Hi,

I am a PhD student of Genetics in India. I am interested to work in IP law. However, I have no idea if there is any special requisite to apply for law colleges in Canada or if any special fellowships available (cause I won't be able to study law without fellowship). Also if it is ok to go from PhD in Genetics to law (I know many go from engineering field, but not sure if students come from biology field as well ). I have converted my undergraduate score (First division) to GPA, it is coming 4 but not sure if Canada schools convert the score for international student or they disregard it. Is Credential Assembly Service Authentication and Evaluation (CAS A&E) compulsory for international students? Will they convert my undergraduate scoring to GPA?

I will highly appreciate and grateful, if someone has answer these queries.

Just wondering if there were any tutors on here anyone would recommend.

I was thinking that having a customizable timer for problem sets would add tremendous value, specifically for doing timed LR sections. As it stands you can't take a 35 minute timed LR section if you build your own problem set (unless there's some way that i'm not privy to), which would be really beneficial. Is this a possibility/consideration for future modifications? @studentservice

Is there a way to have the entire passage display (no questions to the right of the passage)?

I am using an iPad and trying to practice RC.

Thanks

So, I’ve recently discovered that some people score significantly less on the actual test as compared to PTs. There is a general “rule of thumb” that you typically score -3 from what you PT at. So if my target score is a 160, should I be comfortably at 163 before considering the real test?

What’s even more scary is I’ve seen that people drop like -8 or more on the actual test. For someone like me who is aiming for a 160, that much of a drop is absolutely terrifying. If I were to drop that much (assuming I’m actually capable of scoring a 160) then my score wouldn’t be near the median of the schools I’m looking at applying to.

This whole concept of test day drops is literally keeping me up at night, especially since anxiety is something I’ve always struggled with. So, right when I think LSAT prep is already hard enough, there is this possibility that I don’t even score what I’ve worked so hard for:(

Does anyone have a drilling schedule they used/found helpful? Currently going through the pre-made problem sets that 7Sage offers in their entirety, not sure if there's a better approach. Anything helps. Thanks!

I'm currently looking for one or max two study partners who I can drill ALOUD with on Ellen Cassidy's Basic Translation and What If? test methods.

Some soft prerequisites:

Has thoroughly read through Ellen Cassidy's "The Loophole in LSAT Logical Reasoning" and is committed to adopting and practicing her ways

Someone who wants extra practice in assumption spotting in LR OUT LOUD

BR in the170s

Preferably Pacific time zone

Flexible scheduling (meet via Discord 2-3x/week for 1-1.5 hours)

Look forward to connecting with you! Please message me if you are interested!

I'm confused by the question stem here:

The information above provides the LEAST support for which one of the following?

When I read the explanation, it said this is a MBT question. I thought this was a MBT EXCEPT question stem.

https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewtopic.php?t=9232

Admin note: edited title; please use the format of "PT#.S#.Q# - [brief description]"

Admin note: https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-26-section-3-question-20/

I am unsure of what the problem is. I believe it may be an insufficient ability to translate English into Lawgic. Often times the ones I seem to get correct, my English---->Lawgic translation is incorrect.

I would like to continue through the course and just keep this weakness in the back of my mind. But I also would not like to do that at my own detriment. My questions are as follows:

Where can I go to practice these English ----> Lawgic translations without wasting the precious resources of actual problem sets.

Can I just go through the rest of the course while working on that and then return the MBT/SA questions at a later date?

Hello fellow sagers, I have recently finished the CC and now onto drilling and correcting and that whole process. I just took PT36 after completing CC as some suggested and I want to learn some strategies that will get the most out of reviewing. Planning on writing for April 2020

I like the BR method but had a question on how to approach review after BR, particularly for LR. The way I am going about it now is that I consolidate all the High urgency questions, tell myself why I though the answer was right then watch the explanation video.

Is this a good way to go about it? Any advice on strategy that'll truly improve understanding or anything I should add to my process that you find helpful?

Has anyone taken the exam at Rutgers New Brunswick somewhat recently or at all? If so, what was your

experience?

Hey 7sagers,

Been on this community for sometime – reading peoples posts, getting help, etc. 7sage is by far one of the best LSAT content out there. Since I have been scoring in the 160s, I wanted to give back to the community. I am deciding to now do free online tutoring/lsat coaching.

Before reading below, mind my spelling as I am in a rush typing this LOL

My LSAT journey:

About Me: To sum it up – I am busy!!!

Why am I doing this? ….

The Challenge: Trust me when I say this - I KNOW THE GRIND LOL. I know the tears….ripping up paper….. the feeling of throwing your tablet on the floor (but understanding shit you need it to type up your masters assignment)…feeling like you cant do it… giving up and never wanting to hear the four letter word LSAT….its real and I know it. However, for me… my wife has always been my number 1 supporter and has kept me a float all the time. I remember crying in her arms one time when I started a long time back– but at that point I didn’t really understand the LSAT and the LSAT world LOL… I come from a brown/desi family of over achievers. We are all perfectionists – people who on the first try get and achieve what they want. But, for me the LSAT wasn’t that and my perfectionism was killing me. My family didn’t really understand what the LSAT was. I am not going to even start to say what my in laws thought LOL. I remember my brother just telling me “bro just do PTs and get this done with” – only if they knew what the LSAT world is about. I remember the first time when I thought to consider LSAT tutoring – I was like “me… the guy who tutors for a living, really?” I understand the stigma and mental burden around asking people for help – sometimes it sucks, but sometimes its needed. To me the LSAT is a sport – just like any competition there is levels to it (the 170s people know what I mean). Just like any sport, people have coaches, mentors, teachers to show them the ropes, tips and tricks, etc. similarly, the LSAT is the same. I know how expensive and financially challenging this entire process can be. I know the financial aspect can be barrier for many. Tutoring can be expensive… so yeah. I am not sure if any of this relates LOL but I am sure it will ring the bell for some.

Better myself: At the end day, when I am helping you out, my LSAT knowledge improves.

How’d it work?

Preference:

If you are interested, DM me and will go from there!

Hey all! I was just really curious about the schedule. I’ve heard of people improving to 170+, and it taking a year or longer, but I’m personally just trying to get to 160 for my target school and I’m starting at around a 150. Would this also take a year like the schedule says? I’ve heard so many people claim it shouldn’t take a year to break 160s, but I just wanted to get some insight from the best LSAT community on the planet to ease my mind:)

So, I never actually took a “cold” diagnostic test. I have just recently joined started using 7sage and feel like I’ve wasted the last month and a half of how I’ve been studying. I used LSATMAX for about a month and during that time, got a 148 diagnostic without a sufficient understanding for really any section.

About 2 weeks later I took another diagnostic and got a 152. I was feeling a little bit more confident on each section (especially LR) and definitely improved, but I still didn’t feel as confident as I should have.

My problem is, I have recently made the switch to 7sage because I just thoroughly don’t enjoy the teaching methods of LSATMAX, and I also have just heard great things about 7sage. So, I guess my question is, should I look at my starting score as a 152? Or should it be more around the 148? I’m only asking because I see frequently that people say most students increase their score by 8-12 points, and with my target score being a 160, knowing what to call my “starting score” will either give me some reassurance that it’s possible, or realizing that it may not be in reach.

I am also just kind of curious on if I should skip over certain lessons on 7sage that I know I have a decent understanding in? Mainly, sufficient and necessary. I drilled this a ton and feel like I know a lot about it (sufficient word indicators and necessary word indicators etc) so I feel like I should dedicate more time to the actual question types.

I am also really concerned with the study schedule. It seems impossible for me at this point in my life to study for 30 hours a week when I am currently still in school. I’ve typically done about 10-15 hours a week, just depending on how much homework I have over the weekends.

Sorry for the lengthy post, just super stressed:(

I have two questions. On the SLS website it says "Please be aware of the high value Stanford places on school-specific letters of recommendation." I take it this is their subtle way of saying "If you don't write an SLS specific LOR we may just throw your app in the trash." Does anyone have experience with this or an alternate explanation?

Second, on the SLS application process page there is no mention of a "Why X" essay at all. Does this mean we should not write a Why X essay for Stanford? On other schools' pages there is mention of a Why X essay but not here. Would it be inappropriate to send a Why X essay? Thanks!!

Hi,

What are the best strategies for high scorers on reading comprehension with the new digital format? On paper with minimal underlining, I was averaging about -3 wrong per RC section. I read the powerscore rc bible a few months ago and generally did not find their viewstamp analysis to be particularly useful. With playing around with the electronic underlining and highlighting features, I think I will just never use them as they are more finicky than useful. I just finished the core curriculum for logic games and logical reasoning, so I will start the reading section of the curriculum now. Does the 7sage cc on reading still apply? Is it worthwhile? What changes with switch to tablet? Any other tips or advice on how to approach the reading comprehension on new format?

Thanks for the help!

Anyone take LSAT at Doubletree Hilton Newark Penn Station or Seton Hall? How was your experience? Thank you

First - thank you 7sage! I ended up getting a 172 on the LSAT, and I know it wouldn't have been possible without the amazing materials on the site. I've been blessed to get into Columbia, BYU, Cornell and Vanderbilt. I'm really torn between Columbia, (because I love NYC and all of the programs at Columbia) and BYU, where I have a full tuition scholarship + $2500 stipend. I've visited both (I did undergrad at BYU actually), and enjoyed both...I just can't decide if I should go for the prestige, or the debt free degree. Advice?

Hey guys, I'm looking to take the June / July test, and I'm unsure how I should distribute my PTs in the months leading up to the test.

I've been very focused on timed drills for the past 2 months to get my accuracy where I want it to be, and started taking full PTs a few weeks ago. I've mainly focused on the late 30s so I can save up the recent PTs, though I have taken two from the 70s to acclimate to the changes that people seem to have noticed.

I realize that I'm not too far away from the test, and I'm starting to think simply working up chronologically might not be a good idea (3 months is clearly not enough time to get every PT in). I'm taking 3-4 PTs a week right now. How do you guys suggest I approach choosing which PTs to take? Should I work on only the odd/evens for every 10 PT?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. Do you guys find the 30s and the 70s to be vastly different? I'm not picking up on much differences (except RC), but that may be due to the fact that I've only really taken two of the 70s.

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning to write the July 2020 test, looking for study buddies in Toronto! Comment below if you're interested.

I'm starting my drilling for each problem types and trying to reorganize the question bank.

I currently have close to 300 problem sets and they are all over the place. I understand that there is SORT function but I want to keep it minimalistic and the sort function isn't exactly precise. I just want to sort everything by number of questions. since sorting by title or date completed isn't very useful to me.

Hello, would love to be added to the group. My email is georgengalamulume@u.boisestate.edu

I am signed up for the LSAT 27 days from now, I scored a 142 this past October, the previous time i took the test was the October before that and i recieved a 141. Now today I took a Prep Test and my score is still 142. To get into one of my schools of choice, the dean of the school said i would need about a 146 or 147. I have been practicing for 3-5 hours every weekday since January 1st. But my score refuses to go up. I'm stuck and i have no clue where to go from here. Every time i score the same as before my confidence takes a shot. I feel hopeless. I redid 50% of the core curriculum and am going to continue the rest of it, but my LR hasn't improved. My Blind review gets worse sometimes, and i never feel as if i got the answer wrong in the first place. All of my sections are roughly the same score 11ish maybe 12 right in a section. What is my course of action. I'm taking the test no matter what, but is it too late to make improvements to my score

Hey 7sagers,

Right now in the -1 to -0 range in LG (Full proofed 30 - 60). However, the substitution LG question stem in the 60+ test seems to get me. Do folks have any recommendations on how to attack it? Any patterns they see? Any book recommendations to read on this?

Thanks for the advice in advance.... :)

RC success is a function of knowing what to read for and a healthy balance of focus and confidence. Without confidence, it is hard to really focus. Knowing what to read for helps to build confidence, which increases your willingness and ability to focus.

I will briefly discuss how you can practice knowing what to read for below. This is difficult at first, but gets easier with repetition- the more you do it, the faster and more accurate you become.

First, why RC? Why does LSAC care to test us on RC and what do they really want us to do?

In law school, we will be reading tons of cases written by judges. It will be our job to discern the main point of the case, determine what the judge really thinks, and how they build their argument. Once we have this understanding, we can (with the help and insights of professors) analyze the strength of the argument and think about its implications.

The LSAT tests our ability to identify the main point or thrust of an argument, discern the authors’s view, and be able to see the author’s logical progression to the main point or conclusion, in other words to map the blueprint of the argument.

The questions are almost all based around these elements. By reading with the intent of figuring these things out before the questions, the questions fly by. This is analogous to making up front inferences during Logic Games.

RC is hard because we are not used to reading and thinking in this manner. Most of the things we read, we just skim.

So here is a template to fill out when you read RC. Filling this out yourself will get you in the habit of consciously thinking about the things LSAC requires of you. The more you do this, the better your ability will become. After writing these things out many times, you will eventually be able to hold these elements in your mind. This is how comfort, speed, and accuracy is built. So focus on filling this template out untimed at first. Then hit the questions. During the questions, you will find that you have thought about many of the concepts asked if you already.

So here is the template:

Paragraph #1 Low Resolution Summary:

Author’s separate paragraphs to signal a shift in ideas. Each paragraph is the reporting of a different idea. We want to identify what that idea is.

We are looking to summarize the takeaway from the paragraph. This will show us 3 or 4 different ideas. Then we take these ideas and examine how they relate. The relationships of the paragraphs come together to allow us to see the takeaway of the whole thing.

P2:

P3:

P4:

Main Point? - What does the author want you to take away from this? What are they trying to argue, show, or tell you about?

Author’s tone? - Where do they show their opinion and what is it? Pay close attention to when the author is speaking versus when they are telling you about the opinions of others. Do not conflate the 2!

Argument Structure?-

How does each paragraph relate to one another? Use your low res summaries to tell a story. For example: Paragraph 1 tells us about a strange phenomenon, Paragraph 2 then gives us Jones explanation for the phenomenon, Paragraph 3 introduces Kate and she offers a different explanation for the phenomenon, Paragraph 4 ends with the author telling us why they think Kate’s explanation is better than Jones’.

Analyzing an RC passage and doing this is time consuming and even draining- for harder passages it will take me sometimes 1.5 hours to fully feel like I have a full understanding of the passage. This is normal, take your time and shoot for quality of training over quantity. Knowing deep down that you have a true understanding of the passage is how you develop confidence! Like I said earlier, this process will start out slow and painful, but it will pay off if you stick with it.

Once you have completed the template, and feel comfortable with it, you are ready to hit the questions.

More so than LR, you need to take your time to fully understand the question stems, or what is being asked if you. For example, in LR a stem may ask you which AC most strengthens the argument. You can read this and know your task in about 2 seconds because you have seen hundreds of these. However, an RC stem is more likely to be unique, specific, and its meaning may turn on a single word. So it is important to take your time with stems.

Use Pre Phrasing! After reading the stem, answer the question in your own words. Think about what a credited answer choice might be. For example, if the question asks you what an author would most likely agree with, think about what you know about the author’s opinion. This type of conscious thought before looking at answer choices will make you less prone to traps and more efficient. It also forces you to full understand the question stem. I found that many of my mistakes were a product of not understanding the task at hand.

Steps:

1.Fill out template untimed (this will take forever at first)

2. Analyze the questions. Read the stem and pre phrase before looking at answer choices. Write out justifications for every answer choice, right or wrong.

3. Take a break, reset your brain, repeat

4. Check answers/grade

5. Over time this will become easier and you can try doing 2 passages in one sitting

6. Once you can do 2 passages in one sitting and go -1 or -0 per passage, you are ready to add in timing

7. Complete a 35 minute strictly timed RC section. Pick the 2 passages you found most difficult and complete the template and question justifications, untimed.

8. Keep an excel sheet tracking your results, timing, and takeaways. Before you take a timed section, revisit this sheet and set intentions/ goals going into the section.