So, you wouldn't be interested in pursuing a legal career if it doesn't entail going to a top school? Thats what I'm getting from the 169 comment. The answer to that question is probably relevant to your goals and interests.
I have a couple of suggestions for remembering the material: First, take your time in the passage.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Second, focus on the author. What are they doing in their argument? How does everything attach back to the main line of reasoning and point of the author? If you need help, feel free to reach out. I love RC, and went from -15 to -1 in practices!
I have a couple of suggestions for remembering the material: First, take your time in the passage.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Second, focus on the author. What are they doing in their argument? How does everything attach back to the main line of reasoning and point of the author? If you need help, feel free to reach out. I love RC, and went from -15 to -1 in practices!
I have a couple of suggestions for remembering the material: First, take your time in the passage.
I cannot emphasize this enough. Second, focus on the author. What are they doing in their argument? How does everything attach back to the main line of reasoning and point of the author? If you need help, feel free to reach out. I love RC, and went from -15 to -1 in practices!
I emailed LSAC today inquiring about its status. I’ll let you know what they say. I don’t know how/if you can see the processed UGPA. I assumed you can see it once it has processed because I’ve seen people post their actual gpa and lsac ugpa.
1.) You won't be able to fool-proof a passage in the same way that you can a game. HOWEVER, there IS value in re-doing old passages. Actually, re-doing passages is where I got my timing down. I realized that I could spend MUCH MORE time in the passage, and less in the questions--a huge key to my improvement.
2.) Just wait to re-do that passage for a while. If you re-do it right afterward, I can't imagine that helping much.
3.) RC passages are like Op-eds. When we read them like Op-eds, it is easier to see how flawed and squishy they are. The problem is we often read RC passages like we read texts in college----taking them as authoritative. RC authors have an agenda and they are TRYING TO SELL YOU SOMETHING (an idea, a perspective of history, economic theory, etc.). Take note of highly selective language use in the passage----language that clues you in on how the author feels about whatever object or fact is in discussion.
No. Easy, hard, doesn't matter. Do a timed section in full and review afterward. All questions are worth one point, right?
I think so, but it might be highly individualized.
If you are finished with undergrad, and you are applying Fall 2021, and you want to apply early, do NOT procrastinate submitting your transcripts to the CAS. I have been waiting for three weeks on my academic report and UGPA calculation. I am sure it will all get sorted out, but I would hate for anyone to be starting this process mid-September and waiting for this to come through.
148 is not bad for a first PT! You can get to 155 quickly if you take your time going through the questions in your timed practice. A lot of times students try to blaze through the questions to get through the section. That’s a big mistake. You do not need to get through every question to get a good score. What is important is that you invest in the reading and slow down. I practiced a 157 once where I didn’t get through more than 21 questions per section.
Then in BR (untimed) try to focus on the reading and logic of the test. BR is where you learn this test. Take your time and study why the correct answers are correct and the other answer choices are nowhere near correct.
Also, forget about the scores for now—just focus on what the test wants you to do (finding gaps in arguments, etc.). Maybe even try doing a few timed sections without scoring them. I wasted a lot of time and emotions early on because I was so anxious to score myself. The score is a by-product of your understanding.
Last, do games over and over again foolproof style. It works. Just keep doing them. I was at -15 after two months, -8 after four months, -4 after 6 months. Once you get the hang of it you will have fun. Trust me. It’s a skill that becomes your favorite when you put in the time.
RC is ALL about the author. The author has a purpose. Know where they stand on the info they convey. The convoluted info “attaches” or falls into memorable places when you can pinpoint the author’s presentation and stance.
What is the author saying? But more importantly, what is the author doing?
Imagine the author as an aggressive obnoxious attorney, or that self-conceited professor who just goes on and on about the global importance of the most niche subject/artist/movement, or think of them as the scientist who thinks their work is superior to yours in every conceivable way. I honestly think this helped me. I started reading the passages with uber skepticism and combativeness.
Hey! Remember to keep your eyes on the author. This is the key to RC---the author strategically places information for you and uses certain language to clue you in on what is important to the her/him. In the questions, you will find that the author's voice is your guide. Feel free to reach out if you have more questions about this!
@ and @ I agree I think its best to take the sample after your test (reduce your plate leading up to test day). But, PLEASE, try a few practice samples first before your official take. I am not sure why LSAT teachers shrug the writing sample, but I think it should be taken seriously.
You can get the hang of it quickly, but I think it requires a little bit of practice. If my writing sample was one of the first practices, it would have been bad. Just personal advice.
Hey! My advice would be to not focus so much on the scores through your practice. Invest your four months in the reading and logic of this test, and don't be concerned about your scores.
Excellent increase!!!! 163 is an outstanding score. CONGRATS!!!!
@ It is worth emailing after three weeks if it doesn't appear in your account, but make sure you've double checked with your institutions that they actually sent the transcripts.
OK, so to follow up: my transcript was processed. But it did take 2 or 3 weeks depending on when my transcripts were sent. So, my advice is to go ahead and get this process started. Submit your stuff accurately on LSAC and double check with all your educational institutions that the transcripts were sent. And then check in on it every once and a while.
I went from -16 to -2 in RC, and there was a lot I learned in the process of it. I am happy to discuss any of the processes with you, but its hard to give general advice without knowing where you're at and what you're struggling with specifically.
Hats off to you!!!! You went from not getting into a school to competing for a full-ride at most law schools. Unbelievable progress----CONGRATS!!!!
This is amazing. Thanks for sharing this.
My favorite question. To me, its simple: law schools are incentivized to take your highest LSAT score---not your average, not your lowest. Because of this, I would encourage anyone to take the test again, if they have consistently practiced higher scores. Now, should you take it 7 times? Probably not. But I heard of a student who took this thing 4 times, and on the fourth, they finally got their minimum goal score. What happened? Full-ride plus stipend.
Don't worry about getting faster. You are on the right track. It will just take time. Make sure that you don't spend time waffling between answer choices after you read the stimulus. Just cut bait and move on. Take your time in the stimulus and take your time reading the ACs. After that, if an answer isn't apparent---move on. You can review and learn afterward.
One of my favorite things said on these discussion forums is: if you want to go fast, slow down. And as frustrating as that sounds, it's absolutely true.
I started out with a 146 and I BR'd the same test for a 167. But I closed that gap by calming down the nerves, taking my time in the reading, and leaving a question when I was confused. I used to be so stubborn, and I wanted to force an answer out. When I learned to just move on, my score went up 3/4 points per section.
Be patient with yourself and just keep going.
Focus on the author. Be sensitive to words that indicate how the author feels about information/processes/works/etc. And just keep doing RC sections. My first section was -15, and I got to -2 just by getting used to how the RC passages "hide" the important motives and info.
Also, do not rush. Take your time--pause and recap. This is so important. We think we have to crash through the passage and get to the questions. At my best I took 4-5 min on each passage, and then the questions were easier.
Please message me with any further questions--specific or general. RC was a long road for me, and I think it is much easier than we think. It just requires a little bit of a different approach.
Good news is that schools are incentivized to take your highest LSAT. So, you just gotta get back on the horse. First, are you doing timed sections regularly? Second, do you allow yourself to get hung up on questions (spending 2-3 minutes and waffling between answer choices)?
Back in January, my score started to rise. I was so excited when after 8 months of study, I finally hit 160! And then.... I practiced a 151. I was freaking out because I thought, wait how could that happen? I thought I was passed the low 150s. But this test is about skills and execution. That means, if you approach the test day differently than you do your practices, you can almost guarantee a different outcome. I learned to relax after doing many many timed sections, and then it just felt like homework-level nerves.
Ok, I have some advice for LR and RC that might help. I went from -15 to -2 on RC, and -11 to -1 on LR. But, I just want to say: please embrace the fact that there are MANY great law schools that you can attend outside the T-14. Unfortunately, when I hear applicants talk so much about the T-14, it turns out they care more about prestige and brand than about being a practicing lawyer. I'm not saying that is the case for you, but it is my impression from your post.
Now, for RC, are you focusing on the author? The author reveals their position through key words and phrases—and often, the questions cqninutally hit on this theme. Also, knowing the author’s position on the given information helps the reader to remember what the info is and even where it is located. So for example, a passage will often have a long sections of information---complex, hard to sort, information. And then shortly afterward the author will reveal their position—and why it is relevant. But sometimes this can seem hidden. They'll say "blah blah blah lichen growth in northern sweden blah blah". Then they'll say something like, "this iconic discovery was necessary for. . ." This is the author's position coming out. Be sensitive to those moments. Cold stop in these moments and repeat back to yourself a summary: 'ok this author thinks this particular finding was huge'. That may sound simple, but I guarantee you there will be a question—a 'what would the author most agree with' question—where the correct AC will mention the info being an important discovery. Does that make sense?
For LR, one of the BIGGEST surges in scores I experienced came when I learned to translate the tough jargon in the stimulus into easily digestible language. LR often uses complicated language that we struggle to remember. So, translate it. Translate it is into thoughts you can remember, and then you will be able to see arguments more clearly.
Please message me with any questions. I am here to help. I went from a 146 to 167 in 13 months, and the road seemed long and hard. It is therefore my joy to help others on this test. I want my year of study to not go to waste! Focus small, and the score will improve. AND, you might not need to improve your score as much as you think to do well in the application cycle. Seems like you have a lot going for you!
Thanks for the shout out @.i.rivas !
I was where you are at right now--inconsistent and frustrated. I can tell you that two HUGE things helped me get to a -1/3 range--- slowing down/spending more time in the passage AND focusing on the author. The author is the primary player in each passage--know where they stand on whatever material they are mentioning.
Feel free to reach out with any questions--all the best!
Ok, so a calm approach to timing and balance helped lift my score from -16 to -6/7. But from there, I began to intensely focus on the author. What is the author doing? What is their overall stance, but also, what is their stance on each part of the material they are giving me? THE AUTHOR HAS AN AGENDA. Know what it is.
For example, the author will droll on and on about how an artist crumbles and wrinkles and sprays canvas so that it embodies the blah blah blah--and then the author says "this ingenious innovation blah blah blah". There it is. The author finds that particular process of the artist's work ingeniously innovative. They may use less interesting language—-something like: this process presented a departure from previously explored techniques. When you see language like this, stop and reflect. You just got their motive. The author will tell you exactly what they think about the information they are presenting. You just have to stay undistracted by the jargon and dense material. When an author is going on and on about something, ask yourself: ok, so what is your point? Then, the moment they say that something was 'misguided', 'determined', 'had a shortcoming', 'premature'---BAM you know where they stand. Whats crazy about this too--when you have their motive, you can recall the dense details much easier. The author's motive becomes a framework for placing the rest of the material. In a very strange way, RC is closer to logic games than many think.
You are obviously skilled at this test--so just take your time and focus on the author.
Please reach out with any questions! Hope this helps!
@ The pdfs (print out versions) on 7 sage should have the writing samples at the very end too.