Admins please delete if I am crossing any lines.

These are MY notes from the free webinars put on David Busis and figured that I should host them somewhere for everyone to view/use. This is just scratching the surface for the breadth of information that David provides in the admissions courses, https://classic.7sage.com/enroll-admissions/.

Admission Webinar Notes

Look at the applications for schools you want to get into now, a lot of them share similar topics.

Timeline

-Should start in June, but July is sufficient

-Focus on research and building resume first

-Develop personal statement draft by end of July

-Line up recommenders, give time to reconnect (have conversation, grab coffee, email correspondence, etc)

-Come august you should begin edit the essays, let them evolve

-By September you should be proof reading the essays for easy errors (review it 4, 5, or even 6 times)

-If applications are ready in October, then apply, if not then wait until you have all ducks in a row and papers as best as you possibly can

-If you apply by thanksgiving you're still great and early, February to march is late and should consider waiting until next year.

Before you start you want to sanitize your Social Media, adjust privacy settings, delete embarrassing/not professional photos

Open prompts truly can be about anything

Don't necessarily write about why you're going to law school, if your resume shows real commitment to social justice, have wanted to be forever, then write about it

if your T-14 schools don't really care, write about something not focused on this

Personal Statement (600 - 850 words, if overwrite that ok, it easier to overwrite and cut then underwrite and add)

(There is more on PS below in this post)

-Make them remember who you are, do not brag about what you've done as that what your resume is for

-Diversity Statement, only write if you can write a really really good one, should generally be shorter than personal statement, if it wants to be longer than personal statement than maybe use that as personal statement

-Wont make up for low LSAT scores or low GPA, but could help put your application into the "Yes" pile

-Stories stick in peoples heads more than facts, remember you as the guy who "Locked keys in car, broke into own car, got arrested for breaking into own car"

-If you have a really good reason to be a lawyer, then write about it, otherwise DONT

Diversity Statement (little bit shorter than personal statement)

-A essay about how you would make the campus more diverse, not tied to ethnicity, religion, etc

-Only write diversity statement if you can talk about how your background shaped you

-A good one wont hurt you, but a bad one WILL

Resume (not the same as a job)

-List interests and activities (these two come up in interviews)

-Shows that you're an human being, humanize yourself

-Only include highlights, show off skills or highlights talents

-Keep to one page, admissions will scan for about 30 seconds, so make it scannable with plenty of white space and easy to read formatting

-Only include highlights

-Have quantifiable accomplishments

-Keep it to one page

Letters of Recommendation (need two or three)

-Around 3 LoR is best, no more than 5

-Academics weigh much more heavily

-Those who know you well are much more helpful

-Those who can tell stories about you, help illustrate your personality

-Can give them information about yourself, might include keys for what you want to be highlighted or how you've changed recently

-Reconnect and help them remember who you are or fill them in on what you've done since last seeing them

Character and Fitness Addendum

-Assume admissions can find out anything available via google, social media, etc.

-Disciplinary action at school or ever arrested, assume that everything you don't disclose will go back to bite you

-Figure out what you should call the incident, Class B or Class C misdemeanor

-Show them what you learned and explain to them why its not going to happen again

Weakness Addendum (Extenuating circumstances)

What happened, How are you trying to fix it, What isn't it going to happen again

-Is this a legitimate problem?

-Did i try to fix this problem?

-Is this going to occur in the future?

-Don't write about a weakness you don't want them to know

-Substantiate the lower GPA in mechanical engineering department with a pass rate for EIT /

-Spin this with being military minded, straight line thinking person for the past X years of life

Why school X essay (optional but NOT OPTIONAL, 1 page or less)

-Although these are stated to be optional they are not!

-This is an INTEREST TEST, if you don't write one or write about a generic reason this shows a LACK OF INTEREST

-Must write it if you have the option, this is a interest test

-Have to do research on the school, talk with students, admissions, graduates

-Cite unique reasons, classes, clinics, professors you want to work with

-Don't make it a generalized statement ("Great professors")

-Should be one page or less

Other Essays (Idiosynchratic)

-Compliment or emphasize other parts of your admission packet

-Use this to expound on your "marketing of yourself"

-Georgetown has 5 additional essays

-Use this emphasize one part of your essay, or if you didn't write about why you want to be Lawyer then write that

Brainstorming

-What 5 seconds changed your life, boil it down to a key moment

-When did you change your mind about something

-What is the hardest thing you've ever done

Personal Statement Webinar Notes

A good personal statement topic finds a good center between What Matters to You and What is an Interesting Story (where there exists the most overlap is what you should write about)

-In additional, a good personal statement where there exists an intersection between what Matters to you and What is an Interesting Story AND doest make you look like a douche

-A really good writer can make almost anything an interesting story (I am not a good writer thought....)

-Tells your life story, or a thin slice of your life's story

Do you have an incredible story (something that could be made into a Lifetime movie?)

-If yes, then you want to use that

-If no then DON'T use that --> Brain storm, general rule is that 1 in 10 ideas are good ones

Personal statement should have an internal before and after, should be a lesson that reflects a small journey you made

Questions to ask yourself to find a good topic

1) When did you change your mind, your beliefs, or your goals? Anywhere in your life where you took a new direction, a big inflection point. Maybe it is smaller than significant change, such as a psychodrama.

2) What is the most challenging thing that you've done? What is your mountain? This might be a really good topic because it presents movement 1- the challenge and movement 2- the solution

3) What contributed to your identity? What shaped you or what made you, you? Might be about how you grew up, such as had to raise your siblings. Maybe you were a parking lot attendant and had a bunch of time to focus on something, like reading.

4) What is most surprising about you? It forces you to dig deep about something that will be memorable. Maybe its a hobby, a skill that most people don't have, or an interest most people don't have.

5) (Most powerful statement) What 5 seconds changed your life? Doesn't necessarily have to be actually 5 seconds. Might be easiest to write because you have an identifiable changing point and have a before and after.

6) What made you want to be a lawyer? This is a good topic for anyone who has a good and sincere interest in becoming a lawyer, not a boring reason such as a stable or respected profession. Don't pretend you want to be a lawyer for some abstract reason because your resume will flush out that your interest isn't actually sincere. If you have some use for your UG degree.

Topics can meld together, such as a 5 second change that drove you to want to be a lawyer.

Dudes favorite essays:

1) Tourettes essay - about a time someone who has tourettes his whole life, seemed ordinary from his POV, but from someone else POV its pretty interesting

2) Defending a Neo-Nazi - a African American who ends up defending a Nazi in court

3) Coffee Shop - A 5 second change in this girls life, who normally didn't stand up for herself, but was a pivotal movement for her

4) Paper Cranes - Korean student who moved to Japan who had an inherent distrust for Japanese culture, while making paper cranes in a park

5) Max's Death - An VETs story about an Iraqi Soldier who died while trying to get his Green Card, focus's more on his relationship between the two NOT ABOUT MAX

6) Tourne - Someone who could make a type of food, tourne, and his struggle

7) Women like you - About a woman who was harassed in a police station in South Korea, turns that moment about being harassed into what are her core beliefs

The best personal statements touch on the MOST IMPORTANT THING IN YOUR LIFE

Things to ask:

1) Do you play an active part in this story? If you're not active then the topic probably doesn't work

2) Can you illustrate the point with specific anecdotes and details? These are the "bricks" that build your essay. If you can't remember specific details about the event, it might be a shitty essay because it will be vague

3) Is the topic important to you? Can you write about it sincerely?

4) Is it "the time that"?

Things to NOT DO:

1) Don't say what you're not sincere about because you think its what they want to hear, the admissions will flush out your bullship

Bad Essays Example Topics:

1) The time I witnessed injustice essay, unless you were wronged or people you were connected to were wronged, then this is not going to seem sincere. Did you try to, or actually, do something about it? Did you actively act on that cause?

2) The Blah Business School Essay

-Did this experience working at the internship, or working at your job, matter to you? Did it change you? If not then it will feel like blah.

-Is your accomplishment something special, or was it just doing your job? Sometimes just doing your job can have a sense of nobility.

3) The essay about the obstacle that's not really an obstacle.

-Disappointments are not real obstacles

-Is this an actual obstacle or is this a disappointment?

4) The Two-Headed Essay

-Writer doesn't really know what he wants to write about and morphs into something weird

-Do I have more than one topic?

-Is every paragraph part of the same story?

5) The Headless Essay

-People writing about their resume or writing about

-Can you explain what this essay is about in one sentence or less? If you can't then you probably don't have a good essay

Notes from Admissions webinar on Personal Statement:

Personal Statement (600 - 850 words, easier to overwrite and cut)

-Make them remember who you are, do not brag about what you've done as that what your resume is for

-Diversity Statement only if you can write a really really good one, should generally be shorter than personal statement, if it wants to be longer than personal statement than maybe use that as personal statement

-Wont make up for low LSAT scores or low GPA, but could help put your application into the "Yes" pile

-Stories stick in peoples heads more than facts, remember you as the guy who "Locked keys in car, broke into own car, got arrested for breaking into own car"

-If you have a really good reason to be a lawyer, then write about it, otherwise DONT

Useful resource for examples of PS that worked

University of Chichago School of Law Admissions Letters: http://www.law.uchicago.edu/alumni/magazine/spring11/intheirownwords

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/node/1451

Hi All,

I'm currently registered for the September exam. I've been trying like hell to prep under regular test conditions since May so I don't have to use my ADHD as a sort of crutch to take this exam...but today I've just come to accept that it's a disability that I have and I will need more than the alotted 35 minutes to perform my best on this exam. When I BR I'm scoring in the high 160s/low 170s. And under actual time conditions I'm just all over the place from the high 150s-160s. I've set a routine where I meditate for 15 minutes prior to taking a PT, I listen to the same song to calm me down, I do push ups. But when I'm on the clock I just panic. (When I took the Oct '13 exam I had a panic attack during the 1st section and just never recovered, I should've cancelled..but I didn't)...so I've gone onto LSAC's website to request testing accommodations. I have all the forms from my doctor stating my condition and requesting extended time...but I'm sort of lost on the statement of need that I myself have to submit. What should I put? Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-54-section-4-question-20/

Could someone please explain why answer A is correct. I can get there by process of elimination as I understand fully why the other answers are incorrect. But I'd really like to understand the reasoning between A so I can say I have a "full understanding" of this question. It would be helpful if someone could give an example using numbers.

hello is there any idea of when JY will be posting the review of the June 2016 test? Test 78

I'm just wondering how I should study for RC?

Obviously Blind Review, but how much time should I spend going back and trying to figure out why my wrong answers were wrong? 99% of the time I can get the right answer. That's not difficult. It's doing it in the time constraint.

Looking for someone to study with.

I would like to ask this question.

For relative ordering.

Q - R- P - L

l

G - F

Given the above, who is, could, should or would be first and last and what is the order and ranking?

Also for the same problem.

Y - Z

l

V - W - M - X

l l

K C

Would someone please help me to understand this relative ordering. Thank You.

Hey guys,

I'm about to start taking sections with only 30 minutes instead of 35 to give myself more time pressure because

I found that 35 minutes feels a lot shorter during the test day. Has anyone tried doing this? If yes, what benefits

have you gained?

Hey everyone! SO, I am planning on taking the September test, hoping that it is my last one, but yesterday is making me wary of my prospects. For the past few weeks I have been working exclusively on RC, since that was my weakest section. I took PT 70 on Saturday, hoping to hit around a 163-165, but ended up getting a 156. Based on what I had been scoring on my timed, full sections of RC, and my usual scores on the other sections, this came as a big shock to me. I had been averaging from 3-6 wrong on RC, 2-3 on LG, and around 6 wrong on each LR section. Definitely looking for a bit of inspiration, since I totally fell apart yesterday when reviewing, and started to question whether I should even take the test in September. My BR was 164, also lower then expected. Overall, I was thinking maybe the results were due to not taking a full PT in a while, but I am really unsure what to do at this point. I really wanted to take the test in September and do well on it and be done with it, but like I said, this score is making me reconsider things. So for those much more wise than I, what should I do?????

Hey everyone,

Like many others, I do not come from a science background and therefore I find that I really struggle with Science passages/questions. I have been able to improve this in the RC section by practicing the memory method and focusing on becoming a more active reader. What I really struggle with is the detailed science questions that frequently appear in the LR section. I often find myself losing focus and then having to re-read or spending far too much time trying to figure out what exactly the argument is trying to say. I have tried to apply the same methods that have helped me in RC, but to no avail. I know skipping is a recommended strategy, but at some point I need to take on my fear, don't I? My goal score is 170+ and I am continuously losing points on these types of questions.

Has anybody else come across this problem; someone that has recommendation for me on how I can improve upon my embarrassingly inadequate science cred.

Thanks!

Hi Everyone,

I don't know if this thread exists but I thought I would make one. I am really into apps that help me stay productive, organized, allow me to see the tasks I am working on, as well as how long I have stayed productive in a day. Please feel free to suggest any apps that help you all stay effective and focused on LSAT. :)

1. Trello: This is my #1 site. I have a board for LSAT and Habbits (LSAT) that I like to implement. Because LSAT can have so many components,LR,LG, RC, drills, PT, etc, it was hard sometimes for me to know the different things I was working on. I used to feel pretty stressed about keeping tabs on everything I need to work on and scheduling those things. This helps me visually see everything, schedule key drills on days, etc. Plus you can color code things. It's pretty damn good. The only drawback is that somehow my google and apple calendar don't automatically update when I make changes to my Trello calendar. This makes it hard for me to see everything LSAT related on a calendar unless I am logged in to Trello or I manually re-post my link on my calendars. P.S. I have the free account, and it works great. Anyone can make it.

2. Pomello: This keeps track of the hours I study on LSAT. This helps me see clearly the hours I have been productive in a day. The best thing about it is that you can log in Pomello your Trello account and you can access your boards. So you don't have to enter everything twice, and you can see how long you worked on something. It also schedules break for you, etc. I have only recently started using Pomello, so I don't see any drawbacks yet.

3. Stay Focused: I love this website. I have a hard time with staying off facebook etc. So I use this site to block it. You can just google this, and add it to your chrome. The best thing about this is that you can set the time you allow yourself on these websites. I have basically allowed myself 30 minutes total in a day surfing the websites. But you can change it. So its not a complete withdrawal from social life, but it is helpful in setting a limit for myself the time I am allowed to waste on them. :)

4. Productive: I have this app on my phone. It helps you develop a good habit. On a free account, you can have upto 5 habits that you would like to work on, which I think is plenty. I think one habit at a time is the best way to go because its hard to change as a person. It's extremely simple, gives you notifications, you can mark it complete, skip it, take notes etc. For example, I wanted to make it a habit to read an article from Scientific American before going to bed every night. It wasn't easy, but wanting to see my habit in the app go green helped me develop the habit of reading at least an article per night.

5. Flux: I thought I would add this, even though it's not a productivity app. You can download this app from google and it basically uses your location to adjust the brightness of the screen. So in the morning or at night you are not facing this harsh blue screen. It makes looking at the laptop any time of the day easy on the eyes and I think it helps in my eyes not feeling as tired. This is particularly helpful because I am always on my laptop, 7 sage or anything else. So I recommend it.

If you have any other apps or sites that help you stay productive please let me know. I am sucker for them because they are so helpful :)

Hi, I have a question about the method.

I'm not sure whether I'm doing it correctly...

I was doing review bfr checking the correct answers, but now doing aft checking answers.

Because I thought when I choose answer choice, I already have my reasoning to choose it...but is this not efficient?

Why do we have to do the reasoning explanation part again after solving the question? (bc we already choose the ans. based on our reasoning)

If you know the correct reasoning, you would not miss the question.

Also I'm worried whether my reasoning is correct or not, whether that's the reasoning that makes the choices right or wrong...

Maybe I did not understand the BR method correctly. But I'm not sure how ppl improve using this method...

Could anyone elaborate the method a little bit? and if you could answer or address my questions/concerns? :(

Why and how will ppl improve using the method?

Thank you,

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-55-section-1-question-25/

All of the statements follow logically EXCEPT:

A. Some influential art involves original ideas

B. Some 20th century art involves original ideas

C. Only art that involves original ideas is influential (CORRECT ANSWER)

D. Only art that is influential and involves original ideas is great art

E. Some 20th century art is influential and involves original ideas

Can someone explain why C is correct?

I went through and did my conditional diagramming:

Some 20h century art>> great art

Great art>>>original ideas ...... contrapositive: not original ideas>>> not great art

not influential>>> not great art ..... contrapositive: great art>> influential

So i can understand how great art is influential and involves original ideas but I am still unsure of why C is right. Is it because involving original ideas does not necessarily mean its influential?

Wednesday, August 10th at 8PM ET: PT 64

Click here to join this conversation: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/219480381

Please click the link and comment if you plan on participating.

You can also dial in to the BR call by using your phone.

United States +1 (571) 317-3112

Access Code: 219-480-381

The Full Schedule

And if you’d like to see the full schedule for upcoming reviews, here it is:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=7sage.com_ft05lsm54j4ec1s6kj1d1bbpv0%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Chicago

Note:

I still have like 6 weeks until test day and I have improved a lot over the past two months. Reading comprehension is currently a work in progress but I'm feeling pretty good. What should I be doing from now until test day?

I'm sensing probably not?

Does taking the December 4th LSAT lower your chances of getting accepted to a law school? I want to go to HLS and I was told if you don't apply before thanksgiving it is then extremely difficult to get accepted because so many people have already applied.

I took the LSAT last December with the attention of going to Law School in Fall. I was extremely busy when I originally took the test and barley studied. Unfortunately, I scored in the 150's. I decided I was going to retake the test when I had more time to study and not apply to last school until the next year. However, several schools sent me application waivers. Out of the schools that sent me application waivers one was Northeastern which is a school that I am interested in attending. They have an excellent public interest law program which is my area of interest. I'm now studying for the LSAT full-time to retake in December with way more time on my hands than I had last year. My goal is to score to score "165" but whatever my score im likely to score way better than the first test I took in December based upon my performance on practice test. Should I wait to submit my northeastern law application until my new lsat score comes in in December or should I submit it with the old one?

OK so. I have been testing using older PTs and score has been ranging from 158-163. I wasn't sure if I would get anywhere in that range on the new PTs. So this morning I took PT 70 using the Proctor feature of 7Sage. And to my surprise I actually score much higher, 174.

IMO the newer exam questions were much easier or was my increase due to this product being AMAZING (I'd like to hope that it's both). Did anyone else find the newer exam questions to be less difficult? Did you see an increase in score between the older vs new exams? Was this luck? I can barely breathe from excitement but I don't want to get my hopes up if this was a whim.

Yo everyone!

I am thinking about getting 7Sage and have a question before I pick which package to buy. I have been watching the free LG explanations on YouTube and keep hearing the instructor keep referencing going through the logic games" bundle" ? Which package includes that? I searched the site and some had said they are no longer available? Is that for all packages?

And if they are no longer available than what should I do instead? It seems like I'm screwed for LG is I don't have access to the bundle. I'm someone who wants to buy the best package and do it just like the instructor said to ensure I can improve on games. They are by far my worst section... Any advice on where to get them? And for those of you that don't have the bundle, what do you use instead?

TYIA

I am looking to just pull all the parallel reasoning questions, necessary assumption, and flaw in reasoning questions from older LSATs and just drill those in a row to hammer out errors and timing issues. Is there a way I can pull questions by there type in 7sage from older tests so I can just combine them myself?

Hey guys! This is my first post here and I have a quick question. Anyone from the admin staff from 7sage would be even more helpful. I am about to purchase the ultimate+ program and what I'm primarily going to be focusing on are obviously all of the PT explanations. Now, I will only have access to PTs up to PT 77 but I know explanations for PT 78 will be released shortly. And PT 79, 80 and so on during my 16 months of access. So will these new PTs that were not available at the time of ultimate+ purchase be automatically included to PTs I will have access to as they come along? Or will I have to purchase each newer PT separately? If anyone has the answers to this, please help me out! Thank you guys :)

[Admin note: Ultimate+ includes 12 months now]

I am just beginning to study for the December LSAT. I would love to hear some study advice. Thanks!

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-69-section-1-question-22/

Hi, I have a question...

I eliminated B because of the word "most." If this says all or significantly large or something like that, it was easier to see it's the correct answer I think.

In the stimulus, it says "Most of our best sales....no experience."

How can we use B to weaken the "Most" in the stimulus?

I chose E, I know the word "some" is kind of weak, but I remember in some PTs I took before the correct answers included "some" (because other answers were not good compared to the ones).

Could anyone explain why B is good enough to weaken the "most" part in the stimulus and if there are other reasons, besides the "some" part in E, why E is wrong?

Thank you in advance,

Hi guys!

Just wondering what books I should pick to go along with the 7sage course and how do you guys arrange time around that? (I have the bibles) Or is everyone just focusing on the course only?

Thanks!

Good luck studying!