So I've been chugging along with my PTs and suddenly hit a wall in terms of LG in tests in the upper 60s. I've never been great at LG, but up until now I've gotten it down to -3/4 per section. In my last 3 PTs I've gotten -7 on 66, -8 on 67, -9 on 68, and -8 on 69. Kind of freaking out - I've worked so hard to improve the LG over the past 4 months and suddenly it seems with the newer tests I'm back to square one

I'm not sure if they're actually harder but it seems like they have many more "weird" unpredictable games that don't fit any convention. In the past there would usually be a standard sequencing game to start, and in/out game, and some grouping game. Now the recent games either have some twist or some thing that throws me off

Not trying to make any excuses! I know that if I really was proficient at LG I would be able to adapt to the weirdness of the rules and games but I had been doing pretty well up until this point! Disappointed

Hi,

So I understand basic argument structures, but when it comes to complex arguments and intense language, I ended up missing the questions. When I look at it with no time pressure, I am able to strip arguments down to their basic structures, but under time, I do not do that. Are there any drills out there for this? Has anyone else run into this problem? Thanks in advance! :)

Hey 7Sagers! Im curious how you all as JY puts it "get the most" out of every PT. I understand that it is foolish to burn through PTs without gaining as much LSAT juice as possible from each. I'm wondering what you all do after every PT to review?

This is the system that I have been using recently:

For LR, I blind review and type out a doc that outlines my thinking for all missed questions, confidence errors, or overall difficult questions. Currently seeing most improvement on LR (going -5), although I know I can improve more... looking at you PM/ PF/ SA/ MBT.

For LG, I have been fool proofing all games where I missed a question or if I didn't get through the game as fast as I thought I should. I have only started doing this from PT 59 and up so tbh haven't full proofed games before that (PT 52-58). I had been doing well for my target score (-6) up to the last couple PTs I took where I have not done as well.

For RC, I have not found a review strategy that has helped me increase my points. RC was honestly natural to me when I first started taking PTs last December, would score -6 while my other sections were trash lol. But my score has gone down which is super frustrating to me (avg -8 rn). I know the reason is that I switched to focusing to 3 passages because time was an issue, but I have not been able to go perfect on three passages for this method to be beneficial. So I'm pretty lost on this end of it. I want to go back to completing four passages but its becoming hard for me to think that speeding through passages more quickly while risking misunderstanding is going to be the solution.

September was my goal, have been studying 30+ hrs since June, but I feel like I have so much to work on that it's feeling like pushing back my test date is the right choice... Going to keep grinding for the next couple weeks to see where I'm at then.

Any insight would be great, I'm all ears!

How important is club leadership position in applying to law school and resumes? For such a long time I have heard how it is able to boost your resume or application, but how much so?

Im in the middle of BRing and i like AC E bc how does the author know that having so much artwork that can satisfy every taste imaginable will affect someones aesthetic fulfilment.

But AC D... does the author have to assume there is such a scenario? That some people have access to the contemporarys work and not others? Is it the word "many" that disqualifies it? Thoughts?

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-72-section-2-question-16/

After BR a LR section, how do you decide when it's helpful to watch JY's video explanation?

I think I might be over killing it right now. I'm probably watching videos for about 18 of the 25 LR questions. Perhaps it's a reflection of my confidence level. My reasoning is that I want to make sure that I'm thoroughly reviewing a question and possibly learning takeaways that I may not otherwise have gotten. But, I'm beginning to think there's a downside where I'm not using my time the most wisely and I'm somewhat boring myself.

I'm thinking of changing my criteria for which videos to watch based on: confidence errors, any questions I got incorrect during BR, and questions that took me over 90 seconds or that should have just been quicker. One LR section ranges from -4 to -7.

Any thoughts or advice?

Hi everyone! I'm registered for the Sept. 2017 exam but have weird background and need advice on whether you recommend I study this month & take it or wait until Dec., and also would like to know how detrimental it would be to apply when Dec. scores come out?

Background:

I'm a paralegal at a big law firm and my hours are really insane. I took the Testmasters course Nov - Jan but missed some classes/didn't take advantage of it so waited & took the exam for the first time June 2017. I got really busy at work right before it and would say I only seriously studied for 2 months (with TM books). I thought it was ok but I didn't feel great so I cancelled my score (had been PT'ing at 158-162). Planned to take it this Sept. but been busy with work all summer and now I'm not sure... is 4 weeks of intense studying enough or should I wait till Dec.? Is the 7SAGE membership for just these weeks worth it? Or should I just do practice tests? I also have the LSAT trainer book.

Thank you so much!

So, I fell off the band wagon.

I had a hell of a day Tuesday and virtually didn't even touch my lsat material. Wednesday was a lot of aftermath and while I got a little done, it was only half of what I truly NEEDED to do. Anyone have some motivational advice for when you fall of the bandwagon? I'm taking a timed PT on Sunday to see if i'm going to take the September exam or the December and I can't afford to not be on track.

Help my LSAT gurus

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to see if anyone had any advice for adjusting to the newer RC. I have been taken relatively older (Pre60's) PT's and scoring in the high 160's. I just took PT 65 yesterday and had my brain melted by the third passage about blackmail law. In all honesty, I didn't think the passage was nearly as hard as the questions were. This kind of threw me off because RC is usually my strength. Does anyone have any tips for adjusting to this newer style of RC? I would imagine that it would come with time and exposure but dang that was hard.

I actually ended up doing pretty well on the test. I scored a 171 with a 175 BR. The last LG game really through me for a loop so I ended up going: LR1: -3 LR2:-1 LG:-4 RC: -4.

Thank you all!

Hi!

For people who took the June LSAT and ticked off "yes" for the CRS service on LSAC, have you been getting merit-based fee waiver email notifications from law schools? I heard that the schools find potential candidates via CRS and start sending them fee waivers sometime after the LSAT scores come out.

Thanks!

I just took it, havent graded it yet but i found it extraordinarily hard compared to 70 and 71 . I felt foggy for a large portion of the test. Anyone have any experiance with it?

Hey so I'm curious if it matters if the LOR's are from a TA or professor? does it look bad if you have one written by a community college professor (I am a transfer student) and another one from a TA at a University.

Today I sat down at work after my normal morning routine. I logged into Cookie Clicker, 7Sage and Reddit and got ready to start my day. I get to work really early to study for the test, so after everything was set up, I started trying to decided where to focus my studying for today.

I just can't do it! I feel like I am in such an odd place with the test and I feel directionless. I know which sections are my weakest sections. I know that one hard LG or RC passage can destroy my score. I know harder LR questions will trip me up and yet I feel like I have no real grasp on how to improve.

I'm pretty consistent with my sections;

-1/2 LG unless a hard game makes it -5

-6 LR typically with the first section -4 and the second -2

-4 RC unless there is a passage that I have no interest in....(looking at you art....)

Which gives me a score between 165 and 172ish on any given day.

I am super happy I've made it to where I am. I know plateaus can be broken, I've done it before, and you guys have shown me that it is possible with all your awesome stories. I am not done though. I want to get better, I just don't know how.

I know this is vague, I know there probably is no real answer to this problem I'm having other than sucking it up and figuring it out. I just feel very directionless right now. In the past I've always felt like I knew how to improve, and where to focus. Now I just feel like I am spinning my tires in the mud, and not gaining any significant traction on the test.

Thanks for reading, 7Sage is really the best! It's a group of people who understand me. If I had said any of this to most people in my life they'd say....

"Well it can't be that hard, just memorize the important stuff."

It aggravates me that they don't understand the struggles we have with this test!! Thanks for letting me vent.

http://orteil.dashnet.org/cookieclicker/ for anyone that doesn't know what cookie clicker is

Hey guys so I posted a comment a couple weeks ago on how I was testing at 154 and blind reviewing at 167, well now I am currently testing between 159-163, I obviously am aiming higher but it is satisfying watching yourself improve, so for those who may be frustrated right now keep pushing yourself and you will see results and this is coming from someone who had a diagnostic of a 145.

Hi all!

Getting ready to start PT after finishing up most of the CC (75% done)

Has anyone ripped out section 1 from PT 36 and used it as the section 5 in say.. PT 42? Section 2 from 36 in PT 43, so on...

Printing seems quite expensive around here (seriously staples, $4 per exam?) so I printed 2x 36, 37, 38 and ordered 2 copies of the 10 tests booklet 42-51... Has anyone done anything similar?

Now -- I am concerned with a - I'll "know" and b - skipping PT 36-41 a bad idea and c - how bad are the booklets? Are they similar to the real exam or is it really uncomfortable to take the PT in the booklet?

TIA!

I had a lot of trouble with this in drilling and BR. I believe what I was missing is the following:

Likelihood of theft

Average for theft-prone cars (with anti theft): 50%

Average for theft-prone cars (without anti theft): 80%

Average for non-theft-prone cars (with anti theft): 10%

Average for non-theft-prone cars (without anti theft): 8%

So yes, anti-theft devices do generally reduce the chance of theft, but if most anti-theft devices are on the most theft-prone cars, then there will still be a correlative relationship between these two.

Hey 7sage community! Quick question- I don't quite understand how we're supposed to correctly practice the memory method? When do you move from phase 1 to phase 2? Is it basically like full proofing LG? Should we be repeating passages until we've mastered them?

Thanks you guys are awesome!

Hi all,

I'm doing really well with LG/LR and am consistently improving in these areas.

RC, however, is a completely different story.

Quick background: I have been studying on and off since Dec. 2015, while working full-time & part-time simultaneously. Right now, I'm doing about 2 PT's and 2 BR's/week. I wrote Dec. 2016 and Feb 2017. I improved about 5 points on the latest write, putting me just barely at the average score for students (huge disappointment). Because it wasn't enough for admissions in Ontario, I am giving it another shot and writing in December again.

RC is still by far my weakest section. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to improve on timing. I find it so difficult to obtain enough info from the passages AND accurately answer all of the questions in under 7-9 min/passage. Along with the RC curriculum (which I plan to redo this week) I have turned to the Trainer. I consistently see the same advice: focus on the WHY, not the WHAT. Ok, easy, so I read and get a general idea of reasoning structure, relationships between paragraphs, fine. As soon as I do that, I run into EASILY 3-4 questions asking for specific meanings of words in sentences, or details from the passage. I have a general idea of where to find all of these details but I end up referring to the passage to re-read the necessary sentence anyway. Everything about RC is sucking up time for me. Long story short, I am finding RC impossible these days to the point that when I'm writing a test and I see RC, I immediately panic.

My shortcomings in RC have been mentally draining to the point that I have days where I wonder if law school is even for me. This kind of thought process is so far from my usual way of thinking that I am beyond frustrated with both myself and the exam. I do not give up. Anyone who knows me knows that I will make law school happen whether or not it's now or three years from now. I'm not changing my mind for anything or anyone. The LSAT, though, has made me come close.

It has a way of making you feel like such a failure, and I find myself putting in daily effort to change this mindset.

SOS people!!! Please helppp

Can someone please share with me the formal logic? I can't seem to arrive at the correct answer.

Hi guys. I am having trouble with an LR question.

PT 23 S3 Q14

Premises: If tax adopted -> Discontinue story hours -> parents inconvenienced

Conclusion: Tax reduction package not adopted

So in my mind to get to this we would have to know either that parents are not inconvenienced or story hours are not discontinued

so: ~(Parents incon) -> ~(discontinue story) -> ~(tax adopted)

Maybe I am not translating correctly, but I don't see how the correct answer D leads to this.

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-23-section-3-question-14/

So I've compiled a very thorough list of all of the LR problems that I've missed or struggled mightily with on previous PTs, and have gone over them again by doing them as if they were real LR sections - doing 26-27 problems at a time in 35 minutes. I'm still missing anywhere from 2-5 of them each "section." These are the problems I now see that I truly struggle with. I was wondering what's the best way to tackle these problems going forward?

I currently approach problems first by identifying the structure and conclusion of the argument if there is one, looking for key words and phrases (e.g. "some people"; "minimal risk"), and tricky/subtle changes in subject (e.g. premise discusses mammals but conclusion mentions marine reptiles).

When I compiled the list, I made sure to look for trends in the types of questions I was missing (necessary assumption, weaken, etc.) But how can I hone this strategy to the few problems I missed again? I feel like there are specific and various tricks employed within each question type.

Tips & advice welcome, thanks in advance.

Please link any below

Under question #2 in this section, JY uses the conditional indicator "If" to translate the sentence to the sufficient part instead of "Any" at the beginning of the sentence. Can someone explain why this is? If there are two conditional indicators from the same group listed in the sentence, which one are we supposed to use as sufficient and which one should we use for necessary?

7Sagers,

On Wednesday, August 23, at 9 p.m. ET, we’ll host a special personal statement workshop featuring 7Sage editors Amy Bonnaffons and Chris Schlegel.

Amy and Chris will be workshopping real first drafts submitted by 7Sage students a few weeks ago. This is your chance to see how a professional editor thinks about the revision process. And if that’s not enough to entice you…

At the end of the webinar, we’ll randomly select two attendees for a free round of editing with Chris or Amy!

You’ll find details about joining the webinar below. Farther down still, you’ll find the drafts that Amy and Chris chose. Read them yourself and think about how you would revise.

Webinar: Personal Statement Workshop

Wed, Aug 23, 2017 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM EDT Join by going to this link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/579343661

You can also dial in using your phone: United States: +1 (312) 757-3121

Access Code: 579-343-661 First GoToMeeting? Try a test session: https://care.citrixonline.com/g2m/getready

#---

Essay 1

Many people view Costco as a wonderland of gallon-sized jars of mayonnaise, industrial cans of vegetables, packages of toilet paper large enough to last the average family a year, and $1.50 ready-to-eat hot dog combos that haven’t increased in price for decades. But for me, Costco has been the backbone of my work experience, teaching me valuable skills and work ethic that could only be learned through hands-on experience. My stint at Costco began as a part-time college job to pay living expenses just in time for my first semester at Creighton University. My job at the big box retailer is one aspect of my life that has remained constant throughout my educational pursuits: from graduating college, to studying as a paralegal, to my journey to law school.

My acceptance to Creighton University brought me 1500 miles away from my hometown of Reno, Nevada to the mid-western town of Omaha, Nebraska where I was hired at Costco the week my first semester began. My weekdays were spent waking up before dawn for the 5am shift and leaving by 10am to spend the rest of the afternoon in lectures. I used the weekends to complete homework assignments and worked the late-night shift at Costco. My wages covered rent, food, and other living expenses allowing me to graduate with a de minimis amount of student loans.

Costco not only provided a means of financial support, but lead me to a great deal of self-discovery that ultimately brought me where I am today as I apply to Wake Forest University School of Law to start the next chapter in my educational career; I have learned I am highly organized, work best under pressure, have outstanding time management skills, and enjoy utilizing my strong language skills. Participation in leadership roles on and off the clock including safety committee representative, coordinator for the volunteer reading program, and Live Healthy program advocate for the warehouse promoted my personal growth. Like Creighton, Costco demanded that I give my best to the task at hand no matter how simple.

The rigorous course load of the Jesuit university not only shaped me academically, but also religiously, spiritually, and morally. The religion-based courses, including philosophy and morals and ethics, helped create the foundation for my analytic and research skills. Like many young college students, I did not have a definite academic or professional goal in mind upon beginning college studies and I took a plethora of classes in hopes of expanding my career possibilities. I do not regret the variety of courses that comprise my college transcript as I feel my diverse course load taught me perseverance to finish what I start and gave me a broad range of knowledge. It wasn't until my third year of college that I chose to pursue a degree in Spanish and Hispanic Studies to follow my passion for the language and culture. The major also suited my strength in writing that my professors had so often complimented. My time spent in the Hispanic community and in the classroom as I worked toward my major ignited my passion to study law as it left me wondering how I could help disadvantaged immigrants and minorities in a professional, legal capacity. It became clear to me that higher education could translate my passion into a career that would benefit the common good while satisfying my eagerness to gain knowledge.

Years after obtaining my Bachelor of Arts degree, I continued to work at Costco in payroll and human resource administration in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina warehouse. My job at Costco brought my thinking back once again to law. I viewed my position in human resources as a microcosm to the legal system; the company's employee handbook and policies and procedures as the laws and I the attorney advocating the rights of the employees and interpreting policies. I was intrigued to learn about the state and federal laws and regulations that had shaped the company's policies, leave of absence administration, workers' compensation procedures, and other legal matters relating to personnel and employment. My interest in employment law while working at Costco encouraged me to begin a paralegal education that flourished into a career for which I ultimately left my full-time job at Costco.

I can still vividly recall the sweltering, August day that would determine my fate in the application pool of Costco. The day of my scheduled interview, I awoke to find my car totaled by a tornado; I hadn’t even unpacked my moving boxes. Without anyone to call for help, I headed out on the unfamiliar streets of my new town on my bicycle with a folded map in hand. By the time I was able to locate the building, I had arrived over two hours late. Notwithstanding my tardiness, the hiring manager viewed me as a dedicated candidate and hired me on-the-spot. The start of my career at Costco is much like my path to Wake Forest Law; I haven’t always been sure how I would arrive to my destination but I have remained determined and haven’t given up on my dream of law school despite the obstacles that have confronted me.

Essay 2

2016 marked a pivotal year in my life. This was my first direct encounter with the social injustice that plagues our world. Working as a police officer at the Statehouse, every day, several times a day, I would interact with all different walks of life, from the homeless to the governor. While I didn’t realize at the time, there is a stark contrast in the way police officers interact with individuals of majority and minority status.

The catalyst to realizing the true existence of social injustice took place on a cold winter night in December of 2015. Around 11pm the temperature was 10 degrees with the wind chill. Just as any other night I was making my nightly rounds checking high traffic areas along Broad Street, When I received a call of suspicious activity in the parking garage. I arrived several minutes later to a small group of people standing in the garage, simply trying to get out of the cold. I promptly got on the radio and asked what the issue was, to which she replied, “the black man in the blue coat and jeans looks suspicious.” Standing fairly close to him and his daughter, he heard the dispatcher’s reply. The look on his face was of shock; was he being targeted simply because he’s black? The man and his daughter were the only two African Americans in the group. At this point I felt I was there not for a wrong doing but because the color of a man’s skin. While we usually didn’t allow individuals to loiter in the garage, if it was cold we had some discretion. Trying to rectify the situation, I carried on a conversation with the man for several minutes, telling him he was more than welcome to stay as long as he needed to get warm. Before leaving, he introduced himself ad Michael and told me I was the only police officer in his entire life that treated him like a human being. This particularly hit me hard, what made the act of profiling and mistreatment amongst minorities so apparent? Just a few days earlier I worked at a protest of police profiling and brutality amongst minorities, in which the man was present. This man stood up for what he believed in and in particular what was right.

Two months later working day shift, we received a call that an individual that had been shot in the head and needs medical attention. Less than a half mile from Capital Law School, I arrived to the crime scene in shock, this man was no stranger, rather Marshawn was the leader of many of the protests and civil rights movements that had taken place just a few months prior. He was very passionate about equality, especially in regards to police relations among minorities. While some were in shock, the apparent suicide was taken rather lightly by many others, some of which were making jokes and ready to clock out. How could they be so heartless? This was a young man who later we would find out took his own life as a direct retaliation of police profiling. The injustice that he felt could have very well been brought on by one of us, or even myself, which was particularly hard to live with.

As time went on the impact of this man’s suicide only grew on me. I began to think of every instance in which I might have unintentionally engaged in profiling or been unfair based even marginally upon race. I would never stand for such an injustice. This man believed in his cause so much, that he gave his own life. While tragic, this lit a fire in my soul in terms of the many social injustices taking place. I changed my undergraduate major from criminal justice to sociology and began to thoroughly research current injustices and police profiling. This went against everything I have ever been believed, but growth only happens in a state of discomfort. Stagnation turned to chaos. Everything I had ever known was now being challenged. Things were no longer taken at face value. This combination of events, while seemingly meaningless to others, sparked an extreme passion for improving people’s lives. Becoming an attorney would enable me to bring attention to societal issues that are not being addressed, and to give a voice to people like Michael and Marshawn, who tend to be marginalized.

I haven't taken very many full prep tests yet, but so far I'm noticing in my trends that I am overall improving in LG and RC, but my LR gets worse when I'm working in newer PT's (tests in the 60s and maybe 50s also). It's really frustrating because as I'm doing the questions, I feel ok about them. But then during BR I'm seeing how many I got wrong and it's not usually any particular question type or any one reason I'm getting it wrong. I'm a little all over the board. I don't seem to have this problem with earlier tests though (30s and 40s). Any insight to the evolution of the LR questions? Have they just gotten harder? More sneaky answers? It's so frustrating to see my score actually going down over time because I'm bombing those so hard! Argh.