When I first started studying for the LSAT, I was just a regular guy managing a coffee shop who decided he wanted to go to law school. I started in about the high 140's range and eventually scored a 176 on the September 2017 LSAT. No matter where you started or what mistakes you've made along the way, I've almost certainly been there. I'm not a natural at this, I know the struggle, and I believe with all sincerity that if I can do this, essentially anyone can. So I hope you'll join us Friday to ask me anything!

AMA with Sage Josh Cant Get Right

Fri, Oct 20, 2017 7:00 PM EDT

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Edit - Oct. 25, 2017

If you couldn't make it to the live event, you can listen to the recording here:

Hi guys,

So as you can tell by the title, I signed up for the December exam. However, I am feeling extremely demotivated to study. I have been studying since Feb. I had written the June lsat and scored poorly on it. 148 (but I knew i was not ready. I was only doing max 152 before going into the exam). My diagnostic in feb was like a low 130.

I then continued to study all throughout the summer and started PTing around 154-160 (which is my target range). However when I wrote the September lsat, I just got really nervous. It was like my brain froze & I knew I did bad. I got a 149.

My whole summer wasted for just a one point increase. It kind of makes me wanna cry - not going to lie. I was only away from answering one more question correctly to get at least a 150.

I went

-7 on LR and -14 on the other LR (I was just so damn nervous, couldn't even read properly), I went -10 on games and -12 on reading comp (I don't see myself improving on reading comp - I either get the passage or I don't.).

I took the month off from Sept 16 till now. My first break from the lsat since FEB (focusing on writing personal statements) . However, I don't know where to start. I have about 9 PTs printed to take. Should I focus on drilling? or take full timed PTs?

I have gone thru the CC twice, lsat trainer and I go back to the CC multiple times.

I just feel lost at this point. I felt I knew my stuff to at least get 155-157 but I did so bad AGAIN. and I knew it went bad because I was contemplating canceling my score. I am trying for Canadian schools, so my applications are due in about 15 days - so most of my attention has just gone to personal statements.

After reading through a lot of online resources regarding whether it is appropriate to write an addendum explaining a score difference I'm still unsure of what to do because of the mixed opinions on this topic.

I went from a 159 in December 2016 to a 179 in September 2017 (even I find this unbelievable) and I'm not sure if I should write an addendum or how I should go about explaining this and how it will affect my chances of admissions. The only explanation I have is that I didn't study adequately for the first take because I misjudged the time I needed to set aside for the test while juggling academics, an internship, and other personal problems (i.e. family illness). I was very close to cancelling the day before but I went ahead with the test anyways hoping for the best because I wanted to make the deadlines for that admissions cycle. Consequently, I had to pass on that cycle, and I stopped all LSAT studying and instead focused on school. It wasn't until July (after graduation) that I started preparing for the LSAT again, and this time I had set aside the summer to study so that I would have adequate time to prepare. I was expecting a score somewhere in the mid-170s according to my PT average but never expected to score 179 and so now I'm wondering how to go about explaining and applying with a 20 point increase (especially if I'm now aiming for the top law schools because I know they might be more skeptical about multiple scores and such a large gap)?

Any help is appreciated :)

Hey everyone,

Just got my LSAT score back and got a 171! I'm super pumped about it, it's expanded my school list considerably.

My GPA, however, might be a problem. It's below the median of most T14 schools (3.48). However, my major was in Civil Engineering from Rice University (not the easiest engineering school).

So probably my LSAT/engineering major is what will get me into schools. Are there any T14 schools that value LSAT more than GPA or value engineering majors more?

Thanks guys ... 7Sage is the real deal!

Idk if I’ll actually be a juror just yet but would you guys chance it and go ahead and register? If I am selected do you think I’ll have to be in court on Saturday (12/2), or is that another gamble if I go ahead and register (deadline is Wednesday)? I’m also concerned about getting sufficient study time the week of the test and will it be too much to deal with going? What do you guys think? I’m sure somebody’s gonna say purposely get dismissed but give me something else! Lol

Just wondering when we can expect to see LG/LR/RC explanations for PT 82 (LG for free and obvs other questions for purchase). Thanks!

any times on quickly properly identifying what kind of game it is?

After failing on the Sep test. (I blacked out on the first section and scored the worst I ever have - so badly I don't even want to say)

I am trying to now get back into the right mindset. I'm sitting here in the library and just having a hard time getting motivated. I am so afraid that I will black out again during the dec/feb/or june test and all of my hard work will be for nothing. I absolutely bombed one LR section not because I didn't know it but because of my anxiety.

I am starting meditation and getting back into yoga hoping this helps.

Just looking for some support or anyone feeling similarly right now. Thanks!

The PT's only have 4 sections, while the LSAT has 5... any suggestions on what to do? I want to take it as a real 5 section test. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I just got my lsat score back and I scored 177 (which was above my highest prep test by 3 points lol). I never expected to score this high, so never really considered looking into Ivy League Schools, but now I'm thinking of applying for HYS, Columbia and Berkeley, and maybe Oxford/Cambridge. Obviously, the money is a huge factor, especially with the Canadian dollar so low, but I'm wondering is an Ivy League education worth the money? My parents are quite debt averse and are encouraging me to stay within Canada, but if my goal is international law/human rights law/public interest law or academia, I think the Ivy League schools might be a better option for career prospects/connections. I know they also have good loan assistance programs (but unsure if this applies to Canadian schools?)

Any advice would be muchly appreciated. Also, in Canada I do not qualify for financial aid (not sure what my situation would be in the US) so that is also a factor that I might have to take out huge loans.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a in-person tutor in Vancouver, Canada. Anyone know of a good tutor? I'd prefer in person over online. I'm looking to supplement my 7Sage studies, hoping to improve on my last score before the Dec test. Thanks!

Hi y'all!

I took the Testmasters course for the September LSAT, started studying in July with a cold diagnostic of 153. My highest PT was a 169 two days before the LSAT (I had been steadily PTing around 165-170), and ended up with a 167 on test day.

During the course I had been knocked out by a nasty case of food poisoning for two weeks or so (I ended up in the hospital. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT go to the Chipotle on N. State in Chicago) and had missed a lot of critical time for test prep. I sucked it up and took the LSAT anyway even though I knew I could've put more time in.

So, after the September scores came out, I registered for December. Upon realizing it was the basically the same price to reactivate my Testmasters account vs. getting 7sage (with like...50 more PTs, I mean c'mon), I have defected! I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice as to how I should go about using 7sage to prep.

My individual section breakdowns usually go something like -6/-7 on RC, -8/-9 on LR, and -0/-1 on LG. On the September test I posted -5 on RC (somehow got Judicial Candor all correct), -10 on LR (a whopping 7 points dropped on the second LR section), and -0 on LG.

LG was my weakest section starting out (I had missed something like 15-20 LG questions on my first diagnostic) so I had put most of my time into Games. Other than drilling individual LR question types and RC sections repeatedly, I didn't give my due diligence to those sections and suffered for it.

I've skimmed through a few course videos already but don't really know how to structure my study schedule around the material. I don't feel it's feasible (or efficient) to do all 800 hours of the course before December. Should I just be doing more PTs? Identify what weaknesses? Figure out what the hell a Blind Review is? Give up completely? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Is there any particular reason why the games chosen for the CC are chosen?

X

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?

I was wondering if anyone is aware of the outcomes of individuals who study for very long periods of time (Total Hours) for the LSAT and performance in law school? For example, say the average LSAT study duration is 150 hours for a certain lSAT score and you study for 450 hours for the same score, are you not putting yourself into a precarious situation in that it took you three times as long to reach that score? I have no proof, but I would assume, if one can learn the LSAT more easily than others than their ability to perform in law school will be better. I'm not sure its a good idea to prepare extensively for an exam to only be bludgeoned over the head at school that you maybe should not have attended. What are your thoughts?

Is mylsninfo up to date and the most accurate? And how can I use it so that I don't have to set a range of scores ...

Thanks!

SO three weeks ago I got rear ended and I have a pretty bad concussion as a result (along with all of the dreadful physical and cognitive symptoms) and my doctors have said that taking the LSAT in December as I had planned would not be smart and there's no way I would be ready. I was super bummed because I had already taken a year off of schooling to work and now this means I have to take another year off.

Has anybody dealt with this before and have any advice? I'm going to try and get a refund from LSAC but I'm not sure how to go about it, as well as try and cope with this let down. But everything happens for a reason right? :)

Hi guys, I havent gone through the LR curriculum in over a year. I am wondering which lessons cover some, most, few statements, and LR diagramming. I think MBT questions and SA had some?

Okay so I've asked about this before and worked on it a little bit but these questions continue to bite me in the ass. I have a really hard time figuring out the authors attitude and what they would agree with in R.C.

How can I practice this? Should I look for indications in the writing? Should I practice making special note of areas where it looks like the author is revealing how they feel? Even if I find how they feel how the hell am I suppose to know what they'd be likely to agree with? What mindset should I have for these questions?

Basically...help...haha

Hi all,

I'm an older applicant, I will be 33 when I enter 1l, that is looking to attend the highest ranked law school possible and but also doesn't want to pay full sticker price because of my age/ less time to pay off debt. My stats are 3.1 GPA with a 167, I was also a D1 athlete at school that was very competitive in my sport/ I was all conference and led my team in a couple years in our most important stat, what kind of doors will this open for me and where can I apply to get good scholarship offers without the school being lower tier? I visited UW madison this weekend and met with an admissions counselor who said I would have a very high probability of receiving some aid there. This really surprised me because looking at their 25th/75th percentiles for GPA and LSAT I thought I was very weak in regards to my GPA. Also, was I too blunt in just asking the admissions officer if a scholarship was possible? After leaving the meeting I thought that may have been a blunder but in the business I'm currently in being blunt and assertive are good attributes. I'm old and lack some of the support you younger folks have so a little guidance on what should be schools that are reaches or lay-ups for my stats would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

So I took the LSAT in Sept (posted a similar discussion before) got a 157 and this past weekend I took a new diag without studying for 3 weeks and got a whopping 160! Which...I mean I'm glad but still wish I at least got that on the real one. Obviously I hope to move past 160 in Dec but I'm truly at a loss on how to study right now. I have the starter program with 7sage but I can see that I still have timing issues with LG and RC. On the real one I did terribly on RC. I can still polish my LR but I don't know if I should start from Square 1 or ... what. Please help! I posted a help discussion before but got no replies and also didn't have a new diag score then. Thanks!

what’s the difference?

I was wondering what would happen if I didn't apply this cycle. I already have my LOR and transcript sent in to LSAC. I'm planning on retaking the LSAT in December, but if I don't get the score I want again, I'll have to apply next cycle. Will I have to resend my transcript and ask for LORs again or can I use the same LOR and transcript for next cycle? Thanks!

In Canada one can apply, and send their documents to the school, and once you get your lsat score, your school will make an admission decision. Is the US like this, too, or do you need a score BEFORE you apply?