150 to 161 My LSAT Journey (long post)

JustaKid

Hello 7sage community,

I was never one for posting on the discussion thread but I thought I would share some gratitude I have for 7sage and the community. I started studying for the LSAT in the Fall of 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. When I started I knew close to nothing about the journey I was embarking on. I had Kahn Academy and a desire to learn more about this test. To give a little background I graduated from Florida International University in 2019 with a BS in Communications. I am a father of two beautiful and rambunctious boys and just celebrated five years of marriage with my lovely wife. I had an unconventional undergrad trajectory and it took me nearly five years to complete my undergrad program. I had to work full-time to support my family and also attend school. When I decided to start studying I was working full time and my children were ages 1 and 3.

My first ever timed PT was on the LSAT prep test book in paper. I scored a 150. I was actually really excited when I took the test and knew that regardless of whether I was going to pursue law school I wanted to master this test. I set out initially with the common goal of scoring higher than a 170, because somehow online that just seemed to be the magic number. After a month of Kahn, I decided to purchase Mike Kim's LSAT Trainer. Due to my work/life schedule I would have to study either at 8pm until I couldn't stay awake or wake up at 4 am and study until 7 am when my children would wake up. I was on the 8 week program to go through the book and I remember finishing sometime around the start of 2021. After completing the book I learned a lot but was sorely disappointed to only PT in the mid 150's. By chance, at the end of the book there was a section called "More Resources" and that's when I stumbled upon 7sage. My first encounter with the website was a free group session hosted by someone for reading comprehension. I couldn't believe that someone would be offering free lessons when other resources were charging up the wazoo for lessons. Despite my wife's comprehension about the cost I signed up for 7sage. What a game changer. My understanding of the exam, formal logic, and arguments grew exponentially. In addition, the comment section of every lesson was a lifeline when I felt down or unmotivated. I decided to take my time with lessons and really absorb everything. From the Spring of 2021 to Summer I made a huge leap in grasping the test.

In my mind, I had this goal that I would take the official LSAT in August and have my applications ready to submit in early September. At this point I was listening to every LSAT podcast out there (shout out to 7sage's pod, Spivey's, and another pod which out of respect for 7sage will remain nameless) so I knew the importance of applying early. When I started studying I had grandeous plans of T14 schools but after prayer and conversation with my wife we decided to buy a house in Miami set our roots here. We have family in Miami and knew the importance of support and community in this process.

In the Summer I started my PT phase mixed in with an extra LG foolproof section. I was doing 1 PT a week and taking a day to blind review every section. Around this time I also was fortunate enough to be tutored by @Logician alongside someone else. At this point I was PTing in the mid-low 160's with BR in the high 160's low 170's. By far LG was my strongest with LR being my second best section and RC was a crapshoot. The passages about heavy science killed me but if it was a kind section I could score as low as -3 with a BR -0 but on a bad day -8/9/10. I was able to average around -2/3 on LG and always BR -0. For LR it was also inconsistent but always in the -4 to -8 range. While I wasn't where I wanted to be I felt that I had a strong chance of scoring in the mid 160's with hopes and dreams of catching the perfect test to catapult me to upper 160's. I took the August 2021 test, it was the first one that reintroduced an experimental section. I actually felt great taking the test except for after the break when I lost my concentration due to a longer than expected break because of the proctor. Once I took the test, I took a week off completely and then started working on my apps. I had roughly put stuff together during the summer, asking for letters of rec, my transcripts and ideas for my essays. I had close to everything ready but my test results. They came in at a 161 and I was upset but processed it and realized it was within my score range and decided to retest in October. At this point I decided to finish my apps and apply to the two local schools (FIU and UM) and let them know I would be retesting in October. At this point I was burnt out and not motivated but kept doing LG sections for fun and to stay somewhat sharp. In the end, October rolled around and again I felt good about the test but scored a 160. I was pretty disappointed in myself because I had high expectations of myself and kept reading about everyone scoring highly. Ultimately, I decided that I would shoot my shot with my score and GPA. It was bittersweet and a moment of surrender. I believe in God and that belief really helped me throughout my study process and also having a sense that my identity wasn't wrapped in my scores.

I am happy that I was blessed to be accepted in both of the schools I applied to and received generous scholarship offers. It was a long journey with a lot of ups and downs but I'm so thankful for everything I learned. If you've made it this far, congratulations! I hope my story can be of some encouragement and a reminder that not everyone on here is a super genius with a 175+ score. Most importantly I hope if you read this you'll be reminded that this test has no bearing on your identity and despite your spiritual journey I believe you are loved by God.

Thank you 7sage!!!!

Steven_B-1

Congrats and good luck!

C_S_D 01

I have kids, too, and it is a lot of work to be disciplined enough to study for this thing, stay positive and keep up with the family. Good for you for working so hard and I wish you the best in the future!

spaci77

Thank you so much, I needed this today! God bless you and your family

pnwrunner

Well done and thanks for taking the time to share.

Glutton for the LSAT

Congratulations. You put in the work and you were blessed with a great score. A 161 is around the top 17 percent of all test takers. That's great!

We need more posters like you who are happy to post about their LSAT journey even if they didn't hit the highly coveted 175+ mark.

ataboas322

I just graduated from FIU, and am taking a gap year in between law school and undergrad. I feel your struggle, and I’m hoping I can get accepted to either FIU or UM just like you. Thanks for sharing your story.