How does everyone catch up to their study schedule if they get behind? I've had a hell of a week and while i've literally studied every second I wasn't doing something critical, I'm about 8 hours behind based off the schedule. Any suggestions? Should I just power through? Can I adjust it?

I am learning MBT Questions. JY uses diagrams. Should we, too?

Recently I have had a very foggy feeling when it comes to the LSAT. I took some time off and saw a jump in my score, but since then I feel like things are slipping.

I have not been able to get back into a comfortable study routine.

During sections I feel like my brain is fogged and I am not applying the fundamentals as well any more.

During the week I'm not sure exactly what to study or how to go about advancing on the test.

I feel like I am grasping at straws now and I'm not sure how to go about changing that.

I also really would like to start getting a method set up for RC. I just am not sure where to even start. The memory method is good, but something about this section feels like I am just going with my gut. I want something that feels more concrete.

Any advice for getting back on track with this test?

Hi! I am confused about how the LSAC will calculate my GPA. My college just has A, B, C, etc. They do not give plus or minus. The college I transferred to gives plus and minus. I am just confused how this would all calculate up with the custom LSAC GPA.

Hi guys,

I recently attended a law school forum in DC and met a lot of schools. Is it ok if I actually write about admissions officer I spoke to at the forum?

Something like: "My recent discussion with Ms. __ __ affirmed my decision to make (enter school name) my top choice. She raved the JD/MPH program......"

Is that ok? Of course I won't make up the conversation we had, but i highly doubt they will remember me anyways lol.

It's a Saturday, my wife's working, I'm relatively free. What do I want to do? Coffee shop and study for the LSAT as I have been doing all week. Does anyone else, in a weird sort of way, enjoy the challenge of speeding through LG or drilling through LR questions? I've just found myself more and more over the last month desiring to hole up and pore over LSAT material, partially for the good score, partially for the fun of it. Am I maniacal?! lol

So I am pretty excited/nervous about starting my1L at UChi next month. After talking to some people, I have been told by some that they earned higher GPA's in law school than they did in undergrad. Of course, this is not the same as saying that it is "easier" because I highly doubt that it is. The curve could benefit some or students could benefit from being in classes that they are skilled in(unlike undergrad where classes outside your major could bring you down like Math, etc)

What are some of your thoughts?

Hi guys! General question about strengthening questions. I know from reviewing the core curriculum that, in theory, you can strengthen an argument one of two ways:

1.) adding premises that support the conclusion

2.) increasing the relevance of an existing premise to a conclusion

However, the more strengthening explanations I watch, the more I notice the right answer never really adds an independent extra premise. It always relates back to an existing premise, and makes it more relevant. Also JY mentions in several videos that the AC's that seem to add extra premises are the trap answers.

So, are there examples of correct strengthening AC's that do add an extra premise that in no way has to do with any of the premises already in the stimulus? Because if so, that would be quite useful in identifying trap answer choices. Thank you!

I don't know why but I have been having trouble translating any statement that has 'neither nor' in it.

For example, how would I translate this statement into formal logic/shorthand.

Neither Garrett nor Genrietta finishes earlier than Luisa.

Thank you in advance!

I am about a third of the way done with the CC and plan on taking the LSAT in February 2018 (unless I'm not ready in which case, I will push back to June). I have fully subscribed to JY's notion of taking the test when ready not necessarily by a deadline so am in no rush. That being said, when would be a good time to start admissions prep? I have not thought much about it as I am more focused on mastering the test but I also don't want to be surprised and then have to scramble to throw together a (hopefully) good admissions packet. I feel like it shouldn't even be on my radar now but I have heard from other people that they spend part of their study time on admissions prep. Is there ever a time when it's too early to start ... or too late?

I was just doing a timed PT and I found that many of the questions, due to having gone through the CC, are familiar. I've encountered most of them a while ago, but the familiarity of the questions ruins my confidence in my score. I ended up scoring 168, but I really don't know how to feel about it. Any suggestions on the type of mentality I should have when I experience similar events? Despite the fact that I didn't remember the correct answers to these questions, it still feels like I cheated. I'm sure this will occur again and again as I PT more, so I'd like to know what you think.

Hey all,

Any tips or advice on when to employ these two very different BR methods? I've found in the past that when I do full-test BR a few days later my BR score is significantly higher than when I only BR questions I circled during the normal PT (the ones where I felt (100% certain). I know this indicates that over-confidence is an issue, but I'm not sure how to address it.(/p)

This is essentially two questions. One is serious and one is not.

How many of you guys use Study Buddies? Has this been a big asset to you? A distraction? I'm trying to decide if I should continue to study alone or try to find someone to study with.

The not serious question is who all is your study buddy? Currently, mine is a small kitten I fostered earlier this summer who finds the videos fascinating. He has logged the CC hours right along side me, probably retaining more then I have lol.

Taking the LSAT in Sept - just finished LSAT trainer/my 3rd prep test (65) and the one section I'm not feeling even alright in is RC. I scored a 162 on the above test and missed 12 in RC. For those who have seen improvement - how do you train yourself to synthesize the information quickly and accurately so as to be able to answer the questions that follow? Unless the content is fairly simple, I have a hard time doing the above.

Anyone in the Durham Region or GTA planning on taking the December 2017 test?

Interested in possibly starting a study group if I get any takers. Open to online and/or in person.

Message me!

LR is pretty clear for me: I get to redo the ones I circle because they were hard at that time. If I don't circle a question and I get it wrong, well then I missed something big and need to figure out what.

In RC and LG, misunderstandings can carry through entire passages/games. Do ya'll redo the entire section for these and add BR scores for every question? Or do you, as in LR, only add BR scores for the one's you circled?

At the moment, I am redoing the entire LG and RC sections with a clean copy in BR, but only adding BR answers to analytics for questions that I circled.

Thanks for your input!

So I have an online program from Power Score, and one from 7 Sage...I've mostly been focusing on 7sage, but did some drilling from the Power Score workbooks today on weaken questions, and I bombed the question set. I only drilled weaken games, and got -10 (out of a total 30 questions). I looked at which prep tests the questions were from, and it was tests 19-29... are the questions different from those tests? They definitely read weirder.

I'm a bit worried because weakening questions are my strongest question types in LR, and I'm kinda freaked out I did that poorly.

Thoughts?

Hey all :) I've never started a thread on this board so here it goes. I'm sure everyone has a bad PT every now and then, but I just had my first major PT fumble since starting my studies. It really feels like a kick in the gut in the confidence department. I'm sure this is a problem most people have and I'm really just bringing the drama (I tend to do that), but what are some tips you all have about getting over the initial freakout period in cases like this?

Here's some background. My highest PT is a 171, my lowest is a 161 (not counting my diagnostic), and my average is about a 167. I just got a 162 on a PT (BR 169). I do two PTs a week with blind review, studying about 30 hours a week in total (I'm a freelance editor so I'm hashtagblessed with a flexible schedule). I've been plateauing between 166-168 for a while now so I was kind of hoping my first foray out of that bracket for weeks wouldn't be a significant drop. And what my BR tells me is twofold: one, PR and PF questions are going to haunt my dreams until the end of days and two, timing really makes me lose my shit. Tips on how to quell clock-related anxiety are much appreciated because my heart rate enters "girl you may need an elephant tranquilizer" territory real quick.

I can't tell if I want to just halt PTs for a little and hit the ground running tomorrow drilling my weaknesses or just take a few days off completely. But if I'm being real, I just need to vent my frustrations with people who get the pressure we put ourselves under. People around me are understandably a little baffled that I'm beating the crap out of myself for what seems like no reason. Anyway, I appreciate you getting to the end of this and if I had medals to hand out, I totally would. Any feedback is appreciated since my current approach of crying buckets full of crazy LSAT tears is, you know, not the best.

As we know, law schools only accept certain LSAT dates, for instance in Canada the last LSAT many schools accept is February, to start the following fall. When should we write the LSAT? When we are ready? For instance, in Canada, taking the LSAT earlier can give you an advantage over those who take the February one. What to do? I guess one can take the exam, and if they screw up, simply take it again, as law schools count the highest score.

Any idea when the LR videos for test question explanation will be back up and running?

Hope this helps others:

#1. Weakening (Except)

○ I assumed that the correct answer choice (which would need to be the one that did not

weaken the argument) needed to be one that strengthened the argument. In reality,

something that is neutral suffices as something that does not weaken

#2. Flaw

○ I failed to realize that words like (to) promote, elevate, develop, forward, advance, stimulate,

assist, foster, boost, catalyze, nurture and encourage are NOT synonyms for sufficient nor

necessary.

○ Instead of choosing the answer choice that attacks the argument, I chose the answer choice that

merely validated the opposing argument. Just because an argument is true that does not mean its

opposite is false.

○ I failed to realize that the correct answer choice was subtle which lead me to choose the best

incorrect answer choice since it appeared to say what the correct answer choice is saying.

#3. Main Conclusion

○ I chose the context and/or intro statement instead of the conclusion

#4. NA

○ I skimmed the stimulus

○ I did not choose the correct answer because it was a pretty strong statement which the correct NA

answer choice usually is not. Sometimes the NA is strong.

○ I did not see how the correct answer choice helped to connect everything up. Focused way too much

on looking for those ACs that when negated, destroy the argument. I did this at the expense of

looking for those ACs that when negated burn down the bridge formed by the correct AC.

○ I failed to correctly identify what the implication would be if the assumption inherent in the

correct answer choice was reversed.

○ I failed to focus on the conclusion and instead mistakenly focused on the premise/support that is

integral to the conclusion

○ I assumed that the correct answer choice would need to, when negated, be able to destroy the

argument but it merely needs to make the argument irrelevant.

#5. Parallel Flaw

○ I failed to ensure that all of the elements of the flawed argument I chose amongst the answer

choices aligned with all of the elements of the stimulus' flawed argument including modifiers such

as "safely" or "obviously conclude" versus "must conclude".

○ Sometimes does not mean some

#6. Strengthening

○ Only appears to be strong but does nothing to strengthen the argument

Hey Everyone,

Hope everyone is progressing through their studies. I had a quick question regarding BR methods for PT's. I have heard several people reference that they continue fool proofing LG as they PT. I think that this a great idea, but I'm unsure how to go about it. For example, I just took PT40 today (flight game absolutely killed me). After taking the PT, should I watch the explanation videos for the game and then try to do the game again/week later?

Also, if you wouldn't mind just quickly sharing, how long does it normally take you to BR? I'm hoping to take ~1-2 PT's per week and was thinking that I could PT in the morning, BR 2 sections later in the day, and then BR the last 2 the following day. Does this sound feasible?

As always, thank you for your responses.

So in the LG section JY has target times for each LG game, but I am unable to find this same thing for the RC passages. I am practicing RC and using JY's method; I spend 4 minutes up from reading the passage, visualizing the structure, and summarizing each paragraph inside my head after I read it. And then just tackle the questions. Sometimes passages take 7 minutes, sometimes 9 or more depending on the level of questions. What method do you guys use to determine a target time in which you should finish the passage in a section?

Hey guys :)

I'm currently doing my undergrad at UBC in Vancouver, Canada and hopefully will attend law school in the US fall of 2018. I'm looking at GPA entry requirements to schools and I've noticed that the GPA conversion chart used by the LSAC is very different from the one we use at my university. At my university my GPA would be a 3.3 but when looking at the LSAC conversion chart its a 2.0 which is extremely discouraging to see.

Do you know whether LSAC or law schools use your uni GPA or your LSAC recalculated GPA in regards to acceptances?

My uni counts 70- 79 as a B and 80- 89 as an A- to an A, whereas LSAC counts 70- 79 as a C and 80- 89 as a B. The class average for most of my classes range from 66- 70 as well so it would be extremely rare for someone to get 90+ and maintain a 3.5 + GPA. Do universities take this into consideration? Thank you <3

Good afternoon everyone!

Can one submit one's transcripts to the AACRAO so that one gets evaluation of one's UG performance, before taking the LSAT?

I have read that the CAS ( formerly LSDAS) uses AACRAO evaluation services to determine how good or bad one did in UG.

I plan on taking the LSAT this February 2018, but before taking, I would like to know where I stand as an international applicant. Or does the CAS calculate GPA only when you are applying to law schools?

In other words, if one's not applying to law schools immediately, can one engage transcript evaluation of AACRAO or CAS just to assess where one stands?

Alternatively is there anyone here who can provide a tentative LSDAS GPA for an international student like me, whom I can PM?

Thank you.