Between a rock and a hard place

Paradar.32

I started 7 Sage back in September of 2021 and it has been interesting to say the least. I decided to take on the course curriculum full time. I have followed and finished the core curriculum full time since September 2021 and am EXTREMELY dissatisfied. How can 7 sage possibly justify only a 12 point increase (136 to a 149) in 7 months of full time practice? In fact, in the past two months I have actually gone down 1 point and literally can't beat my best from two months ago. I put my trust in them and all I hear back is robotic responses. "Study harder", "Try our this and that at $$$$ amount", "Trust the process", "Blind Review". I understand that people learn at their own pace but there is a difference between difficulty of a subject and a complete diminish in return. I have come to the realization that 7 sage will keep me swimming in circles by repeating the same instruction that got me there in the first place. I train just as hard if not harder than many 170+ scorers and my time stamps show it. Unfortunately, I don't have a white picket fence life that allows me to write a check to 7 sage for $3,000 for for the best instruction tailored to me.

victoriastarrett92

I hear you.

I've been studying for 2 years, started 7sage back in December, and even got a private tutor (who is lovely, by the way, but sessions are $$$) through them and my score actually went down from where it was before I got the tutor (after 10 weeks). I find that JY's teaching style does not usually work for me unless I already know what he's talking about - for example, the abstract concepts don't work for me (the flashcards for or, if, if only, except, etc definitely made me more confused than when I started). I also find that the lessons tend to be so incredibly tedious that it makes me not want to study at all. I say this as someone who was a math/science teacher for four years and is now a program manager for a PhD program. I'm not an idiot. But the amount of work that is expected to go into this without actual accurate feedback tailored to you is insane (why did I get this wrong? JY just told me to go watch another lesson if I don't understand it but a simple explanation without the 'if you don't get this yet you're obviously not ready' would be way more helpful...).

I'm also reading the Loophole in Logical Reasoning book and it's really helping me improve my logical reasoning skills. I find that Ellen's teaching style works way better for me (she's funny but not in a mean way that often turns me off from the lessons on here) and after I learn something from that book I can tackle the PTs and problem sets a lot smoother. My suggestion would be to find different resources for your different needs. People who score high on this test rarely use just one resource, many of them use a variety and most take in-person classes. I've done Khan Academy, the Lsat Trainer, 7Sage, 7Sage tutoring, and the loophole in Logical Reasoning. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. I find that 7Sage is great for analytics, PTs and alternative explanations, my tutor keeps me on track, and the loophole helps teach me how to crack the concepts that have not been clicking for me. Khan Academy was a great place to get my feet wet and see if this is something I wanted to devote my time on. You may not need as many resources as I have used - I have ADHD and an accommodation so I need a variety of styles to keep me engaged.

I've also purchased other books that I haven't used and watched many youtube videos. As annoying as the process is, you can improve, but you may need to find the resources that work for you. I believe in you! At the end of the day, this is a hard test and requires most people to put in way more work than they normally would study, because it doesn't assess factual knowledge, it assesses the way we think, and we've been thinking that way our entire lives.

Should you ever need a buddy to vent to - reach out! I'm always looking for an LSAT buddy. I'm taking the June/ August/ October LSATs.

cheyjuan.m

Honestly, I'm not sure what your schedule has been or anything, so it's hard to say. I can understand where you're coming from though.

You might need a break, study group/partner, or ironically, teach someone what you know. If you'd like, you can DM me and I'd be open to being your study buddy.

Searching for where you can improve and how you can best support yourself can be stressful, discouraging, and confusing. I get that. The LSAT teaches us how we learn best and helps us to prep for LS.

Yet, I also realize it's difficult to see what's needed when you're "too close" to the problem/scenario. That's also one reason I suggested teaching someone. When you are explaining things to someone else, their feedback offers a new perspective. Their confusion may require you to do some deeper digging. It also helps to solidify what you know, builds confidence, and helps with pacing. Having a fresh perspective throughout study and review can be helpful.

Prabhjot.naul93-1-1

Maybe try powerscore bibles. They are helping me. Also you need a mental break frkm LSAT. Sometimes one tutors style doesnt work you may need to try other resources to see which style works best for you.

Cant Get Right

@"Paradar.32" said:
How can 7 sage possibly justify only a 12 point increase (136 to a 149) in 7 months of full time practice?

A 136 is the 7th percentile.
A 149 is the 40th percentile.

So that "12 point increase" [sic] is an increase of 33 percentiles. That's about what it took me to make my first 33 percentile jump, and I'm about as good a success story as 7Sage has produced. That's the kind of increase companies cherry pick to advertise with. I understand it's frustrating and that you've still got a long way to go, but welcome to the party.

WickedLost

One very hard lesson I had to learn was it's not how much you study, it's how well you study. Unfortunately, that does require a combination of being 'ruthless' with yourself to an extent, and taking the time to figure out what review methods work for your learning style. The learning is all in the active review in my opinion, which can require a lot of tweaking/trial and error.

hotranchsauce

That's a 13 point increase, no?
A 13 point increase in 6 months, especially when starting at below the 10th percentile, could be cause for celebration.
To put it another way:
You're on track to make a 136 ---> 162 in JUST one year. In which case, that seems above average progression to me.

canihazJD

I never thought I'd hear someone complain about a 13 point jump in 7 months. Took me 2 years.

Matt Sorr

A 13 point jump is great. Many people never see that kind of increase, much the less after 7 months. If your goal is to score a 170+, that would be a 34 point increase. A 160+ would be a 24 point increase. Those are huge increases and, personally, I’ve never heard of someone jumping that much in 7 months or even a year. Plateauing (assuming that’s what your experiencing right now) sucks, but it’s part of the process and almost every high scorer I know experienced it at some point. If you’re positive 7sage isn’t working/isn’t a good fit for you, then the only thing that I can think of for you to do is finish your subscription and perhaps try a different company. As you mentioned, studying for the LSAT can be expensive and it’s not fair that some people have significantly more resources, but I don’t know of a single test prep company that guarantees a score increase of 13 points or larger, regardless of the amount of money you have.