On some of the videos you use the mind map note strategy, I was wondering if you have that available for purchase?
I took the Kaplan program in July and after 3 weeks I was completely lost and virtually clueless as to how LGs were being done and LR was not any easier. After looking online for other resources I found 7sage and it was a huge help especially in LG. It seemed like no matter what I did though I could not seem to determine the game type immediately and timing was/is killing. For RC and LR the biggest flaw I found about myself is the inability to read strategically, I keeping finding myself having to re-read over and over resulting in wasted time and repeating the same mistakes.
This has to be the most stressful exam I have ever taken in my life. When I would see some of the anticipated answers that people would come up with it was a WTF moment for sure. Overall I must say that I enjoyed the challenge and whatever my score is I am ok with. The score is certainly not a result of lack of effort that's for sure.
My lowest prep test score was 136 and highest was 140, I know that Saturday's test was no better. Time to prepare for the December test though.
Any advice, comments or criticism??
Comments
Anyone, yourself included, can score over 150 and probably 160 with lots of effort.
Ask yourself, have I taken every single prep test? (There are 75 + a few more officially released). If so, have you gone over any question you missed or were unsure of until you understood why it was wrong?
Taking in October seems to be a mistake, if you'd like my frank opinion. I'd cancel if I were you because a score in that range can only hurt you.
Also, don't settle for whatever score you get you'll be happy with. Why not aim for a 165? You can do it - the test will test your character, endurance, and discipline.
Specifically for LG, sequencing games (put into order) and grouping games (distribute elements among groups) shouldn't be a primary focus. Understanding rules, how to diagram, conditionality, and how to make inferences is more important for where you're at.
Good luck to you and contact me or anyone else here with any questions you've got!
Honestly the reason I am so eager to get this down and get into law school is that I'm about to be 36 years old in January, I have a wife who supports us our household and we have 2 kids (4yr old and 7month old) and I feel like my clock is running faster than I can keep up. In addition it was my first time taking it and I wanted to get a complete understanding of what I was up against in a real "game" situation.
I certainly hate settling and my competitive side is getting the best of me, my goal has always been 163, but as I got closer to test date and saw that number further and further away I began to settle for 146, which was the median for the school of my choice.
Just know you’re not alone. There are a lot of us nontraditional students out there. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Allow the process to take as long as it needs to take, so that you can get you into the school you want to get into, not a school whose JD isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
So much to think about it such little time. I am contemplating canceling my score, but the what ifs eat at me. The school that I would love to get into told me that they would choose the highest score and not the average. I literally have less than 24 hrs to decide whether to cancel or not.
The advantage I have is that time to study is on my side. I am not working, so I truly have all day to devote to studying.
As for a new study approach, would you all recommend starting from page 1 of the LSAT trainer and reading word for word? How should I incorporate 7sage? Obviously I can take a play out of each and everyone of your play books, you all are scoring high for a reason. What study method do you all follow (if I may ask)?
You have remarkably consistent scores, so you're likely not even clearing 145 on your absolute luckiest day, and there is no point in keeping a 145 no matter what your goals are. Schools that admit non-URMs with 145s and anything less than a top GPA are almost never worth attending unless you have very specific extenuating circumstances (family is certainly one of those, but you'll be jobless for 3 years so you need to be able to handle the financial burden, but more on this later). Cancel the score. Just do it.
The bottom line is that you had no business even taking PTs let alone an official administration if you struggle just to identify what kind of game you're looking at. While you say there was no lack of effort on your part, there actually was: the effort to find an approach that actually had positive benefit to you. You could read a book a day because you heard there is an RC section on the LSAT, but it doesn't mean that that is the best use of your time. So just understand that everything you did previously with Kaplan and whatever else that didn't help your understanding was a waste of time and money, and then get over that and move on because now you've got real work to do.
As the only other mentor with multiple children besides @dumbhollywoodactor (somebody correct me if that's factually inaccurate), you really need to think about the quality of life you want during and after law school. Do you have to stay local? Do you want/need to keep the family together? Can your spouse support all of you while you are in law school? What employment outcomes are you working towards? These are the questions that matter, so stop worrying about something as silly as how old you are. I have mentored/tutored people on here from ages 22-65, and so there is no time limit on this. Law school will always be there because there will always be a need for more good lawyers (bad lawyers we can do without but since it's all relative there will always be bad lawyers no matter how desaturated the profession becomes). I've advised kids who have never had a job, middle aged paralegals, and even older doctors and surgeons, so there are more types of people with more goals than you can imagine that are pursuing this same dream. 40 is the new 30, so get out of your head and understand that your goal should be to provide the best quality of life to your family both during and after school without sacrificing too much of one for the other.
That means not going to an unranked school at sticker, hell don't go anywhere at sticker. Put in the time to get a 160+ and you can get a full ride to lower tier law schools and there's likely one near you I'd imagine just given the sheer number of law schools in the country. If you keep your likely 138 from this past test and apply with that you are going to get a mediocre or worse law degree from a shitty school and pay 100-200k for it. You'll then likely enter a legal market you're underprepared for and may struggle to find work.
At this point I feel like it should be pretty obvious but I'll drill my point home. Nothing is more important than your family, so investing the time to set all of you up in the best possible position is not something you can half ass. I will tell you right now you will not be ready for December... That's less than 8 weeks away and a 20+ point jump is just not happening in that time frame given your situation. Even February is likely too early. You need to take the rest of this year to get intimately acquainted with all that 7Sage and the Trainer have to offer and then shoot for June 2016 and use next fall as a backup test since the cancellation from Saturday will count against you. Then apply for the fall of 2017 and you'll be a lawyer by the time you're 40. No big deal. If a surgeon can transition to law at 60, you can do it at 40.
Best of luck to you and feel free to hit me up if you have any questions or need more help. But before you do, CANCEL YOUR SCORE.