Cancel (July'19)-> 158 (Oct'19) -> Cancel(Oct '20)-> 171 (Nov '20)

Da_WunDa_Wun Member
edited March 2021 in November 2020 LSAT 72 karma

Honestly this LSAT journey was an extremely uphill one. I just wanted to share and hopefully encourage others to not give up. (lengthy and more about mindset)

THANK YOU 7SAGE!!!!! During this time, I've tried the LSAT Trainer, the Powerscore Bibles, and skimmed through Manhattan Prep before I got 7sage in July 2020. 7sage worked best for me. I'd really suggest taking advantage of the analytics to get a solid baseline in the beginning and target drilling your weak spots. My initial weaknesses were logic games, then after I got better using the foolproof method and just drilling, I focused on logical reasoning (I used the Trainer and 7 sage for this), and my RC ALWAYS fluctuated (like -2 one day to -11on another). RC was the hardest for me to learn. I used the drills on 7sage and read articles on The New Yorker regularly. Targeted drills were really helpful to me. Sometimes I'd actually purposefully do my drills in noisy places, where my sister was watching Netflix or whatever, to get used to keeping calm despite distractions. Keeping calm during the test (in spite of distractions) and having peace with myself is what helped me the most. If you have any specific questions lmk and I'll try my best to answer! :)

Comments

  • LOWERCASE EVERYTHINGLOWERCASE EVERYTHING Member ⭐
    edited November 2020 1952 karma

    what a journey! thank you for sharing!
    congrats on getting through and on your accomplishment!

  • Hopeful9812Hopeful9812 Member
    872 karma

    Congratulations! Very well deserved & glad you didn't give up!

  • learn2skipQslearn2skipQs Member
    730 karma

    Thanks for sharing and congrats

  • Chris NguyenChris Nguyen Alum Member Administrator Sage ⭐ 7Sage Tutor
    4598 karma

    Congratulations!

  • Da_WunDa_Wun Member
    72 karma

    Thank you all so much, I really appreciate it!!! :)

  • Ken AdamsKen Adams Core Member
    4 karma

    Congratulations and thank you for sharing. Could you walk us through your timeline? For example, when did you start studying and for how many hours per week. Thank you in advance!

  • forsythed001forsythed001 Free Trial Member
    10 karma

    Thank you so much for sharing your story. I really appreciate your candidness about applying to schools and getting rejected, but still persevering on. I needed to read a story like yours for inspiration. I especially liked how you were personal with your Christian beliefs. I never leave a comment on anything ever, but I needed to here to thank you for inspiring me!

  • MartianmanMartianman Core Member
    211 karma

    Thanks for sharing, this resonates with me.

  • Determined_-1Determined_-1 Member
    924 karma

    Congratulations!!!!! Do you have any tips on keeping calm with all the noise haha

  • Da_WunDa_Wun Member
    edited November 2020 72 karma

    @wadduppeeeeeps said:
    Congratulations!!!!! Do you have any tips on keeping calm with all the noise haha

    Hi ty! I actually REALLY sucked at this (as in I'd death stare all my family members for making the slightest noise). But after the October test, when I (FINALLY) realized there are almost always going to be things that don't go my way , I decided to purposefully study in distracting areas/places with white noise. And with that came the decision to consciously tell myself to keep calm, no matter how much I wanted everyone else to be quiet. I decided to learn some breathing exercises that I could do during the 1 minute break between sections. Below are some test anxiety tips I read. I also learned some breathing and meditation tips from Headspace the app.
    https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/support/counseling-and-psychological-services/managing-test-anxiety

    https://7sage.com/five-strategies-for-combating-lsat-anxiety/

    https://medicine.llu.edu/academics/resources/test-anxiety-tips

    Anyway, at first, doing these timed drills (you might want to start with untimed drills depending on your comfort level) in noisy places was really difficult at first, but the more I did it, the more relaxed and calm I became. The breathing tips came in so handy for me in November's test, I think my main problem with the lsat and the PTs I took was my anxiety would always spike, so I concentrated on managing that. Also, not sure if this is relevant, but I wanted to also add that if you feel too anxious to start the test at your start time, rescheduling to a later time is possible.

  • Da_WunDa_Wun Member
    edited November 2020 72 karma

    @forsythed001 said:
    Thank you so much for sharing your story. I really appreciate your candidness about applying to schools and getting rejected, but still persevering on. I needed to read a story like yours for inspiration. I especially liked how you were personal with your Christian beliefs. I never leave a comment on anything ever, but I needed to here to thank you for inspiring me!

    Thank you! I was unsure about being so vulnerable on here, but I know when I was discouraged, burned out and nearly hopeless, reading honest stories about failure and perseverance really encouraged me. And for me, God played the biggest role in this process. The greatest peace came when I decided to trust God more than I trusted my own abilities (of course I still had to put the work and effort in).

  • Da_WunDa_Wun Member
    edited November 2020 72 karma

    @"Ken Adams" said:
    Congratulations and thank you for sharing. Could you walk us through your timeline? For example, when did you start studying and for how many hours per week. Thank you in advance!

    Hi yes! Studying for the July 19 test, I tried studying around 35 hrs/week from mid May to July, but I didn't have a plan and in hindsight, that's when I was learning to get the basics and it was all over the place (I used the Powerscore LR and LG books). Before May, I would TRY to study after work for 1-3hrs/day, but my brain was so spent from work, it wasn't the best quality.
    Studying for the Oct 19 test, I started mid August to October 2019; I was working part time, studying part time, maybe around 20-25 hrs/week (Monday-Saturday). Midway through this period, I discovered the BR process and 7sage's method for logic games. I think that was when their videos were still free.
    Studying for the Oct 20 test, I took time off work to concentrate entirely on the LSAT from July to October, studying about 45+ hrs/week. The burnout was real. When I started studying for the November test, I only studied for the latter two to three weeks, about 7-13 hr/week, after work. Hope this helps!

  • melanie.stewart84melanie.stewart84 Yearly Member
    64 karma

    Thanks for sharing this story, it's very inspirational.

    Would you be ok sharing where you intend to apply? If you have chosen to apply to the same schools which rejected you, or since your score improved so much you chose slightly more "choosey" schools?

  • CRISPR24CRISPR24 Alum Member
    262 karma

    Your journey is definitely inspiring! I was thrilled reading it! If I could ask, which PT ranges were you prior to Oct 20 test and btw Oct 20-Nov 20 test? I took my Nov test which is not ideal to me, wondering how much I can improve before the Jan one :smile:

  • vam621vam621 Member
    102 karma

    Congrats on your journey!
    How did you drill RC? RC is my weakest point for now, and usually the global inference questions will get me. I am usually scoring now -8 to -7 but I need to bring that up before November. Any other advice regarding this? Thanks!

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