This is kind of a dumb question and I feel like no one else has this problem, but I've realized I constantly make mistakes identifying the scope or relevance of an AC on logical reasoning (RC too). If I'm choosing between two answer choices, I'll choose the more tempting one and later realize it was out of scope, and the right AC was really subtle.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this/exercises I can try/lessons I should focus on? I think I read carefully but I really don't know how far away I can go from the scope of the stimulus

i finally get logic games. i get 9/10 correct but each game takes me around 15 minutes. What can i do to cut it in 1/2 without sacrificing accuracy?

thanks

Ok so when you get a question that asks you to find the argument with the most simillar reasoning or matches the arguement above are they never a flawed argument? I know we get questions that ask you to match the flaw but I am hoping to use this thinking to eliminate a wrong answer choice or two is this holds.

In short if the Question stem does not say "flaw" is it ok to assume the correct answer choice and the argument in the stimulus are logical arguments?

@nicole.hopkins @Pacifico I could use your wisdom.

The Trainer PREACHED to eliminate all wrong answer choices first for 99% of questions then chose the right answer. Do you do this? I have found that it really is taking me more time and that it is making me consider answers I never would have. I have adapted this skill when I run into hard questions and has helped 10000% but this book was hell bent on doing it every single time. I am averaging about -2 per section LR. What do you guys do?

Unsure on how to approach this. I scored a perfect on the Games section from PT43 when normally I do not what should I think of this?

I've read over and over that people advise against drinking coffee before the LSAT to avoid a crash and to avoid the... Laxative response it often elicits. However, I believe I am probably not the only one who is physically incapable of functioning at a college level without some form of caffeine. I generally drink coffee both before and during my PT's. What are you coffee drinkers planning to do? Drink a cup before going inside the testing center? Bring some coffee for the break? Caffeine pills? ADULT DIAPER!?!?

Hi 7sagers, I just had a confusion cause by PT 68 section 2 question 24. JY's explanation is if Hormone causes Stress, then reducing Hormone can reduce stress. However, I always think if A causes B, then it works like conditional logic A--->B, \A does not mean \B. Is A causes B necessarily equal to A--->B? Thank you so much.

For #26: I understand why (E) is wrong because the stim. is not defending (never says if right or wrong) but I was just wondering if someone could explain the difference between context and fact (this is what confused me answer (D) says historical fact while (E) says historical context, I just wanted to get a better understand of context vs fact in case it shows up on another question then I can eliminate them even quicker) Thanks :)

Dear JY,

I love your website. The explanations for the logical games are carefully thought out and well presented. I wished I knew about your website before I spent $3000 on testprep material from Kaplan and Powerscore. Sage7 appears to have a far superior lesson plan for the LSAT.

So far, I have completed about 100 games and I plan on doing all 340 games. However, I am struggling with sufficiency/ necessary and formal logical concepts. Does the either the LSAT Ultimate or Premium cover these concepts in greater detail than what I can find in my Power Score books?

As an older research scientist (and patent analyst) with several graduate degrees and significant experience in academia, I find the process of law school admissions quite myopic and certainly not holistic; despite what some adcoms might say publicly. Lawyers I know say the process is flawed: “Just get the best scores possible and get into the most reputable (based on rankings) school possible; UT Austin law top 50% makes it much easier to get a job than a top 5% at Texas A&M.”

In your opinion, how heavily weighted is the LSAT score above anything else in your application?

After applying to several schools in 2010, I got the impression there is a minimal threshold of either an Index or LSAT score before they will review an application. I would predict they triage applications based on LSAT scores (e.g. 170s vs 160s vs 150s vs 140s stacks) until they fill up their class. In 2010, I was accepted at two private schools ranked about 80th and 120th with a 154 and about a 3.20 total GPA. However, I wasn't offered any financial aid. So, I decided not to attend because of the debt and the difficulty in finding a job from those schools.

Since then, I have worked for a patent litigation firm as a scientific adviser and passed the patent bar exam.

My goal is to get my LSAT score between the 25%-75% admissions profile of all my target schools (ranked 20-100) and then just let my applications fly.

Given the expense of law school, how associates are hired (based on class rank and perceived school reputation) and that only a few big firms which do IP work in the life sciences, I am only going to aim for law schools ranked between 20-100 (mostly 20-50). Otherwise, it might not be a prudent investment to attend a lesser ranked school (or at least until I can obtain the right LSAT score to get in the right school with financial aid). I predict I will need about a 160-165 before my application would be considered or even possibly read by these schools. In my opinion, a tier 3 or 4 school is not worth the 100-150 K in debt and the lack of job prospects.

Recently, I contacted a highly regarded admissions consultant and got into a rather contentious discussion about the relevance of the LSAT in the admissions process. Further, we talked how rankings influence a student's ability to get a job after graduation. In my opinion, this over-emphasis on LSAT scores seems rather silly and doctoral programs never place so much weight on one's GRE scores. She kept arguing that the LSAT is a good indicator of first year grades. As I laughed, I told her that's manure and certainly not worth $250 per hour.

I pointed out that the correlation coefficient between LSAT scores and first year grades is roughly 0.36 median with a margin of error between .12 to .56. The correlation coefficient between LSAT scores and the bar passage rate is even lower. Law school grades and bar passage rates seem to be more strongly correlated. As a scientist who has performed correlation analysis on medical data, any statistician will tell you that a correlation less than 0.40 is rather meaningless and that there is no relationship between the two events. Plus, the margin of error is rather large. The distinctions adcoms (and students) try to make about subtle scores differences is just flawed based on the LSAC statistics.

So why do administrative legal professionals make these conclusions about LSAT scores, law schools grades, rankings, and bar passage rates?

Are they just trying to protect their jobs and voice their support for the standardized test industry?

Don't they understand the LSAT is teachable with practice and favors rich students with a lot of money to pay for tutors and LSAT prep classes?

My boss, a partner, remarked to me about this: "the most qualitative profession chooses the most quantitative approach for admissions into the profession."

References:

http://www.lsac.org/jd/lsat/your-score/law-school-performance

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2013/09/law-school-gpa-.html

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-interpret-a-correlation-coefficient-r.html

(see the last section on interpreting coefficients)

How is is C the correct answer... I'm not seeing the connection. Someone please help!

The conclusion is "we can now dismiss the widely held suspicion that sugar consumption often exacerbates hyperactivity in children with attention deficit disorder". The supporting premises are the results of the study and it concludes that there was no significant difference between the experimental groups (received a type of sugar) and control (sugar substitute).

How does (C) weaken the support of anything I assumed it would strengthen the conclusion. (C) states that the consumption of some sugar substitutes exacerbates the symptoms of hyperactivity. I immediately thought this was irrelevant because a sugar substitute is not sugar... I don't see how this would weaken the support.

What DOES make a Democracy not a well-functioning one?????

Find out tonight at Group BR!

Wednesday, Nov 11th at 8PM ET: PT52

Click here to join this conversation: https://join.skype.com/w7McAagFN3pf

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

Note:

Centaurs and Unicorns. The Parallel Flaw question from the underworld.

Wednesday, November 11th at 8PM ET: PT52

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IF YOU DON’T CLICK THIS LINK YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE BR GROUP

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Hi all, I'm posting so as to ask for help in regards to how I should be interpreting my PT scores. When I take the LSAT this coming December, I'm aiming for a 169+. If I don't get that, I'm retaking. Also, come December I intend to have taken at least 35 PTs. I'm working towards that goal now, and am about 2/5ths of the way through.

I don't know what to make of my PT scores. I've been told that people generally score lower on the real test than they do on PTs, which is worrying to me, given that my current average is roughly a 170. In any case, I'm curious as to what kind of PT scores people who have taken the test and who have score at or about my goal were averaging. I'm wondering basically whether the fact that I'm not doing better, or the potential that I might not do substantially do better as I work my way through the rest of my PTs, is a problem.

Thanks

Thus far, I have noticed that when I practice games, at first, the outcome is crappy. Meaning that easy questions are missed, etc.

However, after completing about 3/ 4 games, it I do a lot better by averaging nearly 100% correct and usually within a good time.

Given that I work on games 6 days a week, does this appear to be normal?

I've take PT 35-58 (58 this morning), and I am in the frustrating 168-172 range. Prior to the 50s, I was consistently going -2/-3 (with a few -0s here and there) on RC. Besides the games, I would have said that RC was my easiest/most consistent section. However, ever since PT 50, my RC score has just been awful: I've averaged -6 to -7 in this section, which has just brutalized my score (my past 3 or 4 exams have been significantly lower than my average because of this). Today was the most frustrating; I thought I turned a corner and aced the RC section, but I went -6. BR was -5 (which is still not what I am looking for). Any advice? I don't really think the passages in the 50s were that different from the other previous exams.

Hey everyone!

I am trying to find the best way to study and I was wondering if it is best to study one section (LG, LR, RC) at a time or is it okay to study multiple sections at time?

I didn't see this yet so I thought I would start it. Thank you to all who serve and protect this country. @Pacifico you're the man! Are there any other 7sage Veterans?

I am taking the December LSAT & because a couple of the schools I am applying to have a December deadline for the majority of their better scholarships I was planning on completing all the apps, statements etc in between the exam and the scholarship deadlines. Just curious for those of you who have already completed your apps and submitted your statements, addendum etc. how long did it take to get it all done? I have already gotten my letters of recommendation & transcripts. Just trying to make sure I am leaving myself enough time to do a good job on everything. Also does anyone have any recommendations for good resources to guide you with personal statement choices/process/things to avoid besides the 7Sage personal statement stuff? Thank you in advance.

I'm having trouble understanding the logical difference between very similar sufficient assumption questions. The questions are from PT 36 SECTION 1 #18 and PT 63 SECTION 1 #10. I'm having trouble understanding why for PT 36 an answer choice (D) that satisfies the sufficient condition of the conclusion is correct but for PT 63 an answer choice (D) that satisfies the sufficient condition of the conclusion is incorrect. Thanks in advance if anyone can help!

Okay, this question has got me. I'm BRing it, and I honestly cannot rule one answer out with confidence. That never happens. A, C, and D all seem pretty subjective to me, "mischaracterizing what Brooks says", "unhappiness varying in intensity of significance" ....are these not more ambiguous and generic than usual, or am I crazy? (actually, please don't answer that, I'm pretty sure I already know the answer) lol.

Could a kind soul please explain which one is correct, why, and why the other 4 are incorrect?

Thank you!

I was between B/E and choose B because I immediately crossed out E b/c of the term HIGHLY productive which isn't stated in the stimulus (but E was right)

- can anyone explain this to me and also why E right over B Thanks :)

I did a full timed test today and during my 15 min break I had nuts, banana and a granola bar. I found myself starving during the last portion of the test. For breakfast I had a big bowl of oatmeal.

Do you think it would be inappropriate if I brought a Chipotle burrito as my snack for the test? If I don't get guac or sour cream if could be considered good brain food?

If not Chipotle, Any suggestions for something more filling?

Sorry for the weird question.

Thanks!

Can anyone offer any other ideas? I got the email today regarding everything for test day. The name on your ID must exactly match your name on the admission ticket. The only form of ID I have is my drivers license and my last name is incorrect. My last name ends with "rey" but my license has "ery". Of course I need to get my license fixed but I have no acceptable documentation showing the correct spelling of my last name. My birth certificate and social security card also have my name spelled incorrectly as "ery." When I applied for my new license in a new state the guy took the spelling from my birth certificate instead of from my application. I didn't notice the misspelling until I got home but didn't want to go back after spending 2.5 hrs there. Bad decision, in know. I'm going to the DMV tomorrow but I don't have anything with the correct spelling of my name. From researching online it looks like I'll have to file for a name change with the courts. That won't be completed before the December test. I thought about just getting a state ID just to be able to present something to LSAC to change the name, but again, I have no documentation. Anybody have any suggestions? I can't even change the date at this point, I don't think. The deadline was last Friday.

Hello everyone,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma and could use some advice. I have taken the LSAT in the past and had a total freak out. I did very poorly and I have seen minimal improvement. I'm currently scoring in the low 150s and can barely make it through a whole PT without giving up. I have spent countless hours in classes and with private tutors, but I am already an extremely nervous test taker, which hasn't helped in the past.

I was shooting for a 160, but that is a lost cause. I just want to score in the high 150s and I'm starting to have serious doubts as the date approaches that I can achieve this goal. This is my second shot at the exam and I really don't have it in me to postpone to February, or study anymore than I already have. I have a high undergrad GPA and a high graduate GPA (both upwards of 3.7), awesome letters of recommendations and internships in the legal field. I know the LSAT is incredibly important, but I'm literally doing everything I can and nothing seems to help my overall score. I score fairly well when I take just 1, or 2 sections individually, but otherwise I'm totally screwed.

I am adamant about going to law school next fall and with the way I'm scoring I'm sure I will not be offered any scholarships. My top choice is Ohio State, Moritz College of Law and their median LSAT is a 160.

I have dedicated ALL of my time to studying and I have been studying for over a year (with minor breaks in-between). Should I postpone until February, or just keep studying (although it is so painful at this point) and cut my losses this December?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

hey y'all.. I am slowly getting out of my post lsat score depression and I am ready to give this test another try - (Should I say a beat down!!). Not sure how unique my situation is but I scored roughly 10 point below my PTs. I got 153 - when I was PTing at 163-165. I bombed the LR (got -11 on each section - was at -4/-5 during PT), games were in line with my PTs and so was RC. I am delaying law school for another year and retaking it. I need some advice:

1. I feel like I am pretty familiar with all the LSAT materials out there. I worked my butt off last go around and really went through most the published exams. How do I deal with that now?

2. The Exam will be my priority and work would be secondary, so I will have time. whats the ideal schedule? I am deciding between Feb and June LSAT. Any advice on that?

Thank you all