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Realistically, how important are personal statements in determining whether you get in or not? I've been stressing out over mine and I'm starting to think that I don't need to worry too much about them.

Answers from people who have already applied/got into T14 schools were be especially appreciated. I'd like to know about your experience

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I'm not sure if anyone else took the December LSAT at Long Beach Convention Center.

Everyone was in line checking in around 8 a.m., and they only had 3 people to check people in. They also put 400 of us in one ballroom, so people that checked in earlier were in for a treat. It took them 3 hours to check everyone in. Yes, our test did not even start until 11 a.m.

In the time that this center checked people in, the ones who were early were not able to drink water nor use the restroom. By 11 a.m. is when our first portion should be over! Everyone was annoyed due to the lack of the test center's preparedness. The proctor did not have a mic, so she also had to walk up and down the aisle to repeat the rules over 10x.

It doesn't end there. As the proctor was finishing up the rules, a girl kept raising her hand. She notified the proctor and other staff that she really needed to use the restroom. They would not allow her to go, and they haven't even distributed tests out yet. The poor girl tried to run past the staff, and they blocked her way. She ultimately peed her pants in front of 400 people.

In addition to that incident, there was a Miss California USA Pageant and Herbalife Employee Ceremony happening at the same time that we started our test. Loud music, bands playing, cheering, and people announcing employee of the month echoed throughout the room. It was as if our conditions were not already horrible.

I'm not one to complain, but honestly that day I became so detached from taking the test (as were many others). I was confident in my abilities, but the environment and unpreparedness took its toll on everyone. By the time we finished the first portion, it was 1:30 p.m. They didn't even let us out until 2 p.m. because they couldn't manage to count 400 tests. Also 400 people were dying to use the restroom. By the time we got to break, I was lucky enough to sit by the door, run out, and get to the restroom. When I finished, I saw the huge lines that most likely did not allow everyone to use it in the break time allotted. After we were all done, it was 4 p.m. 7 HOURS. The test center drained us more than the test did.

I know that many of us have complained to LSAC, and have no idea what LSAC will even do for us. February 2018 LSAT is not much of an option for me since most of the schools I am applying to do not accept February LSAT. I guess what I'd like to ask is whether it is worth writing an addendum about? I plan to turn in my applications before Friday, but feel that our circumstances were very unfair.

You would think that $180/person and 400 people would give them enough funds to provide adequate staff and testing conditions.

1

Take a look at this link:

https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/lr-drills-preptest-70-to-79/

I think this a fantastic tool for really going in-depth on improving specific areas of LR, because it splits up questions according to question type.

However, I need some advice. I need to work on arg.part, pseudo-SA, MBT, and MBF questions, so I plan on printing out the sections for those question types. But I'm not sure how to approach actually using these questions. Is it best to set a 35 min window and try to complete one of these question compilations, one at time? If I just go through the questions without a time constraint I know I will get most of them correct just because I have the luxury of time, however some of the compilations only have 22 questions (instead of a usual LR of 25 or 26), so I don't know if setting the timer would actually make a difference.

Does anyone have any advice on how best to use these questions?

If it helps, I'm a low 160 scorer, and my biggest issue (one that I feel wrecked me on the Dec. exam) is my inability to know when to move on from a question. Given enough time, I'm very confident in my fundamentals leading me to the correct answer. Under timed conditions my ego gets into it. For example I'll read a question, not get it right away, read it again, not get it, and then force myself to slowly work through it, which hurts my ability to pick up other points. To bring it full circle, the question types that I listed above are usually always the ones that I can't seem to just move on from right away, so I figure by practicing them now and being more competent with them I will improve my timing on a PT and definitely on the real deal in Feb.

1

Hello,

I will be petitioning Columbia to use my February LSAT.

This is what their admissions page says:

"For the 2017-2018 admissions cycle, we will consider scores from the February 2018 LSAT from candidates who petition in writing and receive confirmation of petition approval by January 1, 2018. Petitions for 2018 February LSAT score consideration should be emailed to admissions@law.columbia.edu. As we have in past cycles, the Admissions Committee strongly encourages applicants to take the LSAT no later than the December test administration and to complete their applications earlier rather than later in the cycle."

Has anyone ever petitioned to have their Feb LSAT used? Is there anything specific I should include in the petition (i.e. explaining the circumstances as to why I am testing so late?)

Thanks in advance!

1

Hi all,

I'm curious if anyone has received an application fee waiver from a top 30 or so school WITHOUT an LSAT score on file. I'm currently in undergrad and have a high LSAC GPA (3.97) but canceled my September score. Is getting a fee waiver unheard of without a score on file? I guess that'd make sense…?

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LSAC released a report on accommodated test-taking trends:

https://www.lsac.org/docs/default-source/research-(lsac-resources)/tr-17-03.pdf

"This report examined trends and performance of accommodated test takers for the June 2012 through February 2017 LSAT administrations. Trends with regard to the request for and approval of testing accommodations, types of accommodations approved, and the demographic makeup of the accommodated test takers, were examined. The overall performance of the accommodated test takers was examined and compared to the performance of the Nonaccommodated group, and the performance of Accommodated/Extra Time test takers who repeated the test a second time was also studied. In general, it was observed that the number of accommodation requests submitted by test takers with documented disabilities and both the number and percentage of accommodations approved greatly increased over the current report years. These increases reflect policy changes dictated by the Consent Decree beginning with the June 2014 LSAT administration. However, the proportion of those who received approval for an accommodation and who then went on to take an accommodated LSAT remained fairly steady at 65–77%.

With regard to the distribution of accommodated test takers across various demographic subgroups, these subgroups were in some ways similar to, and in some ways different from, those in the Nonaccommodated subgroup. Male accommodated test takers were more prevalent among the Accommodated group compared to the Nonaccommodated group. While the representations of Native American and Hispanic/Latino test takers in the Accommodated group were similar to those found in the Nonaccommodated group, the African American and Asian test-taking subgroups were underrepresented and the Caucasian/White test-taking subgroup was overrepresented in the Accommodated group compared to the Nonaccommodated group. Trends with regard to LSAT performance for accommodated test takers have changed during the current report years, with those in the Accommodated/Extra Time subgroup scoring higher than those in the Nonaccommodated group in 18 of the 20 administrations and those testing in the Accommodated/Standard Time subgroup scoring higher than those in the Nonaccommodated group in 12 of the 20 LSAT administrations. Score gains for Accommodated/Extra Time repeat test takers were almost the same as those observed for the Nonaccommodated group but higher for those who first tested under nonaccommodated conditions and then switched to accommodated/extra-time testing conditions. The trends presented in this report are purely descriptive in nature. While trends with regard to the Accommodated group have been described and compared to trends in the Nonaccommodated group, explanation of the underlying causes of any differences observed is beyond the scope of this report. More specifically, those included in the sample of accommodated test takers being analyzed are, in several respects, selfselected. These test takers chose to take the LSAT and to request accommodated testing conditions, and then self-reported their subgroup membership with regard to such factors as gender, race/ethnicity, and age"

It also released a report on the predictive validity of accommodated test-taking with respect to first year law school grades:

https://www.lsac.org/docs/default-source/research-(lsac-resources)/tr-17-04.pdf

"Predictive validity of LSAT score, undergraduate grade point average (UGPA), and Index score (which includes both LSAT score and UGPA combined) was assessed using first-year average (FYA) as the criterion. Results from this study suggest that LSAT scores, UGPAs, and Index scores for Accommodated/Extra Time test takers tend to overpredict FYAs. Additionally, results indicate that LSAT scores, UGPAs, and Index scores predict FYAs relatively well when accommodations unrelated to timing were given."

Conclusion:

"Results from this study suggest that LSAT scores obtained under accommodated/extra-time testing conditions are not comparable to LSAT scores obtained under nonaccommodated testing conditions. In particular, LSAT scores among test takers in the Accommodated/Extra Time subgroup tend to overpredict law school performance as measured by FYAs. This finding of overprediction is consistent with prior findings for LSAT scores and scores on other large-scale standardized tests (e.g., Braun et al., 1986a, 1986b). In addition, relative to others in their entering class, the ranked standing of these test takers with regard to their first-year performance tended to be substantially lower than their ranked standing with regard to their LSAT score. A similar result was found for their Index score, but this phenomenon was not as evident for their entering-class UGPA ranked standing. In contrast, no substantial evidence was found to suggest that LSAT scores obtained by test takers in the Accommodated/Standard Time subgroup are not comparable to those for the Nonaccommodated group. "

2

Hey guys! We've got a fellow 7Sager who's looking to 1) improve herself and 2) pay it forward to this awesome community. We suggested that she offer to tutor for free.

Her average of her 6 most recent PTs is 166. These were all PTs from the 70's.

She wants to work with you to BR your LR or RC sections from your PTs. If you're PTing in the low 160s (or lower), consider this opportunity. She's usually free from 7pm EST onward.

If you're interested, let me know by commenting here and I'll put her in touch with you.

It's a great opportunity!

7

Hii :)

I've been studying for 4 months now, and planning to take the feb test.

I only recently started doing Blind Review for LR (starting from PT 20), and I realized that my score before and after blind review has a huge difference. I think the main reason is that I can't ever finish the LR section on time. On average I miss about 4-5 Q's, sometimes more... and of course get things wrong along the way... So i would end up getting 7-10 wrong per section

But when I do Blind Review, I get most of the questions right (which surprised me!) .. missing 5 to nothing. So it seems like I can get through the reasoning with enough time...

I'm planning to continue to BR maybe for a month and see if I improve on time as well.

Does anyone have a "success" story of blind review?? If I continue to Blind Review, would I get faster?? I know the answer may be obvious but I would love to hear how other people improved on LR...!

Thanks so much..!!

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I went to a college with a Pass/Fail system (ie no GPA) so I assumed that my "GPA" is just gonna be something like "NA" or simply left blank.

But a 0.00???

Does that mean if a school accepts me, I'd be bringing their entering class average GPA down with my "0.00 GPA"? This is ridiculous! Not a single school would be willing to accept me in this case.

Guess I'll have to call or email LSAC asap.

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Northwestern offers an interview to all applicants, and they "strongly recommend" scheduling one. I'm considering opting out, wonder of anybody has input/knowledge whether this is monumentally stupid, or no big deal.

I'm above their 75th for lsat, and just below median for gpa. It's not in my top 3 dream schools, but probably 5th or 6th. I suck at phone/Skype interviews, so if definitely have to travel there (3 hours each way from w michigan)

Originally i was planning to interview on a Monday and then take that day and maybe a Tuesday to tour Northwestern and UChicago. But im hesitant to burn my precious vacation days...

Any thoughts welcome :)

0

Linear games click in my mind whereas grouping games put me in the middle of no where. I always feel like I finally understand the basics of grouping games after completing the blind review of the drills, but my hopes are destructed when I face another new grouping game. Any tips other than "PRACTICE MORE!"?

Thank you!

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I've been caping out at around 4 times to go over a single game because I feel like I begin to actually memorize all inferences, I know that this is the point but sometimes I feel like I'm not really thinking too hard to come to my answer choices even though they end up being correct most of the time. Is this the goal with fool proofing? I don't know whether I'm finally breaking through that threshold of understanding where things just "click" or if my memory skills are just carrying me through because I've seen certain games before. Any advice from others who may feel/felt this way towards fool proofing ?

1

This is hard for me to write about or even think about, but I thought turning to other 7sagers is the safest I'll feel. I'm trying real hard to think of what "sets me apart". People say to write your personal statement on something you've experienced that made you who you are or that has given you reason to go to law school. I have had several experiences in my life that do so, but only one that would certainly make heads turn. BUT the thing is, it could give the admissions counsel grounds to throw my application in the trash immediately....

About 2 years ago I was arrested for petty theft. I was in a bad place at the time and it was by far the HARDEST thing that I've had to deal with. I've torn myself down, almost given up on getting anywhere in life, built myself back up, and tried my hardest to prove that what is on my rap sheet truly is NOT who I am at all. I've even gotten an internship at my county's District Attorney's office a year after the incident. So the question is.... should I write about that whole experience and explain why it's taken me on the path I'm on now, or pick something else? Risk it for the biscuit or naw? Thanks guys :)

0

Hey all,

So I went through my LinkedIn notifications this week and one notification I got was,

"Your profile has been viewed by people who work at the following companies:

Duke University Law School

Duke University

Stanford University"

Now I'm not saying these law schools are snooping my/our social media presence, but I'm also not saying they aren't.

There is some evidence that this is a regular practice:

http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/law-schools-facebook-google-find-dirt.html

https://dailynorthwestern.com/2011/10/30/campus/campusarchived/law-school-admissions-use-facebook-google-to-screen-applicants-study-finds/

http://www.dailycal.org/2011/10/26/law-schools-check-digital-trail-of-applicants-more-than-other-colleges/

Just be careful!

3

Hello. I am on the free trial portion of the 7Sage course. I am on "Introduction to Sequencing Games 1." I have a few questions.

First, here are the rules:

O is after N but before P.

S is after O.

K is before M and N.

Z is before M.

J is before K.

I was wondering if for sequencing games if we should write out ALL possible sequences on the test and when practicing. Should we also write out all the relationships in the sequence game? Here are the sequences that I have so far:

JZKMNOPS

JZKNMOSP

JKZMNOSP

JKZNMOSP

JKZNMOPS

KZJMNOPS

KZJMNOSP

ZJKMNOSP

ZJKMNOPS

How many more sequences are there??

Also, do Z and K have a relationship? If Z and K do not have a relationship, then why do J and P have a relationship?

Why do P and S not have a relationship? I am not fully understanding this based on the explanation in the lesson. (I am not fully understanding the backwards rule.)

Sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place; I just need some help.

0

many schools request that applicants write an LSAT addendum when they have two or more scores that are "significantly different" but they do not define what this means in terms of points! The only school I have seen define it is University of Michigan, which considers a difference of 6 or more significant. Should this be the standard to apply to all schools that ask this questions? Any thoughts appreciated!

0

What type of Question is this?

I chose (B) as an answer but the correct answer is (C).

I anticipated correctly but chose the wrong answer. Why is (B) Basis wrong? Their basis of intention is both different.

0

Hi 7Sagers,

I have been studying part time for almost 6 months now, have completed CC, FPM of all games from PT 1-40 and only recently began to PT. I began with PT 34, and am presently reviewing 41. I will be honest when I say studying for such an extended time for the LSAT my stamina in consistently studying plummeted tremendously with other life distractions. I do not know how to regain keeping up a good PT routine, though it is especially necessary in the next few weeks. I do not feel that I can complete up to PT 82~ by February, perhaps it is not wise to attempt that, but I am wondering what is a reasonable amount of PT's to aim to do and BR in full, by the February test. I wrote last February, 2017, with little preparation (Powerscore) and scored very low. I am BR'ing in the 160s, am awful with timing, and scoring in the high 150's otherwise. I delayed my admissions for a year in hopes of preparing, but I feel that all this time has passed and my progress is nominal and am a bit dejected, but would really just like to put my best efforts forth come February.

I immensely appreciate any advice, insight, words of encouragement you have to offer.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read, and respond if you so choose to. You are appreciated.

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