http://spiveyconsulting.com/blog/first-look-at-the-2014-2-15-application-cycle/

It's a great year to be applying!

Does anyone know how long the test will take? Adding the sections plus break and including an extra half hour padding brings me to 4 hours, but the lsat admission ticket instructions talk about a length of up to 7 hours...how do I have to understand that? I have somewhere to be...daughter's theater performance at 3 pm...

Hi everyone,

I am sure most of us are anticipating the big day tomorrow... I know ideally I should be completely ready, and I feel good about the material but my final issue comes down to timing. I keep having moments when I am taking practice tests where I tell myself to move on but then I also tell myself that if I just had one more second I could figure it out. This tends to go on for a long time until I spend WAY too much time on a question, don't get much closer to answering it (or maybe I do but at a great cost) and I end up running out of time. This is especially true with reading comp and towards the beginning of sections when I tell myself I can make up for it later by just speeding up even more.

I know we are supposed to leave the harder questions for last. I really want to get most of the questions right though, and I have this fear that if I move on, I will never see that question again and it will take even more time later when I am going back to it to re- familiarize with what it is so I would lose even more time. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting out of this mindset?

I know I need to listen to that voice that tells me to move on but because of this fear and I guess because I'm stubborn and don't want to move on until I feel certain, because I know with enough time I'll get it, and then I don't move on and it really costs me later. On days when I do this I often don't even get to the last reading passage.

Another issue is if I DO get through things fast, for example on the games I might get through the first 3 games really fast and then all the sudden I have a ton of time and I relax and slow down, maybe reread the rules 3 times and play around with scenarios more than necessary. But the reason I had this time was actually because the first 3 games are easy and last is brutal and I didn't have time to relax. Then I run out of time again!

So ya I guess my question is what do other people do to force themselves to move on when they know they are supposed to even when that voice is saying, just a few more seconds and you'll get it? Specifically, do you think that it takes a lot of extra time to familiarize yourself with the question again if you wait to go back to it later? (Because that is my biggest mental block on why I don't move on.) How often do you guys look at your watch? Do you ever get lost in the test, forget to look at your watch and then mess up pacing? My internal clock kind of sucks. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Good luck to everyone tomorrow, we have worked so hard and as long as we've tried our best and keep trying our best throughout the test... we can't regret anything! Plus we have had a major advantage with 7sage... this incredible secret that most people probably don't know about! So we are going to crush this tomorrow!! :)

PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME YOUR SCHEDULE FOR STUDYING. I have studied since July and I'm still in 150s I feel like I have studied the wrong way...I have been doing the BR lately which I guess is a little helpful. What am I suppose to do ugh I'm getting lost. I was with Test masters before I think they suck

I may have to withdraw. My most recent PTs were going great until I got to the newer tests, and then my score sloooowly went down again. This is after I took the LSAT last December, postponed it twice, hardcore studied for at least 4+ months... and my last few PTs are the exact same score that I got last December. The schools that I want are at least 14 away from my current, 4 points away from my best scores. I already took off an additional year to study. I think the worst part isn't even letting myself down, its having to tell people that I may wait another year to apply. It's just taking so long. Like so, so long.

Is taking another year to do better really worth the gains?

I've been looking online for awhile for the answer, and I can't find one, so I thought that I would ask here. I am on prescribed medications, one of them being for ADHD. I am supposed to take it twice a day, which means I should be taking it during the break during the exam tomorrow. Are we allowed to bring medication into the test center? I would hate to have to suddenly alter my medication schedule the day of the test and not be able to focus as well. And if I do, does it have to be in a prescription bottle? I don't really want everyone knowing what I am taking by seeing the bottle, but then again I know that some people abuse these types of medications, and I don't want to be accused of that and get into some trouble without proof of a prescription. Any insights or past experiences would be appreciated!

I printed my ticket and the yellow ink was low...the top left corner that says "LSAC" turned a pink color. Does this matter? Everything else turned out fine.

I am taking the LSAT this Sunday in Asia. And I was doing relatively well with RC.

I'd read the passages and answer the questions relying on my memory without having to go back much and usually get 3 wrong. Right answers seemed to just pop out for me. But that changed with the most recent ones.........

I'd get stuck between two answer choices with a number of questions and run out of time. My biggest problem is with Comparative Reading. They used to be my favorite. I usually got them done in 5 - 6 minutes. But for some reason with the recent ones, I just feel utterly lost.......

Did RC get harder in general? Or my approaches were wrong.

With the test just a day and a half away, I am so utterly confused.

I've reviewed JY's videos, but I'm having issues. On the most recent tests I've done, I'm getting ~55% of these questions. On the weakening, I'm trying to "punch the arguments in the face" and on the flaw I'm trying to imagine how I can "punch it in the face." This is an absolute immediate concern since test day is Saturday. I can't explain it. I'm doing acceptable on argument parts, MP/MC, so feel good about identifying argument structure and support. But I can't seem to figure out how to "punch" effectively. Anyone have similar issues and how did you overcame them?

On a side note (and not important to the above question), I've recently read the books; "lawyer bubble" and "learned optimism." In the lawyer bubble, he talks about lawyers having more pessimistic behavior than others. In learned optimism, which is a great book and I would highly recommend to those looking to increase their interpersonal communication effectiveness, someone is not solely either pessimistic nor optimistic. However, people tend to exhibit behavior that is closer to one side. I generally consider myself closer to the optimistic side, or open to exploring ideas, as opposed to shutting considerations down. Anyone who thinks they have a more optimistic personality have similar problems with these questions?

Music or something like NPR while driving in. What do you guys think? Enjoying to some music or something more to listen and comprehend on the way in. What will you guys be doing?

I have not been studying all too hard the last two weeks to try and stay relaxed. I've just been doing some sections and reviewing, focusing mostly on logic games. Should I continue this day before or allow my mind to rest?

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-71-section-1-question-03/

Had trouble understanding what "on balance" meant here. I interpreted it as "in moderation" so, to me, the conclusion was alcohol consumption, in moderation, is beneficial. Could someone enlighten me real quick on this?

The most difficult for me is the Logical Reasoning and I was wondering if anyone had a perfected study guide for me use. I would really appreciate it! Im taking the LSAT in February and am in dying need of help on this one section as of now!

Hey guys I heading to Hong Kong in few days and will be staying in the Kowloon from early-December to mid-January. I am aiming for the February test and have been PT in the 165-175 range. I plan to do PTs and fine tuning RC and LR sections during my stay at Hong Kong.

Personally, I find it extremely helpful to form a LSAT group in order to PT efficiently and rigorously, as well as stay motivated. I mostly need a group for PT and not for studying or going over PT purpose, but I am also open to studying together if it turn out to be efficient. I don't care about your PT score range. If anyone is interested, please inbox me.

Hey everyone,

I hope you are all relaxing before the test and not exhausting yourselves! I am unfortunately posting this message because I woke up today feeling very very ill. I have a fever, soar throat, and my whole body is in pain. Even coughing causes pain.

If I remain at least as ill, my cognitive performance will be significantly impaired. Not to mention, I may very well get other people sick.

I already took the test once in June and I did not reach the score I needed, so I definitely don't want to attempt to retake the test without being in maximum mental and physical shape; doing the contrary will show no significant improvement. So, my question is, how much am I negatively affecting my chances of admission by taking the LSAT in February? I have read a lot about this topic, and almost everyone's opinion is that I am cutting my chances by a high margin.

Please let me know what you think, any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you very much!

I really think I am burned out. All I am thinking about is the LSAT, and took 3 tests in 3 days, with review after. My average is about 160 and my scores have been 165, 152, and 154. I know I didn't suddenly get dumber, but I don't think studying anymore can benefit me at all. I've read so many stories about how people did well after taking a few days off before the test, so I think at this point that's what I'm going to do.

Hey guys I'm very new to this forum mbut I figured I would try my luck.

I'm looking for a partner who is serious about working. At the moment I'm averaging about four hrs a day to the LSAT and I'm seeing some very slow improvements but improvements nonetheless.

However, I've been told that groups often tend to help learn things much faster than the traditional way, so if anyone is interested in skyping a few PT's or just want to do specific sections please let me know.

vincent _ cordone a t hotmail

thanks

I was just wondering if people in general found the LG in LSAT 72 much harder than usual? I usually get perfect to -2 on LG but I got -5 and found the games more difficult than usual, maybe it was just me..

Any suggestions? T-3 days.

With the following comments, I'm hoping incite from people some input, be it advice or general opinion:

First, a little about me: From a modest upbringing, my parents, though nice, do not have a high school education. I wasn't poor or significantly disadvantaged, just a regular blue collar Canadian lower-middle class family. I had a very late start in my academic life; I was diganosed with ADHD at 12, had a Grade 3 reading comprehension in Grade 9, and essentially stopped participating in Math in Grade 5. After dropping out of high school, I decided my type A personality wasn't suited for manual labor so I obtained my high school diploma and enrolled in the local community college. After two years studying 12+ hours a day I had high enough grades to transfer to a reputable University, where I finished my last two years and obtained a Criminology degree with a 3.5 GPA. It was an absolute grind but I managed to do it.

Since University, I spent several years working in law enforcement and as a Youth Counselor. During this time, I realized I wanted to be a lawyer. I've written the LSAT four times, once in 2011 and three in a row in 2012-13. Because of the three times rule, I was prohibited from writing it for a year only to return again this December 2014 exam, of which I am registered in. My first attempt in 2011 I was practice averaging 150-156 and scored a 149 (often 16/25 on LR, 3 passages at 14/25, and only two logic gams at 12/25). I then spent over three months studying logic games specifically and was able to reach a third logic game giving me 15/25 and moving my practice scores to 153-158, I would then officially score 153, 151, 151.

This last round I completed all of 7Sage's material, with a heavy focus on LR. I have managed to improve my LR scores to 20/25 but my RC and LG have not improved. I cannot reach a fourth logic game or reading passage. With 12 practice tests this month I am consistently scoring 155-159. I've been studying 30-40 hours a week since September.

I should note that although I don't have panic attacks, and i'm generally stable, I get a lot of anxiety. I tend to think of the worst case scenario(s), assuming them to be probable, and then lose sleep and be stressed out all day. This last week I have slept 5-6 hours a night, have become extremely irritable, and have dropped to 155 on my last two practice exams.

I want to be a lawyer. I have the schools picked out I would like to (and could be admitted to) attending. I have great references and great professional experience. I have applied, but all that stands in my way is this stupid exam. Unfortunately, I can't help but wonder, after all this effort and studying, given my score only ever rising from 152-159, and my pattern of choking on test day... am I just not intelligent or stable enough to do this?!

Should I finally throw in the towel? Thanks for your input in advance. I would have sought advice from friends and family but they don't seem to get it.

Brad

I know it's going to have an impact on some deadlines but I need 8 more raw points to guarantee acceptance at my 1st choice school.

Hey guys quick question, I recently purchased the starter pack and can't seem to find video explanations for logical reasoning. It only says logical games explanations. Do I need to upgrade for the LR explanations?

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-23-section-1-game-2/

I'm looking at the video and the questions and so far everything makes sense, EXCEPT a few key issues.

1 If hired ------> interviewed

and

IF F h (ired) -----> K i (nterviewd)

then the contrapositive would be ~Ki -------> ~Fh but what does that mean? I mean if K isn't hired he wasn't interviewed, but here the contrapositive is saying that he wasn't even interviewed....so does that mean that he COULD be hired...or that HE WAS OUT?

If the later is the case then shouldn't there be a third box to the sketch: H / I / Out ?

Hello,

I will start studying for June's test. Following the starter schedule, it says that I do full tests at the end of my prep i.e. last some weeks. My question, how relevant are the older tests? let's say 19's or early 2000's? When it says to practise a section, which year am I to choose and which ones do I leave for the full exam? I assume that the sections I chose for training shouldn't be part of the full exam.

Good luck to all Saturday's writers.

Hi,

I just want to know if other people have this same issue and what methods you used to overcome it: I know the LR concepts pretty well, and when I take un-timed tests, I do really well without spending a lot of time on the questions (as much as I would spend under timed conditions). But, when I take the actual test, I get considerably more questions wrong. When I do the blind review, I usually don't look at the answer I picked, I go back to the question (on a second set of the same test without any marks) and read the question again and most of the time (8/10) I get the correct answer and I look at the answer I picked during the exam and it makes no sense to me. Is this me? Am I going nuts? :/