Do any Dec test takers seriously consider retaking in Feb?

I'm kinda determined to retake unless I get a 170+ this December, which is somewhat unlikely though I'm still hoping that...

I think I'm fully prepared but didn't perform well yesterday. I bombed the last game... Feb will be my third take...

I already have one and half years' gap after my master's degree... so Definitely don't want to wait for another year. I have the capacity to score in the high 170s range (before BR) and really need to translate it into an official score even though I'll have to take the test for the 3rd time!

Let's wait for the December score first. But let me know if you are on the same boat. I'm hoping for a kickass final score.

I'm in the DC area. I hope to have an ambitious study buddy I could meet in person to discuss questions, passages, practice strategies, and more importantly, the mental battle!

my email: xw73@georgetown.edu

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'm taking the LSAT in two hours and this video put everything I've done and sacrificed into perspective. Good luck to all of you

I scored 157 on my first diagnostic 3 months ago (prep 25) (not totally cold because i did study a bit 2 years ago but decided to get a master first). I've spent 3 months, studying non-stop (no work, up to 50 hours a week some times). My score staying pretty much the same (with one pt a low 150s for prep 59 and highest 163). My LG improved a bit from -11 to -5 on average. My LR and RC are getting worse. I used to get -5 on RC, now is around -8 to -10. My LR used to be -10 to -12 at the beginning and now is like -20 to -23. I took the dec test today and ended up canceling the test, because of the RC and LG. I am going to spend 6 more months to prepare for the june 2015. People that I know have improved their score 5-10 points with full-time jobs. I don't get what went wrong with my study. I did a lot of drilling in the cambridge package for LR. But under time condition, the techniques I learnt for LR and RC often conflict with my instincts.

I still have preps 46-73 fresh (except 59, 72, 57, 62), about 24 prep tests. I used lots of other tests for individual sections. I have taken about 10 full-time practice tests so far. How should I utilize those tests in the next 6 months to maximize my score? What should I do to improve my LR and RC scores? I feel like I do have a potential to hit 170 but don't know where I actually went wrong. I studied the most for LR and LG for past months. If anyone experienced the same thing but managed to overcome that difficulty, I am happy if anyone can share their experience. I would appreciate.

Of those who took the London LSAT (or Europe, I think they are the same test), I would appreciate if someone could help me figure out what section was experimental. I had two logic games sections, so someone who only had one should be able to help. Email me: discreetmystic@gmail.com

I don't feel that I did poorly, nor do I feel that I killed the test. I do feel that I did well enough to get into my target school.

I spell relief L-S-A-T-D-O-N-E. (Alka-Seltzer anyone . . . anyone?)

Regardless of how well I did, I want to thank the 7Sage crew for all that they provide. I know I would have scored lower if I hadn't discovered this site.

I gear people saying if you find the pattern in LR your score will increase. What the hell? What pattern?

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-18-section-2-question-08/

Can anyone please explain why the correct answer is (E)? I am confused with the part in (E) saying: "if they are weaponry..."

How do we know that if they are weaponry, then they aren't available in households?

Thank you so much for your help

So I was about to buy a course, but I have a question.

I've noticed for the lessons, some have different amounts of lessons per. I had thought the differences were only due to how many LSAT tests were explained. For example:

Main Point & Main Conclusion Questions 17 lessons, 1.6h (Starter)

Main Point & Main Conclusion Questions 19 lessons, 2.1h (Premium)

Main Point & Main Conclusion Questions 21 lessons, 2.3h (Ultimate)

I know that upgrading from one course to another gives more lessons but my questions are:

1) Will using a starter with 17 lessons versus an ultimate for 21 lessons on "Main Point & Main Conclusion Questions" be a huge difference? What are in the remaining 4 lessons?

2) If I start using the Starter and decide to upgrade to Premium later, will my 7sage program show that I have 2 extra lessons that I didn't use?

3) Are the lessons that are skipped in Starter something that might cause the following lesson to make less sense?

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...

Here we go.

Hey guys! I'm dreading that one oddball LG and am terrified that under pressure I'll freeze up and not even know how to start diagramming. I was wondering if anyone has a strategy or some pointers for what to do when you realize that the scenario doesn't fit into any of our standard set ups?

Hi everyone who will take the test tomorrow. I learned something really valuable that I need to share, that, I think, might help you have the cool and collected mindset we will need tomorrow. I was freaking out about not hitting my target score every practice test and sometimes running out of time still. I saw this test as 'succeed and have a great life' or 'don't succeed and have a terrible life in which i feel stupid.' As you can probably tell that approach would have ruined it for me.

Yesterday my 10 year old daughter had an audition for Les Miz and she rocked it. She got called back for Little Cosette and Gavroche. The audition is tomorrow morning while Im sitting taking the LSAT.

There is more to life than your score, and this exam will mean nothing very soon. My daughter getting that callback after we prepared as much as we could will always hold significance in my life and I will never forget yesterday that started with seeing a rainbow on the way to drop her off at school. The rest is history.

I refocused and am now ready for tomorrow. I will always be thankful for my four children who helped me to not overdo the studying and who help me to put things into perspective. Rock the LSAT tomorrow! Hugs and good vibes to you all!

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!

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

It's a great year to be applying!

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 been studying for the LSAT for a while now, currently just started my PT phase and I'm still not near my target score (aiming for Feb test right now). I've also been getting into heavy lifting within the last three months and I recently made the connection of how lifting is very much like studying for the LSAT.

I don't know how many of you are familiar with lifting, and I can't really call myself an expert-- like I said, I've only just started but maybe it's because I'm a newb that it's really easy for me to draw these parallels between the two. First, lifting heavy really requires you to have proper form just like having a good core foundation of lessons for the LSAT. You must have good form before you move onto heavier weights-- by jumping ahead and trying to lift a ton without the training of proper form, you're putting yourself at risk for injury. In a similar way, I've realized that I can't just burn through my PTs when I notice that my foundation isn't solid. I can easily tell through my BRs and my attitude during the test-- sometimes during a PT, I'll see a question and freak/stress out because I know I should be more familiar with it and yet I know I'm not. When moments like these happen, I know it's time to revisit those core lessons again just like when I realize my form is off with lifting, it's time to lower those weights and reassess what I'm doing wrong with my form to see how I can fix it.

Something else that I've realized is that, progress is slowwwww with both lifting and the LSAT. And it can get frustrating, but you just have to believe in yourself, trust the process and that the numbers will come. Personally, I know I have to listen to my own advice about the LSAT more because I've been slightly discouraged lately. On the other hand, I've been really seeing some great progress with my lifting! Something that I've noticed that really helps with all of this is to track the progress-- no matter how little it is, whether it's an extra rep or an extra 5 pounds-- progress is progress! Now I'm able to squat, bench and deadlift and I've made significant progress for all of them! It also doesn't hurt that I'm starting to see those changes in my body too ;) I think I need to start feeling the same way about my LSAT prep and maybe start tracking not just my PTs but every kind of practice I'm doing every day.

And last but not least, I've learned that I just need to jump right into it- no matter how scared I am. As a girl, I've always been curious about lifting heavy/power lifting but was slightly intimidated by the guys in that section of the gym. Once my guy friend decided to switch to my gym, I had him bring me to that section and then teach me all the basics. Even though now I still get slightly nervous walking into that section of the gym at the beginning of each workout, I know why I'm there and I just jump right in. And once I do that, I feel much better. Similarly, for the LSAT I've had this huge mental block about studying and taking the exam because it always seemed like this huge nerve-wracking thing that was going to determine my future (almost a 170 or bust kind of deal) and I've realized that by freaking out and being scared will never get me anywhere. I need to jump right in and face it head on by doing the lessons, practice the things I'm learning from 7Sage and then take those PTs to improve.

Sorry for the super long post, but these are just some things I've noticed through my journeys with weight lifting and the LSAT. I still have a long way to go for both, but I won't stop-- this is just the beginning! And if anyone takes away anything from this post, then.. yay :) I'm glad it helped in someway or another.

Best of luck to those taking the exam tomorrow and shout out to those that are still studying for the exam! We're in this together!

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?

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?

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!! :)

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.

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 don't know how this is possible, but I really suck at answering Strengthening Questions, even though I answer Weakening Questions with ease. I understand that I should be going about S questions in reverse, and after trying it that way, I still find myself answering it incorrectly.

Am I just not understanding how to answer Strengthening Questions then? What am I missing? I know I have to strengthen the support, and I narrow it down to the last two potential answers and I always pick the wrong one of the two. FML. I don't know if this sounds like mumbo jumbo but if anyone can offer some insight on my problem, please let me know!!

Anyone at USC studying for december/February?

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?