This is my first official LSAT and I didn't ever dream I would score this high! I had an average in the low 170's, besides one major outlier of a flex at 179 I never scored anywhere near 177 and it still feels surreal to see my score. Glad to never have to look at this test again

When reading the stimulus, I thought that the "population" meant all of the delta green ground beetles. How am I supposed to know that the "population" refers just to the observed number of delta green ground beetles?

Admin Note: Edited title. Please use the format "PT#.S#.Q# - brief description of question"

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all well. I know that many of you are either in the midst of LSAT prep or gearing up to go to law school. This is a wonderful community and I'm writing this post, "what I wish I knew before law school" to share some insight about what lies ahead. Wherever you are on your journey, I hope it gives you valuable perspective about what you are going into or working towards. My objective is to offer you the perspective I wish I had so that you can make more informed decisions in the coming months.

A little about me: I'm a rising 2L at Harvard Law School currently spending my Summer in BigLaw. I'm also an LSAT tutor and primarily teach LR and RC. I took the LSAT twice and scored a 164 (July, 2019) and 174 (October Asia, 2019). You can read more about my LSAT journey on this post here: https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/21717/140s-to174-thank-you-7sage. The focus of this post will be for rising 1Ls and anyone who is generally interested about what 1L is like.

Who is this post for?

What I wish I knew and a collection of thoughts:

1. The shock of the transition: Law school is very hard. This is what JY says at the start of the core curriculum and it's absolutely the case ('the LSAT is hard and Law school is harder'). I really feel the need to stress this because I wish I had a better idea before 1L. Even though I knew on some abstract level that it was going to be a challenge, I didn't really understand how challenging it was going to be until it began. I'm starting with this because I think many of the posts about this subject tend to be so optimistic that they fail to mention about these moments. The transition from 'yay i'm so excited about law school' to 'omg I'm actually doing it and I have no idea what is happening' felt so sudden and shocking to me that I can only compare it to being thrown into the deep end of the pool and frantically trying to stay above water. I seriously questioned whether or not I had made a mistake on day 2. Everyone around me seemed far cooler and more prepared and I couldn't even remember the names of cases and even high level details. You'll find yourself in this moment I've just described in the first few weeks of law school. It can be very isolating when you think you're the only one experiencing the dread, the shock and the initial fear but let me assure you: everyone is going to be experiencing the shock and varying levels of self-doubt. You are not the only one and know that you'll eventually find your way.

2. The pace of 1L is unrelenting. In fact, it feels like it was designed to be impossible. I wish I could say something like it’s a marathon not a sprint but to me, it really felt like a dead sprint to the end. And then you'll have journal write-on competitions right after your last final. (lol wtf?).

A. You have a shit ton of reading for your classes and it takes much longer than you think. @"Cant Get Right" once told me that law school reading is like "drinking out of a firehose" and I believe that's the best description I've heard. Please be sure to start early with the readings and budget more time than you expect because if you fall behind it can be damn near impossible to catch up. This is the case because in the beginning you just have no idea what you're supposed to prioritize or how to read and digest cases. You end up reading ultra closely because it's so difficult, but you have so much to go over so you end up spending a lot of time on some readings and not so much on others. In class, the professor cold calls a student and asks about details she (and everyone else) didn't realize were important so she flubs the cold call (or some combination of going blank at the very moment she is cold called). Then everyone else freaks out because they realize "shit I'm supposed to know that?" and spend even more time reading so that they will be more prepared for cold calls in the future. My advice is to invest in Quimbee and read the case summaries––facts, holding, reasoning––before you start so you at least have context about where the case is heading. Apart from this, knowing what matters when reading cases will take time but you'll eventually get it. Also, COLD CALLS ARE NOT GRADED. Nobody remembers a bad cold call because they are too busy worrying about being called next.

B. You are learning a new language (the law) and yet expected to also hone, interpret and analyze it at a high level of fluency. Frequently, I found myself reading and re-reading the same paragraph 5 times and not knowing what in the world I just read. It's english. It's right in front of me. But I had no idea what the combination of words meant. You'll also come across latin terms that you've never encountered before like sua sponte, de novo, lex loci delicti, infra, intra, etc.  My advice for this is to immediately google it and get the definition. It will save you time. Don't think you can just read on and infer the meaning based on context. You can't. These are usually procedural terms with very esoteric meanings and you simply have no context to understand before law school. Next, take a deep breath and believe me when I say: the best and most fruitful work comes AFTER class and during review.  My advice is to pick ONE study partner (some people do well in study groups but I personally felt it had diminishing returns) and hold each other accountable. Pick a time slot in the week that you dedicate to reviewing a single course's concepts from the week and stick to it. In between these sessions, stay after class, go to office hours, take the time to clarify points of confusion with professors and then quickly review and consolidate your notes. Over time, these notes will become your course outline. Repeat for the other courses for different time slots. Doing this steadily throughout the semester will help you stay on track and save you a ton of grief and time for finals.  Get over the embarrassment of asking questions because everyone is just as confused and will thank you for it. Personally, this is what I found most helpful. Once I started to see the benefits, I grew to accept the discomfort and confusion about the material before and during class because I realized that I would eventually understand it in review. You'll understand what I mean when you take Civil Procedure. Going from total confusion to eventually getting it felt like magic.

C. You're usually tasked with a legal research and writing project in the midst of everything I mentioned above (we had a 10-page legal memo in the fall and a 20-page legal brief in the Spring). To simplify, these projects require you to make an argument for legal questions usually about a fictional case you are assigned. To answer, you find relevant cases on westlaw or lexisnexis and make analogies to your case's facts to support your argument. I personally hated these projects (but maybe future litigators here will find it more bearable). They take up so much time and you'll find yourself going down rabbit holes that lead to dead ends but don't worry, you'll get there eventually. In between all the reading and review sessions, these assignments made keeping up with everything unmanageable. But that's just how things are going to be. It's difficult to appreciate how much work I've described so far until you're in the midst of it. Looking back, I can't fathom how I got through all of it but I did and so did generations of law students before me. My advice is to quickly accept that legal writing is completely different from what you are used to in college essay writing but it's formulaic and you will learn how to do it. It will take longer than you think so dont beat yourself up when it seems like what should only take 3 hours turns into an all-day affair. Budget your time accordingly and remember that it takes time because you're learning a totally new skill! Take this very seriously because much of the work you are given as a summer associate involves legal research and writing. Let me tell you, when you're dealing with a real case, the stakes are much higher and your work will feel more meaningful.

D. I never felt like I was introduced to concepts throughout 1L. Rather, I always felt like I was suddenly in the thick of it and professors were using terms as if I was just expected to know them, learn them on my own, or just keep up. I'm not sure if it was just an HLS thing but my sense is it's the same everywhere because there's just too much to go through. I also think professors have taught the same things for so long that they have forgotten how it felt like to be 1Ls. In any case, I'm telling you this because you'll find yourself experiencing everything above and your first instinct will probably be to question and doubt yourself. Then the toxic self-talk will settle in and if you don't check that early, it could devolve into something worse. If this post scares you, I think it's a good thing. It's really important to know what you are getting into, if only so you know what to expect mentally and emotionally. Many of us here are super type A and used to keeping on top of things, but know that it can feel impossible to do so and it's often the case that something always has to give. Just make sure that you are making the trade-offs wisely. Speaking of trade-offs...

3. You're going to have to make some trade-offs. After reading everything above, I hope you get the sense that you will always be busy throughout 1L. There are always several competing priorities, not to mention things happening outside of school and life that are also competing for your time and energy. On this note, I advise you to take care of as many things you know are important before law school starts. This can include seeing your doctor, all your annual health check-ups, budgeting, etc. The goal is to minimize these competing priorities. During the school year, trade-offs can mean many things. You may prioritize preparing for the courses you believe you can excel at but you never want to do it at the cost of totally give up on another course. Don't put too many eggs in one basket. Or maybe you start cutting back on sleep, hobbies, and even exercise to keep up. I know this sounds extreme but it happened all the time during 1L. Sometimes you dont have a choice but in my experience, not getting enough sleep wasn't a sacrifice worth making. You'll find that you read more efficiently when you are well-rested than not. I also think that you have to pay attention to your body. If you simply aren't retaining or processing information after a certain point at night, there's nothing to gain if you keep going. Best to just call it a night. 

4. The only thing that matters is your final exam. Seriously. So, understand that this is what you are working towards, not to be the star of cold calls! Remember what I said about being cold called on details you didn't think were important? They usually aren't important for exams. In exams you typically only need to know the holding for the specific cases. I'll try to give my best explanation for what to expect but exams are typically composed of issue-spotters and sometimes policy questions. Issue-spotters are fact patterns you are expected to diagnose and analyze for possible causes of action that may be brought, defenses and the likelihood of success on each. Sometimes they can involve the application of procedural arguments that can affect which actions can be brought and in which jurisdiction (Civ Pro, Torts, and Crim usually).  Policy questions are usually short-essay questions involving how aspects of the law advantage/disadvantage certain groups of people and how you might change it. You would answer both of these question types essay-style and I recommend taking as many PTs as you can to practice honing your writing style and organizing your answers. I should also say that these exams tend to be comprehensive, or at least cover a large majority of the material over the semester. Doing well therefore requires a comprehensive understanding of the course and how to apply the concepts you are taught. This is also why I didn't think that having a social science or humanities undergraduate background necessarily helped that much. The reason is most students with these majors write long, well-polished essays that made up most of their grades in college. For such essays, you didn't necessarily need to have a complete grasp over everything in the course. Rather, it was possible to answer the essay question with depth and ignore entire areas of a course. You can't do that on a law school final. You really need to know how the pieces all come together BUT this is quite difficult to do until the end of the course. I've mentioned some reasons above but another reason is you are usually learning components of the course week by week and at that time, you're so engrossed in the details of specific topics that you cannot see the forest but only the trees. It's usually only at the end that you get to see how the whole course comes together and realize what it is you're supposed to do. This is why you'll be feeling a lot of discomfort and confusion throughout the whole semester. Looking back, I think Law school felt a lot like watching the Witcher. Nothing seemed to make any sense because we were taught so many seemingly incongruent concepts but they eventually fall into place. I wont spoil the series for anyone that plans to watch it but I think anyone who stuck with the series after several episodes will know what I mean. In any case, let me assure you that this means it's highly unlikely to feel like you are on top of things until the end. For me, things only started to come together during finals week after taking several PTs. So, my advice for preparing for exams is to gather as many past PTs as you can get for your professor's class. Pick out an older exam and look at it 4 weeks into law school (no need to take the whole exam--you wont be ready for it) and read the questions and skim the fact pattern so you get a sense of what your professor wants. This will help you develop a study direction. Then plan to take PTs after you are done outlining at the end of the course. It's probably not that important to simulate full exams because there isn't enough time to do so. I found that simply outlining answers was enough. Then check your exam answers against example answers your professor gives you or if there are past exams on a database and modify your outline accordingly.

5. What are outlines? There are two kinds of outlines: Study outlines and Attack outlines. Study outlines are what you use to learn and review the material throughout the semester. There are usually outline banks with great outlines created by previous students that are available on a database in your law school. I highly encourage you to download a few at the start of the semester and then decide which ones to stick with. Some people would take notes in those outlines. I personally preferred to take my notes separately.  Either way, you'll have to consolidate a combination of the outline notes and your own notes. The goal is to eventually make this other student's outline into "yours" as you rearrange it and use language more familiar to you. You will need to know where to look to find relevant sections etc. Attack outlines are outlines you develop for taking the exam. While study outlines can be over 100 pages, these are typically far shorter and contain all the relevant guidelines/templates you create for answering the exam question. These would include things like a prima facie case for assault, what differentiates a murder from voluntary or involuntary manslaughter etc... or flowcharts for determining personal jurisdiction etc. I personally found the outlining process to be very helpful for reviewing course material and getting ready for the exam. Just dont forget that you should budget enough time to take as many exams as you can. Your attack outline typically gets more useful with each past exam you take and review. 

6. Take moments to unplug. Everything I said above seems to suggest that you will be going hard all the time. That's not the case. You will definitely find some moments of reprieve and even if you don't, sometimes you have to make time for it. We all have needs and there is no reason to neglect them. Recognize that if you don't take the time to fill your cup, unwind and rest your mind, you'll suffer burnout. If that means rewarding yourself with netflix within reason, do it! You can definitely budget time to do fun things and see your friends. Always pay attention to your body. Practice good sleep discipline and organize your study and reading sessions around the times you are most productive. Exercise and eat healthy.

7. Please remember that you are in a community that is much smaller than you think. One of the unfortunate things about law school is that everyone is in competition with each other and you are graded on a curve. A professor told us: "many of you have always been in the top 10% of your class. For the first time, 90% of you won't be at the end of the semester." When you put the most type A people together in the same room, you can imagine that things can get pretty toxic. Everyone has heard of stories and anecdotes so there's no need to mention them here. I'm very lucky to share that I had a very positive experience in my section but nevertheless, I say all this because this is only 1 year of your life and how you treat your classmates can have career-long consequences you don't foresee. Even though you are competing with your classmates, you can choose to make it a more positive experience for everyone. People remember how you treat them. If you decide to do some shady shit or repeatedly let your classmates/study partners down, they will remember that. Know that one of the most valuable things you can get out of your law school experience is your professional network. Your current classmates are your future colleagues. So don't be an asshole. It's not worth it.

8. You are at a professional school. Act like it. In law school, you'll have classmates older and younger than you. Personally, I didn't notice much of a gap between the older and younger students but there was an exception: KJDs. They often said things and behaved in ways that showed a complete lack of self-awareness and maturity. This was probably because they lacked professional work experience and believed that law school was simply an extension of the undergraduate culture they were used to. This is not to say that KJDs always behaved in these ways or that only KJDs made these mistakes. But my observation was that it happened to them more often because a lack of experience sometimes made them unaware of certain things. Whether or not this applies to you, my best advice is to remember you are among your future colleagues. Think before you act. Think twice before you make that post in groupme and what it signals to everyone around you. Exercise some situational awareness and be sensitive to your audience, especially when it comes to politics, religion, etc. Ask any HLS student and they can tell you about the classmate who commented a little too much about last Summer's protests in groupme (however well-intentioned) and got sidelined hard by many of the students. I don't mean to say that you should self-censor but know that presentation matters and how you carry yourself sends positive or negative signals. In law school, you'll be talking about all kinds of difficult subjects that people have strong opinions about so consider your presentation before speaking up.

9. On another note: if you are a KJD contemplating whether you should get some work experience before law school, I highly recommend it. Know that law school isn't going away any time soon. There is simply no hurry to rush into this. Working for a few years before law school is beneficial in many ways. It gives you a better perspective the decisions you make for your career, clarifies your legal interests, and generally helps you build professional and emotional maturity. I also think it gives you a boost in admissions and perhaps more time to study for the LSAT.

Finally, if there's only one thing to take away here, I want to assure you that you are capable of getting through law school successfully. So many of you take the LSAT very seriously. That's why you come to the discussion forum and read about posts to get advice and encouragement for your journey. You are all already very conscientious and if you apply the same energy and seriousness to law school, you'll do just fine. Yes it will be challenging and the learning curve will be steep, but the discipline you develop from LSAT prep will serve you well in the year ahead. Again, my goal is to give you the perspectives I wish I had. I hope it helps you navigate the exciting journey ahead!

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Happy to help anyone just as so many have helped me.

I took the June test and got a 153 but I was getting155-161 on all PT's. I think it had to have been nerves as I couldn't remember anything after I took the test?? So I am obviously retaking in August. Is a 160 - 164 too high to shoot for?

Hello,

I'm looking to form a group of people who are currently scoring in the low 170s and looking to score in the high 170s. We would meet for several hours at the weekend to do blind review of a previously agreed upon practice test. I'd also be open to organizing break-out sessions and/or workshops for question types within the group and/or exploring other methods of group study.

I'm looking for people who can commit to attending most of the sessions and really want to dive into to the nitty gritty to grab those last few points.

About me:

I am in Central Time. Strongest section is RC and weakest LG.I scored a 171 on the June Flex which was my first take.

If you are interested, please message me or comment below.

Thanks!!!

I took many of the PTs on LSAC LawHub prior to purchasing 7sage. Is there any way I could transfer the data from those tests so analytics can be created without me having to retake the tests on this platform? Thanks in advance

Hi all,

So on the June LSAT page, I can obviously see my score, percentile, etc. But further down under "LSAT Documents," all of my documents have the icon for "not yet available." Which is a bit weird especially for the writing sample, since I can see it on the other page but not under this one. I'm also just interested to see the IRR and how I did on the test.

Can anyone actually see documents, or are you also still waiting?

Thanks.

#help

So, I've chosen B, both under timed conditions and blind review. Below is my reasoning:

B: If I am more willing to sacrifice consistency than to sacrifice flavor, I am more willing to refrain from buying stabilizers and keeping temperatures low (therefore energy costs up), thereby saving costs. Therefore, cost considerations indeed favor sacrificing consistency over sacrificing flavor.

Why is B wrong?

Moreover, I am not fully convinced that E is correct. It's clear that stable temperatures (no matter whether they are very low or not, stable means to me that there are no temperature changes which adversely affect the consistency) allow for the best possible consistency. But how do we know that very low, stable temperatures allow for the best possible flavour? We are not told anything about the relation between flavour and temperature (it could be the case that lower temperatures have adverse effects on flavour).

Maybe I'm overthinking it with E though, the process of written expression of my thoughts actually almost convinced me that E sounds logical. The question I'm concerned the most with is why B is wrong.

November 2020 LSAT I got a 145 I quit work and studiying full time with max units at university April LSAT I got a 157 I went harder never lost sight and in June 2021 YA mans got a 166 NEVER GIVE TF UP if I can do it anyone can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi. My "dream" target schools are UT Austin and Northwestern. I have a 171 LSAT (75% for both) and 3.76 GPA (at or below the medians). Would you anticipate chances of admission (and especially scholarship availability) would be substantially different if I could tack 1-3 points on that score given it's already in the top 25% range?

I have taken the test 3 times. Would a lower score 4th attempt be a bad look? Having a hard time deciding whether to retake.

Hi Everyone,

I will be retaking the test in (mid) August and will be studying insanely hard for the month of July and beginning of August. I unfortunately discovered 7Sage late in my studies before taking the June LSAT, so I only had this forum for about a month or two. But it helped me raise my score 5 points in that time.... so I am going to continue using it of course. But are there any other books you would recommend to push me over into the 160s? My goal is a 163 but of course I will do everything in my power to get higher. I know I have it in me since I scored a 162 on one of my PTs.

I have already used Kaplan's books (bleh..they suck) and the LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim (amazing). I have heard great things about the Power Score Bibles. Are they really all that? I want to make sure what I purchase is worth it since I only have a little over a month. Thank you.

I got a 139. After months and months of trying to study and listening to podcasts of people getting astronomical scores, I got a 139. I think its clear that I will not be going to law school. I'm at my wit's end right now and have never felt so defeated in my life. I'm currently on vacation and will reassess whether to not I will continue with this far fetched idea or just f**ing quit now.

help Did 7sage just update the law school predictor? Like in the last 2 days? I swear UVA's average LSAT score went up since the last I looked on Tuesday.

Hi all,

I scored a 166 on the June 2021 LSAT Flex, which was my PT average heading into the test (I scored into the 170s a couple of times). I am generally aware of my two weaknesses, which I've outlined below, but would love some feedback on how helpful a tutor would be.

Any thoughts on if a tutor could be helpful at this point? Would they be able to reveal anything else about my performance? Or should I just trudge through and work on these two weak areas?

Thanks!

STEM major in one of the top tech institutions but no CAS GPA before December (haven't reached 60 credit hours). Cumulative GPA is 4.2 out of 4.3. Not a US citizen.

This is my second take. First one was in April, 174. PT-ing 175-180, average 178 ish.

My mom is so upset, I can't even believe it. help

Edit: I'm sorry if this post makes anyone unhappy. I know I should be satisfied with a 174 or 176. And I am. Family pressure for absolute perfection is another story, though. My mom is literally asking me to forget about law school. Go to work as a software engineer, she says. I am so sad.

I just did the Weaken problem sets and got a lot of them wrong. I feel extremely let down and I am not really sure how to approach the questions that I get wrong. I watch the explanations but I don't seem to internalize the information that JY is saying when I do the next questions. Do any of you have any suggestions?

Hello hello,

I am coming on to say that my LSAT journey has seemingly come to a close after receiving my June flex score! I am proud of how far I have come and so ready for the steps ahead. The point of this post, though, is not to rejoice in my journey but thank all of those who made it possible for me. I literally do not think I could have accomplished what I did without 7Sage- JY (of course!), the other instructors, and the whole community. To all my fellow 7Sagers- you guys were some of my most important cheerleaders and people I looked to for advice. The forums on here are truly amazing, and I loved being able to interact with everyone in such a seamless fashion. Even if only one person sees this who is beginning their journey on 7Sage, I will be happy. May it be a sentiment and hopefully motivation to those who need it. To everyone not done yet- keep going. You truly can accomplish anything you set your mind to. I've heard so many people say this and never really took it to heart. Trust me, it's true and you'll get there. It's good to push yourself and realize that goals should require continuous dedication. And to those who have completed this journey alongside of me- CONGRATS. This is such an exciting time, may the future be bright for all.

I keep hearing how LSAT medians are rising for many schools/the application cycle is more competitive than ever before, & that we should expect a rise in medians by 1+ points... is this accurate? and do you know where I can find up-to-date LSAT medians (or anything that'll help me understand what schools I have a chance of getting into for the 2022 cycle)? Can I rely on 2020 data that schools are keeping on their websites? Any advice is greatly appreciated :)

I recently got my June flex score back and I scored a 170 (first take). My gpa is 4.0 from a big public university and I have average to below average softs. I was pting in the upper 160s with a personal best of 173. Will apply in August, and Im KJD.

Should I retake in August?

Hi everyone,

I have took the LSAT twice, the first time scored 154, and the second time 155. My usually practice scores average at the low 160 range and I have used up almost all test prepping materials. I've been doing blind review and have studied for almost a year. I need your help, guidance, and suggestions on how I should prepping for the August LSAT and maybe thoughts on whether I should switch to GRE instead. Thank you.

Hello,

I'm looking for some advice from some fellow 7sagers. I Started in January and was looking for a target score of 165, which is exactly what I got on this June test. However, in my past 10 Pts I've scored 160,169,170,169,170,166,171,165,164 (test was here) 2 week break and finally a 172. I am 100% retaking the test but I am not sure as to whether I should be cancelling or keeping my score. My target law school is Osgood (Canadian law school, I'm from Canada) and my CGPA will 100% be 3.5 or 3.6 (0.1/0.2 below what they require). I know I will be a splitter applicant, Any advice is welcomed, thank you.

I got 149 for June flex test, I have a Master degree. Am I able to get accepted to a Tier 3 or 4 Law school ?

It is doable. I am not done yet because I would like a 160. But if I can do it as a mother of 2, working full time as a litigation paralegal and gain 17 points then you can too! Don't give up! Also a very special thank you to my tutor! I couldn't have done this without her! (I hope she sees this post)

Hi everyone,

While I've seen some people state their frustrations with scoring in the 165+ range because they wanted higher scores, I wanted to make a post for those who are proud of their accomplishments to date and getting scores that are reflective of where they want to be. No shame or disrespect to those wanting to achieve whatever perfection they are aiming for, but proud to support others who are doing their best all the same. Especially for those older in the group (30-year-old here!), the single parents or single-income households navigating full or part-time work.

This isn't the end of my LSAT journey (one more attempt will be made in October) but I wanted to give a huge shout out to those who consistently support and provide feedback in the lessons and discussion forums. Keep working hard, be proud of your accomplishments (because no one knows what this test is like unless they've sat through this process), and trust the process!

I can understand how ACs A-D are incorrect. I am truly struggling to see how E is correct.

My contention here is that even if a greater proportion of crimes are reported in recent years, those independent surveys would still include all of the non-reported and reported victims. Therefore, there is no way to make the argument that these two things could be viewed separately. The video explanation really did not clear this up for me. Can someone possibly explain how to understand this more clearly?

Admin Note: Edited title. Please use the format "PT#.S#.Q# - brief description of question"

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-c2-section-2-question-19/