150 to 161 My LSAT Journey (long post)

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!!!!