Here are some thoughts from the LSAC Forum in NYC. Of course, this is all my own opinion based on today's experience and should not necessarily be taken as the word of God! No, I'm not that haughty...

First, the workshops were not that illuminating, at least for me. Perhaps if you're entirely unfamiliar with the process, there would be some benefit, but for most students, you'd use your time more effectively by chatting with the admissions officers.

Second, business casual is fine. For some reason, I was a bit apprehensive about not wearing a suit, even though I had seen posts saying that business casual was appropriate. However, although most of the admissions officers wore more formal clothes, a majority of the students wore business casual attire.

Third, bring a briefcase or bag with you. I cannot stress how important this is for you! Every school will give you an equivalent of a couple of trees worth of flyers and glossy magazines titled "101 reasons to come to UMichigan!" If you plan on taking them with you, bringing a sturdy bag or briefcase is vital. LSAC did provide the classic tote bag, however. So that will probably be enough for most people's needs.

Fourth, try to give a face to the name. In my estimation, the Forum can be used most effectively by building rapport with the reps in addition to asking specific questions. Use some humor particular self-deprecating. You want to move past the mechanistic speech each one of them have stored in their heads. One person whom I spoke to sounded like a robot mechanically answering questions with little thought or personality. Obviously, don't go overboard or try to be something that you aren't, but leaving an impression (even just that you're personable) seems important. I think thanking for coming to the forum and chatting with you is a great way to leave an impression. I asked the Yale Law admissions officer--with whom I spoke with for a while--for a selfie, and he happily acquiesced!! Don't be shy. Most of them were quite personable. Remember, they'll have all your stats when you apply, but they won't know you. Building rapport at the Forum can make your application stand out.

Fifth, comfort the 2/3 of law schools no one is interested in. The contrast was stark. It was like a speed dating event in which only one-third of the people aroused interest. I felt so sorry for the South Dakota Law School. I mean no one came over to them. So, do your good deed for the day and make them feel desired!

Hello everyone,

I have been diligently working on my Law School Applications (I am a Canadian so I need them in before Nov. 1). And just realized that I did not explicitly state that I had been on academic probation in my first year of my undergraduate degree. Instead I wrote a addendum that explains my poor grades. Was this a detrimental mistake? Should I contact the law school and let them know? And finally, if I disclose it from here on out, will the mistake from not explicitly stating it to the first school haunt me? Note: It is on my transcripts.

Thank you!

Samantha

Hey there, fellow 7sage students. This is a collection of thoughts from chatting with others on 7sage and I thought it might be helpful to share.

Mentality and Getting Back on Track

First off, I want to say it's going to be ok. It's ok to lose to the LSAT some times. It's ok to concede and retreat, and recover to fight another day. The LSAT is hard and although some people on the forums surprisingly will consistently get 180s, most won't. I've talked to some of the sages and tutors on 7sage, and they all agree on this: that one of the most essential skills to take away from LSAT is the ability to walk away from defeat without giving up, and to be able to get up after taking a punch.

For me, after I get a hard punch in the face, I usually need some sort of external stimulus, and that's usually a book, a friend, or maybe just a good old bottle of whiskey, just something that will help me ice the bruise, but remind me why I'm doing this in the first place. I remind myself that I actually like the LSAT, and going to law school. I profoundly look forward to the challenge and opportunities they offer, and additionally, I am confident in my persistence, and that my persistence will yield results. And I believe those qualities apply to you as well. Constantly remind yourself of your intrinsic motivation and that you can overcome the LSAT. But like I said, even with these two internal factors, I still need a little external help. So build a support system for yourself. My favourite books for this are: The meditations, by marcus arelius, Prinicples, by ray dalio, A man's search for meaning, by viktor frankl. Or podcasts, like this american life, serial, or one not even related to law. Essentially, they just remind me to stop being a whiny little bitch and take it like a (wo)man. If that's too much commitment, then feel free to talk to me, or make a post about it on the forums, and the others and I will be happy to help you get back on track! If you didn't notice, under my earlier vent about my big drop, a lot of peers gave very helpful advice and cheered me on. You can do that too =). We're here for each other.

Also, remember that time is limited, and running out, and remember that regret sucks more than trying your best and failing. I've regretted so many things in my life, that at this point that I am intimate with it and can feel it just by closing my eyes, and can use it to motivate myself so that I won't have to feel it again. If you don't want to feel regret, then let your actions prove that. We have 3 weeks left (if you're taking november), and that's very little time; really only 2 weeks left, since we're not suppose to study hard on the last week. So just put everything into these last two week, so you won't have to regret anything. There is an added benefit of feeling a lot less stress when you go into a test knowing you did everything you could, whether or not you will able to achieve a specific score.

Back on Track and Stronger than Before

It's ok to regress sometimes, but with that said, there's definitely no excuse not to learn something from your defeats. In fact, I welcome terrible defeats, because it'll be easier for me to recognize my mistakes and weaknesses than under normal conditions. Ask yourself: have you noticed any patterns or trends in your recent PTs that differ from previous PTs? Using the LSAT analytics, or just by tallying the mistakes yourself, you should be able to find some obvious weaknesses in your skillset.

That's step one, recognition. Step two is both the more straightforward and difficult part. You have to drill.

For some people, just redoing the core curriculum for the question types that they're weak on will fix the problem, but doing it right is the hard part. It's not perfect, but this is how I drill: I aim for perfection in drills, to do 5, 10, 15, or 25 hardest questions in a row, timed, and get none of them wrong. How do you get there? By taking it slowly and incrementally. I'll further break this down into smaller parts:

First, start with easier questions, and do them timed.

Second, BR them, but here's the important part: don't just BR them the way you normally would. Instead, now that you're not timed, take your pencil and, whenever you can, write down how you would pre-phrase the answer, write down the exact reason why you think the answer you chose is the right answer, and, if you can, also write down why you think a trap answer is attractive, but ultimately wrong (and ignore the obviously wrong answer choices). (Now, I see a lot of people doing this in the comments under questions, and that's great, but few people do it correctly. For reference, 7sage alumn, Accounts Playable, does it well)

Third, watch the video for any questions you circled or got wrong, but when you're watching it, don't just follow along; instead, I want you to actively engage with and try to anticipate and predict how JY would explain the question as he goes through it, and take notes on how his actually explanation conformed to or differed from your prediction. This is an important part of my mantra of: anticipate the JY, feel the JY, become the JY. Quite a few 7sagers have come out to say that they've started to think like JY, and I believe they probably used a similar process.

Fourth, move up a difficulty (according to the question bank), when you have gotten 10 or 15 questions of that difficulty correct in a row... or at least if you feel like you've gotten there, and repeat the steps.

Fooled by Randomness

Consistency is hard; it is a goal. But don't be discouraged because you're inconsistent. Just a few weeks ago, one of my test was 10 points below my average score, and even ignoring that test, my score has an upper/bottom spread of +/-3. I think over time, luck plays a part in the score too. Sometimes, you get a hard science or law passage that just destroys your mojo for the whole test, and other times, everything just goes your way. If you think about what the LSAT is, a large part is really just a game of probability. To illustrate this, here's an example:

Even if you can BR 180, I suspect that under timed conditions, you would consistently have anywhere from 10-12 questions that you're not 100% certain about. You've eliminated 3 answer choices, but are left deciding between two. On average, that's a -5/-6, and on a good day, it can be a -3, but alternatively, on a bad day, that can be a -10. That's almost a 10 point score difference purely from luck. On top of that, we have to consider the variability of mood and physical conditions, and that's another few points that you can't really control. So expect inconsistency, and focus on the factors that you 'can' control. Remind yourself that being nervous about such things that are out of your control is meaningless, and hopefully that will help sooth the stress.

Hope this helps =)

I went to an UMich information session last week, and she raised an interesting point I hadn't previously considered regarding writing an LSAT addendum for my application. Michigan strongly suggests you write an LSAT addendum for scores with a 6+ points difference. My first LSAT (2 years ago) was a mid-160s while my most recent LSAT just barely beats that 6+ improvement threshold. I'll write the addendum for Michigan, but it got me thinking about whether I need to write an addendum for other schools that request it for "significant differences" in test scores.

Does a 7pt improvement meet the threshold to submit an LSAT addendum if schools don't specifically state the number of points they consider to be a difference? The reason for the difference is primarily - I studied harder, didn't start a new job 5 days before test day, and was much more focused this time around. Interested to hear thoughts.

Hi all,

I'm retaking the LSAT in November. I sat for the September test and received a 162. I prepared really ineffectively and only took about 10 PTs altogether with virtually nonexistent BR. I've since changed those habits. I want to break 170 and I know that my main problem is logic games.

During recent PTs, I'll often go -5 to -7 on LG simply because I've run out of time and can't answer all the questions in the last game. Combined with my performance on LR and RC, I end up with scores in the mid to high 160s (most around 167-168). When I BR, I go -0 on LG and my score is in the high 170s with the occasional 180.

Is it possible to improve enough on speed in LG to shore up the points by the Nov. test? Is it too late to start fool proofing? Should I push the Nov. test to a later date?

Tomorrow study group is cancelled due to the storm tomorrow, Stay tuned for the next date. Thank you sorry for the inconvenience.

what do people think of digital?

Any thoughts on this school? It's obviously a amazing often clocking in at #7 in the USNWR rankings. I decided to apply here. I lived in NY for 11 years, and never met a person who went there. I half jokingly thought U Penn Law didn't exist, until a month ago when I had my first encounter with a real life U Penn recent graduate. Thanks a lot!

We're excited to announce the 7Sage podcast! The podcast will cover various LSAT strategies, law school admissions, life in law school, and more!

Subscribe to our podcast:

iTunes (Apple Podcasts) | Google Play Music | SoundCloud

We've released three episodes:

We will be releasing two more episodes in the next two weeks. And then we'll be releasing one episode a month.

Update: Two more episodes (4 and 5) released!

Update: Episodes 6 and 7 released!

hi all, I am taking the November test coming up in a few weeks (cry) and was looking for a little advice. I have been taking PT's and now I see that I need to review some LR question types. Should I try and review the CC for those few types while I am still taking my PT's? Or don't take another PT until I have reviewed at little? I am doing great in LG and not so hot in RC, so I feel like if I get some of the troublesome LR types down then I will feel much better.

Also RC sucks big time, and trying to figure out a good strategy for myself - advice on this topic also greatly appreciated. On my last two PT's I have strived to only complete 3 passages and try to get as many correct as possible, but still don't know if that is the most effective/beneficial for me...

Admin note: edited title for clarity

If an applicant has distinguished her/himself in, say, art, would s/he send examples of such artwork? Or only make mention, in the personal statement, of the accomplishments and/or accolades accrued from that endeavor?

36 out of 37 law schools I emailed waived my application fee. I am wondering if they would also be willing to pay the report fee LSAC charges? Does anyone have any experience with this?

In the PT phase of my prep. I take a PT on the weekends. Then BR and watch videos. I have been taking an additional PT during the week (usually a mid-week evening) but I am finding I am drained after work.

I am curious what others have found to be most effective in their experience. During the week, do you take a full PT after work? Or do timed sections of new (or old?) PTs? (either followed by rigorous BR of course)

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm scheduled to take the November test, but today I am real dissatisfied where I'm scoring. I'm starting to seriously consider the January test. Or .. even the March test? But March seems such a late date for applying for 2019. How much could I expect to raise my score in the 3 months till the January exam or 5 months to March exam?

And if I decide to do this, should I wait to apply to competitive schools only after the second attempt?

Could someone please type out their strategy as to how to attack these questions? They give me the most difficulty .Thanks!

Once you’ve gotten into a law school of your choice, perhaps in part because you score at your target score or quite close, does the significance of that accomplish fade away? Looking for answers based on actual experience in law school- do people really care whether you got a 165 or 157 once you’re in law school? Or is it one of those things where it’s just like everyone’s happy they got in so now they’ve moved on to learning other stuff?

I started using the skipping strategy that the Sages talk about in the webinar on a timed drill section today and got TWICE as many wrong as I usually do. What gives?

Is there much known about how scores differ between an unpublished/international LSAT compared to the typical one done that has a curve? If less people take it would that not mean that a raw score/scale score on an international test isn't completely comparable to one done in the US?

I know we used to be able to. Does anyone know if we still can or if that's changed?

Thanks!!!

Hi everyone! I know this question has been asked before but I was wondering if anyone could provide some more insight on this...

While I was in undergrad I studied abroad at a small UK school. My home institution counted the courses I took there as direct equates. So for example, on my transcript it says, "University of Winchester- The War on Terror- (TB)". These transfer grades were not caluclated into my GPA either. I'm only concerned because of the fact I got 4 B's while I was there so when I factor that into my LSAC GPA it drops significantly. I was there for only one semester.

Thanks for any help!

Is it better to go to a 2nd tier school that's giving you full scholarship tor to an ivy league that's paying maybe a sixth of your tuition?

I’m in need of some advice from whoever can offer me some. I have been writing PTs and have been not doing well on the LR sections. However I have been doing good on the practice questions that come after every LR lesson. I also have confidence that I know how to tackle LR questions. Can someone help me try and figure out what can be done to resolve this or am I just over analyzing?

Having graduated and started working, I am slowly edging out of the tutoring/LSAT community (surprised I stayed so long). But while I'm still here and as I have a little free time over next week or so (and as I see a bunch of posts re: PSs): if anyone wants me to read their Personal Statement and provide feedback (won't edit, just general comment/reaction), feel free to PM me or e-mail at islandoflsat @ gmail and I'll try my best to get to it

Super pumped that I hit my goal score (168) today! But now im lost on what to do for the next three weeks before the november test. Obviously, I'll try to continue an upward trend - I'm already planning on taking additional PTs, BRing them and then reviewing, but should my strategy change at all? Should I continnue to focus on my weak spots? Or take more mental breaks and focus primiarly on testing? If someone found themselves in a similar situation and could weigh in, that would be really helpful.

My breakdown for this test (PT81)

LG -0

LR -5

RC -6

I am fluctuating in the range 165-172. My median score is a 168 and I'm aiming for a 170 on test day. I know I am capable of it - my BR score fluctuates about 2-3 points in either direction of 175.

I'd love any advice on how to consistently produce my top scores. Some details/stats:

With 3 short weeks left what can I do to nail down those last few points? Should I shorten the time on my PTs? Take fewer PTs and focus on Flaw, NA, PSA? Something else entirely?