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I started at a 155 diagnostic. Now regularly test low 160s. BR is usually upper 160s. I've been putting in 20-30 hours a week since May (in addition to a full-time job and business; I'm a non-traditional student). I started with another LSAT online prep course and did the majority of my training there, but discovered 7Sage when looking for video explanations of the logic games (thanks for those, by the way!). Now signed up here as of 2 weeks ago. I've gone through all the videos for LR and that's helped me move up those points into the low 160s. I know I am capable of more, and that I just need more time to practice and bring up my speed. I discovered 7Sage too late. I'm making steady progress now, but not fast enough for the test on Saturday :/

I feel that upper 160s is reachable for me for sure, even above 170. I'm aiming for higher ranked law schools, but at the very least want a high score for the $$ when considering lower-ranked school. My GPA (graduated 1994) is a 3.94.

So my question: If I know that I'm going to probably score in the low 160s, and that I could do better on the December test, should I even bother with the Sept. one? Will law schools care if there are scores of (say) 161 and 169? or would a single 169 be better?

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Tuesday, Sep 12, 2017

4611

Address Change

Recently moved....so my driver's license reflects my previous address. Is this something I should be worried about? That is, would they turn you away because of that?

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Hey everyone,

Good luck to those taking the September exam.

I recently realized that I am severely weak in games that have minimal upfront inferences, require using additional info in the questions, and have more questions that make me try brute forcing through the answer choices. I have 3 questions regarding this type of game:

Any general advice on how to approach these types of games? One problem is that I try to force out an inference (either in the set-up or a particular question), fail to do so, and waste so much time. Yet, this kind of mentality seems to help me when there is actually an inference to be made. Do you have something like a general limit? Like, "if I don't figure out an inference 10 seconds for this question, I am going to brute force it"?

What are some difficult rule-driven/brute-force games that would be good practice?

Is it just me, or do the preptests from 70+ have more of these rule-driven games?

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Sunday, Sep 10, 2017

rahelaalam514

Pop Quiz

Hey everyone,

I recently came across an LSAT stimulus that gave me loads of trouble when I was taking a PT under time. To ingrain the lesson from that stimulus I drew a parallel argument for it. But I want to make sure that I did it correctly. So I am posting the stimulus I made for you. Let me know which one of the answers you think is correct.

Cats walk very light-footed when compared to other species. While dogs do not chase humans because humans do not get scared of dogs, cats get scared of dogs and need to go unnoticed by dogs to not get chased and thereby end up stuck in trees. Scientists therefore hypothesize that the cats light-footedness, which clearly makes them slower, evolved as a means of going unnoticed by dogs.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the hypothesis?

A. No human is as light-footed as cats.

B. Being chased by dogs is not the most common cause of death for cats.

C. Many other types of animals have light-footedness similar to that of cats.

D. Cats are much faster than other heavier animals.

E. Dogs that chase cats also chase other species of animals.

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Long time observer, first time poster here. Just hit my first perfect score ever on PT 54. Went -1 RC, -1 LR, -0 LG.

I scored a 165 on the June test and was really disappointed. Upped the work effort over the summer and over my last 20 PT's I'm averaging a 174. With a week left until the test I'm praying I can match that average on the real thing as I was averaging a 168-169 headed into June! Just wanted to share my accomplishment and hopefully let others know this test is very learnable as long as you're willing to put in the work!

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Hello: My target lsat score is 150 and I am planning to take the Lsat in December. Over the last year I studied half of the cc, and then decided I needed extra help, so I purchased the Power score Bibles. Currently, I have not taken any practice or timed pretests because I am having issues of applying what I have learned from the CC/Power score to the actual diagnostic tests. I don't feel as though I am learning the material. I understand the material when reading it, but forget half of the material that I thought I have digested. Should I go through the 7sage CC again or try focusing on the basic concepts before doing any untimed/timed pretests? I also have test anxiety! I wanted to take the test in December because delaying the test has not improved my score. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

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Well, another test has come around, and for many of us, that means it's time for all of this hard earned knowledge and ability to get put to use. We've dedicated months if not years of our lives to this test and to the opportunities it can lead to. Just remember that your LSAT score won't be earned on Saturday. It was earned in the curriculum and in the problem sets. It was earned in the dozens of PT's and BR's and study groups. It was earned on that one question you thought you'd never understand but that you refused to let go until you mastered it, and it was earned on endless LG fool-proofing. Saturday is not when all this happens, it's simply when it ends.

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11

I chose B under timed conditions but switched to A in BR.

My issue with B is that there are no "potential" criminals here. If B said "nothing should be done to protect criminals at the cost of placing restrictions on law-abiding citizens" then it would be airtight. But "potential" doesn't work because if you are found in the prison directory, then you would have been convicted of a crime to be there in the first place.

I chose A in BR because it made the distinction I referred to above, but it doesn't actually connect to our conclusion so it can't be right.

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Hi guys! I tried searching for this in the archives, but couldn't find anything that specifically addresses my question.

I wear glasses regularly and typically have them on from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. The only exception is that when I'm working on a laptop or on paper, I occasionally take off my glasses for comfort. Otherwise, I get a headache from prolonged focus on things close to my eyes.

Glasses aren't listed as items allowed to be set on the table during the administration of the test. Will I be permitted to take off my glasses and set them on the table if they begin to bother me during the test? Other people have inquired about bringing extra reading glasses, but my case is the opposite. These are my prescribed glasses that I normally wear, and actually only affect my far vision.

I know the worst case solution would be to put them in my plastic bag right before the exam, but I feel much more comfortable wearing them during the test with the ability to remove them if needed.

Thanks for the feedback :)

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Hey guys!

So I am almost done the CC, hopefully by the end of this week. I was just wondering how many of you have approached the next step in your studying? I have done most problem sets for the question types, however I have found myself struggling or not getting as many correct as I would like for some question types when it came to the three or four star questions. Is this common or is it just me and how did you guys over come this?

I plan to write in December and want to aim for the high 160s. I have not completed a PT yet (other than the diagnostic), but I intend on doing that once I am done the CC just to see if there's an improvement.

So basically, what I am trying to ask I guess is...

How have you started to PT after the CC?

What was your study schedule after completing the CC?

Did you do 3 preptests a week? with BR after each PT

or Drill as much as I can after the CC (too fool proof all sections) and then start PT's more frequently?

or drill along with doing 2 PT's a week?

My schedule is pretty flexible, but I just want to know what has worked for you guys!

Thanks! :)

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Hey, everyone.

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on why the passage supports D more strongly than E. I ended up going with D on the test, but didn't feel like I had an articulable justification for why it was a better choice.

The one thing I can think of is that the existence of a hole in the ozone somewhere other than above Antarctica (and perhaps one even larger than the one over Antarctica) is technically compatible with everything in the passage. Since the passage doesn't rule this out, the passage shouldn't be read as supporting any claims about the relative quantity upward flow of CFCs into the stratosphere above Antarctica.

An issue that made me hesitant about D: The passage indicates that the ozone layer would continue to deteriorate for years or decades even if CFC emission were eliminated immediately and completely. So any lowering of the incidence of skin cancer from such a policy would be very delayed. Maybe this consideration is sort of a trap - it doesn't make the answer choice any less supported by the passage, but does make it somehow intuitively less appealing.

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-78-section-4-passage-4-passage/

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-78-section-4-passage-4-questions/

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Just a heads up-- According to the LSAC's website, the FSU and FGCU testing centers will be closed for the September 16, 2017 test administration date. The LSAC will continue to update its website as it is notified about which centers will be closing.

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Hi guys,

It's possible that I'm overthinking this seemingly easy question, but I'm having a lot of trouble eliminating D.

My reasoning is that, if D were to be true and drivers are more alert at crosswalks, it wouldn't matter as much if pedestrians are less careful when crossing there. Even if I don't check both ways at the crosswalk, with D the driver's being more careful could offset this. This would directly weaken the argument.

The only thing I can think of is the fact that the answer says "drivers are generally most alert," which could mean that even if they pay the most attention at crosswalks it still isn't enough to offset the pedestrians not paying attention themselves. Maybe a driver's most alert state is still extremely distracted. Is this enough to eliminate this answer choice, or could there be something I'm missing?

Thanks!

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-77-section-4-question-19/

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If a test is going to accurately predict the capability of one to be a great law student, then a test must accurately assess the ability of one to master skills that enable one to be a great law student. The LSAT fails this necessary condition.

We all know that certain practice tests play to our particular skills, and thus all of our scores fluctuate a little (or a lot). Even with our renowned Sages, some of them were averaging much higher than the 170 score that they were able to scrape by with. If we are able to put so much effort into studying for this test, and yet our scores still fluctuate significantly, then how can this test be an accurate assessment of our skills?

We've all been there. Every once in a while, you encounter a test and your score suddenly drops. You are shocked. How could this happen? Perhaps you just had a bad day. But it is also possible that this particular tests did not align with your particular skills. But wait, shouldn't this test always be assessing the ability of the same skills?

I have sympathy for LSAC, I really do. Designing such a test would be daunting, especially if you add in the fact that some people are able to spend thousands on test prep and take time off work/school to focus solely on the test while others must fit it time before and after work with only minimal resources to spend on prep. But still, the LSAT fails.

As you can probably guess, I am writing this out of frustration. I have put so much time into studying, have been within the 168-172 range for months, and suddenly, I scored a 164 on a test just a week from test day. I guess for confidence's sake, I should just write it off as a fluke or a bad day. But the truth is, law schools have become reliant on a test that really just isn't a great predictor of being a great law student. With law schools beginning to accept the GRE, I think the test needs to be revamped significantly in order to stay relevant.

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Just wondering if the font size of the actual test is the same as when I print 7sage PTs?

The font size of the 7sage PTs are slightly smaller than the font on PTs from official LSAC books/resources (as least in my opinion).

Anyone have any insight on this? Thanks!

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PSA are just not clicking for me and I feel very uncomfortable answering them even when I get them right. I'm drilling them this afternoon and I had some trouble with this question. Any tips on PSA in general would be great as well as input on this question.

Context:

There is a hypothesis that dreams are produced when the brain erases "parasitic connections" which accumulate during the day and take up space in our brain. Ant-eaters are the only mammals that doesn't have REM (when we humans have our most vivid dreams). The ant-eater has a very large brain in relation to the animal's size.

Conclusion:

This fact (ant-eaters don't REM and have big brains) provides some confirmation for the hypothesis above.

Premise:

The hypothesis predicts that for an animal have an effective memory and not dream, that animal would need extra space in the brain to account for the parasitic connections which aren't erased each night.

What I'm looking for:

Most of this question is context and that made it a little difficult for me to zone in on the conclusion and premise, not to mention it is a pretty wordy stimulus. We need to connect the premise to the conclusion. The ant-eater's anatomy aligns with the hypothesis' prediction and the argument concludes that that provides support for some confirmation of that hypothesis.

Answer Choices:

A) Facts about one species of animal (ant-eaters don't REM and have big brains) can provide confirmation for hypotheses about all species that are similar in relevant ways. I really liked this under timed conditions because it seemed to fit the mold I was looking for. Ant-eaters are mammals (similar in the relevant ways) and the author is using the facts about that animal to provide support for the hypothesis. The issue with this AC is that despite the strong language, it doesn't meet the level of sufficiency needed because it says "can". Well, does it?

B) Strike 1: we only have 1 prediction. Strike 2: how can we know that the majority of predictions is confirmed when we don't enough know how many predictions there are? Eliminate.

C) That's not the method of partial confirmation. Our stimulus provides a little confirmation by fitting the predicted circumstances when the hypothesis is irrelevant. Eliminate.

D) "Partially confirmed"... that's good. And the second half is good as well. The hypothesis itself doesn't explain why ant-eaters wouldn't dream, but its anatomy fits the prediction made about cases that do not fall under the hypothesis. I didn't fully grasp the different between the prediction and the hypothesis under times conditions. And I latched onto A and brought confirmation bias into the remaining AC. Correct.

E) There is only 1 hypothesis. Eliminate.

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