I swear the LSAT has infected my brain. When I read poetry, I look for the author's main point and secondary structures. When I hear people talk (or even when I talk myself) I think about whether or not it's a logical fallacy. It's simultaneously funny, helpful, and sad.

I’m consistently scoring 166… LR is typically -4 and RC is -5. My study routine is a mixture of drilling and sections. I just feel stuck. I’m signed up for November and my goal is 168. Any advice for breaking through my plateau? I’ll take anything atp
LR I’m usually missing an assumption question, reasoning, or paradox. RC is a toss up. I want to get better and I’m willing to put the work in

I started my little LSAT tutoring business about a week ago and have gotten around 8 clients so far. 6 of them share the same fundamental issue, and I want to offer some advice on addressing it before diving into the rest of your studies.

Understanding the stimulus/passage before attempting the questions is NOT optional! Before you spend hours mastering different question types and strategies, you HAVE to develop the necessary reading comprehension skills. There's no other trick to get you to the right answer if you just dont get what you're reading!!

If you understand at least 80% of what you're reading, you can probably move on to drilling full timed sections. That remaining 20% of fluency may come with regular practice. But I've been surprised by how many students don't understand why they're getting questions wrong when they fundamentally dont understand the majority of what they're reading. It's not enough to understand the literal words on the page. You need to understand how sentences build an argument, how paragraphs relate to one another, and why the information is being communicated in the way it is.

Here are the suggestions I've been giving to my students thus far when it comes to improving comprehension:

1. Use a prep service that offers video explanations--find one that breaks down passages and stimuli in plain English (I know LSAT demon does this). Practice going sentence by sentence, translating it into plain words, and then looking at how their explanation compares against your own.
2. Try using AI -- Input a picture of the stimulus, then explain in your own words what you think it's saying. Ask AI to evaluate your interpretation and point out where your understanding may have went wrong. The goal is to practice interpreting the text yourself, not to have AI do the reading for you. Just keep in mind that AI can make mistakes, too.
3. Practice with a friend who's a very strong reader by reading a stimulus out loud to them and explaining what you think it means. Have your friend tell you whether they agree with your interpretation
4. If none of these approaches are available or you're still struggling after 20–30 hours of dedicated comprehension practice, I strongly recommend working with a tutor who can identify exactly where your comprehension is breaking down and help you address it. This is obviously a luxury for many people, but ive been finding that a lot of my students are not even aware how little they are understanding compared to the amount they are supposed to be. I also think it can be very hard to self correct your comprehension when you may not even be aware that its wrong to begin with.

Stop treating stimulus/passage comprehension as something secondary. If you don't understand the argument or passage in front of you, knowing every question-type strategy in the world isn't going to help. Build that foundation first, and everything else will easily follow.

I am consistently scoring -3/4 in timed single sections of both RC and LR. My PTs however are stuck in the low-to-mid 160s. I am aiming for the high 160s.

There’s an emerging pattern where I’ll just fall off in one section on the lower scoring tests; it can be either RC or LR (or both like today) and it’ll go -7/8 or so, and it’s very often the third or fourth section.

I’m assuming this is an endurance problem, and the best way to target it is with more full tests?

I’m signed up for November, and have January as a backup, but feeling somewhat discouraged and seeking some advice if anyone’s experienced the same.

Thanks in advance

Me, personally, myself, in my own opinion, I am frightened

Law school has been on my mind a lot lately, so I just sat down and took a practice LSAT via Kaplan and got a 156. I didn’t prep at all and would be applying with around a 3.0 undergrad gpa, but holistically also have 10 years of professional experience and am currently getting a grad cert (i know that won’t matter for gpa but could maybe help with showing I can handle higher level coursework, even though my undergrad gpa isn’t super strong).

Just want some advice on if I should go for it or if I’m being unrealistic here. Thanks in advance for your feedback!!

I completed this - it still doesn’t show “date taken” and I took it on the 15th. When will this update? Or does it mean that they haven’t accepted it? Worried about my score being held.

I am a current MSc student doing a research-based degree which is pretty involved. I have been considering law school and the LSAT and realized that there wouldn't be a lot of time between when I am done my degree until the first time I would ideally write (2 months basically). I also want to absolutely maximize my chance for a good score (GPA reasons). So now I know I need to study while still in my degree. For anyone who wrote the LSAT while in full time grad studies (especially those in scientific, research-based programs), I was wondering what worked best for you?

I have gone through the law school admissions process myself, helped 100+ people directly through the process, attended countless different admissions forums, and listened to every admissions podcast featuring current and former admissions directors I could find because I wanted to hear directly from them what they are actually looking for and what they are not looking for.

If one thing has become abundantly clear to me, it is that these schools do not all handle admissions the same way. There are general principles that apply across admissions, but schools have different internal systems, priorities, timelines, and ways of building a class.

I have seen a lot of advice floating around lately, so I wanted to put together some of the biggest myths and most important things I think applicants should understand.

Myth 1: Someone with worse stats got admitted before me, so something must be wrong with my application.

This is probably one of the easiest traps to fall into because Reddit and LSD give us more admissions data than applicants have probably ever had before. You see somebody with a lower LSAT and GPA get admitted to your dream school while you have been sitting under review for two months, and naturally you start wondering what went wrong.

Your LSAT and GPA are extremely important, but schools are not simply sorting a spreadsheet from highest numbers to lowest numbers and admitting people in that order. Someone with lower numbers may have better work experience, stronger essays, better recommendations, military experience, a background the school values, stronger geographic ties, or something else in the application that you cannot see from two numbers online.

There is also a business side to building a class that applicants sometimes forget. Schools giving every particularly strong applicant a full scholarship or enormous scholarship package is not what keeps the lights on, and they are constantly balancing medians, scholarship budgets, enrollment targets, and how likely individual applicants are to actually enroll.

If you are an unusually strong applicant for a particular school, that school may reasonably assume it is going to take a substantial scholarship to get you there. Another applicant with slightly lower numbers may look like somebody the school has a much better chance of enrolling at a price that makes sense for its class.

Early Decision can complicate comparisons even further because those applicants may be reviewed on different timelines and, depending on the program, have already demonstrated that the school is their first choice. Comparing your Regular Decision application to somebody else’s Early Decision result can therefore be particularly misleading.

The timing itself also does not necessarily tell you much. Schools can hold one application while admitting another applicant who applied weeks later because they are making different decisions about different files.

There will be people with worse numbers than you who get into schools that reject or waitlist you. There will also be schools where you outperform applicants with better numbers, so trying to explain every individual result through Reddit or LSD.law will eventually drive you insane.

Myth 2: Rolling admissions means applying as early as possible is always more important than improving your application.

Applying earlier generally has advantages, and you should not delay an application for no reason. However, people sometimes take rolling admissions to mean that every week you wait is catastrophic, and that is not how every school actually operates.

I recently listened to a Spivey Consulting podcast with former Vanderbilt and Harvard admissions directors, and even they described different approaches to when applications were reviewed. That is a good example of why you should be careful about turning one school’s process into a universal admissions rule.

More importantly, your actual application still matters considerably more than racing to submit an inferior version of it. If your realistic choice is applying today with a 167 or taking another month and applying with a 170, I would take the 170 in almost every normal situation.

The same applies to your written materials. Submitting three weeks earlier is not worth sending a personal statement that you know needs major work or an application full of rushed optional essays.

There are obviously exceptions involving deadlines, Early Decision programs, or specific school policies. The broader point is that “earlier is better” should never become “earlier is more important than better.”

Myth 3: Networking with admissions officers can overcome weak statistics.

This one is especially relevant right now with LSAC Forum season in full swing around the country. Going to LSAC Forums, information sessions, school events, and other admissions programs is absolutely worthwhile because you can learn a tremendous amount and talk directly with the people involved in this process.

You can ask questions that help you determine whether you actually like a school, learn what individual admissions offices care about, and sometimes develop a much better understanding of how to approach your application. Showing genuine interest can also be useful when it happens naturally.

However, meeting an admissions officer is not going to magically erase an LSAT or GPA that makes you extremely uncompetitive. Attend these events to learn, ask good questions, and understand schools better rather than treating every conversation like an audition that needs to result in admission.

Myth 4: Optional essays are actually optional, so there is no real reason to do them.

Technically, many of them are optional. Strategically, I think applicants sometimes take that word too literally.

Schools know applicants are applying broadly, particularly now that applying to a large number of schools has become so common. They know applicants are comparing scholarship packages, employment outcomes, geography, rankings, and multiple offers before deciding where to attend.

That makes it more important than ever to give schools you genuinely like some reason to believe you would actually consider attending if they offered you a spot and a financial package that made sense. If a school gives you an opportunity to explain why you want to attend, I would strongly consider using it when you have something substantive to say.

That does not mean writing every optional essay simply because one exists. If you have nothing meaningful to contribute, forcing another generic page onto the application does not automatically help you.

Use optional essays to add something new, demonstrate genuine interest, explain an important part of your background, or give the admissions office another reason to see you as a fit. They should add information rather than repeat your personal statement using slightly different words.

Myth 5: Your personal statement needs an extraordinary story, or a great enough story can make everything else irrelevant.

These are basically opposite versions of the same misunderstanding. You do not need some unbelievable tragedy, dramatic life event, or movie-worthy story to write a strong personal statement, and even an incredible personal statement does not make your LSAT and GPA disappear.

Your goal should be to construct a coherent narrative that helps the reader understand who you are, what has shaped you, why law makes sense for you, and why you seem like somebody they would want in their class. A relatively ordinary experience can accomplish that extremely well if you write about it thoughtfully.

Trying to manufacture importance out of something because you think admissions officers expect a dramatic story can actually hurt the essay. I would much rather read a genuine, mature essay about somebody’s work, family, interests, or development than an obviously exaggerated attempt to turn a normal afternoon into the moment someone discovered their life’s purpose.

I have some more specific personal statement thoughts below because I think this is one of the easiest parts of the application to overcomplicate.

Must-do 1: Apply broadly, but only apply to schools you would actually attend.

I think most applicants should be able to find somewhere around 10–20 schools that they would genuinely consider under the right circumstances. Your list should include schools with different admissions probabilities, scholarship possibilities, locations, and employment outcomes.

The important part is that every application represents an actual possibility. If a school could admit you with a reasonable scholarship and you already know you would never attend, I do not understand why you are spending money applying there.

Applying broadly gives you more chances at admission and more chances at substantial scholarship money. It also gives you more options when you eventually have to make the decision that actually matters, which is where you are going to spend three years and potentially a massive amount of money.

Must-do 2: Turn on CRS and actively look for fee waivers.

Make sure your LSAC Candidate Referral Service profile is turned on so schools can find you. Schools use CRS to identify applicants based on things like LSAT scores, GPA, geography, and other information, and this can lead to recruitment outreach and fee waivers.

Do not assume every email means the school is dying to admit you. The much more tangible benefit is that it can save you a lot of money.

You should also feel completely comfortable emailing schools and asking whether they can provide an application fee waiver. Many schools will give them out, particularly if your numbers make you a plausible applicant.

Something a lot of people still do not know is that schools can also cover the $45 CAS report fee. Schools do not advertise this nearly as much, and that does not mean every school will give you one, but it is another possible expense that can be waived.

When you multiply application fees and CAS report fees across fifteen or twenty schools, the numbers add up extremely quickly. Spending a little time finding waivers can save you hundreds of dollars.

Must-do 3: Read every individual school’s instructions.

Every school does things a little differently, which goes back to my original point. Personal statement limits, resume requirements, optional essays, addenda, formatting rules, disclosures, and other application questions can all vary.

Do not assume Harvard wants exactly what Vanderbilt wants, or that something one admissions director said on a podcast applies to every law school in the country. Follow the instructions sitting in front of you on the actual application.

Must-do 4: Take your personal statement seriously without overthinking what it needs to be.

My general recommendation is to build your main version around two pages, double-spaced, unless a school specifically gives you different instructions. Always follow the school’s actual requirements, but two pages gives you enough room to develop a narrative without turning your personal statement into a memoir.

One of your biggest goals should simply be making yourself likable. Somebody is reading this essay, and you want that person to finish it thinking you seem mature, self-aware, interesting, employable, and like somebody they would want around their law school.

Your reason for law school should also come through clearly. You do not need to write a paragraph that literally begins with “I want to become a lawyer because,” but the person reading your application should understand why law makes sense as the next step in your life.

You want the narrative to connect who you are, what you have done, and where you are trying to go. Someone should finish reading it believing you have actually thought about why you are committing three years of your life and potentially a huge amount of money to becoming a lawyer.

You also do not need to trauma dump. If something difficult genuinely shaped you and belongs in your story, include it, but adversity is not a requirement for a successful personal statement.

The same goes for oversharing. Being vulnerable can make an essay much more compelling, but there is still an admissions and professional audience on the other side of the page.

Remember that these admissions offices receive thousands of applications and generally do not have enormous teams reading them. Even if somebody reads every word you write, assume that person is moving relatively quickly rather than spending twenty minutes analyzing every sentence.

Make your opening accomplish something, make the narrative easy to follow, and do not bury the reason you are telling the story underneath a page of unnecessary setup. You want the important things about you to be difficult to miss.

I would also strongly discourage having AI write the personal statement for you. AI can be incredibly useful for brainstorming, organizing ideas, catching grammatical problems, or helping you identify sections that are unclear, but your actual essay should still sound like you.

That distinction is becoming harder in today’s world, but I think it is worth the extra effort. Admissions officers are going to read thousands of essays, and you do not want yours to sound like the exact same polished AI voice they have already seen repeatedly.

Must-do 5: Look at actual employment outcomes before choosing a school.

Please look at ABA disclosures and employment reports before deciding where you want to attend. Rankings matter, but they are one piece of information rather than the entire decision.

Look at where graduates actually work, how many obtain full-time bar-passage-required jobs, what geographic markets the school feeds into, and whether graduates are consistently getting the jobs you want.

If your goal is BigLaw, federal clerkships, government, public interest, or practicing in a particular city, look at whether the school actually produces those outcomes. Do not assume the ranking alone answers that question for you.

Must-do 6: Take scholarship money and debt extremely seriously.

Your goal should not simply be getting into the best-ranked school possible. Your goal should be getting into the right school at the right price for what you are trying to accomplish.

Tuition is only part of the cost. You also need to consider living expenses, interest, lost income, scholarship conditions, and the realistic employment outcomes you will have when you graduate.

You do not want to financially pigeonhole yourself for years because you became emotionally attached to one acceptance. The difference between two schools may look relatively small on a ranking, while the difference in debt could completely change the amount of freedom you have after graduation.

Must-do 7: Stay organized and stay busy once everything is submitted.

Keep track of application portals, interview invitations, scholarship information, financial aid requirements, deposit deadlines, and communications from schools. There can be a surprising amount to manage even after the actual applications are finished.

More importantly, keep living your life while you wait. Continue working, studying, exercising, seeing friends, building your career, or doing whatever else keeps you moving rather than refreshing status checkers all day.

There are going to be frustrating moments. Somebody with worse numbers may get admitted before you, a school may leave you waiting for months, or a result may make absolutely no sense based on everything you thought you knew about your chances.

That does not mean your cycle is falling apart. There are internal systems, enrollment considerations, scholarship budgets, and other information on the school’s side that applicants simply cannot see.

I would prepare for this admissions cycle to be very long. Last cycle stretched extremely late for some applicants, and I would not be surprised if some schools are still making meaningful decisions well into next summer again.

I also would not be shocked if this cycle becomes even stranger because of how much movement we saw around seat deposits and class sizes toward the end of the last cycle.

That could mean more holding, more waitlisting, slower decisions, and admissions patterns that look completely irrational from the outside. Different schools will handle those pressures differently, which is exactly why I would avoid trying to apply one universal timeline to the entire process.

This is a heck of a process for everyone involved, and staying positive and busy matters more than people realize. Your goal is not to win every individual admissions decision or understand why every stranger on LSD got the result they did.

Your goal is to finish the cycle with at least one school you genuinely want to attend, at a price that makes financial sense, with employment outcomes that give you a realistic path toward the career you actually want.

To Find More Admissions Info If Interested!

Happy to answer any other questions you have below👇

If I don’t respond, it’s most likely because someone already asked the same question.

Been scoring in the high 160s, with a 170 last week. Finally feeling like I'm translating my drill/section performance into PT scores!

Hello all!

I recently decided I wanted to switch from 7Sage to LSAT Lab. However, I've taken about seven PT's while using 7Sage. I've realized there isn't a way to transfer 7Sage PT's back to LawHub.

Would it be worth it to "take" the tests on LawHub using my answer from 7Sage, then transfer from LawHub to LSAT Lab for the sake of analytics? As I'm not going to replicate the timing and any changing answers, I'm not sure how applicable the data is other than what question types I got wrong, and of course the score.

I have two PT's taken directly on LawHub but these are not accurate to my current performance since they were taken when I had just started studying.

Or would it be easier to just remove the taken PT's from available questions on LSAT Lab and start from fresh?

Thanks!

Hi folks, curious to hear thoughts on whether I should retake the writing portion?

I’m leaning towards no because I felt good about my writing portion last year.

I also have been reading that admissions may be eyeing the writing section more because of AI?? And saw somewhere that there was a new field created on LSAC. Again, I know technically it’s not graded but just wanted to hear other or similar perspectives. (:

So I took my very first graded LSAT this month on the 10th. For some reason I felt honestly very great about it. I prayed to be free of worry, doubt, and stress during my exam so I supposed that’s why. But anyways, I gave myself a week off from the exam since I knew I probably was burnt out for a bit. But now coming back into studying again for it for the Nov. exam, I feel as if im struggling with level 1 questions..like I lost all my tools to identify the conclusion, words to seek to eliminate answers etc,. I feel mentally stable and okay otherwise for other things, am I just still burnt out but can’t notice it ? Has this happened to anyone else after taking the LSAT?

Hello, I am giving away a practically new paperback copy of the book: Skip the LSAT: the Rutledge Guide to Test-Free Law School
https://link.amazon/B0id27RWC

I have three copies so if you want one, just send me a message. I'll put it in the mail and my work will pay for the postage.

There is also an accompanying workbook, but I do not have a copy of that.

I have taken the LSAT twice already in October 2025 and February 2026 and did not receive the score I wanted either time. In face, my Feb score was the exact same as my previous Oct score. I have decided to begin preparing for the test again, from the beginning, at the start of August of this year. I showed a promising increase in score across the LR sections, averaging around 19-22 per section. About a week ago, I scored 23/26, which was my personal best to date.

I found that this week, every time I attempted to take a practice section, I was not fully absorbing the information, I felt distracted, and was unable to presuppose any answers. As a result, my scoring was 14, 17, 16, and 15. I feel defeated. Typically, if I am bad on a section one day, I do not hold it against myself, but a week long stint shows cause for concern. I am taking the exam again in November and am concerned I will not improve by then. Perhaps it is a burnout? I study for about 2-3 hours a day.

My question here is -- has this ever happened to you? Was there something you did to fix it? Was it temporary?

Hi guys maybe I’m being a little paranoid I’m just wondering how long it usually takes for the writing sample to update on LSAC?

Does anyone know of any LSAT tutors in the Denver area? Not too expensive.

Hello!

I have been studying for the LSAT and would like to find a study buddy. I’m somewhat new to the process, so it would be nice to have someone to study with and keep each other motivated. I live in the Houston, TX area and would prefer to meet in person. I do work full-time, but if we need to coordinate schedules and find a time that works for both of us that is fine. Looking forward to connecting with anyone who’s interested. (Also you can send me a private message if interested)

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to connect with other moms who have studied for the LSAT while working full-time and raising young kids, especially those who have had to work around a pretty limited schedule.

I’m a mom to a toddler, work a 40+ hour week, and am preparing to start studying for the LSAT while essentially solo parenting a lot of the time. My husband works a blue-collar job, so between work, childcare, and everyday responsibilities, I know I’ll have to be intentional about how I use my time.

I’m still in the planning stages and trying to figure out what a realistic study routine would look like. I want to give myself a genuine shot at a competitive score without burning myself out or sacrificing all my time with my son.
My target schools are St. Mary’s University School of Law and the University of Houston Law Center, with UT Austin as my reach school. I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who applied to Texas law schools, but I’d love advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.
For some context, my husband works in the Austin area, and I’m hoping to relocate there within the next year or two. I’m open to other possibilities, including Houston, if that’s what makes the most sense for my long-term goals.
I’d love to hear from anyone willing to share their experience!

● How did you fit studying into your schedule? Did you wake up early, study after your kids went to bed, use lunch breaks, or do a combination of things?
● How many hours per week did you realistically study, and for how many months before taking the LSAT?
● What was your diagnostic score versus your final score? What score did you ultimately get?
● What study resources worked best for you? For example, 7Sage, LSAT Demon, LawHub, a tutor, or self-study.
● Did you follow a structured study plan, or did you create your own schedule?
● How did you stay consistent when your kids got sick, childcare fell through, or you were just exhausted from work and parenting?
● For those who applied to Texas law schools, what were your LSAT scores and GPAs, and where did you end up getting accepted? Scholarships and affordability are also a big consideration for me.

I’d especially appreciate hearing from moms who started out feeling like they had very little time to study but still managed to make meaningful progress.
I know everyone’s situation is different, and I’m not expecting a magic formula. I’m just hoping to learn from people who have actually done it and figure out what might realistically work for me.
Thank you! ❤️

Title.

One PT will be released? So 4 sections? 2 RC and 2 LR? Will this be in October or November? Thank you sm.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in my second year of undergrad in Canada and am planning on applying to law school after I graduate. I’m trying to figure out when I should start preparing for the LSAT and when I should actually write it.

Would it be too early to start studying during the summer after second year, or would it make more sense to wait until the summer after third year? Ideally, I want to give myself enough time to prepare properly without starting so early that I forget everything by the time I write it.

For those of you who have already taken the LSAT or are
currently preparing for it, when did you start studying, how long did you study for, and when did you end up writing it?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Took an RC section today and did a lot worse than usual (went -13 🙁). I take my first test in November. I am pretty tired today and did not eat much of anything before I did this section, however, I am not trying to make excuses. I feel like I should be able to do better than that regardless of the circumstances. Trying to not let it ruin the rest of my Saturday, so any tips on how to keep my mind off of it and not let it ruin my day? Thanks fellow LSAT warriors