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I’m 38, a single mom of 2. Been out of school since 2000, finishing up my BA now I’m hopes to apply to law school in the next 2 years.

Anyone else in a similar position? How do you stay motivated? Any worries about juggling law school and a family? Do you think being older hurts our chances? I’ve been a paralegal for 9 years so I’m hoping that experience will help instead of hinder.

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So other than BRing PTs, I’ve also started keeping an ongoing list of LR questions I got wrong and going over those when I get a chance. Do you think reviewing RCs you’ve taken before but had trouble with again is helpful at all? Or are you sort of tainted from the fact that you’re already familiar with the passage? Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks in advance!

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Hi all,

Last June I scored a 142 on a practice test. After reading about the LSAT for a week I scored a 148. I took the CC on here and scored a 153 on my first practice test. It has been really slow progress since then. Last month I was consistently scoring a 165-166. I am registered for the July exam and have gone back down to a 158-162 this month.

IDK if test day being so close has caused me extra anxiety or preptests 74-77are harder. I'm thinking about postponing my test to September but I'll be moving from Sacramento to Boston on September 1. That might be a lot to deal with.

I'm thinking of taking a few days off from the LSAT...

Any general advice or ideas on how to be positive? What do you all do when you're feeling this way?

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If you have ever learned a new language, you know that after translating a new word, phrase, or sentence, you don't just stop there. You write that word, phrase or sentence down on a flash card and you DRILL it into your brain hundreds of times until you can recall its meaning instantly without thinking.

Similarly, when you are learning how to play basketball, you don't stop practicing your free throws once you get the ball in the net. Professionals spend hours shooting and scoring hundreds of free throws so that the motion becomes perfectly ingrained in their muscle memory.

Or think about learning how to play the guitar. Any guitarist knows that just because you have played a song perfectly once does not mean you are ready to perform. You have to play the same song perfectly over and over again before you can say that you have mastered the song.

But repetition doesn't just help you master a given phrase, skill, or song. By performing an action repetitively, you strengthen the capacities and skills you need to successfully perform that action. By strengthening those capacities, you will be better equipped to approach different actions that require the same skills.

Think about the basketball player. Once he has mastered the free throw he will likely be much better at shooting three-pointers, or from any distance for that matter.

Or think about the musician: by simply mastering one song, a guitarist becomes much better at plucking, playing specific notes, and keeping tempo. So even though he only knows one song, she will be much better equipped to learn and play new songs.

So what does this mean for the LSAT?

First, it means that getting a problem right once is not enough. The reason is that doing that problem over and over again CORRECTLY is how you build the skills and capacities you need to approach different and more difficult problems. The skills and capacities I am talking about include processing, comprehending, and retaining a lot of information. They also include understanding and manipulating logic and arguments. Simply solving a lot of different problems gives you no opportunity to develop these skills.

In short, my first radical claim is that taking a PT and conducting one BR basically does nothing to improve your skills. It's because doing something once or twice just isn't really practice.

But there is more.

When studying, your focus should not be on developing the skills you need to approach the LSAT. Since you get these skills through repetition, my second radical claim is that YOU SHOULDN'T BE WASTING YOUR TIME ACTUALLY SOLVING THE PROBLEMS. When you approach a new LSAT problem (LG, LR, or RC), look at the answer and the explanation and make sure you understand the question, the stimulus, and why the answer is right. Then repetitively review the steps you need to take to correctly solve that problem. This is how you will get better at reading, solving games, or LR problems.

Finally, you should focus on practicing the same problems a lot, and not be trying countless new problems. If you can master (and by master I mean that you have almost memorized) 5 PTs, you will have done so much more to build LSAT skills than by simply taking and reviewing once 50 pts.

So yes, what I am telling you to do is print out one PT, circle all the answers before looking at the questions, read the explanation as you go through each question and answer, and then PRACTICE each problem over and over again until you get to the point that each answer feels intuitive, obvious, and incredibly easy.

That is how you study for the LSAT.

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I have been telling everyone that I will be going to law school this year (including someone who is going to the same school I plan to go to as a 1L)... what can I tell people to not look stupid for waiting a year? Everyone thinks I'm starting this september. I know it doesn't matter what they think... just looking for a good excuse to not look stupid. Or a reason to maybe hold off a year, even if they think I got in.

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I just find it more efficient in a lot of cases. Perhaps there is an additional premise, I'll wrrite in just a couple inferences and know the answer. So I'll often just erase the few elements I wrote in to use the "empty" game board for the proceeding questions. Why is erasing so negatively spoken of? How many of you do it anyway?

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Thursday, Jul 12, 2018

37403

Hello!!

Hi, everyone! I have been lurking on the boards for a while, and want to finally reach out and say hello. A little about me ... I'm a military spouse living in Japan, and prepping for the October LSAT (when it is offered here in Asia). I started studying in January of this year, using the Powerscore books, which did help some. My very first PT was a 155, and after 5 good months of studying, I tend to score in the mid 160s (my last PT today was a 166). I am starting the 7Sage CC in hopes of really maximizing my score on the October test. We will leave Japan next May, and my goal is to be ready to start law school in fall 2019. I am older (I'll be 36 at the end of this month) and mother to one amazing daughter, who is 9. My husband's time in the Air Force is winding down, and pretty much works out that his last 3 years of service will be the 3 years I'll be in law school. I'm excited...I'm terrified...I've got all of the emotions! But I really have appreciated this community, and had already started to incorporate some of the techniques in my studying. I decided to spend these last 3 months giving it my very best effort by following the curriculum so that I can rock it on test day.

Nice to "meet" y'all and I look forward to participating in the forums and learning/sharing with you!

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Hey 7Sagers,

For a limited time, you can pick up PT84 for $5.97 here:

https://classic.7sage.com/addons/

This comes with the printable DRM e-doc and a +1 month extension to your account.

Once the explanations are available, they will automatically be added to your account if you have access to PT84.

J.Y. is leading BR calls for LR sections of PT84:

https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/16810/pt-84-br-sessions-with-j-y-lr-sections-only

Please note that you must be enrolled in a Starter, Premium, or Ultimate course to add this PT on. Ultimate+ automatically has this PT added on.

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Hi-

I'm planning on taking the June 2019 LSAT and am trying to decide which materials to buy. I've taken 1 diagnostic test and scored a 152 on it, and am looking to score in the high 160s for the actual test. Starting in September I will be a full time undergrad student and so am considering in between the Premium package and the Ultimate package. My dad thinks that I should just get Premium that way if I dislike the course I can find a different one but if I like it then I can just extend it. I agree but also just don't know if I have the time during the semester to go through the full course. Any suggestions?

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I would say I am at the point where indicators and making diagrams has become second nature for me. But, this particular problem has my mind going in a loop. Logic makes more sense to me when I understand why certain negations are valid--i.e. DeMorgan’s Law and proofs. So any explanation for this example would be helpful.

"G cannot be cleaned until F is cleaned, unless F is cleaned second."

I will explain my reasoning so that one is able to point to my error.

To me, I view this problem in two parts, before the comma and after. Before the comma, using until as a group three indicator would cancel out the cannot, thus making the conditional G --- F. As for after the comma, I choose to use the unless portion (group three) to negate the previously stated relationship (G --- F). The negation of the sufficient condition of G before F would make it F before G -----> F2

My diagram would look like this. (F ---- G) ----> F2

Somehow this is wrong and I think it has to do with using three indicators instead of two, specifically hinging on the "until" term.

So my question is 1) is it wrong to use until as an indicator here and 2) when and how can I know to use an indicator or not.

Thank you so much!

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Hey 7Sagers, I'm leading BR calls for PT 84 (June 2018 LSAT).

There will be four sessions total. Two for S2.LR and two for S3.LR.

All sessions will start at 7:30p and end at 9:30p ET.

What happens in these sessions?

I'll ask students to state which questions were circled for BR. We'll work through the questions the group nominates. I generally try to ask students questions to elicit the right response. Please wear headphones and try to be in a quiet place.

How should I prepare?

Take PT 84 and have the questions you'd like to BR ready. The first thing I'll ask everyone is which questions they'd like to BR.

Next Session

[none]

7:30p - 9:30p ET

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/270891637

You can also dial in using your phone.

United States: +1 (646) 749-3131

Access Code: 270-891-637

Joining from a video-conferencing room or system?

Dial: 67.217.95.2##270891637

Cisco devices: 270891637@67.217.95.2

First GoToMeeting? Let's do a quick system check: https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check

Future Sessions

[none]

Obtaining PT 84

If you have an Ultimate+ account, you will be able to view and print PT 84 under the Syllabus. If you are enrolled in Starter, Premium, or Ultimate, you can also purchase PT 84 as an add-on to your existing course here.

Past Sessions

7/16 Monday - Section 2 - LR

7/17 Tuesday - Section 2 - LR

7/18 Wednesday - Section 3 - LR

7/19 Thursday - Section 3 - LR

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So I’ll admit that I always seem to rush things once I finally get started. I graduated with my AS degree back in 2000 and now I am finishing my BA. I started classes this summer with a full load and hope to be done in 18-24 months.

I’ve been focused on trying to take the LSAT in January 2019, but does that even make sense? If I can’t apply until after summer 2020 at the earliest does it make sense to try and test so soon?

Maybe I should focus on classes and studying as much as possible right now, and test next summer- which would give me plenty of time to re-test if need be.

Any suggestions?

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I am one of the older "wiser" (haha) LSAT takers and I started studying full time in October. I have been out of college for 30 years (yeah you read that right)... My goal was to score in the low 160's to get into my state law school that has great social justice / legal aid clinics and is the most affordable for me (I will have 2 kids in college in September!).

I was progressing steadily but then hit some crazy inconsistent scores in May with some of the later PT'S after hitting the low 160's a few times. I was slightly panicked and did not know what to expect sitting for June, but I managed to keep my wits about me and go in fairly focused. I did not hit my goal (just under) but kept the score to be sent with my super late application for this fall. Well, not only did I get in but with a hefty and totally unexpected merit scholarship. SO! All this to say a hearty thanks to 7 Sage - the curriculum is the best out there and the community is really an invaluable part of beating the head game that makes the LSAT such a brutal experience. And to those of you not shooting for a 170 or a T-14 school, keep at it and don't get discouraged when it all feels overwhelming and impossible. If I can do it, you definitely can do it. Shout out to the old-timers who like me are starting in September, good luck!

18

Hi all,

I was registered to do a PowerScore in person class in less than a week, because I really like the self study books and thought it would be good for me. However, exactly a week before the class was set to begin, I received a phone call saying the class was canceled due to lack of attendance. Pretty shitty of them. However, I immediately signed up for 7sage Ultimate instead, which I think will end up working out better for me, in the end.

My question now is should I start from the very beginning of the CC, or what? I've been studying hard for about 2 months now (and overall, much longer than that), with the PowerScore books. I started from the beginning of the lessons two days ago, and quickly became discouraged because in a sense, it felt like I was starting from the very beginning again. I became frustrated.

Of some subjects, I feel I already have a very good understanding. That being said, of others, I need to improve mine, because I've plateaued at 157 for awhile now. Really sucks. What should I do? My aim was to take the September LSAT. The only PowerScore self study guide I didn't have was the Reading Comp one, so maybe just start from that for the beginning? But I still feel I need to have a much stronger understanding of Logical Reasoning? Help! Feeling frustrated and a bit lost.

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