I started using the highlighter mainly during my BR's. I would use it to highlight the conclusions in all the LR questions, so that over time, I would subconsciously start to recognize the structure of the individual LR questions as I go through the section.
I never bothered to use the highlighter during my test, probably because of all the posts in forums that advise against a highlighter for time reasons.
However, after 2-3 months of getting 169 on 5 practice tests in a row, I decided to switch up my strategies and one of the things I did was to use a highlighter during the RC section. Once I switched up my strategy, I ended up getting on a 172 on the next practice test I took (the highest I've ever gotten). Which was also a great confidence boost because it was the final practice test I took before the July LSAT.
The highlighter worked for me because it helped me engage with the text more and focus. So even though a lot of people advise against it, it's important to see what works for you. Thankfully, I decided to go against this advice last minute, and increased my confident and accuracy with the LSAT.
During the July LSAT, I ended up using the highlighter for the RC and LR sections (and I've never used the highlighter for LR sections when I took practice tests). I don't think I wasted that much time using the highlighter because I kept the cap off during the sections. Also the time I did probably waste from switching from pencil to highlighter and vice versa is nothing compared to the time I would have lost from re-reading text if I had not used the highlighter to keep myself engaged. I also ended up using yellow and orange highlighters for the RC - the yellow for my initial passage read, and then the orange for when I was doing the questions and the questions mentioned a specific part/word/phrase in the text.
So I say, experiment and find out what works best for you!
I went to FIU undergrad!
The FIU law school is a really great program. Its class sizes are pretty small and it provides a more intimate learning space. Its a relatively new school (it was created in 2000), so its ranking is not spectacular (although impressive for being less than 20 years old and its bar passing rate is one of the highest in FL). The only thing is that it doesn't have an extensive network of alumni, which is something to think about concerning job prospects. However, FIU has powerful connections within the Florida area so it wouldn't be difficult finding opportunities of work/internship in the region.
From my personal experiences, FIU is very helpful with students, especially when it comes to ambitious students who have an idea of what they want but need help and mentorship. FIU is a new and emerging public university in Florida that's really threatening the ranks of established school like UM or UCF, so it has a great incentive for wanting to help students that would make the school look good. So based on that, I'm sure that if you know what you want, FIU would help you get there.
That's just a very general overview, so if you have any other questions, feel free to ask!
@
It's interesting to note that I did not actually anticipate that the modern tests were harder so you can only imagine my surprise when I got a 163 after getting 167-168 on my previous practice tests (taken from practice tests 55-62, can't recall the exact tests). It was only after that I started investigating my drop and doing more modern tests that I realized that my drop was related to the new ways the LSAT test makers configured the test.
You're lucky that the order of LR question difficulty does not affect your performance, and I assume, that there are others, like myself, that are not so lucky. In that case, its important for us to create a new strategy for completing LR - one where we do not panic when the third question we receive is extremely difficult and affects our confidence/focus.
I have also come a long way, studying 30+ hours a week this summer, improving substantially from my diagnostic of 148. I think this goes to show that we are all different - the way we study and internalize the LSAT. So for those that are affected negatively by the newer LSAT's, do not fret - we will make it through this together!
Rutgers - New Brunswick
I also agree with Vanessa that the newer tests are harder and I have seen my scores drop -5/-7 points. For one, what makes the LR section harder (for me personally) is that LSAT now sprinkles in harder questions in the first half of the section, as opposed to before, when you could have been confident that the first 8 questions were easy. This throws me off my game and I feel like I lose overall confidence and control. I know that you are supposed to skip questions that you see are hard, but I don't know a question is hard until I get down to the answer choices - so this eats up a lot of time. I have also noticed that many of my predictions that I make after reading the stimulus, are not one of the answer choices - this suggests to me that LSAT test makers are getting a little more savvy in creating the correct answer choice.
So while you can say from your personal experiences that the new tests are not harder, there is definitely a good percentage of us struggling with these tests.
But that being said, I've realized that confidence plays a big role. After taking several newer prep tests these past two weeks, I have become very frustrated with myself from the significant drops in my score, despite my BR score remaining consistent. At this point, I just need to have faith in myself and know that I'll do great on test day!
This is an example of a diversity statement prompt from UPenn Law:
Describe how your background or experiences will enhance the diversity of the Penn Law community (e.g., based on your culture, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ideology, age, socioeconomic status, academic background, employment, or personal experience).
From my experience and the applications that I've worked on, law schools have a wide definition of 'diversity'.
Law schools can still report those diversity numbers that you speak of regardless if you write a diversity statement or not because they specifically ask on their application for your ethnicity and if you are LGBTQ. @
I actually wrote my diversity statement about depression!
Contrary to the earlier post, I would argue that overcoming mental illness counts as diversity. Diversity isn't just international/ethnically diverse/LGBTQ - it is any unique perspective that would help change the dynamics of the law school community. Diversity could be a single mother raising children and diversity could be someone who's been in the military - these people would both provide unique voices/perspectives in the classrooms.
I have also talked to several law schools regarding the diversity statement (because like you, I was worried that discussing mental illness could be risky). However, I think the NYU Law Dean of Admissions reassured me the most, saying that law schools are more and more aware of mental health issues and their importance. In our society now, there's a growing movement for mental health awareness and education. Law schools understand this and simply cannot look at mental health related issues negatively at this point in time (as said by the Dean).
I would just make sure, if you are to write about mental illness, is to focus on how it has shaped you into a better person. In my statement, I focused on how overcoming mental illness has made me a stronger and disciplined person who is involved in mental health advocacy. I was careful to make sure that the tone was "empowering/optimistic" and not "victimizing".
However, if you are still unsure about the topic, I'd urge you to reach out to the schools thats you're interested in and ask!
@ said:
Many sessions run by sages are not turned into actual webinars, but are available on You Tube.
There's only a few sessions uploaded under the 7 Sage Channel.... is there a different place I should be looking at for the videos?
Currently I'm living abroad in Spain and studying for the LSAT... so given the time zones, I'm never able to watch live webinars.
I was wondering.... are any additional webinars going to be uploaded anytime soon under 'Resources'?
Hi,
I picked E as my initial answer (even as I was not 100% sure about it) and then E again during the blind review because all the other answers seemed wrong.
My issue with E is that it mentions "common to SOME aquatic animals" and the stimulus only mentions the Acanthostega. Since the stimulus only gives one example, aren't we going beyond the information in the stimulus in believing that more aquatic animals have these anatomical characteristics? In other words, does the Acanthostega constitute "SOME aquatic animals", even though it is just one type of animal?
@ said:
@ that's a great improvement just from highlighting! I just finished taking the RC section of PT 65 and got 11 questions worse than my diagnostic. I literally don't understand how I went from -4 on my diagnostic to -15, especially when I typically get -1 on each practice passage. I'm just... dumbfounded. Any suggestions?
Have you recently started studying? I studied for the LSAT for about 17 months and I also had extreme differences in RC scores during the first couple months of studying. The RC has incredible way of killing your confidence, like just as you said, you can get -4 at one point and then -15 on the next point. Personally, I gradually got better at RC with months of practice (there's no quick an easy way unfortunately).
Things I recommend from personal experiences.
Buy the 'PowerScore's LSAT Reading Comprehension Passage Type Training'. It has all the RC passages from 1-20 LSATs and they're organized based on type. This will help you get acquainted with the types of themes and how they are generally organized.
Do the RC passages timed. Doesn't matter if all 4 in 1sitting, or doing 1 RC passage in 8 minutes. After that, I would do a BR. I would put my answers on a separate sheet and then erase everything. I'd redo the passage and take my time. I would outline it, write out the purpose of each paragraph. When doing the questions, I'd try my best to pick the correct one but also be sure of why the rest are wrong. Then of course I'd check my answers. Through doing this regularly, you become more comfortable with reading the passages, since you'll realize that passage structures are repeated.
Another good exercise is recommended by 7Sage. Read the passage under timed conditions, and then from memory, write down the passage structure and what you can remember. This will help with remembering the info when you go to the questions.
Listen to LSAT Trainer online webinar about RC (on his website).
Remember that the answers are in the text. If you're stuck between two AC, go more general than specific.
Focus on the author. Why is the author saying this? What tone does the author employ? Does he agree with any viewpoints in the passage? If you take note of these things as you read the text, it will save you time with any questions that are about the author.
Although, by far, the most important thing is improving your speed in reading. However, I think this comes with practice and by not freaking out when you come across difficult text (which also comes from practice and doing many RC's).
These are just some general tips off the top of my head!