage. It's been a blast. (3(/p)