I purchased the core curriculum roughly two months ago with the intention of completing it fairly quick-- within a month at most--- so I could begin running through practice tests with the help of JY's explanations. Unfortunately, I didn't achieve that goal. I didn't end up completing it until a couple weeks ago. But once it was done, I started having really negative thoughts. Particularly, I wasn't confident I truly retained much of the course and began regretting not taking practice tests sooner. As you would expect, I carried that negativity throughout the test and performed well below what I hoped. On the bright side however, after going through the BR process and watching JY's explanations, the CC really started to sink in. Now I am seeing the strategies, making quicker inferences, etc...confidently. I recently took an untimed PT so I could see everything with no pressure and my score increased from a 147-167. I am hoping to score a 165+ in NOV. What or your thoughts or experiences POST CC? I feeling optimistic going forward but feel free to crush my dreams if it seems overzealous.

So on the LSAC report my Cumulative GPA is higher than Degree GPA, because I transferred from one college to another after my Sophomore year. Any idea which one the law school admissions will look at? Thanks!

Hey friends, I've been working through the CC since June and between work and illness, it's taken me much longer to complete than I'd planned. I've registered for the Nov 25th LSAT and I now have six weeks or so to PT and about 22 hours left in the CC.

I could change my test date to January; however, while the schools I'm applying to accept it, it would be very late in the cycle. I've also contracted out for much of December because I'd planned to be done by the end of November, so I doubt I'd have much time to study then anyway.

For context, my diagnostic from 2 years ago was a 146 (BR 156) with my lowest scores in RC. I've seen quite a bit of improvement overall from the problems sets in the CC, but I won't have an accurate estimate of my current average score until I PT.

Any tips on how to maximize the time I have left?

Hi 7sage Community,

Unfortunately the LSAT has not gone as planned for me. My first write I got 153 and my second write I got a 161. My question to the community is whether I should be writing an addendum in my application for my first score. The reason for my low performance was test anxiety and my mom was going through a serious illness which was a distraction (albeit I was experiencing both of these things during both writes).

I am applying to 2 Canadian schools and for one of the schools they explicitly say on their website that they review your top score only. For this school my 161 would be slightly above the median posted online. For the other school I am applying to my LSAT score would be 25% percentile or lower (median score ranges from 165-167) and they say that they look at all scores but give highest weight to top score.

The section in my application where I can address my lower score also allows for a diversity statement which I feel might be more beneficial to my application.

My questions specifically are as follows:

I have a CGPA in the 3.7-3.8 range with strong extra curriculars and work experience. Thank you! #help

Hello 7sagers, I know this question has been asked for multiple times but today is the last day to make the deicision, so I would love to hear your thoughts. Currently I have a 166 from Janurary, and I plan to take November's test (signed up after I was destroyed by September test). My prediction for my LG would be (-2 to -7), that would give me 163 - 169, depending on how lucky I am. I was about to cancel after I walked out from the test center six days ago, but there was a slight hope in my head that I might be doing as well as or higher than my previous test...(ugh)

I really appreciate any thoughts or feedbacks, and good luck everyone on October and November tests!!

Hi team,

I've been meaning to write this post since I got my July score, but I wanted to give a brief recap of my LSAT experience while working full time and doing and starting an online Master's program. I got into some details about my mental state, time spent studying, and stuff like that. Sorry it's a bit long, but I figured some other stressed out/anxious people might benefit from knowing the details of what was happening in my head. The story comes first, then my general tips, and a few actual LSAT tips. Happy to answer any questions :).

#My Story

I started studying back in June 2018 and got 7sage Ultimate+, planning to take the test in September. I got a 160 on my diagnostic, so I figured I wouldn't need more than a couple months (and oh boy was I wrong!). I was also working full time in consulting in a pretty demanding role, so finding a couple hours after work wasn't feasible for a while. By the time it got to the beginning of August, I wasn't even up to logic games in the core curriculum (CC), so I decided to push my test date out to January 2019 to give myself more time. I let myself enjoy summer a bit before bearing down in the fall. Time-wise, I allocated 1-1.5 hrs of study time after work Monday-Thursday, and around 5 or 6 hours on Sundays-- I don't work on Shabbat, so I always had that break built in. This scheduled worked for me, as I had built in breaks and didn't burn out (at first).

While going through the CC, I made sure to print out multiple copies of problem sets and game sets, coming back to problem set types as I moved ahead to make sure that I didn't get to the end of the CC forgetting how to do an LR strengthening (which is more towards the beginning of the CC). This was super helpful as it let me retain and refine knowledge as well as the understanding that most LR questions are built from the same elements-- e.g. a strengthening and a weakening question can call on the same flaw/assumption in the stimulus.

When I got into practice tests, my first practice test (some time in the fall) was a 166-- I was pretty disappointed in this because I had been studying for 3+ months. Anyway, onwards. I was doing practice tests ~once/week on Sundays (blind reviewing on the same day) and doing practice sets/review during the week. I was at this point getting anywhere from 164 to 169, with one 170. LG was -2/3, LR was -4/5, and RC was -7/8. Everything I read told me that LG was the easiest to improve on, so I started doing games at every chance I could. Lunch? Cool, time for a couple games. Subway ride home? 2 or 3 games. Having trouble sleeping? I'd do a game. Waiting for a doctor's appointment? Oh you know I was hitting those grouping games. But I wouldn't just go through games absent-mindedly. As 7sage suggests, I'd foolproof every game, doing it over and over until I could get the game done quickly and perfectly. This got my prep test LG sections down to a very consistent -0, bringing my average up to 165-168 by early January (RC and LR receded a little as I focused on LG)

At some point, I realized I still wasn't going to be ready by the January 2019 test. My GPA is somewhere around 3.3, so I was targeting at least 170 to be competitive at T14 schools and all that. So, I pushed to March. At this point, however, I was really, really struggling mentally with this test. I was putting a ton of pressure on myself to perform-- I knew I knew this stupid shit, but I would freak out on LR and RC sections, missing a bunch of questions. Unfortunately, I started attaching my self-worth to my ability to get a 170 on this test...which I'd only done 2 or so times by mid-February. I kept cramming studying in to ALL of my free time, including Shabbat, and not giving myself breaks. I'd also started a Master's program online in January, while working full time, and studying...so tons of stress and no breaks.

When you're in it, it can totally feel like you need to be studying at any time that you're not studying. Fuck that!!!! Treat your mind like a muscle. It needs rest time and it will break down when you overwork it, which I was doing leading up to the March test. I'd gotten my average to 168ish at that point, and scored a 166 on the March test. While this is an excellent score, I knew I was capable of better. I do a lot of design thinking at work, so I decided to do some retrospective activities to figure out what went wrong with my studying and what could've gone better. Obviously, I didn't build in enough breaks and was putting far too much pressure on myself.

Unfortunately, when I started studying for the June test, I slipped into the same patterns I had before the March test--- any time I wasn't studying, I was thinking about the LSAT and about that magical 170 number. I'd focused down on RC and LR and had gotten my average up to around 171, which was great. For RC, I practiced the memory method a ton and learned to, as JY says, "contain my confusion" in passages, especially science. For LR, I'd developed a skipping strategy that had a fookin massive impact on my score. Unfortunately, though, as I mentioned, I was stressing myself out in crazy ways. I'm thankful for the people around me who basically forced me to take 2 weeks off, and what an incredible break it was!!!!! I forced myself to not think about the test for 2 whole weeks!!!! Then I studied a bit for 2 weeks before the test, didn't study the day before, scoring a 175 and a 174 on practice tests. I scored a 169 on the June test that I was really proud of.

HOWEVER. I still knew I could do better. I'd gotten 3 LG questions wrong!!!! It was that last game, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I decided to take the July test, knowing that I had this great score in my back pocket and could cancel if I didn't perform. This gave me a lot of confidence, and I actually barely studied at all between the June and July tests. I took two total practice tests, one of which I'd already taken (176 and 177). I knew that confidence was going to be the biggest factor for me, so I didn't try to do too much. I breathed a lot, slept a lot, exercised a lot, and spent a lot of time with friends.

To practice for the possibility of getting the digital test, I borrowed a friend's iPad for a week and did a couple practice sections on PT 73 (which I'd already done by hand). This was to make sure I knew the mechanics of the digital test and all that. The content was gonna be the same.

Going into the July test, I went in cool as a cucumber. I knew I had this great score in my backpocket and I knew that I was going to absolutely crush it (that's what I kept telling myself---- confidence is seriously a fake it till you feel it kind of thing). I'd also listened to Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast about the LSAT the day before, which talks about, essentially, the uselessness of the LSAT in determining outcomes for lawyers-- this made me feel better, knowing that the test is NOT a reflection of how good a lawyer I will be or how smart I am, but only a test of how well I can do on that test. Despite taking the test at a different facility from my first two takes with about 4x more people, and starting 2.5 hours late due to tablet issues, I kept my confidence up by closing my eyes and imagining how it was going to feel flying through the test to get my 170+. I'm thankful to have gotten a 176 on the July test and have my 13-month LSAT journey come to a close. It was a massive roller coaster of a ride, but I am THANKFUL to have gone through it. I learned a lot about myself, what works/doesn't work for me, and how to find balance.

Some thanks: 7sage for the amazing curriculm, JY's comforting and assuring voice for explaining shit in a very very very clear way, my partner for her unbelievable support, and the 7sage community.

#Some overall tips

CONFIDENCE: You know this shit!!! If you come into the test KNOWING that you will kill it, you WILL kill it. You've put in the work, and it will pay off when you allow yourself to envision what it looks like to fly through the test like you did when you nailed all those practice tests. If you're having trouble building confidence in yourself, pretend you are your friend-- what would you tell your friend to build up their confidence?

BREAKS: Like I mentioned, TREAT YOUR BRAIN LIKE A MUSCLE. You need space away from this stupid, stupid test. You need rest days. You need rest weeks. It will feel counterintuitive: "How can I get better at in/out games if I'm not actually doing in/out games right now?" You will do them. Just not now. Your brain's gotta rest. Go for a run. Go play some video games. Go see friends. Go SLEEP. You'll be fine.

BALANCE: I studied for and took this test while working full-time and doing an online master's program. I couldn't figure out my schedule for a long time. I constantly felt stressed about the other things that I wasn't doing, and I let that fuck with my head. Plan your schedule, and write down lists, and allow yourself to focus 100% on whatever you're scheduled for right now.

TIME: Especially if you're working full time, you're gonna need time to study for this, factoring in plenty of breaks. JY recommends a year. I'd say that's pretty accurate.

#Actual LSAT advice

Skipping: YOU NEED TO SKIP LR QUESTIONS. I aimed for 10 in 10, 20 in 20, and being done with the section around the 25/27 mark, with 4-6 skipped question. BUT I didn't let myself get stressed out if I didn't meet those guideposts-- they're just guideposts. I skipped any question that I was confused by or found myself struggling after one or two read throughs, and all parallel method/parallel flaw questions. This let me bank a ton of time for those questions towards the end that I knew I would need more time for.

Contain your confusion: For RC. I don't remember which video it is, but JY talks about "containing your confusion". When you read some RC stuff, there will be things that confuse you. Scientific concepts, weird arguments, things you don't get about the Louvre, or flower, or 18th century art, whatever. Box in your confusion. Tell yourself, okay, in this little second paragraph, I don't really get what's going on, but I'm gonna zoom back out. We know that most questions are not detail heavy, and if they are, you can come back to that section to figure out out what the heck is going on. Stay focused on the big picture: what's the main point? Who's making it and what do they believe? Is there another viewpoint there too? What do they think? What section supports that main conclusion?

Foolproof!!!: not much to say here except that games are learnable and foolproofing is the way to learn them.

Yikes wow that was long. Thanks for reading. You're gonna do great on this test!! I believe in you.

Hello all,

I am currently on track to take the November LSAT, and I am currently averaging 151 and was wondering if it is still possible to raise that score up to a 161? My goal would be a 164/165, but I would settle for a 160/161. The school I want to go to the median is 157. I know it is not that high of a score but I am still struggling with LR and I was debating if I should still take the LSAT in November or cancel it and take it to where I know I can absolutely reach the score I want.

Thanks for reading!

I am registered for the October LSAT and have been studying for the last 3 months. For the most part, I have put 3 to 3.5 hours in daily (sometimes more if I’m able to) and am taking my 5th practice test on Saturday (work full time and am a single mom, so although I’d like to have more under my sleeve by now, it just hasn’t always been possible to get them in).

My first PT I got a 144 and am currently teetering between 146-148. I’d be satisfied if I’m able to walk away with a 155 on test day. With that said, 1) is it possible to obtain in the next 4 weeks, and 2) if so, how would my time be best spent in the next month, keeping in mind that there will be days where I’m just not able to put in as much time as I’d like.

I've been searching all over for if a policy exists about how soon we can take the LSAT. For example, if I took the September LSAT, can I still register for and take the November one? What if I cancel my score, will that allow me to take November's?

Hi there,

I have been working on political campaigns for the past 10 years. I had an early foray into politics and the first three campaigns I worked on were primary races during the summer while I was in high school and college. I currently work in an elected official's administration and managed his re-election campaign last year. I am wondering if I should include the campaign work I did prior to graduating from college on my resume?

Hi all,

I have been studying for about 2 months and I was really hoping to get into the Fall 2020 Cycle after taking the January 2020 LSAT. I have done research on a bunch of the schools that I would like to apply to and their application deadlines are late March 2020, however I constantly am seeing that January is too late to apply.

Any advice would be appreciated.

How would you negate "Ann will either take a leave of absence from Technocomp and return in a year or else she will quit her job there".?

Hi everyone

Its me again. I think I am going crazy from this test?

I am consistently scoring -10 in my LR sections, -5 in LG, and RC varies TREMENDOUSLY. Generally 10 wrong. Today I got 20 wrong in PT 38. Last week like 8 wrong in PT 62. PT score is like 154-155 which is really not good.

When i go through my BR, I can score -2/-4 in LR, -2/0 in LG, and RC... it really depends how much time i put into it, and on the passage. My BR score is 165+. So, I do know what im doing (I think)

When I go through the LR, I notice that I make the DUMBEST errors. Like i misread, I stress, I rush, I try to get it done. I just miss things the first time around. And the RC can barely hold my attention, some of the topics are honestly terrible and horribly abstract (I am MUCH better with science/econ/law passages). I tend to misread and get tricked easily by MCQ, because im under the time constraint.

Anyways, its starting to really stress me out and my score is getting WORSE. Like, a lot worse. And it is really awful and frustrating?

I really dont know what to do. I've been studying like a crazy person, I spent my whole summer in the library, like 50+ hours a week. My expectations are not even that high, I just need +160. I am writing in October.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Suggestions that are not "get a tutor" (I really, really, cannot afford it/anything else). I honestly feel like I am going to lose whatever bit of sanity i have left :(

Does anyone remember having the question about EE Cummings and his use of metaphor? I had three LR sections and I want to know if the section including this question was my experimental. It was my first LR section (first section of the test).

Hey everyone, could use your advice about what my chances for a T14 school look like.

I have a BA in Psychology from a meh school w/ a 2.7 GPA (graduated 2014). GPA is low because of personal issues, family issues, and financial problems. Ended up working 11 different jobs during undergrad. I then moved to India for three years where i did a second BA in Islamic Law and Theology, where I graduated in the 1st division. In 2019, I graduated with a MA in Religious Studies (3.7 gpa) where my dissertation intersected on mental health, religion, law, and ethics. I am also fluent in reading and writing Urdu and Arabic. The program also allowed me to study at Harvard Divinity School, where my professor also had a law school appointment, and agreed to write me a recommendation. I'm also a community activist that was recently accepted to a fellowship in Germany and Poland to study the ethics that allowed the Holocaust to occur. I'm currently finishing up the PowerScore books and will be taking practice tests by next week hopefully. But...

Despite all of this, my grades from undergrad still haunt me. I know there's 5-6 years between undergrad and the time I apply, I still need some advice and affirmation as to whether I have a shot at a T14 school? How about YSH/Chicago/Columbia? Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I did my cold LSAT prep test and scored an awful 140. I just did another prep test yesterday and scored a 143 after completing 45% of the core curriculum. I was wondering how long on average does it take for things to “click” before score starts increasing!? I for some reason struggle with LR more than anything!

So most Early Decision deadlines are November 15. And the latest LSAT score you can use for ED is the October 28 test. Now I think many ppl apply to ED because they’re slightly below both medians or some kind of splitter and want an extra boost. I don’t think the result release date for the October 28 LSAT has been made public, but assuming its about 3 weeks after the test date, we’d expect a release date of about November 18, which is after the ED deadline.

So what if someone applied ED by the November 15 deadline, and got their October LSAT score of a 175 back on November 18, and then realized that with that amazing score, there’s absolutely no need to ED anywhere, and that he should just instead apply broadly via regular decisions.

Is there a way to contact the school he originally ED’d to say I no longer want to ED there? Or to change that ED to a RD?

@"David.Busis" Do you have any insight on this? Thank you!

Study buddy tool hasn't worked out too well for me. I'm in the South OC area (Mission Viejo) and would like to get a group (or find a buddy) together before the October test. I worked with a tutor and it was really beneficial to talk through difficult questions. I'm open to working on LR & RC, but I can help others with games if needed. Please comment or message me if you're interested.

removed

Is there any issue with the strategy above? Vanderbilt is my dream school and I have to apply before Nov 15 in order to get an interview (which they recommend) but with how LG went last weekend I'm thinking I can definitely score higher on the Nov LSAT. Should I write an addendum if my score is a tad low and say I plan to take the test again in November and that I was a first time test taker on the sep exam?

I am a test taker whose native language is not English, I have studied this test for about 4 months starting the end of May, LR is especially difficult for me, I have done the LR ranging from -3 to -9, which is not really good . The only section that has clicked with me is the LG section, after doing around LG sections for around 50 PTs, I have been consistently getting -1 or -0. I have done 10PT LG sections from PT40-50 two days before the September exam and get almost all -0. Then I bombed the LG on the actual test, I think it is really difficult, maybe the most difficult I have ever seen. After finishing the first game, I have already spent 9 or 10 minutes, i started to panic, the second game and the third game seems especially hard, I did some initial setup and cannot see many inferences, I start to skip games to the final one and finished that one with little time left, I think I guessed around 8 questions randomly in the final minute. Maybe the reason I did not feel too depressing is because it is my first official test, I just want some experience. But the LG section definitely made me fearful afterwards. Usually LG is the section that I count on to minimize the total errors for other sections.

If LSAC continue to be like this, I know I would never finish a section like this no matter what, But I just want to do my best as a foreign test taker.

What do you guys thinks starting from this point on? How do you plan to drill your LG sections? Do you guys think that picking 4 hardest games from certain PTs and make them a problem set and start drilling them within 35 minutes would work?

Hi everyone,

We've collated essay prompts and application requirements for T-15 schools in this post. The information is copied word for word from LSAC's e-applications so that you don't have to wade through their website. (LSAC, we love you, but please support tabs! It's 2019.)

We're in the process of putting all application requirements for every school in this public Coda doc. That Coda doc has a little more information than the post, and it's easier to navigate.

https://coda.io/d/Canonical-7Sage-Law-School-List_daa7untIi1o/_sumP8

Good luck on your apps!

It's hard being a new hire, but this guy seemed to do okay.

https://www.boredpanda.com/homeless-cat-hired-employee-dr-leon-advogato/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

I took the September LSAT foolishly hoping I wouldn’t ever have to think about this test again, but the LG kicked me in the teeth & stole my lunch money, so now I’m registered for the November administration. The problem is my GPA isn’t the best and I wanted to apply early to help offset that a bit, but if I take the November test, I’ll have to apply in December. How big a difference does it make applying in October vs December? And if my score is within the bracket of acceptability, should I move on or take the November test where ideally LG won’t channel the spirit of Satan?

I recently graduated from a somewhat competitive university (top 70 US News ranking, whatever that’s worth) and landed a case assistant/junior paralegal job at a Global 50 BigLaw firm. 3 months in, I can already see why the attrition rates for associates are continuing to rise. The work is pretty soul-crushing, and associates can’t bill for a lot of the work they used to do (clients are refusing to pay for doc review, research, etc.). I could go on, but in short, BigLaw doesn’t seem worth the time and financial commitment of law school. As someone who took all the med school pre reqs, would my time be better spent in medicine? Just for reference, I graduated with a 3.98 GPA in chemistry (top of class) and am PTing at an average of 172, so I think t14 would be fairy attainable.