Looking for some advice and general thoughts from others who may be considering a retake. I just took the LSAT for the 2nd time in January and scored a 168. This was a 4 point improvement from my first try in September and I am fairly happy with it but I really wanted to break the 170 mark especially since my PT average was right around that so I know I can do it. I currently work full time and have one year left in a 2 year rotational analyst program with a bank so I plan on applying early next cycle. Since I have all this time I feel like I should keep grinding and give it a 3rd go for the 170 in the summer. However, I am worried about doing worse. I know law schools only need to report the highest score but I still feel like regressing on a 3rd attempt would look bad. I have also burned through most recent PTs and am not exactly sure how to go forward.

I'm at work, so I can't write everything I want to express. But I got my dream score!

I truly don't think it would have been possible without the amazing community and J.Y. for all the love and support along the way.

Trust the process. Do the CC. Fool proof. PT. Blind Review. Repeat as necessary.

Most importantly, keep faith. (3(/p)

https://media.giphy.com/media/jIXcTEmU5RCpO/giphy.gif

I got my LSAT score today, and writing another thank you post! 7Sage really works if you combine it with hard work and dedication.

I haven't participated in the discussion forums much but I have read a lot of your posts. During my studies what kept me going was hearing people's struggles and success stories. Today I'm sharing mine. The LSAT didn't come naturally to me. My first diagnostic four years ago was somewhere in the low 150's. I studied for 4 months and gave up, deciding that I would pursue a career in Accounting instead. While my chosen profession gave me lots of room to grow and provided a comfortable salary, I always had this feeling that I wasn't satisfied and something was missing. I felt like I had given up on my dream.

When I turned 27, I asked myself if I would be happy being an accountant until I retired; the answer was a resounding "NO". So I made a promise to myself that that year I would take the LSAT. I gave myself a year to study thinking I'll have lots of time. In reality, it took more than a year to do this while holding a full-time job that can at times be demanding. The journey was also not as linear as I thought. There were many times where I thought I had good grasp of the test only to have another weak area come out of the woodwork.

For those of you wondering what my process was after the CC, I fool-proofed logic games using Pacifico's method on PTs 1-35 then started doing timed PTs once a week and blind-reviewing. This only got me so far because my issue was timing - I had difficulty getting to all of the questions in 35 minutes, especially for LG and LR. So I focused on honing my skills on these two sections by developing habits that I know would help me get through the questions faster. For LG, I split the gameboard whenever possible. Even if I didn't have all the worlds figured out, being able to focus on just one or two sub gameboards helped immensely. I also did "if" questions first and left MBT/MBF/CBT questions to the end. There are also situations where you just need to crunch out a world fast and it's better to just do it rather than stare at the question for a minute trying to find an "easy way out". For LR, I learned to recognize when to skip questions. This sounds way simpler than it actually is. I had to do over 10 PTs before I had a good sense when a question was just taking too long and it was better to skip. I also drilled specific types of questions that constantly tripped me up and wrote detailed responses to the logic behind the right answer and the logic behind why the wrong answers were wrong.

By November 2018 I felt like I was ready. I was PT'ing in the 165-168 range. When I took the November exam it felt great, everything went smoothly and I thought it was a pretty easy test. So when I got a 164 I was devastated. I felt like I had been deceived because the test felt so easy. I reviewed my responses and realized I got a lot of easy questions wrong. I'm not sure if it was nerves or if I was just careless. For the next two months I kept on doing timed sections and fine-tuning those test-taking habits.

When I sat for the January 2019 test, it felt worse than November. Despite all my efforts I felt really rushed and one experimental RC (which I thought was real) really crushed me. I ended up not finishing the LG section and one LR section, blindly guessing on three questions. I was ready to cancel my score because I was sure I did worse but I kept reminding myself that the admissions committee only looks at your highest score. So even if I did do worse, I still had a 164. I got the email this morning on my way to work and I had to resist immediately opening it until I got to my office. I was shocked to see my score of 169! Out of the 27 PT's I took in the past year I only scored above 168 on four of them. And considering I missed three questions, I was not expecting this.

I credit my improvement on a few factors. The long study period definitely helped. As others have mentioned, this test is like a marathon. You cannot cram for it. I found doing one PT a week and reviewing for 1-2 hours every day helped solidify the logic to a point where I don't need to think about it much. Practice is key, especially with logic games. Do as many as you can as often and consistently as possible. I found even taking a one or two week break significantly affected my performance. Reading comprehension was always my strongest section so I didn't focus too much on this as I started off getting on average 3-4 questions wrong.

Lastly, my advice is to have faith. The path to progress is not always linear and that's okay. Find what works for you and makes you improve. I know how devastating it can be to study so much and work so hard only to get the same score or do worse than before, but each wrong answer is a chance for you to do better. If you change your outlook and frame of mind it can pay dividends.

I wish the best of luck to all future LSAT students and prospective lawyers. I'll be (hopefully) heading to my top-choice law school in Canada this September and want to thank 7Sage and this community for being supportive throughout this whole process. Even though I studied alone, it never really felt that way because of all of you. Thank you.

Hey everyone,

It's finally setting in that I am not dreaming and did get a score I'm satisfied with. I'd like to begin by thanking the people who had a HUGE impact on my studies, whether it was emotional support or helping with the fundamentals. @"paulmv.benthem" @btownsquee @BinghamtonDave @akistotle @"Cant Get Right" @NotMyName @AshleighK @"Leah M B" @twssmith @Bamboosprout [everyone in the September and November study groups] and however the heck the heck you tag Mr. Yoda himself, JY.

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I know people generally want details during these posts, so here's the general gist of it:

I started with a diagnostic in the 140s and tried the trainer and power score. After a slight jump into the low mid 150s, I decided to give the guy with the helpful LG videos a try. I was stuck between choosing 7sage and another prep course but what sealed the deal for me was how 7sage highlights those who make a jump of more than 10 points from their diagnostic (given enough time and effort). Whereas, I've seen other courses discuss that an increase of 10 points or more is not too likely as if this test is an indication of your real potential - it's not.

I'll keep this as short as I can but the things that helped me the most were: one, taking a long time with the core curriculum. I know there's this sense that it should take three months to go through CC, but honestly, I think I spent upwards of 3 months on just LR alone because that was always my biggest struggle. Your timeline is your own; there's no need to feel ashamed about how long it takes you to climb up the mountain. Don't compare with others because all you see are the positives and not the negatives. I BR-ed each LR question while going through the curriculum, started foolproofing the games in the curriculum. I started this close to testing day, but I think going back to PT1 and doing RC untimed was a huge help. That's something I wish I would've done earlier.

Second, use this community. Nothing solidifies your understanding of concepts like being able to explain to others! Not just helping them by answering, but if your reasoning can help others the next time they come across that concept, it'll enrich your (and their) understanding of the material. Asking for help is also super important. I think many people feel ashamed that they are not able to figure these things out themselves, but honestly, the majority of the community here has been helped by at least one person. There's no real sense of competitiveness, just genuine happiness for others. The best way to learn to accomplish these things is by joining a study group or tutoring. Third, don't try to force yourself to stick to a timeline but accomplish what you can. I've always lived in some fantasy world where I think I can productively achieve a million things every day instead of the two or three I can. It's okay to feel like you're falling behind, but try to give yourself breaks. I was awful at this and had to be forced to take breaks by people. Feeling guilty over not studying won't help you accomplish anything, especially with your progress. If I had been better at taking breaks, my journey probably would've ended with the September LSAT.

Fourth, and finally, don't take the test officially until you are ready. I took it twice when I was ready, and the first time, in November, I underperformed 7 points below my average. Exhaustion and test day nerves were a part of it, and it sucks having that number be recorded. Never-mind I lied, this is the last bit: record your PT's and timed takes. Watch the footage and record the data on a spreadsheet. It's painful and mind-numbing, and it forces you to confront all your bad habits. Make detailed notes, so you never have to watch that footage again! Analyzing my mistakes and actively keeping track of what not to do during timed conditions helped me jump from high 150s to 160s.

I am not going to be taking again,

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But I will still be around to help others out :)

You can message me for more specifics.

Hello,

I was wondering if "probably not" means the same thing as "unlikely".

Thank you!

Hi friends.

I was pretty surprised by my score yesterday. I scored somewhere between 3 and 5 points lower than I was expecting to score, very close to my first score despite beating the low 160s plateau in my recent practice tests.

I've been thinking through what could have possibly happened--I felt extremely good about LG, and I felt about normal with the rest, even with one slightly easier-than-normal LR section.

I remembered that when I logged onto the forums afterwards, I heard people talking about one real LR section with 26 questions. I didn't remember 26; I remembered 25. I figured I just misremembered. But I know I finished every section, and I'm wondering now if maybe that was an indication that I bubbled the last few ACs on the wrong lines. It almost perfectly explains the scoring discrepancy between what I expected and what I got. I was typically falling around -3 or -4 on each LR section and -6 on RC, with LG at -0 to -2 depending mostly on whether I finished. I finished LG on January's test, so a -14 or -13 seemed like a reasonable expectation. Misbubbling 22-26, for instance--which is around where I remember skipping a question--would get me from -13/-14 raw to around -18/-19 raw, which is exactly the difference between what I expected and what I got.

Is this something a handscorer would check for? Would they be willing/able to discern the difference and credit me the incorrect bubbles? Or am I screwed? Want to know before I spend the extra $100. Anyone have insight to share?

What should you do with questions that you didn’t circle for blind review and got wrong? I have noticed a pattern where I would get the questions I circled for blind review correctly, but miss anywhere between 2-5 of the questions I didn’t circle. I know this is a result of confidence error. But how do you fix it?

I am embarrassed to say I found a present/past tense error when I was uploading a document to a law school app. I had already submitted that doc on another application. Is this really bad? I am over the 75th percentile for GPA and just under the 50th for LSAT by one point. I am really nervous because this was my dream school. Anything helps. I feel so stupid

Hello all! I really could use some advice.

I've registered/canceled 3 LSAT exams (basically the day before each of em) because I was not ready and was not hitting my goal of 160 or higher. I'm trying to be realistic here. My first exam in June 17' was a 137 (8%) and I can't keep pushing this out longer. The purpose of this post is not me asking whether I should or should not take March because I'm 100% committed to March and want June to be my second chance. I've hit a point where I'm tired of studying this exam (it's been basically 2 years) and it's tiring. Yes, I've taken breaks (periods of couple days, to a month) and no I'm not burnout because I'm feeling close to the finish line and it's definitely motivating, but I'm also feeling discouraged cause my score isn't really moving.

Although the March exam is around the corner, I believe that I can make slight differences if I change my approach & that's where I'm hoping someone can recommend what I should do or a method that works for them...

I started with PT 36 and now I'm on 51. The highest score I've hit was 157 on PT 46 and 156 on PT 38, 44, and 48. Within those PT's I've scored between the 153-155 fluctuating. I'm on PT 51 now and scored a 155, PT 50 I also scored 155.

Here is the breakdown on PT 50 (155) which I did last week:

Section 1 RC 15/28

Section 2 LR 13/25

Section 3 LG 21/22

Section 4 LR 19/25

And here is the breakdown on PT 51 which is my most recent timed exam:

Section 1 LR 14/25

Section 2 RC 16/28

Section 3 LR 15/25

Section 4 LG 21/22

I know it will be incredibly hard to hit a 160 by March 30 but I feel that I'm capable for the following reasons: I've realized a feeling I get where on the first section, whether it is LR or RC, I'm a bit rusty. I can't fully comprehend sentences and I find it overall more difficult than a LR or RC section near the end. I've been consistently getting -1 or -2 max on LG and I'm aiming to get -0 cause I know that'll help my score a bit, but the LR/RC is really hindering my score. I feel I've hit a plateau because no matter how many drills or how extensive I am during BR, it seems to repeat in the mid 150's. I don't know what to do anymore.

Does anyone recommend I change/do anything specific before taking another PT next week? I was thinking of doing an LR section prior to a timed PT as a warm-up but I'm afraid I might burnout cause after taking a 4 section exam, I'm super exhausted. Please, any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

So I just got back my January score and I am feeling very defeated and dissapointed. I’m not giving up though. I am trying to decide if I should sign up for June of July. I know July gives you your score instantly I am just worried about the digital tests I know they give you scratch paper for LG. Will they be giving scratch paper for LR? I know it is highly based on logic so I like writing next to the statements. That is just my one worry.

This is my second time taking the test, after I completely bombed my first with a 155. In my last 3 PTs I had a 163, a 164, and a 166, respectively. I know I can do better and am unsure as to whether I should postpone to next cycle. To add more to my dilemma, I have a poor undergrad gpa with a 2.8. I am 4 (27 years old, ftw) years out of undergrad with tons of valuable professional experiences and solid references, though I know I still need to get a good lsat score for a chance at a T1 or T2 university, and to get some scholarship money.

I am also in a very serious relationship and we are considering starting a family in the next few years. Should I wait for the next cycle or just apply now? Your input is greatly appreciated

Hey all,

Not sure which section this belongs in - but just wanted to get your thoughts on the following matter:

I know for American schools - students receive better admission entrance scholarships when they have a stronger LSAT mark (ex. 164 vs. 172). However, I was wondering if inputting the study effort + time needed to go from 164 vs. 172 - if it is worth it? I am a Canadian student and planning on to BE studying at Canadian law school. Anybody know if Canadian laws schools offer large entrance admission scholarships for those students with better LSAT marks?

The only reason why I am asking is that studying for the LSAT (the correct way, the correct process that 7sage recommends + more) - takes a long time to perfect. And as you get older means more responsibility and more time you have to put to other things. I made a pros and cons list below, but just wanted to get everyone's thoughts on the matter.

Currently this what is on my plate: my Masters Program, 15+ hour work weeks & studying for the LSAT + being married LOL.

Pros:

Cons:

Thanks for the advice in advance.

I just got my score which is lower than the score most of the supra brainy members of this community report as their first cold LSAT score. But hey, for me, I improved on the real LSAT by 5 points. I'm pleased and surprised. All thanks to 7Sage, and the really solid way in which the learning is devised and imparted. I improved the 5 points not having finished the CC, having started on LG a mere two weeks before the January LSAT. My score is still way lower than the median percentile reported accepted scores at the schools I'm interested in, though. Of course, I keep hoping that my pretty unusual background, résumé and life experience 'might' carry water, and because I'm way older than most everyone here, at 56, the idea of waiting another year doesn't sit well with me. But I also realize I won't know the deal with admissions till, who knows? Late spring? Summer? So, most likely I'm going to think about it over the weekend and go ahead and sign up for the June 2019 LSAT and just pretend I know that I'm reapplying. I confess I actually love the thought of properly completing the 7Sage course. I love this community. The braininess and the generosity (both) of its members. And I would swear by the course. I half want others not to know about it, for it to be our secret, but of course, I tell everyone and anyone I meet about it. Thank you, JY, thank you all the 7Sager who with your comments and explanations make this learning journey so rewarding and so fun!

I know there's been posts about this, so I'm so sorry.

I jumped 6 points from November to January (Yay! I got my target score!). I have a 12 point deferential from the June test.

Is it required to write an addendum? Would the schools expect it? A couple explicitly state it, and I have one written. Should I sent it for the schools that didn't?

Thanks for any input!

My January score is 15x,Canceled scores for all my prior attempts. LSAC GPA 3.5x. International student but have a bachelor’s and master’(GPA3.73) from the US.

My husband works in NY so I really hope to get in Fordham this year. But based on my stats I’m afraid I don’t have much chance. Should I just apply for Fordham now and some other target (Cardozo) and safeties (Brooklyn,Touro ) to get a sense of how admission officers view me, and retake in March ?

Or should I just retake and not apply to anywhere?

My hubby suggests me apply to WUSTL to get a sense, too. Is there any point for me to do that? I’m obviously below their bottoms .

A bit about my LSAT situation: I have been studying since June 2017. English is not my first language and I burned a lot of PTs untimed. Prior to January LSAT my PT scores in December were: 164,168,171, (but they’re very old PTs) then my husband had to relocate so I spent a lot of time packing/cleaning/ watching my 2 yr old during holidays. And when I resumed to prep again in January my PT score dropped : 159, then 164 the week before test (these are recent PTs btw), but the week before test my son got very sick so I had to take care of him full time with very limited time studying, and I got sick on the test day. So I definitely think I can do better, but I also burned out all the new PTs and most of the old PTs, too.

Please give me some advice on what to do next! Thank you!

I scored badly and this is my second time taking the exam. I do not know what to do anymore and how to approach it.

So got my January score. I knew I bombed the LG section. I was prepared to think I'd failed miserably then. I got my score just now and I got one point lower than my November...so while bad, at least not as horrific as I was preparing myself for.

How badly will this affect me now that I have already applied?? I was doing this to see if I did better, to try negotiating for more money, if any is even offered....so no that's out the window. Do I do March anyway to see??

Hey 7Sagers-

There are a fair number of discussions about doing untimed section drills or untimed full PTs, but not one with some consolidation of purpose, goals, best practices. I know there is apprehension about wasting PTs, not to mention some old forum posts including lines like, "No untimed PT's. No untimed sections. Not even once."

I've currently stalled in my progression a bit from going from CC to timed PT w/ BR. I'm going to start doing some untimed section drills and/or untimed full PTs, but want to make sure I have everything straight.

My questions remaining are:

Without further ado, here is what I found in the webinars and forums.

If I have misrepresented anything, or you have additional insights, I would love to have them.

What: When 7Sagers refer to untimed section drills, it means taking a full section of a PT without the time pressure, but finding a natural pace. This does not mean taking all of the time in the world like you may with Blind Review. You will likely be over time at the end of the section. The idea is that you can work at being more efficient later, but you need practice to get the score up without the arbitrary time pressure.

When: In the Post Core Curriculum webinar, Sage Josh says these are great for Phase 1 where your blind review is under your target score, but leaves the door open to this being helpful in Phase 2 as well.

Purpose: @"Cant Get Right" Untimed work is really great for learning the fundamentals. Once you've got each section where you need to be, it's time to work on strategy... Before you master these elements [for example: conditional reasoning] of the test, taking timed sections isn't going to be very productive." Discussion

@AllezAllez21 I think untimed work is so critical. You could do the occasional untimed section if you wanted a variety of LR questions to deeply study. Or you could maybe be focusing on a particular process for LR (like really identify the flaw, or the conclusion, or something that is pretty universal to LR questions).

For LR, I would just do deep dives on your weaknesses, untimed. That could be by question type, it could be "lawgic" or maybe argument structure. Discussion

@Ohnoeshalpme: Following a deep understanding of these errors and a correction through untimed drilling, speed and accuracy will come naturally. Discussion

Sample Study Schedule with Untimed Section Drills: s/o @kimpg_66 Discussion

Once I had fool proofed (took over a month), I started drilling and PTing. My schedule was:

Monday: 1 LR and LG section

Tuesday: 1 LR and RC section

Wednesday: 1 full PT/blind review

Thursday: 1 LR and RC section

Friday: 1 LR and LG section

Saturday: 1 full PT/blind review

I used all of PTs 40-52 for these section drills. I started out doing each section untimed, underlining the keywords in LR with a highlighter and writing a line # for where I had pinpointed the answer for RC. I would take 15+ minutes on each RC passage at first, and 45+ on LR. I figured it was better to get the basics and concepts down to a science before I moved on to timed. Eventually, I started timing my sections.

Thanks to those who have unwittingly supplied information to this thread and anyone who can provide additional insights.

#Help

Hello, everyone.

I'm an international student, and I scored a 159, 77 percentile on the LSAT. Can't retake due to lack of time and resources. I really don't know what to do next and anxiety is getting the best of me. The country I am from doesn't issue grad score as GPA, they give out percentages. I scored 74%, and topped in my class. Any suggestion is appreciated. What should I do next for scholarships, and can I even get into a good College with this score?

TIA

I am struggling with whether to attach addendum to several applications in order to explain a break in my education. Several schools ask for that information explicitly and I have provided it, but some do not and simply give the opportunity to add additional addenda at the applicant's discretion. Basically, I graduated high school in 2005 and I withdrew from college 3 times in addition to several breaks from school between 2005 and 2012 due to severe mental health issues. I also failed a couple classes. I discuss overcoming this obstacle in my personal statement but I do not go into details like "I withdrew from X school Spring 2006 to seek inpatient treatment..." to explain specific gaps in my record since I figured that would bog down the story. Long story short, my health took a sharp turn for the better and I returned to school in 2014 and my academic record has been very strong since then with no further breaks or issues. In addition, my CAS GPA is still good and my GPA/LSAT are over median for most schools I am still applying to, so I don't feel I need to "apologize" for poor performance. However, I still wonder if committees will see that weird stuff on my transcripts from years ago and have unanswered questions, which is why I am considering attaching a very brief explanation of the specific times I left school or took a break. On the other hand, since my numbers are good for these schools, I wonder whether it would be a bad idea to attach an addendum drawing attention to issues from the distant past when my GPA/LSAT and recent academic record are competitive for the schools I am considering attaching this to? My personal statement and applications are pretty brief overall and I am not attaching other optional statements. Any advice would be much appreciated. I am happy to provide more details on the situation. Thanks for reading!

Hey All,

I scored a 146 on the November 2019 LSAT with three weeks of preparation. My target score is a 165. I took December off and started studying again 6 weeks ago. I have been studying about 2-3 hours everyday and the highest practice score I have reached is a 152. My question is: Even though I’m registered for the March LSAT should I cancel by registration since my PT’s are not higher than a 152 and take the June LSAT instead? I want to start law school in the fall of 2019 and it seems like the March LSAT is my last chance to gain acceptance in the fall. Can I make significant gains in 45 days or should I simply wait till June? Thank to all!

Guys, I seem to have improved a lot on the LG section, all thanks to JY's video explanations, etc.. Just wanted some feedback on the LR section , which is where I mainly seem to be getting stuck.. Am registered for the March LSAT and am really hoping to be able to improve by then in that section. For some reason doing PTs / powerscore bible / LSAThacks explanations still don't seem to be doing it for me to really crack that section.. Any advice on what is the best resource for improving LR score? Did you guys see a marked improvement after JY's LR tutorials?

The suspense is killing me for tomorrow's release! Anybody else going crazy waiting?!

My account expires early March but may need it for a little longer for the March LSAT. Anyone know how to extend access?

Thank you

So i just received my Jan score, and I scored lower than my first two attempts (just as I expected).

Will this have a negative impact on my chances of getting accepted?