Hi everyone. I'd like to get some thoughts about the topic of my personal statement. I have two potential ones in mind, and would love some opinions.

Background: I am a nontraditional student. I will be 50 when I start law school in 2019. I have been to law school before: I finished two years back in 1997-1999, before I decided to leave under financial pressure (from now ex-husband) combined with having one toddler and another baby on the way. Now that both kids are grown (youngest starts college this month), I am going back to law school because it is unfinished business, and all I've ever really wanted to do is be a lawyer. Before, when I was in law school, I pictured myself in a courtroom winning cases and being brilliant (ha). Now, after being a mom, and having both my kids be transgender, I'm very focused on wanting to focus on LGBT issues and civil rights.

Topic 1: my kids being transgender and how that has inspired my return to law school. Pro: it very much fits the overall theme of my application. Con: it's actually a very big topic to try to address in 2 page and still make the kind of impact a personal statement should make (?) There's no one moment or story to tell. I could address this in other places, such as a "Why X" statement (I'm looking at schools that have LGBT journals and/or clinics or other programs), and/or an addendum that explains my years away from work and school. So it's not like it will go unaddressed entirely.

Topic 2: This is the one my gut is telling to write, even though it doesn't speak to WHY I want to go to law school at my age. It's about how, after getting divorced and feeling very "not me," I picked the scariest, most difficult sounding trip in a travel brochure and went to Nepal to go trekking in 2004. I wanted to be out of my comfort zone and challenge myself, and to remember what it was like to feel successful. I'd never been trekking before and was out of shape. The Annapurna circuit is nothing but steps, and this incident is about how I got so far behind my group one day, that I just wanted to give up. I wanted to just lie down on the side of the trail and quit. And then it started pouring, and we (myself and the poor porter who spoke no English but had to stay with me) ended up on some random woman's front step, next to her chickens, while I fought off hypothermia. I had a moment of realizing that there was no giving up: no one was going to come get me; there were no cars to call up there, or any way for find an alternate way out. I had to just suck it up and keep going. And I did.

So I think topic 2 is much better personal statement material, and says a lot about me. But it doesn't tie in with my overall application theme.

Thoughts?

UC Irvine's application states:

Other than the LSAT, have you taken another standardized test? If so, please provide the following information below...

Is this in reference to other graduate school entrance exams like the GRE/GMAT/MCAT? Are we required to report college entrance exams like the SAT/ACT/AP tests?

I was able to spend hours the past summer doing my LSAT prep, but now that I am back in school full time I have a really demanding academic schedule as well. Does anyone have any tips on what or how you should pace yourself while in school?

Hey all,

So, during Saturday's sitting of the LSAT, I had one of those nightmare moments: with 90 seconds remaining in RC, I realized that I had misbubbled an entire passage. I had skipped the last question of the first passage and forgotten to note it. Then, when I began answering questions for passage 2, all of my answers were one off. Luckily, I opted to skip passage 3 and move straight to passage 4, so that managed to minimize the damage. When I came back to passage 3, I noticed something was off. I am fairly sure that my passage 3 answers are in the correct spot.

On the one hand, I feel quite fortunate to have noticed. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to change my answers, moving them all down one, riiiiiiight before time was called. On the other hand, because of how rushed I was, I'm not 100% sure I actually fixed everything. I'd say there's a 75% chance that I fixed it and a 25% chance it's still incorrect somehow, as due to the adrenaline, my memory of my thought process is a bit hazy.

When I started the next section, I was quite shaken but, thanks to lots of preparation, I was able to calm down and I feel like I did pretty well on the rest of the test.

I'm leaning towards keeping my score but I wanted to get some feedback from those more knowledgable than me in the 7sage community.

So, should I roll the dice and keep my score? I'm guessing I scored in high 160s/low 170s if things went my way and, if they didn't probably, I'm probably somewhere in the mid-to-low 160s still.

Hi, guys so I need a little advice on what I should do after this September LSAT. Here's a bit of background, I took my first LSAT Sep 2017 I scored a 161, I had been doing better on my PT's so I tried again in December and scored a 160. After December I decided to try again and take a gap year on my applications, this was when I decided to try 7-sage for my prep as I had previously stuck to powerscore methods. I tested again in July and ended up canceling. My issue with July was that I did not even attempt the last game, my game section was the first, and I think nerves got the better of me; all the other sections were great, but I knew that there was a substantial chance I completely bombed games. By this point in July, my PT average was between 167-172, when I took the June 2018 practice test I scored a 167. I figured that canceling in July was my best option as this was my first cancel, and I was using this cancel on what was an unusual LSAT. I decided to try again in September 2018. My impression of the Sep 2018 test was that it was quite similar to June 2018. The LR felt very easy; I had 5 min after each LR which is above the pace I usually keep. The LG felt normal except that I was running out of time at the end and I had to take an educated guess on one question and blindly guess on the last 3. The RC was terrible, I think I did great on the legal passage, but the other 3 were very confusing, RC is usually a -4/-5 for me, but this felt the hardest RC I a have ever encountered. Long story short I feel like worst case scenario I scored a 163, middle range a 166 and best case a 169. I don't want to cancel because I feel like two cancels back to back is a bit too much, but I also don't want to risk getting another low 160's score on my record. Any advice? Should I prepare for another retake if I get that another low 160? I was told that my best score is the score that will have the most significant impact on admissions and that contrary to popular belief schools do not average, but I know that multiple LSAT's are not necessarily favorably looked upon either.

I should also note that though I was not very nervous on test 85 (unlike previous times) the proctors gave me a hard time right before the start of the test because I had a watch on my wrist and one on the table. I usually use two watches as in the Sep and Dec 2017 administrations I forgot to start my only watch for some of the sections, which caused a lot of anxiety for me during the test. Having a watch on my wrist serves as a physical reminder as well as a continuous timepiece as I can see how much time has passed since the last section. I called LSAC in early August and they said it was fine as long as they were both analog watches. The proctors told me to take one off and berated me in front of the group for a while after the first section (right before I took RC) they came back and said that I could use the second watch, they didn't even offer a semblance of an apology. This incident just really ticked me off and I think may have led to a lack of full focus on RC.

Any advice is appreciated! Sorry for the long post, I spent the entire weekend thinking about this, and I guess I had a lot more to vent then I thought.

So I took a course with Blueprint and I improved my score by 29 points between the practice tests. I just took the September LSAT and will most probably be taking the November one as well. On my last practice test I got 15/23 on the Logic Games section. What is the best way to improve this part of my score? I've seen a few books by Powerscore on Amazon. Any recommendations?

Hi everyone,

I am registered to take my first official LSAT in January of 2019 (assuming I am PTing in my target range). Is there any advice regarding why a person should not take a non-disclosed LSAT? I understand that non-disclosed means I will only receive my score and percentile. Is it worth it to take the LSAT for the first time without having access to what problems you missed? I feel like I will have a decent understanding of my weak areas before I test (Analytics), but if I do not hit my target score I will not have a clear way forward to see what I need to review. I plan on applying in September of 2019 so I am motivated to take the test as many times as I need to before then. Any thoughts?

I am realizing now that many of the truths that hold for an academic CV may not apply for a law school application resume. I was hoping to get some clarifications on some aspects!

do you include dollar amounts for grants/funding? A lot of the grants I got during my masters to conduct research are above 5k, and one is 17k... on a CV dollar amounts are a must to show you are able to get significant funding, but since that is not the case in law school is it too pretentious? Also, should I list every award I've gotten? It takes up half a page which is normal for academia where your CV can be like 20 pages, but it seems to take up too much room for law school applications.

In my CV, conferences organized and conferences presented at are two different categories. Should these become one larger category? I also have a separate volunteer work section.

I just explored LSN, and found that no one with my numbers has ever gotten into my first dream school, and only less than 10% have gotten into my second dream score (UChic, UPenn). I don't know what to think about this. They're also not on the LSAC official guide either. Should I even bother ED with a school that has never accepted a student with my stats, or put it somewhere more realistic?

Hey 7Sagers,

Here's the official September 2018 LSAT Discussion Thread.

**Please keep all discussions of the September 2018 LSAT here!**(/red)

We know that everyone will be excited to discuss what was on the September 2018 LSAT, but here are some ground rules:

✅ Saying that the test was hard/easy is okay!

For example, you can say "LG section was hard!"

❌ Don't talk specifics about the test. (e.g. "I got B for the main point question of the judicial passage" or "the 3rd LG was sequencing") It can get both us and you in a lot of trouble! ☠️

✅ You can say which sections were real or experimental.

For example, asking questions like “Was the LG with "flowers" experimental?” is okay. You can say “The LG section with "flowers" was real!”

❌ You cannot say “the 3rd game of the real section was In/Out game.”

TL;DR: PLEASE don't talk specifics about the September 2018 LSAT!

Have fun discussing!

Hi!

Do any of you guys using a skipping strategy for RC or have you found that skipping questions and then coming back to them is too time consuming because it means you need to revisit the passage? Sometimes I feel like its good to get a break from a question and come back to it with a fresh mind but at the same time I also waste some time rereading stuff?

What are you overall RC strategies that you have found to be helpful?

Hi everyone, I am posting because I recognized that I had actually blacken 29 ovals for the reading section and I am wondering whether I should cancel my score. Given that there were only 25 questions in the reading section, I must have repeatedly blacken several ovals. However, I cannot recall whether I made this dreadful marking mistake early on or not, but I feel like my entire response for RC is misplaced and the worst scenario is that I may score nothing for my RC section.

I am extremely anxious right now because the September exam is my fifth and also the final shot. I took my first exam last year and canceled the grade because RC smashed me. I score in the lower 150 twice and my highest score is 158 so far. I was hoping to use the September exam to boost up my score and get application done, but now all I want to do is to cancel my score...

Do you have any suggestion? Should I cancel this time and apply with the 158? Or should I keep it and retake in November? If I decided not to cancel this time, will a extremely low score hurt my overall application? Thanks so much and any help is appreciated!

Hello Hope you are all well -a friend of mine is thinking about doing paralegal then going to law school. Anyone that took this pathway ? pros /cons ... ect

I feel like it's important to have the right mindset and mentality when you start 7Sage. I believe JY talks about this in the early lessons as well, but here's another perspective:

Many people study for at least a year before they reach their target score. I've personally done the CC twice and also every single PT (wasted most of them before I joined 7Sage) before I consistently reached my target score. So don't be too eager to take the test or retake the test. Wait until your PT scores are consistently at your target score, or at least close to it, before you even think about the real test. Here's a headsup, your score will not miraculously jump up on the real test and hoping for such is crazy.

Additionally, 7Sage has a lot of depth to offer, so when you're studying, don't just do the questions and move on. Every time you make a mistake, spend at least 10 minutes writing out why you made the mistake and how to prevent yourself from doing so in the future. Then, watch JY's explanation and compare it to your own analysis. This is how a proper review should be done, on top of the Blind Review system (You HAVE to Blind Review for all your practice questions, if you want to improve. Break down every part of the stimulus, each answer choice, and write out why each wrong answer choice is wrong; refer to the Blind Review lesson for more details). If you're not doing this, then you're sincerely wasting questions. Sometimes, it takes me hours, even after hearing JY's explanation, of staring at a question before I understand it, and other times, I straight up disagree with JY and come up with my own explanations, but that's how I learn and insure I don't make the same mistakes again.

This is just tough love. I wish you all the best!

TL; DR version: Start your apps early to ensure you know all of the requirements.

While attempting to nurse my bruised ego back to an acceptable level (thanks to yet another underwhelming LSAT performance), I started my actual LSAC school applications this morning. I'm applying to 3 schools, each of which I have researched exhaustively on their websites and on other forums. Only 1 of the 3 schools has a "Why X" requirement published on their admissions page, which, like any good obsessive law school applicant, I have already written. However, in each of the other 2 school LSAC applications, there are specific questions that lead to a "Why X" essay (and an additional "What ties do you have to the area" essay). I groaned when I saw these questions because I thought I was largely in the edit / revise phase of my application materials and now have to draft 3 more substantive essays (2 Why Xs and 1 What ties).

I realize its a first world problem, but still: Come on, man.

https://i.gifer.com/304v.gif

Ready to take a look at LSAT discussions now. Got poutine and movies lined up tomorrow.

What did you guys do to distress?

Today at the test center, I met a few old friends, and to my surprise, half of them were doing the Khan Academy prep. They told me they were PTing 170+ after 2 months with KA, which was another surprise even though they were smart guys. I read a bunch of old posts about Khan Academy, but that was the Beta, and not too many people got far into the program. Does anyone have any updated info on the course?

Best choice I made today. Now I'm just hoping they turn my writing prompt into a RC passage for the november test.

Hey again everyone!

I want to start off by saying thank you in advance.. This community is awesome.

I've taken the LSAT 3 times: 144 (shouldn't have taken this one), 147, and just took this Sept exam.

My goal score is 153-155 and above, and in my last 5 PT's before September exam I was averaging 153.

My prediction for this exam is I probably scored a 150-151.. I screwed up in the actual LG section after misreading a rule (in the first game!!! ugh) and I ran out of time and forgot to bubble about 3-4 questions on the last section LR :(

All this said, I'm still confident I scored higher than my last exam of 147. Before this exam I would have honestly said f*** it and kept my score, but I feel like I've dominated LG so much more and I feel like i'm really close man.. Felt really in control this time. Also, they only take high scores, should I maybe call my target schools and ask how they feel about this?

If I keep this score and get below a 152, I feel like I may want to retake. Thoughts? I'd have 4 takes total on record.

Hi Everyone,

Was hoping to get insights from the community on how to improve short-term memory for RC. RC is by far my worst section (usually 8-9 wrong) and my goal is to try and knock it down to at least 4 wrong by November.

I have read posts online that if you read something at certain intervals that helps with your memory recall (ie. at 30 seconds since first reading, then 2 minutes etc. but I feel I do not have the time to be cognizant of syncing this up- even in a rough estimate fashion). I think I need to do drills outside of the realm of the LSAT to improve my short-term memory and was curious if others have done the same. I bought Economist magazines which I will try to read in my free time which I know helped one of my friends for RC (I work until 6 every day so I just go home and usually do 2 sections a night and blind review so I have little time to read and my blind review usually carries over to my lunch hour the next day).

I notice that the questions I get wrong are the factual recall ones similar to MSS and Inference questions in LR which I am actually good at for LR. I also struggle with identifying the author's tone in the passage (main point and structure I am not bad because I include a 2 word low res for each paragraph- one for content and one for structure).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated- thank you! #help

Hello,

The first time I signed up for the LSAT I choked and didn't show up. The second time I made it halfway through the LSAT (Today) and choked and also left. I feel like a pretty big embarrassment right now and the LSAT depression has hit hard. It just stinks because I will have to choose a new career and I don't know where to even start as I thought being an attorney was what I was meant to do, but alas it was not. Anyways just needed to vent as no one in my personal life understands the toll that is has taken. Good luck to all of you! If anyone has any words of encouragement (i.e. you'll find what your meant to do!) that would be great.

Hi guys, I have trouble distinguishing between the so called 'pseudo sufficient' questions where you are asked to use one of the following principles to justify the conclusion vs. a regular sufficient assumption question. Can someone please explain or distinguish the steps to doing them? Thanks!

Hi guys!

Any advice on choosing a final schools list when I don't have a reportable LSAC GPA? I got my undergrad education outside the US and my CAS report gave me the "above average" categorisation. My graduate degree is also non-US and was categorised as "superior".

Obviously you can't compare these directly to a UGPA, because it's not the same fine detail. So my question is; should I consider UGPA a wash when looking at schools? Am I right that my transcript is unlikely to help, nor hurt my chances? In which case, should I judge reach/target/safety status on LSAT score alone?

Thanks.

After drilling almost all questions types, I for some reason have been having a lot of trouble doing the harder method of reasoning and flaw questions and they are definitely my biggest weakness. I can usually do the easy ones really quickly and get them right with ease, but the harder ones just don't click with me and it's very frustrating considering how often they appear on the LSAT. Anybody have any tips?

Hey all, quick question for everyone in here: has anyone come across a set of 'rules' like we have for parallel flaw. In paralllel flaw we have the 19 most common errors, which we can then use to eliminate answer choices. Is there something similar for PMOR?