Hi everyone,

Today I took the January LSAT as my first official test. Overall I feel like I did fairly well (Don't think I bombed any section). Although this may be a bad habit, during my practice PTs I usually put a little mark on the answer sheet next to the number of question I choose to skip. The mark I make is directly to the left of the question number and is usually completely outside the column (medium to dark shade). I like to mark questions this way so I get a bird's eye view of the questions I circled so I don't have to flip through the section to look for them.

I am now aware how this could be risky, since the answer sheet says to make no stray marks. I don't want to lose points due to a machine reading error. If I get my score back and it is unusually low, I may submit a request to LSAC to have my test hand-scored. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I didn't want to erase the marks after the time was called and risk getting kicked out. I kinda feel like a moron for not catching this behavior before hand in my practice PTs. Does anyone have experience with marking on the answer sheet?

This bad habit could cost me $100, but if my score improves based off hand-scoring it will be well worth it.

Hi everyone,

I recently joined the ultimate+ course after using the "lawschooli Mastermind" program for about 6 months (wish I had found 7sage earlier). Although I did establish a solid foundation on all aspects of the LSAT using the Mastermind program, I still have a few significant gaps in learning. I have already signed up for the June 2018 test and can still take it if I choose. As of right now, I am not PTing in my desired score range of at least 165. Since I am not a complete beginner at the LSAT, I plan on using the September 2018 test as my new date (assuming my PT score follows).

Would it be a bad idea to take the June 2018 test, knowing that I am not PTing in my desired range, in order to get over the feeling of taking the real test? (Basically overcoming "1st test anxiety") Since my plan is to be fully prepared by September I want the September test to go as smoothly as possible. Basically my idea for taking the June test would be to see what doing the real thing feels like apart from my full PT testing practice. Should I take the June test, knowing I am not as prepared as I should be, OR wait until September when I am hopefully PTing in my desired score range? Any advice is appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I recently completed my 4 year tour of active duty in the military. I am considering joining the reserves to maintain some of my health care and retirement benefits, while earning a paycheck. If I were to join the reserves it would require a 1 weekend per month and 2 weeks a year work obligation. I am hesitant to do this before I apply to law school. Will admissions counselors look down on my application if they see that I am in the reserves? Joining the reserves means I could be called at any time to service regardless of my school/work obligations. Are law schools willing to work with students in the reserves? I know my prior years of active duty will look great on the resume and personal statement part of my application. Does anyone have any experience or know of someone doing this?

Hi everyone,

I would like some advice on what I should do. I am registered for the January 2019 test, which is 1 month and 11 days away. I have yet to reach my goal score of 165 on a PT. I have taken 8 PTs (1per week) since I completed the CC, my score breakdown is as follows:

PT37: Actual - 152 BR: 166 (RC:-6, LR:-12, LG:-11 LR:-10)

PT38: Actual - 154 BR: 171 (LR:-9, LG:-9, RC:-9, LR:-9)

PT39: Actual - 158 BR: 165 (LG:-7, LR:-10, RC:-7, LR:-8)

PT40: Actual - 155 BR: 165 (LR:-6, LG:-5, LR:-13, RC:-10)

PT41: Actual - 156 BR: 166 (LR:-10, LG:-7, LR:-8, RC:-8)

Then I decided to skip to the modern tests to give myself the best shot at a potential January LSAT

PT73: Actual - 151 BR: 166 (RC:-14, LR:-8, LG:-10, LR:-10)

PT74: Actual - 150 BR: 165 (LR:-8, LG-14, RC:-13, LR:-9)

PT75: Actual - 152 BR: 167 (LR:-13, RC:-11, LR:-8, LG:-8)

Right now I am trying to adapt to the perceived heightened difficulty of the newer exams, particularly in RC (although I need to make improvements across the board). Was it a bad idea to skip from PT42 to 73?

My rational for wanting to test in January is as that I am an anxious test taker and feel like experiencing the real test will allow me to be more relaxed if I have to retake (probable). Also, since most law schools only care about the highest score and there is no limit to how many times one can test, I feel like I might as well try.

I am also registered for March 2019 and plan on taking June and July if need be.

I work part time while studying for the test and will continue to do so until I reach my target. My daily study schedule looks like this:

7 days a week:

from PTs)

This makes it all the more discouraging as my score has gone down, but I'm confident I will reach my goal eventually.

I feel as if the majority of my missed points stem from sacrificing accuracy in the name of trying to get 2 passes at the questions in LR. When I take a fresh PT I usually get to the last question in 29-30 minutes, but have rushed through and doubtless circled too many questions to review the rest in 5 minutes.

Should I take January to get the real "game-day experience" and hopefully feel more relaxed when I go for a re-take or do I postpone? My gut says to take a shot.

Any advice is appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I am finishing up the CC soon and will begin taking full PTs with BR shortly after. What is everyone's schedule for taking full PTs / BR? Do you take a full, proctored PT on one day and then fully complete BR on the next? Do you begin BR on the same day you finish a full PT? Basically, I am asking how long it takes a person to both take a full PT and do BR to the point of full understanding. I know it will be different for everyone based on skill level and mental endurance. I am asking to get a rough idea of how many practice tests I can get through in a week. I plan on taking the September 2018 LSAT and will only have 2 months and 17 days (most of which is full time study) to take full PTs / BR. Of course, I will push back my test date until November if my desired score does not follow. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

Is there anyone out there who primarily practiced with 4 section PTs, took the actual LSAT, and wished they had practiced with 5 sections? In other words, did taking the actual lsat throw anyone off due to it containing an extra section?

I know in the course J.Y. says something about 4 section tests being sufficient and that the adrenaline of test day will help you get through 5 sections. Can anyone confirm this through experience? Of course it will be different for each person. I don’t want to canabalize a fresh PT just to simulate 5 sections, but think it may be in my best interest. Maybe a half and half approach would be smart?

Hi everyone,

I am registered to take my first official LSAT in January of 2019 (assuming I am PTing in my target range). Is there any advice regarding why a person should not take a non-disclosed LSAT? I understand that non-disclosed means I will only receive my score and percentile. Is it worth it to take the LSAT for the first time without having access to what problems you missed? I feel like I will have a decent understanding of my weak areas before I test (Analytics), but if I do not hit my target score I will not have a clear way forward to see what I need to review. I plan on applying in September of 2019 so I am motivated to take the test as many times as I need to before then. Any thoughts?

Hi everyone,

I recently just took my first fully timed PT after completing the CC. I did not take a diagnostic test so I don't know how much I would have improved by. I got a 152 on PT 37 with a BR of 166. My section breakdown is as follows:

Section 1 RC: -6 / BR: -4

Section 2 LR: -12 / BR: -6

Section 3 LG: -11 / BR: -0

Section 4 LR: -10 / BR: -4

I'm disappointed with this score, as I was hoping it would be closer to 160. I have fool-proofed 1-35 by individual game and am working on finishing the FPing 1-35 by sections. For the past several days leading up to the test I was going -3 or less on logic game sections. During the PT I finished logic games on time, but I think I was so stressed out with the clock that I made dumb errors on easy questions.

During the BR process the games seemed much easier and the inferences really stood out to me, maybe since I was more relaxed with no clock. To fix the issue I plan on continuing to FP 1-35 by section and the new games I complete as I do PTs.

For LR I feel like I know how to solve each question type, but the time constraint + mental exhaustion seems to bring my score down. When I BR LR I can quickly and clearly see why my answer was wrong. (except for some 4 and 5 star questions).

Honestly I don't really have a strategy for RC, although I have been practicing with the LRS method.

The somewhat good news is that my goal score is 165 so at least I know I am theoretically capable of scoring in that range. I don't plan on applying until September 2019 so I have plenty of time and 4-5 attempts to take the test.

I plan on using Analytics to hammer out all my weak areas for LR.

Is there anything else I can do to decrease the stress when I take a fresh PT? I would assume my familiarity with taking PTs will lower my stress after a while.

Does anyone have any advice on how to best improve? I have watched the Post-cc Webinar and plan on implementing all the strategies offered. I would imagine I probably just have to serve my time now as it relates to drilling, intensives, FPing, and BRing.

Hi everyone,

So far I have taken 9 RC timed sections. On all 9 RC timed sections I do at worst -10 and at best -7. My BR score is usually around -3. I am looking for advice on how to improve from here. I usually finish all four passages right on time, meaning I typically only have around 30 seconds to spare at the end. My average passage reading time is around 3 minutes. I notice I tend to spend most of my time on the questions, I have been trying to implement a skipping strategy so I don't spin my wheels on any one question.

Strategies I have tried:

Spending 10 minutes on each of the first 3 passages by confirming as many answers as I can by referring back to the passage and then essentially speed reading and "throwing a hail Mary for the 4th passage"

Increasing my speed + skipping questions so I finish all passages and have a reasonable shot at answering questions - this is my most recent strategy.

I have seen the slightly greater improvements using the second strategy.

I do not have a consistent notation strategy for marking up the passage, I have just been focusing on understanding as much as I can and underlining what I believe to be important sentences.

What is the best way to improve from here?

Should I continue to drill RC sections, knowing that the actual test consists of 4 passages at a time, or should I work on perfecting my abilities on single passages?

I would love to break this plateau. Ideally I would like my average RC section to be -5 or better.

Any thoughts appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I am nearly complete with the CC and am looking to develop a successful post CC strategy. I have already viewed the post CC webinar and plan to follow the advice provided. Excluding the advice that is provided in the post CC webinar, does anyone have any personal post CC study strategies they would like to share? I know this is an open ended question that largely depends on my areas of weakness / target score. (165+)

What, if any, are some strategies you wish you would have known prior to beginning your post CC studies?

For example: How exactly did you go about fool-proofing LG (by section or game type?), did you keep an LSAT journal for troublesome topics...etc.

I am open to any advice in LR, LG, or RC.