Hi everyone!

I wrote the LSAT in June and scored at 158 after PTing 165+, so I'm planning on retaking in September. I've purchased the Starter course and am going through the core curriculum now, and though I'm definitely learning lots to help me later, I was wondering if I should also be incorporating timed sections? I really don't want to waste any time, but I want to get the most out of the course!

Thanks :)

What should i ask my proffesors to include in a letter of recommendation? Neither of them are from the US and i know that when i ask them for a LOR they arent going to know what the norm recomendation includes

Hey everybody! This is my first time posting here so my apologizes if this post breaks forum etiquette.

Right now I'm considering whether or not a need a GPA addendum. From my undergraduate institution, LSAC will calculate that I have a 3.94 and within my time at my undergraduate institution I have steadily raised my GPA by small margins every semester. The problem is that I have some old DE credits from 4 years ago that will come back to haunt me and bring my LSAC calculated UGPA all the way to 3.72.

My ideal school is Georgetown having a median GPA of 3.77 and I'm still four points shy of their median LSAT (sitting in September to hopefully immediately apply ED after the scores come back.)

My question is should I write an addendum basically confessing I was a stupid teenager who didn't take life seriously and has since applied myself and steadily brought my GPA up every semester since? I'm almost worried that writing that addendum will highlight past poor grades without helping too much as I'm only .05 below their median.

What do you guys think? Additionally, if you think I should write it, should I include that since going to college I've held a 3.94 or does that not assist the addendum?

Hey Everyone,

It was great seeing all of you who were there yesterday. It was an absolute pleasure. Thank you :).

I hope going over conditional arguments and seeing how they work in different question types was helpful. This weekend, on Sunday, I will be going over the causation argument type.

The session yesterday gave me a couple of insights and I would like to change a few things about the next session. To get the most out of the next session I am assigning homework. It is of course up to you to complete it and I will not check if all of you do the assigned work. But how much you are able to get out of the session will depend on how much you know about causation argument type before hand.

So before joining in I recommend watching the following seven videos that are part of 7sage core curriculum:

https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/causation/

https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/causation-theory/?ss_completed_lesson=1207

https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/correlation/?ss_completed_lesson=1206

https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/correlation-ideas/?ss_completed_lesson=1205

https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/4-possible-explanations/?ss_completed_lesson=1204

https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/chronology/?ss_completed_lesson=1203

https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/causation-strategy/?ss_completed_lesson=1202

Each of these videos are about 5 minutes each - some even less than that so it shouldn't take that long.

For those of you who do not have 7sage core-curriculum please see if you can read up on causation argument as they are used in LSAT before coming into the session. This will give you the background knowledge necessary to see the pattern when we do go over the questions.

But just in case I will be going over the basics quickly at the start of the lesson. It just will not be as in depth as these videos.

I am still debating if I should release the questions I will be using for the upcoming session before the session. If I do, I will post it here before Sunday.

Let me know if there are any questions or thoughts in your comments below. I look forward to seeing all of you again (3(/p)

To join the session, please click on the link below at the specified date and time and I will see you there. : )

Free LR Tutoring (Sami)

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/589887541

You can also dial in using your phone.

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P.S.

I have not forgotten to post the information for the questions I used yesterday. I will do so soon in that post in a couple of days. : )

I really want to wait until my last semester grades are posted before applying, which would be mid-December. My PT score is 165, and 173 BR and I'll be taking the LSAT in September. I already have my PS, LOR, addendum, and additional essays prepared so really I could apply once the September LSAT grades are posted.

I would greatly appreciate any advice. I would like to apply in October, however, I recognize patience is a virtue. Looking mostly T-40 schools. Thanks!

Some LR questions have answer choices that say that an argument "assumes without providing justification that (xyz)", and some say that an argument "takes (xyz) for granted". Do these phrases mean the same thing? If not, please explain the difference(s). Thanks! :)

Proctors:

We had three, older, women proctors. We started out with two, and there must have been an extra proctor floating around the building because while the directions were being read, two women came into the room—one announcing she had another proctor for us and showed the third proctor into the room.

I was not a fan of these proctors at all. While they were cheerful and tried to be careful with assigned seating, that's about where their good professional aspects end. They were incredibly disorganized and they were the sole cause of all the distractions during the administration of the test. I'll go in more detail under "irregularities."

Facilities:

The facilities were nice and decently clean. Once you were in the building where the test was administered, there was plenty of signage directing you to your assigned room. And at every hallway junction, there was a proctor or some other staff member with a clipboard with room assignments who was able to direct you to where you were supposed to go. I and others found that very helpful. However, it was unclear when you walked into the building if you were supposed to check in before you go to your classroom, or if you check in for the first and only time upon entering the room. I think that would be helpful information for the LSAC to include on the admission tickets.

The hallways were crowded with everyone waiting to get into their rooms, but once you were in, the classrooms were clean and an adequate temperature. The bathrooms were convenient, but could have been cleaner. I think I saw vending machines with food and drinks on the first floor, which is nice if you forgot to bring a snack.

What kind of room:

We were in a fairly large classroom, but it felt comfortable. It was big enough to accommodate everybody but also not an auditorium. It was all level (there were no stairs within the room) and the room temperature was neither too hot nor too cold. There was adequate light—all fluorescent and no windows— and there was a clock in the back of the room, so definitely bring a watch if you test here.

How many in the room:

At least 100, possibly 125, plus the three proctors. There were 10–15 rows that were 10–15 desks deep. Not every chair was filled, but most of them were. It definitely didn't feel like there were that many people in the room though. For the most part, everyone was quiet and respectful, and the layout of the room made it feel smaller/more intimate than it actually was. We had assigned seats, which slowed us down in getting started, but otherwise, I didn't mind.

Desks:

The desks were what you would typically find in any high school classroom—hard metal/plexiglass-plastic-type desks with the basket underneath the seat and desk top attached to the chair on the right-hand side. They didn't flip up like you might find in a lot of college/some high school classrooms. The actual work surface was smaller than I would have liked—I almost pushed my extra pencils off and almost dropped my answer sheet a couple times—but it wasn't too small. If you didn't have your pencils vertically aligned on your desk they would roll off, which was annoying. The desks were clean and seemed fairly new. They were stable and didn't rock. I was in the front row, but it seemed like some of the desks behind me were not spaced out very well and if you had someone in front of you who leaned back during the test, they definitely would have been over your work space, which I'm sure would have been annoying and distracting.

Left-handed accommodation:

I wasn't aware of anyone who was left-handed in the room, but I also did not see left-handed desks, so I imagine if there were any left-handed test takers, it is unlikely they were accommodated.

Noise levels:

Minimal. Thankfully! The walls were thick, plus it's a small community college, so there was no noise coming from outside in the halls. The lack of windows prevented any noise/distractions from outside as well. Almost everyone taking the test was very considerate and did their best to be silent. No beeping watches. Hardly any sniffling/coughing. The only noise was from the proctors, which I'll get to in the irregularities.

Parking:

There was PLENTY of free parking, which was great. And it was a short walk to the building where we took the test. However, I am very glad I read my admission ticket carefully and examined Google Maps and a campus map in the week before the test because there was NO signage indicating where to park or how to get to the correct building.

Time elapsed from arrival to test:

We definitely did not start on time. There were lines outside of all the classroom doors past 9 a.m. The proctors didn't start letting people into the rooms until just before 9 a.m. They checked each person's ID and ticket and directed them to their assigned seat. As you might imagine, the assigned seating slowed us down. I didn't have my watch set for the actual time (rather, I had the hour hand set at 7 to help me better visualize how much time I had left during the test), so I'm not sure what time we actually started, but we did not leave the testing room until 2 p.m. and our break was 11:35–11:50 a.m. I guess through deduction, we started around 10 a.m.

There were two students who showed up 20 minutes late, which is puzzling, but that certainly didn't help us get started on time since they had to be directed to their assigned seats and the proctors had already put the seating chart away.

Irregularities or mishaps:

Yikes. Where do I begin? I'm sure this isn't the worst horror story you'll read, but it definitely wasn't pleasant. I have no complaints about the actual facility or other test takers, only the proctors.

First, we were assigned seats in the classroom, which I assumed was to help the proctors stay organized when collecting books, answer sheets, IDs, and tickets. If that was the reason, it failed spectacularly. One proctor was in charge of reading the directions while the other two collected IDs and tickets. The two collecting IDs and tickets, did so with no methodology that would allow them to quickly and easily hand them back out when it was time. This came back to haunt them immediately because they collected our tickets while the head proctor was reading us the directions to fill out our biographical information on the answer sheet—which includes filling out your LSAC account number. All the tickets had been collected before we got to that part, so at least 20 minutes was wasted while the proctors had to hand the tickets back out because no one knew their account number. And then re-collect them. I'm assuming in an attempt to try to make up for that lost time, the head proctor asked us approximately every 15 seconds if we were done filling out the answer sheets, when clearly, we weren't. But, I was willing to look past these minor annoyances figuring I was just being Type-A and overly critical.

The head proctor struggled to read the directions coherently, so I'm glad I had listened to them with 7sage a couple times before the actual test. And once we got started, the proctor distractions continued. During one section, the head proctor was tearing pages out of something—and not doing so quietly. This went on for several minutes at multiple times throughout the section. Additionally, one of the other proctor's phone kept vibrating. I doubt that the people in the back of the room could hear it, but since I was right up front, it was distracting for me. Later in the exam, her phone even audibly rang. It made it all the way through to voicemail before the proctor was able to get to her phone to turn it off. It then made another audible noise indicating a voicemail or other message.

When it was time for the break, the proctors struggled to pass out our IDs in a timely fashion (again suffering from the disorganization). Not even half of the test-takers had their IDs back when the head proctor announced the time we had to be back from break, and reminded us not to leave before we had our IDs. I and a couple other test takers made sure she wasn't going to hold us to the time she originally announced because half of us didn't have our IDs yet, so we couldn't leave and therefore wouldn't get the full 15-minute break. She did end up conceding and waited to start the break when everyone had their IDs in-hand.

When we returned, the proctors again struggled to pass our test booklets and answer sheets out in a timely and organized manner after having not collected them in a way that would facilitate that happening.

Lastly, during the second half-of the exam, the head proctor announced we only had five minutes left in the section we were working on. She was incorrect—we had 15 minutes left. This prompted me and one other test taker to rebut that we should have 15 minutes left. The proctor didn't understand at first and then called the other test taker up to the front and then out into the hall. When she re-entered, she announced to the room she was wrong and we had 15 minutes left (at that point it was more like 12). But that was an incredible distraction and it took me a minute to get my stress level back in check after panicking for thinking I had not well-managed my time.

Other comments:

I ended up writing to the LSAC to complain about the proctors.

Would you take the test here again?

I am taking the test there again in December in an attempt to reduce nerves. Having a sense of familiarity will be helpful for me, but I am crossing my fingers that they have some better proctors. Otherwise, I would be indifferent about taking the LSAT there again.

Date[s] of Exam[s]:

Sept 24., 2016

So, any tips on what to do if you don't even understand the stimuli? Obviously, this will make it hard to answer the question.

Hey Everyone,

This weekend on Saturday I will be going over PT 35, Passage 2. It's an art passage.

Like the previous times, we will first do the low and high resolution summaries then the questions under time before going over the answers. For that reason, you do not have to do the passage before coming to the session. But you do need the passage in front of you but we will also have it available on screen.

If this will be your first time please do not worry, I will go over what low and high resolution summaries are before we begin reading the passage, so you will quickly catch up.

Please click the link below to join the meeting at the specified time.

I'll see you all there! : )

Free RC Tutoring (Sami)

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/557824877

You can also dial in using your phone.

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Access Code: 557-824-877

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Having a rough time w this one. Can anyone help out?

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-70-section-1-question-08/

Hi All,

Let's say we have the conditional statement "If I go to the market and go to the mall, then I will reward myself with ice cream."

Then I have the statement "Even if I go to the mall, I will not reward myself with ice cream."

What implications does this have? "Even if" is not a conditional indicator, so I believe all this statement is really saying is that "I will not reward myself with ice cream." From this we can infer that "I will not go to the market." We know that even if I do go the mall, it still not sufficient to trigger the conditional, so therefore we must know that I am not going to the market.

Thoughts on this? For a point of reference, PT71.S3.Q11 is what prompted this consideration-- answer choice B specifically.

I've finished the CC and have taken a few exams averaging 155. I BR in the mid 160's. I'm stuck at a plateau. I need some guidance on some hardcore prep for scoring at least a 160 on the sept LSAT. Currently making flash cards to review some core concepts and starting to practice reading comp. (Yeah, haven't given it much attention).

Logic games: averaging -5 (simple mistakes that are currently being fixed)

Logical reasoning: averaging -8 currently hung up on flaw and parallel method of reasoning questions)

Reading comp: 90% of my problem is time. -3 on BR

QUESTIONS:

What are your post CC techniques or tips?

What's the best way to really break through a 155 plateau?

Best course of action to really destroy Reading comp?

So I feel like when I read the passage I have a good idea about what is going on and how it pertains to the structure but I am consistently missing three questions per passage( I spend about 9-11 mins on each passage) and Ive used the memory method and Ive watched the hammer time video so Im at a loss for what else to do other than just practice on more passages, does anyone have any advice? or what they did to improve their score? THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE!!!

Hey guys,

Looking for pointers on how you guys use the LR drill packets. What have you found helpful?

Since we only have a finite number of 'fresh' questions from PT 1-35 I don't want to squander my packets needlessly. I'm at the stage where I really only need to reinforce some fundamental strategies (like looking for weak claims among NA answer choices etc.) and solidify my trust in my intuitions.

So say I want to work on RRE questions having bombed an easy one during a PT. To reinforce my approach I revisit the CC, work through the example RRE questions again with JY (the ones before the problem sets). What do you guys do after this point? Problem sets? Drill packets?

At the moment we've got 3 and a half LR packets covering PT 1-35. In the first group (1-9) there is something like 20+ RRE questions. As a drill "session" would you burn through all 20+ of these RRE questions? Would you do fewer of them and do them in more detail? Do them timed or untimed? Do only do the harder ones (I don't even know if they're arranged by difficulty in the drill packets)?

Sorry this is dense and I hope it makes sense :)

Does anyone else find these questions insanely hard?

Granted I only started working with them in the newer Prep Tests since they didn't show up prior to the 60s, so I don't have as much practice with them. But I have tried watching J.Y's explanation on these and it still isn't helping me get them. I feel like when I do get them it is more luck than anything

I'm wondering if I should devote a day to just trying to figure out how to do these questions, or whether it is worth the time and effort. Anyone have any strategies they use?

I'm in my fourth week of study for the lsat and my approach has been to go through as many tests I need to untimed until I'm consistently within the 175-180 range. I've heard that you shouldn't waste any tests by not adding time constraints but I have a really big pool of past exams to study from so it's not really an issue in my opinion, and I've started at the oldest (1993) tests I have access to and am working up until I feel comfortable enough to ramp up the pace. I'm guessing I'll be able to add time limits around the end of July as my scores have been slowly improving from the mid-to-high 160 range to around the mid 170s, but again this is untimed so I'm not sure if that's really any good. Does anybody else have experience with this approach and would you recommend it? For the now the plan is to study consistently and take the test in December, but part of me thinks I can be ready in time for the one in September.

3.81gpa, 158 lsat. I'll probably take the LSAT again in December to try to get a 160+.

UC Hastings has 75th percentile gpa of 3.61 and 75th percentile lsat of 161

Any chance of getting merit scholarships with my current stats?

What's the best advice you received when you got bummed out while studying? What gave you the motivation and confidence to continue pushing? Thanks!

Hey, I see that GPA is calculated out of 4.33 but on the "top law schools graph" (https://classic.7sage.com/top-law-school-admissions/) it seems like the scale is out of 4.00. Also - when schools report their admission stats are they out of 4.33 or 4.00 (e.g. Berkley reports the median as 3.79)? Could someone explain what I am missing here?

So i have been at the LSAT for awhile now. I see the benefits of prephrasing im just really having a hard time employing it on a large part of the test.

Does anyone have any drills or methods they used to help them "work out" their prephrase muscles? Mindset?

I just wanted to take a few moments to thank you all for being the most welcoming and helpful community of aspiring lawyers I could ever imagine (which is so outside the norm it's not even funny - I'm sure we all know many nasty, spiteful, shithead current/aspiring lawyers).

My LSAT journey began last July, when I was thinking about fleeing my current job via postgraduate education (I actually love my organization and coworkers, but it was and continued to be a brutal few months at work). I took a diagnostic test (153), registered for September, and jumped into the old powerscore books I bought in 2013 when I thought I'd go straight to law school from undergrad. They were pretty helpful, but I wasn't anywhere near my target score (173+), so I decided to withdraw the night before the September test.

Since December was going to be my last chance to apply that cycle, I was really aiming to hit that test out of the park, and have my applications ready for when I received my score. I went back to studying amidst 60+ hour work weeks. I discovered 7sage around Halloween and found the LG explanations tremendously helpful, but I was so close to my test date that I felt like it wasn't worth getting even the starter pack.

Unfortunately, I bombed the December test, and knew it walking out of the test center. My maladroitness with logic games had been brutally exposed, as I ran out of time on the last two games, and it was reflected in my score: -8 on that section alone, and a 166 overall (which obviously isn't terrible, but was several points below my average and way below my target score). I made the tough decision to delay my applications and retake in June.

After about a month off of anything LSAT-related, I jumped back into studying with renewed vigor - I knew that I had to and could shore up my LG, so I worked on them disproportionately. I used a modified version of the foolproof method (which I'm happy to share with anyone who's curious - I think 3-4 tries on the same LG is super unnecessary tbh) and worked through pretty much every single logic game the LSAC has ever released at least once. I threw in a full PT about every weekend (I tried to do at least 3 a month) and jumped on a few blind review calls.

Come June, I was feeling way more confident, and the amount of work I put into LG finally paid off. Last night at 9:40PM, after spending an agonizing 4 days constantly refreshing, I finally received some good news - I'd gotten -0 on LG, and hit my target score with a 174 overall. I'll be applying as early as possible when applications open, and then I'm quitting my job in February to globetrot for 5-6 months before starting law school in the fall of 2018.

I do genuinely feel bad about never having invested my own money into 7sage; it just never made sense for me given the stage of studying I was at (the core curriculum wouldn't have helped me very much, and I already had access to every PT thanks to some friends), but it almost feels as if I took advantage of the rest of you who do pay, and all the sages who put in so much time and effort to make this product and community great. For that reason, I'll still poke around the forums sometimes and answer questions if I can, and am happy to jump on the occasional BR call if requested and available. I'm also happy to do personal statement swaps and whatnot once apps open up in the fall!

Special shouts to @twssmith for being one of the kindest and most encouraging people I've ever had the pleasure to (virtually) meet, JY for helping thousands of schmucks like myself on their paths to law school, and all you weirdos who are obsessed with definitively finding the perfect test-taking pencil.

And for anyone who may be feeling frustrated after their June results; I'm so sorry, I've been there and it sucks. But you can and will hit your target score the next time!

TL;DR: Y'all are fucking awesome, stay fresh.

PS: this was me hungover at work today -

This has been asked before but for the sake of it I am asking it again. Is the statement "V happens if and only if Y happens" represented as Y(----)V (/V(----)/Y). Thank you for the clarification

The correct answer on this question doesn't make sense to me. The main conclusion of the argument is very narrow, and the answer goes outside the scope of the argument in order to weaken it. Can someone please explain this to me? Maybe in a private message? I'm trying not to break any rules by revealing too much here.

i've often heard of this being the final plateau for lsat students.

for those of you that are averaging in the 175 range: how did you get there?

Hi!

I'm looking for a study partner or two near Little Neck/Great Neck in NY in preparation of the September test. I took the June test so this would be my retake. My strength is LG and weakness is RC--I'm hoping to work with someone who can complement my skills and motivate each other. I'm also happy to help with improving :) Please post in the comments or message if you live near the area and are interested!