Just finished the ultimate course, completing all the questions included in the syllabus. Looking at the study schedule, it says that I should start my timed practices post PT36, but should I be finishing ALL the questions I didn't solve in the pre-36 tests?
I will be taking the December test (first time!) and am worried that if I don't dive into the timed practices now, I won't have enough time to train. What do you guys recommend I do?
Thank you!
Thank you both @ and @ I really needed some words of encouragement :(
I was aiming high for HYS so I can't help but feel disappointed... If I feel that these scores don't reflect my best potential, it'd be better to take a shot at a fourth try right? :(
I fear that any score below 170, even with a 4.0+ GPA won't be considered at the top law schools. If anybody else has input on 4th takes and its impact on applications, I'd greatly appreciate it..
So... I just checked my December scores (I know late) and I'm lost for words. It was my third take, but... my score dropped. First take cancel (felt incredibly ill, cancelled as soon as exam ended), 2nd take 166, 3rd take 165...
I've been seeing consistent improvement in my PTs for the past 6 months, and were averaging in the 173-74 range for the last month of preparation. Though there was that one weird PT which I bombed out on (I believe PT 81), scoring a 167 a week before my actual exam... and I'm starting to think whether that score psyched me out.
I just can't figure out where I went wrong either because I took the undisclosed test in Asia so I'm just really lost as to what I should do next and am even questioning whether I'm really a good fit for law school... (I can take a guess that LR messed things up, since that's where I make the most silly mistakes when I panic). After all the months of studying, seeing a score drop is incredibly discouraging, especially when I was seeing progress in my PTs.
I worked hard on my college GPA, got a 3.94 from UChicago and am really frustrated about my LSAT scores weakening my application. Should I even go for a fourth attempt in February? In fact, do I still even have a shot at the T14 schools if I take the test 4 times? And not applying for this cycle will mean that I will have taken 2 years of gap year... and of course I plan to go on internships and work on projects if I delay my application but I don't know if such a long break will also hurt my chances at the top law schools. What should I do... any word of advice would be appreciated :(
hello, I'm using google chrome to print the preptest thats been uploaded as a secure document. But every time I press the print button, the printing "job" won't go through my printer. there isn't anything wrong with my printer since I can print other documents without any problem. Has anyone faced similar challenges? I would appreciate if anyone could share some solutions!
Hello,
I've been thinking about canceling my February test score (I took the international one on the 19th) for a couple of days now and can't seem to reach a decision by myself.
It was my first time taking the test and as feared, I ended up panicking as soon as I opened the first section (to the point of my hands shaking uncontrollably), which was usually my favorite section, the logic games. I usually finish with about 5 minutes to spare on average on my PT but on this test, due to wasting the first few minutes freaking out, I actually ended up guessing a few questions (which I've never done before). The next few sections I calmed down but the shaky start really did not help me focus on the harder RC passages, which I also ended up rushing on. In short, this test wasn't optimal for me.
On my fully 5 section timed PTs, I range from 170-174, which I know is quite a big gap. Judging from how awful LG felt for me, I predict that it will possibly be lower than 170, counting in some possibility of panic answers in the RC section too. Now I have such strong urge to cancel this score because I'm aiming for the top tier law schools, and especially with my top choice as Yale, I don't want a score below 170 to hurt my chances. I know Yale likes neither cancellation nor retakes, but I wanted to hear from you guys what looks better - a cancel and a higher score or.. a (potentially very) low score and a higher score?
I'm confident that in my next test I can reach my PT potential by doing more timed tests and working under pressure. A downside though would be that because I took the February (undisclosed) test, I'll never be able to a slight sense of what I got. So what would be best for me?! Thank you all for the help.
Hello!
I'm going to take the February LSAT in a few weeks and obviously I'm freaking out. I have 6 Fresh PTs left (the most recent ones) but I just don't know how to space them out.
Problem is I was hitting an average of 171~3 on my timed PTs but devastatingly, today my score dropped to 167 (I bombed one LR section - 7 wrong, I usually get -2, -3 and Reading was little more difficult than usual). That's almost close to my starting score (165) and I now fear that I haven't been studying the right way. My target score is around a 175, which so far I've only managed to get with BRs.
Should I space out my 6 remaining tests so that I do about 2 tests per week till February, or save most of them till the last week before the test and hope for a jump in my score?? ANY ADVICE WOULD BE INCREDIBLY HELPFUL! Thanks!!
Fellow 7sagers,
I'm in a bind and am in serious need of advice. So it's already been about 10 months since I first started studying for the LSAT, and the June 2017 test was my second attempt, after the first one which I ended up canceling (turns out I was way too underprepared to deal with the test day anxieties and pressures). By the week before the June test day, I had done almost all preptests from 1 to the most recent 80s, and was averaging in the 170s, with the highest score being 177. Of course, I took into consideration that some of these scores were inflated because they were retakes (with about 3 months break).
I felt quite confident leaving the test center in June, feeling that no particular question gave me a hard time and that test difficulty was not much different from that of the numerous PTs I took. Unfortunately, turns out that was false confidence, and I was quite devastated to receive my score of 166, a score that is far below my average PT score. I know that 166 is not the end of the world, but I'm just disappointed and frustrated because despite all the work I've put in, my real test day scores simply do not reflect what I can achieve.
Although I've heard that 3 attempts may not be received so well by top tier schools, nevertheless I've reached the conclusion that I should take it one last time, as I feel like giving up now would be a total waste of what I've invested so far. I have a GPA of 3.93 from University of Chicago, and was really hoping to boost my application with a strong LSAT score.
But the problem is, I simply don't know where and how to begin studying for a third retake. I've used up all the practice tests, gone over the 7sage curriculum multiple times, and am pretty confident (or thought I was) with the fundamentals of each section. From my previous PTs, I know that my RC is the weakest, but I don't know where I went wrong on test day because the tests taken in Asia are all undisclosed tests (am I correct?). I don't know if 7sage has done all it could possibly do for me and whether I should turn to other resources... I think test day pressures have a huge impact on my performance but I'm not sure how to remedy that, or if I will ever be able to.
That brings me to the issue of when I should take my final test, because I'm not sure if I'm currently worn out from long period of intensive studying, or whether I should be gritting my teeth and committing 2 more months to prepare for the September test. I know that September will put me at a better place to apply early for my top choices, but then again I'm thinking, what good would that do if my scores are subpar?
I'm just a bit lost as to how I should approach my third and final exam, all the while writing my personal statements, essays of all sorts. I'm sorry for this lengthy chunk of text but I would tremendously be grateful any kind of advice you guys have for me. I've been thinking about it on my own for a few weeks but am feeling nervous and hesitant about not knowing whats best for me.
thank you so much guys!
@ said:
@ said:
Thank you so much everybody for sharing your thoughts :) Loving the fruitful discussion!
@ your explanation in terms of "at least 1" really cleared things up ! Really helps since I was struggling to explain the lawgic in words..
But I have one question - reading @ 's post about the little caveat confused me a little because he says that "some" requires "skilled-artists" to be non-empty. I understand that "some" does indicate number starting from 1, but isn't the case different from "some... not"? Just a little clarification would be tremendously helpful! :)
I believe @ was looking at it from a different perspective, and in one of those phrasings, there wouldn't even have to be any skilled artists at all. But we aren't talking here about the existence of skilled artists, but whether or not they are famous.
I understand the point he was making there, but also I don't think that LSAT writers really go to that level.
ah righty ho that clears things up! Thank you so much. Now that I understand the logic behind it, I can now comfortably memorize that "not all" and "some.. not" are the same! :D
Thank you so much everybody for sharing your thoughts :) Loving the fruitful discussion!
@ your explanation in terms of "at least 1" really cleared things up ! Really helps since I was struggling to explain the lawgic in words..
But I have one question - reading @ 's post about the little caveat confused me a little because he says that "some" requires "skilled-artists" to be non-empty. I understand that "some" does indicate number starting from 1, but isn't the case different from "some... not"? Just a little clarification would be tremendously helpful! :)
I'm looking at the question stimulus and one of the wrong answers and wondering if these two mean exactly the same thing:
"Not all skilled artists are famous"
"Some skilled artists are not famous"
And if so.. could someone kindly explain the logic behind it?
Here are my thoughts so far:
I understand that Not all ranges from (0-99)
and that Some (1-100) but since it is Some..not (subtracting from 100 range, (100-100), (100-1) --> (0,99)?)
so.. number wise.. they seem to indicate the exact same range?
@ said:
I think it has to do with the language "counts as … if at least". That statement is conveying a definition, and definitions can be seen as bi-conditionals. Being interpreted in a national tradition is defined as doing any one of 3 things: X, Y, Z.
Right @ ! I was thinking something along those lines... That's just not something that I would have known had the correct answer not relied on a biconditional relationship. But next time I'll know if there's some kind of definition, I'll be more open to the idea that bi-condi is implied!
To add a little more, I also found a similar question in PT 57 where the stimulus talks about "THE law" so we have to assume that's the only conditions given, and thus bi-conditional. LSAT is sneaky..!!
Hi all,
I've been struggling to understand this question for quite some time.. What is clearly given in the stimulus is a one way conditional:
IF Authors blah blah... --> A work counts as being interpreted
But the right answer.. basically relies on negating the sufficient conditions given, to reach the conclusion that it can't be interpreted. So it seems to me that the question is assuming that the reverse (so biconditional) holds. I tried to justify this answer by saying that MSS inference questions aren't as strict as MBT, but I'm still a bit puzzled by the inconsistency, as in other questions, we were able to/meant to rule out wrong answers on the basis that it was a mistaken reversal.
Is it something about the wording in this stimulus that necessitates understanding of the "IF" here as a bi-conditional? I'd appreciate any insight into this question!!
Admin note: edited title
https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-78-section-3-question-24/
@ Thank you so much - super helpful! I'm going to sit down and really think about my action plan! :smiley:
@ yeah.. I don't know what I was thinking. I just felt like I had to go through every single PT. BAD idea! hahah. Gonna take a day off today!
@ Thanks for sharing great tips! I woke up this morning with a more positive mindset, telling myself that this opportunity really is a gift. I quickly went over the LR questions I got wrong, and with the exception of 1 or 2 per section, the rest were ones I could have easily gotten right with few more seconds of clear thinking and applying strategies I've learned in the past 2 years.. GAH!
Your tips on pausing and resuming after moments of panic seem really helpful - how do you recommend I practice such mechanism before the real thing? I ask because one side of me always kind of knew that I can't afford to panic, but on the real thing I just seem to go back to my instinctively panicky self.
@ I wasn't cramming full timed PTs because I simply didn't have any left but yeah I think I was experiencing burn out for different reasons :( I studied an average about 6~8 hours per day for straight 2 weeks and perhaps my body is telling me to take a break..! I really do hope the drop in score was an anomaly.. I just keep having doubts that it may be my lack of understanding . For RC especially, even though I felt quite OK (though not fully confident) with the passages, questions, I ended up bombing one of them. That was a real blow. When I'm rushed, I think I have this really bad habit of justifying my way OUT of correct answer choices, somehow having this bias (supplementing it with my outside knowledge/biases) that the answer choice is wrong..? Writing this I realize that that may be one area I could work on before the exam!!
@ Thank you so much! It does help to hear from someone else that I can do it! Next step, I've really got to convince myself!!
@ Thank you for sharing your experience Brian! Yes I'll definitely focus in the next few weeks on calming myself! While taking PT 83 I was even aware that I was starting to lose pace, thinking "oh my god I'm panicking" but didn't take the next step to breathe and re-focus.
I do realize that the eliminating the root cause of my problems, becoming too anxious and influenced by pressure is the best approach. (it's horrible.. I SKIP, as opposed to skim, sentences, misidentify conclusions, PARTIALLY read answer choices) @ I've tried repeating to myself that there are no longer limits on the number of retakes but honestly having spent almost 2 years on LSAT, I can't get rid of the thought that I want (need) to make this (it's my fourth..) my last!! I really don't know how to mentally train myself :/
Thank you guys for the advice!! I really could use some positive thinking :sweat: @ you mentioned focusing on my strengths before my exam but wouldn't it also be helpful to really dissect this PT 83 and work out specifically what mistakes/bad habits emerge under high pressure situations? And to make sure that during my real test.. I will avoid them? I feel like a 10 point reduction is not merely a matter of luck, but demonstrates my rather low comfort level with the LSAT way of thinking (Or is it too late now..)
So I've been studying for LSAT for almost a year now.. and I thought after all the studying, I would naturally be seeing at least a few point increase in my scored full PTs.
But today I took my last ever fresh PT and saw a whopping 10 point decrease from my average scores around 6 months ago (173~174). Given that I took this test in the actual testing site on the day of exam, it is probably an accurate reflection of how I can score under timed/high-pressure conditions.
The really frustrating thing is that.. when I BR questions from past papers (I've taken all the published PTS ranging from 1~82 at least once, most of them twice), I understand fully how to read and approach the questions. Although obviously inflated, I'm able to score almost -0, -1 on LR sections that I have seen before (after having months of rest in between the original and retake). So I thought that I really had a firm grasp of basic logic, as long as I had sufficient time and clear mind when solving the problems. But when I encounter new sections, as shown by today's test scores, my average incorrect answer ranges from 4~5 per section.. :( I felt confident before this test that I had mastered pretty much all the fundamentals of LR, but now I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong..
Looking at the questions I got wrong.. most frequently I miss key words in the stimulus, or just simply have no idea what the stimulus is saying, or become flustered by complex conditionals/inference questions. Some questions.. I was pretty sure that it was the answer, but it turns out it was completely wrong.. So the reasons vary a lot
I also bombed the RC section, getting about 4 more wrong than what I usually score.. Bombed one passage (the last one in the section), got 4 wrong out of 8 on it..D: This kind of performance has actually never happened to me on an RC before.. so I'm a bit shocked about my RC too. Perhaps it's due to the fact that I haven't reviewed any RCs for almost 3 weeks now (I hyper-focused on LR - though that doesn't seem to have been that fruitful..) .. so maybe I've lost my LSAT reading habits.. :S Just lost for words.
Anyway, long story short.. I'm really frustrated, the exam coming up in about 2 weeks will be 4th and FINAL LSAT ever and I honestly don't know what I should do during the next few remaining days. I really need a score higher than 170 (currently 167 highest) so I'm reaching out for help/any words of wisdom to overcome this hurdle that stands in front of me..
Is there going to be a recording of this uploaded? Missed it :'(
Ahhh thank you so much @ for your kindness and thank you to everyone who's given me tremendous support ! There really is nowhere else like 7sage :')
@ I tried to simulate test day conditions as much as possible for my PTs but I'm starting to think perhaps always taking the test in the same spot (my room) made me feel more comfortable and relaxed than I had realized. I also usually took it in utter silence... which may not have been good practice for any distractions on test day.
As you suggested @ I'll definitely try to change up my test taking spot. And start yoga classes too! I've been reviewing some questions for the past few days but it also seems like I have to fine-tune my LR skills because I keep misreading/interpreting the answer choices and choosing answers that appears clearly wrong to me on the BR. Such carelessness on my part must have played a greater role on the real test, coupled with anxiety, partially explaining the drop in my score. D:
Advice needed!! D:
So tomorrow I have an opportunity to take a mock exam in the exact venue that our actual LSAT will be taken in.. BUT I have only ONE fresh PT left (this is my fourth take...). Should I use this opportunity to simulate test conditions and see how I do, and finetune/focus on my weaknesses till 24th June (international test date)? Since I've already studied for so long I have a feeling that I probably won't dramatically increase my scores in the next few weeks... OR the other option is to take the last exam maybe a week later after which I would have had more time to review.. what do you think would be best?!
(Also I think my biggest weakness is dealing with high pressure situations.. my scores fluctuate terribly depending on how confident I feel.. so I am leaning towards taking the fresh one tomorrow in the testing site so that I can get used to the environment.. But of course! your input will help me finalize my decision!)
Thanks!!
@ Thank you for such helpful advice!!! I do have my scrapbook listing all the questions I missed/didn't understand fully when I solved them for the first time. I'll try the flashcard strategy with some new questions and carry them around with me 24 hours! :smiley:
@ Yes! I've selected the ones I didn't review for the December exam so I know that's somewhere to start :)
@ I've actually tried to shorten my time when studying for the December exam, sometimes ending the LR section with about 8 minutes to spare... But then again, on the real exam I still had difficulty emulating such speed and had little time to review. Does this mean I should aim for even shorter time, like.. 20 or 25 minutes?
Ah so helpful @ !! Thanks again it's great to have such a concrete strategy I can follow for the next few days! Time for me to print out some fresh PTs!
@ Ah okay! Thank you so much. That's something for me to try then! After recklessly completing the section, I would have to BR it the same way as I would otherwise in standard BRs right?
PT A, B, C are those from the Superprep right? If so, I have unfortunately used them... haha and I solved C II when studying for the December exam. That leaves me with February 97'? Not sure where I can get hold of that but I'll definitely use it thank you!
Hi @ could you elaborate what you mean by LR confidence drills? Would it be redoing the questions under stricter time constraints? I've seen most of the stimulus multiple times that somehow my brain is fooling myself that I'm confident with the questions. :/
Hi @ I wouldn't say 100% perfect, but it's usually my best section. In my optimal condition, I've managed -0 but most of the times I make silly mistakes (by filling out diagram wrong, misreading question/answer as such) to miss a question or two.
I've pretty much solved all games at least once, the challenging ones about +10 times, mediocre difficulty about +5 times... So I fear that I've run out of new challenges to throw me off and stimulate my thinking brain :(
@ during the December exam, LG was easy (I heard was particularly easy this time) so I finished 5 minutes left to spare. I had two RC sections, both finished exactly on time but had to rush/make intellectual guesses on maybe 2/3 questions on each section. For my LRs I felt most chased by time, for one section I circled about 4 questions to come back later but in the end I had only about 2/3minutes left so I could only double check one of them. :( (I presume this is where I lost most of my points because for some LR stimulus, I had no idea what it was saying...)
Writing this I'm starting to realize pacing would also be something for me to work on...
Thank you @ I'll definitely have to try a more thorough scrapbook. Just one more question, is there any specific reason why you chose to focus on PT 36-50 for your LRs? Did you find the LR questions in those PTs more useful than those in other PTs, or was it just random? :)
Hi @! I cancelled my first attempt.. a good day to see how terribly anxious I could be on test day... then my next two scores were 166. :( Frustrating... I had changed my tactics from my 2nd to 3rd attempt and I wonder if that change just didn't work for me.
@ said:
For everyone struggling with LR right now, you can do it ! I took a step back and stopped thinking about learning each question type individually and looked more at what I was reading for each and every time.In one month, it’s made all the difference. This exam is all about the subtleties and it’s like a whole new world when that finally starts clicking.
@ Congratulations you deserve it!! :) I have a question for you though... I've been thinking that learning each question type was the key to mastering the LR section... but after seeing my December score as well as your story, I'm beginning to think that it may not be working for me. Could you elaborate a little more on how you switched tactics and what you are now looking for in each question? My LR section is so shaky... on good days I can get about -3 in two LR sections, but on other days can be about -7... I'd appreciate some words of advice! Thank you :)
Hi all, after taking in some words of advice from the 7sagers I have decided to take my fourth LSAT (yikes), knowing that my previous scores were far below my potential and that it would be a waste not take advantage of my relatively high GPA that I really worked hard for in college.
Now that I've made the hard decision, I'm a little lost as to how I should go about studying... If my PTs were around 173-174 but actual score 166, I believe that some of my fundamentals were shaky, but since my 7sage materials have all expired (happily thinking that my December would be my last LSAT ever), I'm not sure where I should turn to. I'm also not sure how I should approach PTs because I've pretty much seen all the PTs at least once, and am scared that just a more thorough BR would be insufficient to guarantee a higher score on my next exam. I've skimmed through my past BR notes/scrapbook to see where I was lacking when I went into the December exam, but I can't really get a good sense of my specific weaknesses (other than, being weak in NA/flaw questions, conditional arguments in general)... I'm so lost as to where I should begin...
Anyone have some words of wisdom for me?! :(
@ I'm so inspired by your story!! I wanted to ask you how exactly you worked on LR questions you had already solved/seen. My LR scores are completely unstable, which is probably why my actual test score was 6 points lower than my average...
Even though I told myself that I should look at old/solved questions with a critical eye, I couldn't help myself becoming comfortable with the answer choices, somehow fooling myself that I knew/mastered skills more than I actually had. I also made a scrapbook of sort which analyzed my mistakes and future tips for each type of question, yet.. seems like I was missing something given my December score :( When you re-did your PT LR questions, did you have a special technique/formula you could share?
Hi @ , thanks so much for your advice. Could I just ask one more question (or anyone else that has some advice), though I know that this is probably something that I know best... I'm wondering if given my current situation, it'd be best to take my 4th LSAT in February or wait it out till June...
Having taken the undisclosed test in Asia, I still don't really have a good sense of where I went wrong, whether it was reading or LR that I messed up on. Though I can predict that both were problematic given the huge drop from my practice tests. So not only am I worried about fine-tuning my weak areas in about a month, I also feel mentally unstable, having lost much confidence in what/how I have studied so far. I guess the "pro" side of taking the February exam is that I could take a shot at upper tier schools this cycle... but that's of course ONLY IF... I break the 170s...
On the other hand, June is pretty far in the future and having already committed a year to LSAT, I'm worried about the burn out if I commit more months to (re)studying. But I guess I feel more secure about having more time to work on my weaknesses/figure out overcoming text day anxieties and such...
That's my thought so far... and though I'm leaning towards June.. I'm just very averse to wasting my time which makes it hard for me to give up the February exam and get it over with :( Agh
@ said:
@ said:
Hey guys,
I just took the LSAT in Asia. I had two RC sections and I’m trying to identify which one was experimental.
Did any one of you who took the test in Asia have a passage on George Balanchine (baller choreographer)?
I also got two RCs, one had George Balanchine, a comparative passage about reductionist, Mayan civilization (was the US experimental also about drought?) and a female scientist whose name I couldn't remember (she specialized in variance or something); the other one had a law passage about formalism, Bebop jazz, a comparative passage about arbitration clause in business contract and polyester.
I did really bad in the second RC, especially for the Bebop jazz passage... if it's the real section, then my tears will revive the Mayan civilization.
Emmy noether should be the lady whose name you can't remember. And since Emmy noether and Mayan civilization were both experimental sections on the US exam.. I presume the other section with the bebop passage was the real one D:
@ said:
Hey guys,
I just took the LSAT in Asia. I had two RC sections and I’m trying to identify which one was experimental.
Did any one of you who took the test in Asia have a passage on George Balanchine (baller choreographer)?
I read that US experimental had Mayan civilization.. was that in the same section as the passage on George balanchine?
Thank you @... as you said I feel like I would gain more than lose from a fourth try... the hurdle left is convincing my parents to let me take another gap year... :'(
I think one big challenge during my last preparation was that I was never able to fully simulate test day pressures during my PTs. I had seen more or less 90% of the PTs, and even though I did not remember the content of the questions, somehow I was able to be more confident, and thus more relaxed with the correctness of the answer I chose. So if I prepare for the fourth take, I fear that the I will repeat the same mistake of under-preparing for the pressures of test day (especially because I'm incredibly sensitive to such pressures). Do you, or anybody have any advice on how I should go about studying in my case? :(