User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Joined
Apr 2025
Subscription
Free

Hello all! I'm signed up for the September LSAT and have been testing in the lows 160s. It terms of preparation, I have completed 70% of the 7sage curriculum and have taken only 3 LSAT practice tests. I am already planning on taking the December LSAT because I am absolutely confident I can make at least a 168 merely by improving on LG, which is the part of the curriculum I have not gone over. I have also been missing around 3 questions in RC and around 8 across both sections of LR, so I know I could also make some improvements there.

Typically I would just say I'll withdraw from/cancel the September test, as I already know I plan to retake. However I am taking the LSAT abroad, as I'm in Europe at the moment (actually in a country that doesn't offer it, requiring me to fly to Paris to take the test). I made this whole plan several months ago, assuming I would be ready. Long story short, I'm not and I know that I am not performing at my score potential.

At this point, I can't get the money back on the flights/hotel/or test in Paris, so should I just go ahead and take the test, knowing I'll probably get a 162 or so? I am not planning on submitting my apps until January when the December results are out anyway. I've already read up quite a bit on whether the December LSAT is "too late" and have realized with a 170+ score, it really isn't. I also have read the policies of each school I plan on applying to in regard to multiple LSAT scores, and the general consensus seems to be they will consider the higher one, and give you the option of sending in an explanation if there is a big discrepancy between the scores.

Like all of us, it has been beat into my head to not take the LSAT until you feel ready for it. Is it irresponsible of me to just take it anyway and then explain the lower score away on my application?

Also, as an aside, I am now in a position where I could devote around 20-25 hours per week for the next two weeks to studying. I know predicting point improvement is hugely difficult, as it depends on the person, but do you think I would potentially raise my score another 3 points or so?

I really appreciate y'alls help. Just reading through the discussions here on 7sage is helpful, the community seems so genuinely helpful and pleased when other's succeed.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Wednesday, Oct 30 2019

I'd also be glad to practice but am also taking in November :D

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Saturday, Jun 30 2018

I was really hoping to pull a 170 but ended with a 168, which is just a point off my average so not too surprised, though of course I wish I had scored on the other side of my score band haha. If anything it does show me the test is quite consistent ! On to October :)

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Sunday, Apr 29 2018

GPA or no GPA, getting into a T14 is typically going to require a pretty solid LSAT score. I would say that should be your primary focus at this point.

I think law schools just want to know that you are capable of performing at a high level and will be successful in the classroom. Because you don't have a GPA, this may be a little harder to show but not impossible. You are going to need stellar recommendations from professors you've worked with closely and I also think it will be key to write a personal statement that explains this intersection of interests between art and law.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Saturday, Apr 28 2018

Since this thread seems to be full of high 75th percentile + scorers @ @ @ @ , what do you think made the difference for you to jump from high 160s/low 170s to the high 170s? Just intense BR?

My last 5 PTs have been 168, 169, 165 (oops), 171, 169. Getting 100% on LG. Missing 5ish on RC, 3-5 on each LR. I typically BR RC to -0/-1 and BR LR to -2 or so on each section. I'm trying to take it in Juneeeee so 6 weeks left.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Saturday, Apr 28 2018

I think you should stay on the waitlist. If I were in your situation, it would be an extremely tough call to make based on hypotheticals...I too would have to wait until the actual moment of potential acceptance to really know. I think it will become clear then, like when you are torn between two options so you flip a coin to see what you truly want when it's in the air..something about being in the actual moment always seems to make decisions easier.

I understand from Harvard's perspective why they are so serious about only having100% would attends on their waitlist, makes it much easier for them as they try to fill out the class as efficiently as possible. But it's not like you are a guaranteed no and you just want to find out if you could have gotten in to boost your ego or something...you still seem to be at least slightly in the land of quandary and potentially would accept an offer.

And if you ultimately don't accept the offer, I imagine you will respond swiftly so as not to delay acceptance to another hopeful. No harm no foul in my opinion. Harvard just may have to send a few extra emails !

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Thursday, Dec 27 2018

@ good tip! thanks! I am mainly interested in the waiver so I don't have to pay the app fees but super handy for the LSAT as well. I've already taken it with a decent score but was planning for a summer 2019 retake anyway, so maybe I'll go for July.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Friday, May 25 2018

I don’t have much advice for you, as I’m kind of in the same boat though your scores are a bit more solid than mine, I’ve had 169s, 170s for the past 7-10 exams and and two mid 160s ...I’m also averaging -0/1 on LG and seem to have gotten RC down to a max -4 but usually -3/2. LR is so frustrating though!! I get 3/4 wrong on one section and 5/7 wrong on the other it seems. Recently as I’ve been analyzing my tests, I’ve noticed that for a significant number of the LR questions I’ve missed, I was stuck between two answers and chose the wrong one. I know these are killing my timing too....need to be more aggressive with the skipping myself.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Thursday, May 24 2018

How exciting!!! Congratulations!!

User Avatar

Tuesday, Jan 23 2018

lindseyemitchell753

Reading Comprehension Strategy

Hello all!

I purchased 7sage last summer with the intention of taking the September LSAT. I had a 158 diagnostic, BR of 174. Ending up kind of half-assing my way through the CC, never truly focusing on any particular strategy for any of the three sections or forcing myself to make sure I truly understood the logic. When September rolled around, I knew I wasn't ready but decided to take anyway (I made this big post about whether or not I should, I had to take it abroad in Paris) with the plan on taking again in September. I scored a 163, which was pretty much what I expected.

I continued studying through September/October and made incremental improvements - took three more PTs and got a 164, 166, and 167, with BRs from 175-177. I then came to the realization that December was not enough time to reach my potential. So I decided to postpone the whole cycle and now I'm shooting for June and I'm pretty pumped about this choice! Woo!

I've been re-doing the CC more meticulously this time. I am currently in the midst of fool proofing the LG bundle...I've made it to game 12 and for the last 5 games I've gotten 2-3 wrong the first time through timed. So I feel like I am on track for that section and am comfortable enough to do it alongside the CC, since some of the material is review.

For LR, the CC + the few PT's I've done have helped me identify weak areas, as there are definitely patterns in the questions I am missing. Particularly SA, NA, and Parallel Flaw questions. I seem to be on average missing 5 or so per section. My hope is that through question type drilling and returning to the CC I will be able to get this down to a consistent 2 or less over the next 4.5 months.

Reading comprehension is where I am a bit lost because I don't feel like I really know where to begin in terms of practicing. I miss around 4/5 per section ... but that has been as high as 7 and as low as 1. I think I'm a little bewildered as to how to approach this section due as I've always been very strong in RC in other standardized tests, but obviously LSAT RC is a whole different beast... I know some people do a lot of marking, underlining, etc. on the passage while others do none at all. Just curious about how y'all have approached the RC section from the get-go/how you figured out what strategy worked for you.

Just for some more details, if I got score of 174 I would be pretty thrilled. I realize I still have plenty of work ahead and just want to make an effective use of my time, as I'm sure we all do. I can devote 20-25 hours per week to the LSAT, I'm just working part-time. My undergrad GPA is a 3.76 with a degree in global policy and a couple random minors in biology and French for a small LA school. By the time I attend law school, I'll have been out of school for 4 years, 2 of which I spent teaching English in France and 2 spent in Iceland getting a MA in International Affairs (free tuition wooo!). I would love love love to go to Columbia or NYU, as I'm quite interested in International law but will definitely apply to a slew of schools.

Any input on RC would be much appreciated, as well as general feedback regarding how realistic my goal is. Thank you thank you !

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Tuesday, May 22 2018

Thanks for your responses all @ @ @ It's just such a bummer to get a 173 last week and then immediately follow it up with a 164.

In terms of identifying what is changing to cause these fluctuations ...I don't feel like it is anything environmental, though I do think I could up my exercise/meditation/diet regime over the next few weeks. It's not in bad shape to begin with but I think I should probably be a bit more intentional of scheduling time in which my brain must focus on things other than the LSAT. I am waitressing and I also tutor, both of which I can do while still thinking about the LSAT and I think it is starting to drive me a little nuts haha.

I feel confident with LG. Even on sections where there is a randomly hard or out there game (like in this PT 72, game 4), I still miss an absolute max of 3, with 0/-1 being much more common. I feel like I've been able to get my RC more stable in the past month. Whenever things go south, like in today's PT (-6), I can pretty much pinpoint it to time management. I got all the questions but 1 right in the first 3 passages and missed the other 5 from the last passage because I was only beginning reading when 5 minutes were called.

LR is the real problem...while the analytics feature has been helpful in identifying my problem areas (SA, NA, Parallel flaw, Weakening), it seems so random as to whether I miss 2 in a section vs. 7. What happens more typically is I do really well in one section (-2) and then not as hot in the second (-4/-5). Like I said earlier, today I missed 7 in both. I am going to really just try to do focused drilling of the questions I've missed over the last 10 or so PTs to see if I can identify commonality.

I would be open to taking it September...it would be my third take, but it is hard for me to imagine cancelling June considering I have broken the 170s several times.

User Avatar

Monday, May 21 2018

lindseyemitchell753

Dealing with fluctuations.

I am signed up for th June lsat. My recent scores have been 165, 168, 169, 169, 171, 165, 170, 173. And then today I got a 164 on pt 72. I know sometimes we just have bad days but I went into this test rested and confident, I just don’t know what happened. Trying not to let it bring me down but I am experiencing some anxiety for sure with only 3 weeks left to go. While I’ve hit 170+ several times, I just don’t feel solidly there and would be pretty bummed if I score below it on test day. Sadly July is not an option for me as I’ll be abroad. How should I proved. LR seems to give me the most trouble, today I missed a combined 14 Questions there alone

User Avatar

Friday, Dec 21 2018

lindseyemitchell753

LSAC fee waiver extension

Hello! I was originally going to be applying for law school this year but decided to get a master's degree first instead, so I will not be applying until next application cycle. I had already been approved for the LSAC fee waiver, which will expire in August of 2019. I am wondering if any of y'all have experience with renewing your fee waiver? Is it as simple as just reapplying/supplying them with updated tax info in 2019?

Thanks!

I am sure we all have spent a little too much time poring over the median admission stats for our top choices and studying the spreadsheets of the info of all admitted students...and then comparing our own data and trying to figure out what it takes to get a little (or a lot) $$.

SO I thought it would be fun for us to share stories of people we know who have worked hard, gotten into their dream schools, and bonus points if they got a scholarship. I'll start!

I know a guy who went to a little-known undergrad school and applied to law school in two cycles. First year he got a full ride with a high 160s LSAT score to the University of Washington but wasn't feeling Seattle...he retook the LSAT the following September, got a low 170s and applied that cycle to most of the T14...and then retook the LSAT again in December, got a high 170s score and Harvard and Stanford admitted him almost immediately, which could have been coincidental timing buuut I doubt it. He went with Harvard. I wish I knew the exact stats, but to ask always feels just a little too nosey.

So moral of the story...don't be afraid to keep working for that high score because it will pay off!

User Avatar

Monday, Oct 16 2017

lindseyemitchell753

I'm in a Quandary. To Upgrade?

So we are around 7 weeks out from the December Test. I have the premium package on 7sage and I am wondering if it is worth it at this point to upgrade to Ultimate+. I completed the CC like 5 weeks ago and do return to it frequently.

I am currently missing around 10-13 on LR for both sections. Normally what happens is I go -3/4 on one section and around -7/8 on the other, not sure why but it is pretty consistent. While there is some randomness to the types of questions I'm getting wrong, there are definitely patterns as well. I consistently miss at least a couple SA or NA questions and also seem to struggle with flaw and parallel argument questions. Obviously it affects my test performance as I miss the question, but what's worse is that when I arrive at one of these types of questions on a PT I immediately think "oh no" because I'm worried I'll get it wrong. I then spend far too long on these questions, which sucks because when I BR I realize some of them are actually quite easy (rated around 2 or 3 difficulty stars). So obviously this lack of confidence is affecting me.

I've stopped PTing because it seems ineffective at the moment. I would like to drill LR questions by type. I've looked back to the CC several times at this point to review my trouble areas, so the questions in those problem sets are really familiar to me now. I also obviously have access to the questions I've missed in past PTs (I've taken about 8) and can sort by type using the analytics feature but I would like more.

Does this basically require me to get the Ultimate + ? I now wish I had just gotten it from the beginning, but when I initially began the 7sage curriculum only a month or so before the September test (woooo for underestimating the difficulty of this exam...) I knew I wouldn't have time to complete the ult+ package.

Another thing is that except for the LSAT I sat for in September, I have only taken rather "old" PTs. I know the difference is minimal, but I was also wondering if I should familiarize myself with newer tests, which are available in Ultimate +.

WHY is this post so long, what happened to my ability to be succinct.

TLDR: Is it worth upgrading to Ult+ with only 7 weeks to go mainly for additional LR problem sets?

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Tuesday, Jun 12 2018

@

Wow I'm so sorry, that truly does sound awful and so distracting! It is unfathomable to me how the proctors can be so unaware and just rude...are they not given guidelines for their own behavior by LSAC? I'd imagine they do have a set of rules to follow and likely just disregard them or they think they are following them because they just don't get how distracting all those little sounds and whispers can be.

I've been lucky with both my LSAT experiences, had great proctors who obviously were aware of the gravity of this test. I do think the good proctors likely outweigh the bad, but it sucks that there is even a chance that you could spend all this time and effort preparing only to have your test day kind of ruined by something completely out of your control.

Sorry again and hope your complaint works out :(

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Monday, Jun 11 2018

@ said:

It was about interviewing witnesses.

Oh yeah! Man I wish I could remember which passage I found to be most difficult but I just can't haha.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Monday, Jun 11 2018

I think the power plant and wetlands questions were hard for me too...but I have the absolute worst memory for LR questions. I've like blocked them all out haha.What were the RC passages - cooked food/teeth, sulfates/global warming, literature genres...what was the fourth?

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Monday, Jun 11 2018

yeah real games was the one with WXYZ and the bonds. I had three LR as well...brutal just in the fact that it's so much LR but I didn't find any of the three sections to be crazy difficult. Hard to know how I feel about this test haha. Unfortunately the last game on LG kind of tripped me up so I had to guess on two questions because I ran out of time. Otherwise not too bad. Don't know how to feel about RC.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Friday, May 11 2018

All of you soundtrack lovers, do you ever listen to "The Score" with Edmund Stone ? Comes on public radio stations...it is pretty sweet, he will sometimes interview composers and typically devotes a show to the work of one composer or to the score of one movie. @ @ @

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Monday, Jun 11 2018

Don’t freak out (I say, even tho I’ve done exactly the same thing). I’m alsi scoring in the high 160s, sometimes 170s and got a 163 the other day. And I’m taking the test tomorrow. Also if it helps, I found 176 PT to be quite challenging...I missed like 9 on one LR section. Take a short break, don’t freak out, move on. This is just a blip!

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Thursday, May 10 2018

@ sounds like it went really well. Wooo for the musical theater connection!!

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Thursday, May 10 2018

@ yes I just spoke to someone from Spivey a couple days ago and she told me this. I guess if you do sign up, you’d probably want to confirm that with whoever you’ll be working with. But yeah, save that money haha.

On a more general note, it is definitely a tough call deciding to invest in the consult. It definitely is expensive and hard to know for sure if it will make a huge difference. Right now my gut is telling me to splurge a little, so I will probably end up doing some sort of consulting even if I don’t opt for the big package.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Thursday, May 10 2018

@ Just so you know, you can buy the cheaper package with Spivey and then upgrade to the full $5,000 package if you do end up needing additional help with scholarships or waitlists. The upgrade is just the difference of price between the two packages, so unless you anticipate needing a lot of help in the post admissions department, I think it makes more sense to save money and just opt for the cheaper package.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Wednesday, May 09 2018

I haven't tried rishi teas! I drink yogi teas quite a bit and I like some of stash's caffeinated blends (like breakfast in Paris). I'll have to try!!

Bedtime routine is super important. I think minimizing screen time is huge, I need to be better about that as well.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Wednesday, May 09 2018

@ Thanks! That makes complete sense. Can't afford to be missing the meaning of the questions stems at this point ... It was one of three questions I missed in the whole section and when I realized why I felt pretty silly!

I am a little confused about questions in which a scientist/critic/psychologist/whatever will state their opinion on something, often giving context and then their own argument. Then the question stem will ask "The scientist's argument proceeds by..."

A good example of this is Question 20 from PT 68 section 3. I missed this question in timed conditions and in BR, seemingly because I just misunderstood what it was asking me to look for. I took "proceeds by" to mean what comes before the actual argument, so the context, and I selected answer choice E, even though JY just breezes past this one in the explanation video. Now I see that my brain tricked me into thinking the question was actually "precedes by" rather than "proceeds by."

I am certain I have come across similarly worded questions before, though I don't think they are super common. When I do encounter these questions, are they just asking me about the structure of the argument ?

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Wednesday, May 09 2018

So exciting! Did they give you any hints about when you'd hear something back? What was it like ?

User Avatar

Tuesday, Feb 06 2018

lindseyemitchell753

How much harder has RC become in the later tests?

Hey all,

Another RC topic here. I've only been drilling from early PT's, PT 35 being the latest. I've only taken full timed PTs from the 30s and 40s. I've heard that RC becomes more challenging, LG becomes a bit more straightforward, and LR stays about the same? For all y'all who've taken a more extensive number of PT's, would you agree with this?

Just wondering if I should move my focus to more recent tests.

Also I sometimes procrastinate by beginning new discussions.

Thanks !

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Saturday, May 05 2018

@ I can definitely relate. My original plan was law school right out of college or maximum one year in between. When I begin, I will have been out four full years, so starting at 26. Making that mental transition from thinking I needed to hurry up took some time...that first year out of college, when I came to the realization I would actually be delaying another year, I had a few months of constantly thinking about how old I would be when I finished law school, what that meant for my life, whether it was a bad thing, all of that jazz. And then I just settled into the idea and have really tried to take advantage of the time in-between. I think it has made me a more well-rounded applicant, I feel more committed to wanting to go to law school than ever before, I've narrowed my interests, gained work/life experience, and honestly had a really great time.

Try to view this time off of school as an opportunity for growth, no matter what it is you are doing. I would almost guarantee it will make your law school experience, when you do go, a better one.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Thursday, Dec 05 2019

If I were you, I would make the language a little punchier and more specific. Like for the first one, maybe say some thing like "As a child, I was held back in Kindergarten because I struggled to count. On July 15, 2018, I pass my last CPA accounting exam. Things change."

I think "things change" is take it or leave it, first thing I thought of haha, but I do think in general it's nice to include detailed and to not write in a passive tense.

Hello!

Just wondering if anyone is planning on applying for school specific scholarships or programs. For example, Georgetown has the Global Law Scholars program that requires a separate application to be submitted around the same deadline as the regular app. I don't think it necessarily comes with a scholarship, but it is a program you have to apply for from the beginning (can't get in as a 2L).

Has anyone come across similar programs? I realize most merit scholarships you don't actually apply for beyond the standard application.

Hello all. Perhaps this was a question that was touched upon in the recent resume webinar, which I wasn't able to attend (it didn't begin until 1 am here in Iceland) BUT I thought maybe y'all could give me some guidance. I am wondering how/if it's appropriate or normal to include information about past research projects you've done on a resume (or somewhere else in the application process). While the work I did in undergrad was not law related at all, it was published in an undergraduate research journal. And I am currently working on an international law-related thesis-type paper for my grad program. I genuinely want to share with admissions committees what I've been working on because it's really interesting to me, not just because I'm looking for another way of padding my application. This is more true for my grad level writing than undergrad however. So I was just wondering if the best place to do this would be incorporating it into my personal statement? Or am I missing something?

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Friday, May 04 2018

This is terrible advice. Law schools definitely don't discriminate against those who "sat out" for a couple of years, especially if you were working or doing something during that time.

The idea of transferring stresses me out. Like having to go through ANOTHER application process in the midst of 1L sounds awful.

You do you, don't listen to these guys.

User Avatar
lindseyemitchell753
Thursday, May 03 2018

Try to view it as a blessing in disguise :) At least this year there is July and you don't have to wait until September!

User Avatar

Sunday, Sep 03 2017

lindseyemitchell753

Adding Additional Transcripts to my LSAC Page

Hello!

Just a quick question: Following my undergrad graduation in 2015, I took 3 online economics classes from a local community college in order to fulfill prerequisites for a master's program I was planning on applying to. I ended up changing my mind and didn't apply, but I was wondering if I am required to have the community college send those transcripts into the LSAC? From what I understand only the undergraduate level work that you completed before receiving your degree is calculated in your GPA..

Thanks!

Confirm action

Are you sure?