Thank You 7Sage (especially the podcast!!) - 158 to 170!

Background
I toyed with the idea of going to law school around March, but I wasn't sold on it. I was nervous to take the LSAT and was unsure of the career outcomes. I had a solo road trip from Florida to Colorado, so I decided to listen to some podcasts about law and the LSAT.

Luckily, I stumbled upon the 7Sage podcast and all of David's wonderful interviews. I binged on every episode during my 2-day drive. Hearing from 7Sage students and admissions staff was eye-opening and inspirational. This is one of the best free resources regarding law school admissions that I have found -- and trust me, I've listened to a ton of videos and podcasts lol.

Studying for the LSAT
I took a cold diagnostic on Khan Academy and received a 158. At this time, I imagined UF to be my ultimate goal. All I needed were a few more points! But Khan's structure left me unsatisfied, and I was scoring between 156 and 163 after a few weeks of studying.

I knew the free option wasn't going to work, so I signed up for 7Sage. JY's explanations were exactly what I needed, but I found the comments to be the real secret to my success. We all know how JY can say an answer is just wrong without an explanation, so it helped to see others explain why a certain AC didn't work.

Going through the CC helped me learn the test, and I started to score in the low 160s. I knew I had more to learn so I followed this schedule:
Monday-Friday: 1-3 hours of studying (I would do 2 or 3 timed sections or go over lessons on key concepts)
Saturday: Full PT and BR after
Sunday: Go over all flagged and wrong answers

Hitting 170
My routine helped me get to the mid 160s, but I felt like my scores were not consistent. So I focused on each section for 1 week at a time to see if I could master them.

Monday - Friday, I would do 2-3 timed sections of a specific section or question type. RC was the most important, and 1 week of studying it helped me get to a -3 consistently.

At this point, I averaged 169-171.

The Real Deal

My first real LSAT (July 2020) was a 166. I was happy but also let down. I knew I could do better.

So I took a week off and then did 2 practice tests per week. I also reviewed every wrong answer I ever got on any PT. This helped me see old mistakes that I may never have corrected.

Finally, I scored a 170 on the August LSAT.

Thanks again JY!

Other small tips:
- I stopped drinking altogether as it caused brain fog
- I drank 2 cups of coffee before a PT and always studied with a cup of coffee. Then before the LSAT, I would pound an energy drink
- I am an editor by trade, so I read A TON. This probably helped with RC
- For RC, I practiced "Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast." Slow down and be precise. The speed will come.