Hi guys! I'm wondering what your opinions are about the relative difficulty of the PTs in the 70s range compared to basically everything that came before them (PTs 30 and up). I've found that especially in the LR sections, the questions are SUPER nitpicky and rely on you finding very subtle nuances in the stimulus, which is difficult to do under the pressure of the clock. Also, many LR questions seem to have needlessly wordy structures and are confusingly phrased. It's making me nervous for the October test, especially since I feel that only tests 70-75 are exact indicators of what will be on the October test, and that's a limiting amount of study materials. June administration ruined my life. :(

Does anyone else feel like the recent tests got harder/different?

Hello,

I had a few questions about my current prep and figured the answers might be helpful for some of the other retakers out there. Long story short I have been "flirting" with the LSAT for about a year now. I took a prep course last fall, bought the LSAT Trainer, took the 7sage course, canceled my feb score, and then grossly underperformed in June (164). That leaves me studying for October with my 3rd and final LSAT try with the high hopes of getting into a top 5 law school. I have taken pretty much every recent LSAT (2000 and up) and score on my PTS generally range anywhere from 171-177. With 6 weeks left I was wondering if you guys have any suggestions on what to do to be in peak performance for October 3rd. I also am curious what sort of time you think I should be putting in on a daily or weekly basis to avoid burnout but still improve my skills and stay fresh. My current plan was to review the 7sage course and the LSAT Trainer, train flash cards, do a couple of sections with BR every day, and take a PT on Saturdays. I was also thinking about taking sections and tests with a 30 or 32 minutes time frame in order to challenge myself. I also have considered taking 2PTs back to back to build stamina. Sorry for the long winded post, I am looking forward to hearing your responses. Thanks!

Jake

Hey guys,

I came across a main point question from preptest June 2004 Section 3 #23 "Each of many different human hormones can by itself raise the concentration of glucose in the blood"

I can't understand why the first sentence isn't the main point. I'm having a difficult time understanding why the second sentence, the sentence explaining the phenomena is the main point. This argument structure was very confusing to me..

Thanks so much in advance

I cannot find full test booklets for prep tests 39-51. Must one buy these individually? If not,would someone please post a link to where these tests can be purchased in a booklet. Thanks!

Hey all,

How do you find consistency in how you approach the most difficult LR questions, e.g. the 5 star difficulty questions? I find during a timed test, I may or may not recognize these evil creatures. Sometimes they are obvious, but sometimes the right answer is so subtle, or the wrong answer is so tricky, that it completely flies over my head and I unfortunately felt confident about my reasoning. Does reviewing the questions over and over help?

Some of these most difficult questions seem so unique, in the way they are worded, or the way the argument is constructed. Not as formulaic as the easier questions. I want to find strategies so that they don't keep tripping me up. Thoughts?

Some examples

PT 72-S2-Q16

PT 72-S2-Q23

PT 72-S2-Q25

Heh, PT 72 was no picnic...

Thank you as always!

Julia

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-19-section-4-question-24/

Hi friends! I want to make sure that my reasoning is on the ball for this question, since I got it wrong the first time around.

Clarification before you read on: everything in parenthesis is taken from the stimulus, and anything not in parentheses is from the respective answer choice. I mostly need help distinguishing more clearly, A, D, and E from each other.

(A): At least one of the players in the orchestra (at least one of the joists in the wall) must have made a mistake (must have broken), since nothing else would have made the conductor grimace in the way she just did (since nothing else could have caused a bulge).

(B) doesn't match up a "fault" or a "cause" with why something must have occurred, and there is no "at least" element, either; (C) this seems pretty out of scope, especially with the X do Y only when Z

(D): This is the answer I incorrectly picked at first, with some hasty logic like: "Oh, if they are playing a piece of music that has a harp (if there is a bulge), then at least one of the players must play the harp (just like at least one of the joists must be broken). VERY BAD, I know, and answer choice (A) matches up much better. Not to mention, that (A) correctly matches the stimulus in its noting of "at least" and (D) notes "one" -- which is not a correct match.

(E) this also seems out of scope, but has those tricky, creepy, psych elements that JY talks about. "The emotion of the music is the only thing" (could be equated with the joist being the only thing), that could have caused the conductor to look so angry (that could have caused the bulge) just then, since the orchestra was playing perfectly. SEE, here there is no parallel available for the "just then" and the "since the orchestra was playing perfectly" - there is no "the wall was fine and then suddenly there was a snap noise" and so "just then, the joist could have been the only thing for the bulge," etc.

Am I making any sense?

I'm usually totally fine with these types of questions. Any thoughts?

Hey guys,

7Sage is undergoing maintenance and you may notice pages occasionally loading slowly. Since a lot of stuff is going on in the background, this will take a while to go through completely. This maintenance will take a few days.

I know that's potentially a long time, I'm sorry. It was either this or a day or two of downtime. :(

If you guys see anything funny during those ~72 hours, feel free to email me about it:

dillon@7sage.com

Here's a cool cat to make up for it:

Hello LSATers,

how many PTs should I do the week leading to the Oct 3 LSAT? i was thinking of 3 but I am wondering if that's too few

In a recent reply to someone's post, I saw @Pacifico recommend using a clean sheet for BR. I'd never thought of doing that before and my BR scores have been in the 168-180 range the last several months. I wanted to hear your different views on why you choose to use your old copy or use a clean copy when BRing. Personally, I like using my old copies so that I can see which questions I circled. I also find it useful to try and dissect my thought process the first time I answered a question so I can see where I went wrong on some questions. Inevitably though, on the toughest questions I do second-guess myself and have a hard time making a decision between two answer choices (my old one and a different one). Definitely thinking about switching to clean copies to see if it helps my BR scores increase. What do you guys think?

Alright, I already took and canceled my July 2015 score and registered for the October test. I have been studying all summer and I am now taking PTs. I am at PT 58 and I plan to go up to PT 74. I still cannot seem to finish any of the sections in time (I usually need like 3-5 more minutes for each). And to top it off, I consistently score at 159 and BR at 168. I'd like to score in the 170s.

I know I put it in a way that already sounds bad but, in all honesty, do you guys think I should postpone for December? It would be great if I could at least touch 170. But honestly, is it humanly possible for me to do it in the October one? If not, I should probably know soon to alter the study schedule I have set up.

:(

I don't know how representative my score is when I see what I get on the PT that I split up to use as a 5th section for 4 other tests, but I got a much higher score than I have been getting recently and I suspect, aside from regular fluctuations in performance, that a big factor behind this boost is the mental preparation I do beforehand. What I mean is that I'll insert the first "experimental" section at the very beginning of a PT, then I'll put the second section as the second, the third as the third, etc.

I read that people recommend doing a game, a few LR questions and one RC passage before doing the actual test the day of. I'm not too much of a morning person but I've been trying to wake up earlier. It hasn't been that easy and I know that grogginess can definitely hinder my performance. What I'm trying to figure out is if my experimental PT (the one I split up) is better because most, if not all, of the sections are written after having done another section from the "real" one I'm doing that day. Perhaps this is just speculation but I'm wondering if people have gotten into the habit of doing some light preparation before going into their PT and noticed an improvement. I hope this post made sense. Essentially, I think if I can wake up earlier, it will save me a few points.

I'm writing in October. Although the examination time is listed at 8:30, I know it doesn't start exactly then. Nonetheless, what time do you suggest I wake up to not feel groggy and to prepare by eating and doing some light prep? When I simulate/do PTs, should I be starting my test at exactly 8:30?

Alright folks... I feel as though I'm missing some brain cells when I do SA and PSA questions. I just did the Marsupials question.. I'm certain some of you know that one. And MY GOODNESS what a fucking terrible combination of sentences!!!! I'm going to go take a break before I decide to throw my computer into a pit of fire. But what am I missing??????? I've reviewed the SA section a couple times because I still lack in this area. I've now memorized the valid and invalid argument forms and have scored perfectly on the logic quizzes leading up to the actual SA questions, but when the questions are incredibly convoluted, i get really lost and my logic game goes south.

Can someone just give me a vote of confidence or tell me how they overcame their struggle with these type of questions? Please know that I am complaining, but not giving up. I am going to keep drilling, just needed a little venting and break time.

But seriously, fuck these questions.

:-) Sliz

I have not taken an official LSAT in a test center yet so I am confused how it works.

When the section you are working on is done then what happens? How quickly do you move on to the net question? Also Do you need to guess during the section you are on or can I fill in all C's before I start the next section? I am also confused do some people look back at previous sections if they finish a section early? What is preventing you from doing this? Last how many people are in each test room?

So I've been printing out pdf versions of tests to practice test as well as using the book of 10 that you can buy that is in softcover form or whatever. My question is, since the lsat is a ton of pages (like 40+) how is the actual test given?(is it just all of the sections stapled into one big group or is each section stapled separately to be easier to work with?) Because those book form tests are annoying because you have to hold them from trying to change the page or close on their own.

Hi y'all,

I'm aiming to take the LSAT in October. My average PT score is 1 pt under my goal, with wide variation (9 pt range) and I haven't started taking 5 section PTs.

Suggestions how to avoid plateau-ing/burning out in these last weeks? Also, when to start taking 5 section PTs?

Thanks!

I've never taken the LSAT yet and I don't believe I'll be hitting my target score come October. I want a 169+ and it's really aggravating since LG is the section that's holding me back. In addition, I have some timing issues and am barely able to complete sections with a few minutes to spare. If I postpone to December, I think I'll improve in both LG and timing.

Now, I really want to apply for the upcoming cycle yet I also want to do my best. Postponing to December will hurt my chances for the upcoming cycle since I'll be late in the game + I won't have the option for a retake. But again, I want to take the real test knowing that I'm capable of hitting my target score.

Also, it doesn't help having parents and siblings continuously putting pressure on you. I've been studying since April, postponed to October after having initially signed up for the June administration, and now it looks like I'll have to postpone to December. And it's not due to laziness, rather it's taking a bit longer than I thought it would. The LSAT is hard! I wish everyone were as understanding as the people on this forum; my friends and family just don't understand how much work is required to hit a 170+ on this test.

And lastly, does anyone know how many practice exams one should take before his/her first exam? Should you save 5-10 practice exams for a potential retake?

Hi guys,

I recently just finished my undergrad dual major degree at the end of July. I was the Director of Student Legal Services at our university and am now planning to attend law school. However, with work and summer classes I was not able to dedicate as much time to studying for the LSAT as I should have and now I am weary about taking the test in October. Are there any HUGE reasons why I should NOT take the test in December?

Thanks guys

Does anyone know when Ultimate+ is coming out? I'm planning on upgrading to Ultimate for the video explanations but if Ultimate+ is coming out anytime before the October LSAT I'd rather save my money to see how much it'll be. Does anyone have more information on Ultimate+ (price or time-wise)?

Does anyone know if Mike Kim included anything substantially new and useful in the 2015 version of the LSAT Trainer? I have the older version (Black and teal cover with the orange fishy) and am currently giving it a 2nd read-through.

So I'll start by prefacing that I've really been drilling LG hardcore for only the past 3 weeks or so, so not exactly a great deal of time. I followed @Pacifico guide, here's the link for the curious http://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2737/logic-games-attack-strategy and I am definitely seeing an improvement. Granted, I'm going from possibly finishing a game and a half, to at least getting to the fourth, but I'm still having so much difficulty up front. I'm at PT 29 and hope to hit the 60's later this month. My biggest struggle right now is time (surprise). I almost always freeze for almost 8 minutes on any given game figuring out the board, trying to split the board, or figuring out whether the game is rule driven, before finally getting fed up and hitting the questions. Afterwards, I find myself hitting the questions and then by the second or third question the light bulb will turn on while I'm brute forcing my way through and I'll realize the stupid inference I missed and then I'll breeze through the rest. However, those initial wasted minutes are killing me and putting me into panic mode before I barely finish the first game. At this point, I've rarely needed to come back and check out JY's video because I'll realize the inference or issue mid game, but by the time I figure it out, the damage is essentially already done. I was really hoping that by the time I started getting into the post PT 36 games that I'd have a more solid foundation to comfortably move on to the more modern games and not waste any that I could use for full PT. I can't tell at this point if I'm actually improving significantly from when I started drilling LG through this process, or whether it's because I'm starting to hit the modern games. Anyone have any thoughts/advice?

Very confused on this reasoning question. Can anyone help explain?

@yinyinxu Medical studies indicate that the metabolic rates of professional athletes ar substantially greater than those of the average person. So, most likely, a person's speed and strength are primarily determined by that person's metabolic rate.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

A. Some of the athletes are either faster or stronger than the average person

B. Some professional athletes do not have higher metabolic rate than some of the average ppl

C. The speed and the strength of ppl who are not professional athletes are not primarily determined by choice of diet and exercise

D. Intensive training such as that engaged in by professional athletes causes an increase in metabolic rate

E. Drugs that surprises metabolic rate have been shown to have the side effect of diminishing the speed and strength of those who are not professional athlete

Admin note: This is a fake question, so take it as you will.

I'm currently signed up for the October test, and am looking to postpone to December.

Background: I started studying this April, and finished the Manhattan LSAT prep books for LR and RC, and bought the most expensive course for 7sage (before the PDF changes). I went through everything regarding LR in the 7sage curriculum, and went through LG PT 1-35 once (am currently in the process of going through it again until I ace all the LGs, like 7sage recommends). I didn't go through anything in the 7sage curriculum regarding RC or LG (I find LG getting to be easier with time, and am currently subscribed to the Economist).

I took two cold diags, and they ranged from 150-155. I took 5 PT's and scored between 160-164, with my BR scores from 162-168. I am missing on average 3 on LG (ranges from 2-4), 7 on LR (ranges from 4-9) and 6 on RC (ranges from 5 to 7). What could I possibly be doing wrong, and how could I improve within the next couple of weeks to break 170? I want to not take the test until I consistently score within the mid 170's. My GPA puts me in contention for HYS, and I would prefer not to settle (if anything, attend a t10 on a big scholly).

I also started studying part-time during April, but started to study on a full time basis starting from the end of June.

Any thoughts or help at all would be really appreciated, as I am currently discouraged and am wondering what I am doing wrong.

A non-standard post because #vacation .

Message me on Skype (nikkers625) if you want to join! Was scheduled for 7pm ET but looks like it'll be 8pm ET.

Hello sagers.

I have begun my journey of taking strictly-timed PTs and am currently working away at the BR (PT 41). I have some questions in which I would appreciate some insight on, regarding the BR process and, how I can become more efficient during the BR process in terms of time-management, proper strategy, and utilizing this time effectively so that improvements occur!

As stated, I just finished PT 41 and have been BR'ing for the past hour and a half. I am just finishing Section 1 (LR) of that test, and am wondering what the "right balance" of searching for the perfect answer (or getting every answer correct) and pushing through to complete the BR process in a more practical manor, with the context in mind that I am not at a very strong point in my understanding of the test. I have completed the majority of the curriculum, and have attempted at least 1 of the PS for each QT. I found I got bogged down in the curriculum at times and, in an effort to stay focused and positive, I moved on to the next section of the curriculum without completing every PS.

Even though I felt my timing has improved a little bit (compared to diagnostic and 2 other PTs I have taken) I recognize that my fundamentals are still not yet developed to the point where I understand exactly: what type of question I am attacking; what I am looking for in the right answer, and perhaps most importantly - why the other 4 answers choices are wrong. Essentially, the BR process so far, feels as if I am merely taking another PT (without the time restrictions obviously) where I am relying on a whole lot of intuition, and not really understanding what the question wants.

My plan is at this point, to complete my BR which seems will take more like 6 hours (seems a lot), and then really focus in on the video explanations tomorrow of the incorrect questions (there will be many). After about 5 PTs I was going to take a look back at the analytics, and really start focusing in on what questions (if not all) I can improve on more so than others, while also going back over the PS' of Logic Games provided in the curriculum that I have both completed, and have yet to complete.

To conclude, I ask if I am overdoing it with the BR at this process? Should I break it up into a 2 day review, instead of PT - break - BR/videos? I acknowledge that it is perhaps the most important part of the development process, so is there a better strategy I can use? I'm thinking of drilling question types every mourning, and reviewing the notes I have on different question types and how to attack them - do you think this would benefit my growth? I appreciate all the help and insight provided; please PM me if that works better. At the end of the day, I am not feeling like the BR is helping me grow, and would love to hear about how I can change that! Thanks everybody.

Still unsure of what the best approach is when doing these questions on a timed exam. The Trainer advocates using intuition while 7sage seems to encourage diagramming since these questions are very formulaic. When I get to these questions on a timed exam, I never know which approach is best. I'm always a bit nervous to diagram since I'm afraid it'll eat up too much time, however, I know that diagramming will lead to better accuracy. Please help!