The Short Cut by 7Sage LSAT

You started a wrong answer journal, but it isn't moving your score. Bailey and Henry break down where these usually go wrong: vague notes like "try harder," tracking the wrong things, and skipping the one column that actually matters. You'll hear two approaches you can steal, Bailey's question by question system and Henry's lesson based synthesis, plus why the heuristics you're clinging to (like never picking strong answers) keep tripping you up.

There's one thing test-takers do the night before the LSAT that quietly wrecks their score, and almost everyone is tempted to do it. Bailey and Henry break down the cramming trap, why it stresses you out more than it helps, and what to do instead to walk in sharp and confident. Plus the one light warm-up that actually works, a 24-hour confidence plan, and the great comfort-movie debate.

You were scoring in your target range, then a week out it suddenly drops seven to ten points. Blind review feels easy, but timed questions you "never miss" start slipping, and every miss makes it worse. Bailey and Henry explain why this late drop is almost never real regression, and what to actually do in the final days: ease off, run small untimed sets to rebuild confidence, and stop feeding the doubt loop. If you're spiraling the week before your test, start here.

A 7Sager's LR is solid at minus 2 to minus 5, but RC won't budge from minus 9 to minus 11. The culprit isn't comprehension or timing. It's a mindset: hunting for the "least wrong" answer instead of knowing what a right answer should look like. Bailey and Henry break down how to flip that approach, from going into the answer choices with a loose prediction, to building low resolution paragraph summaries as you read, to resisting the detailed answer that feels thorough but smuggles in unsupported claims. Plus why the right answer often sounds too simple to be right.

Working full time means some study days just aren't happening, and the guilt creeps in anyway. Bailey and Henry dig into where that guilt actually comes from, why a rest day every week is part of a healthy schedule rather than a setback, and how to trade quantity studying for quality. Plus a gut check: if skipping a day feels catastrophic, the real problem might be your test timeline, not your work ethic.

KB went from a 137 to a 121 on back-to-back PTs and wanted to know what went wrong. Bailey and Henry break it down: you're taking too many PTs too close together, chasing a magic number, and treating tests as studying. The fix is spacing out your PTs, blind reviewing before you submit, journaling your wrong answers into a real strategy, and drilling just one or two things at a time. Score swings are normal at this stage. You've got this.

Spending 30 minutes on a single LR question and still not sure you got it right? Bailey and Henry break down why that's happening and what to do about it. Stop watching the clock, stop second-guessing the stimulus, and trust what the words say.

You're in the 170s, you know the rules, and you're still missing questions. Bailey and Henry explain why that mental checklist might actually be working against you, and how to know when to trust your instincts instead of running through the list.

Most test-takers wait too long for certainty that never comes. Bailey and Henry break down when to flag, when to bail, and why 80% confidence is usually enough to keep moving on RC.

Description:You're on pace to finish the section, so why would you slow down? Because skimming is quietly killing your score. Bailey and Henry break down why skimming feels like a time-saver but actually costs you more time in the answer choices, and what to do instead: invest upfront in the read, and fly through the answers.

Down to two answer choices and always picking wrong? Bailey and Henry diagnose the blind-review illusion, share a flagging routine for the questions you got right, and walk through the red-flag method for picking the "less wrong" answer on hard LR.

A high-scorer keeps missing easy LR questions while nailing the hard ones. Bailey and Henry break down the two most likely culprits: strategy drift on easier questions, or over-scrutinizing answer choices that don't need that level of scrutiny. Plus a confidence drill to fix it.

Anastasia asks: she goes -2 to -0 on individual sections, but -5 to -2 per section on full PTs. What's going on?Henry and Bailey break down the gap. First, check whether you're really leaning -0 or -2 on those single sections, because that changes the diagnosis. Then reframe the PT itself: it's not a high-stakes test, it's just four individual sections that happen to be back to back. Bailey closes with the mindset trap that wrecks most test days. Walking in needing a specific score is the fastest way to not get it.Got a question? Drop it in the comments and we might answer it on the show.

Ahsley has three weeks until June and has been taking a full PT every other day. She's running low on fresh tests and trying to save the 140s and 150s for an August retake. Henry's verdict: PTs every other day are like taking your temperature every five minutes. Shift to one a week. Bailey makes the case for redoing old questions, with the critical caveat that you can't just remember it's B because of 7Sage. You have to work back through where you got hung up. Plus why those early-100s PTs are still worth your time, with a basketball-and-squats analogy that earns its keep.

Abigail is taking the June test, second-guessing herself in timed conditions, and worried she isn't studying hard enough. Henry argues most people study too hard. The real question is whether you're moving in the right direction. Bailey's diagnostic: cover the timer so you stop doing mental math about the clock, then run two tests on every main point answer (descriptively accurate, and actually the author's position). Plus Henry's reframe on blind review. The content is new but the structure isn't. You've seen this question before. Closes with the August retake conversation that takes the pressure off.

Ariana is taking the June LSAT and wants near-perfect RC. Bailey lays out the three things she checks on every paragraph (structure, author's position, other people's positions) and refuses to move on until she can label what the paragraph is doing. Henry brings the hard-vs-easy-to-prove framework — why "John walked today" is a fundamentally different answer choice than "Mary ate a bacon, egg and cheese with ketchup, salt, and pepper" — plus what to do when emotive words like "ambivalent" stop you in your tracks. Closes with the two-test check for main point questions.

Bev has been sitting in the mid-150s since March. She goes 17 for 19 when she works for accuracy, but runs out of time and has to guess the rest. Bailey and Henry break down why slowing down on flaw and weaken questions is the wrong move, which question types you should actually be milking for time (must be true, sufficient assumption), and the snowball drill that helps you carry accuracy into timed conditions. Plus: how to spot answer choices you can skip in seconds without falsifying every word.

You've been PT'ing in the 173s for months. Wrong answer journal, tapered study, slept well. You did everything right. Then test day hits and you walk out with a 166. What happened?Bailey and Henry break down how to actually hit your PT score when it counts. What a 7-point gap really means (spoiler: it's fewer questions than it feels), why four PTs over three months might be hiding your weak spots, and the survey you should run on yourself after a rough test day. Plus the case for weekly PT'ing and why your next test will probably go better than you think.Got a question? Drop it in the comments and we'll answer it on the show.

A listener scored 170 on their April LSAT but needs a higher score to land a scholarship at their dream school. Should they retake and risk it? Bailey and Henry break down why this doesn't have to be a gamble at all. They cover how to think strategically about question types instead of letting questions happen to you, why getting LR as close to minus zero as possible should be the priority, how to get inside the test makers' heads on RC passages, and why an August retake gives you a runway long enough that consistent daily practice beats a stressful grind. If you're sitting on a good score but want a great one, this one's for you.

Your blind review scores are higher than your timed scores. Sound familiar? In this episode, Bailey and Henry talk through one of the most common LSAT struggles: timer anxiety. Henry makes the case that time problems at the end of a section usually trace back to the beginning, and that moving quickly through the first 10 questions can free up enough time to stop thinking about the clock altogether. Bailey shares a simple trick for mentally resetting during timed practice and walks through how to train toward the 10-in-10 and 15-in-15 benchmarks. If your PT scores aren't reflecting what you're capable of, this episode is worth a listen.

Your blind review is 170+. Your timed score is stuck in the low 160s. That gap proves you have the knowledge, but you just can't access it under pressure. We explain what's actually happening when you plateau and the specific shift that breaks you through to your blind review score.

You've put in the time learning flaw types, but something still isn't clicking when you're actually doing questions. Bailey and Henry talk through why that happens and what to focus on instead, including how to think about flawed arguments in a way that actually holds up under test conditions.

Catpop is scoring in the 150s timed but pulling 160s on blind review. It's a 10-point gap that has nothing to do with knowledge and everything to do with speed and anxiety. Bailey and Henry break down how to close that gap: drilling argument structure patterns, learning to spot the reasoning gap upfront, and building the kind of confidence that makes the first 10 questions feel automatic. Plus, a pen-and-paper exercise for rewiring the anxious spiral before test day.

One of the most common questions we get is about Reading Comprehension, and this week K Tackles the LSAT asked it perfectly. Henry and Bailey break down their approaches to RC prep, including why the "you can't really improve at RC" myth is dead wrong, how to front-load your reading to make hard questions easier, and what to do when you hit a word you've never seen before.Bailey shares her three-question framework for staying oriented in any passage, and Henry makes the case for spending nearly half your section time just reading carefully before touching a single question. They also get into untimed vs. timed practice, how LR skills can sharpen your RC answer evaluation, and Bailey's "gossip method" for staying engaged when a passage puts you to sleep.

Bianca started at a 164 in March and hasn't moved since. With six weeks until June, can she actually gain 10 points? Bailey and Henry say yes, and they walk through exactly how. Sufficient vs. necessary traps, pacing the first 10, and why your own doubt might be the real ceiling.

Marcus went from a 150 diagnostic to a 176 average in six months. But his scores keep swinging, 179 one day, 172 the next. His blind review is nearly perfect, so why can't he replicate it under timed conditions?Bailey and Henry break down why score volatility at this level is almost always an execution problem, not a knowledge gap. They cover pacing strategy for the first 10 questions, how to use right answer journaling to lock in what's already working, and why taking a PT every day is likely making things worse.Have a question? Drop it in the comments and we might answer it on a future episode.

MJ asks: the more practice tests I take, the more my scores cluster in the same narrow range above 162. Is this plateau a natural result of high PT frequency, or am I stuck at the ceiling?Henry and Bailey unpack what plateaus actually signal, why slowing down on the stimulus often speeds you up, and how recognizing argument structures (like phenomenon-hypothesis) can unlock the score gains you're looking for. Plus, the question-stem distinction that helps you stop fearing "outside information" answer choices.

Marcella scored a 145 after starting at a 148 diagnostic, down after 3.5 months of studying. Bailey and Henry break down why score drops early in LSAT prep are normal, how to tell if you're forcing the wrong frameworks onto questions, and what a balanced study plan should actually look like as you head into test day.

Some law schools accept applications until August. That doesn't mean you should take them up on it. Henry and Bailey explain why letting a late deadline dictate your timeline usually ends in zero scholarship money, a rushed score, and regret five years down the road.

If you've been relying on common sense to get through LSAT Logical Reasoning, this episode is for you. Jack went from a 149 diagnostic to a 158, but hit a wall at -6/-8 on LR and couldn't break through. Sound familiar?Henry and Bailey break down exactly why common sense works against you on the LSAT, how to start thinking in terms of logic instead of instinct, and why going back to question type fundamentals might be the move that finally gets you unstuck before June.If you have a question you want answered on the podcast, drop it in the comments below.

You PTed well. Test day felt off. Now you're waiting for scores and wondering whether to keep studying or take a break. Henry and Bailey break down why going dark until score release is a trap, how to ease back in without burning out, and what to do if test day consistently feels worse than your PTs.

Ivana's stuck in a frustrating loop: she narrows it down to two answer choices and keeps picking the wrong one. Bailey and Henry break down why this happens and how to stop it. The fix isn't speed or intuition. It's learning to find something actually wrong with a wrong answer, not just a feeling. They cover the orange highlighter method, why untimed practice builds the pattern recognition timed practice can't, and why if you're flipping sufficient and necessary even once, you need to start diagramming.

Renee is at a 154, targeting 170+ by June, but her study schedule is all over the place. Henry and Bailey break down what consistent prep actually looks like, why June might not be the move, and what to do every single day if you want to close a 16-point gap.

Your blind review score should be your ceiling, the best version of your performance with unlimited time and no pressure. But what does it mean when that ceiling is still below the median LSAT score?If you're in this situation, more practice tests aren't the answer. Henry explains what the gap is actually telling you, and what to work on instead.

Your blind review scores look great. Your drills are solid. Your PTs suck. What gives?Henry breaks down the three most common reasons LR falls apart on test day, and none of them are what you think. It's not that you don't know the material. It's how you're approaching timing, pattern recognition, and confidence when the pressure is on.If your scores are inconsistent and you can't figure out why, this one's for you.Have a question? Drop it in the comments and we might answer it on the next episode.

A 178–180 untimed score doesn't mean much if the clock ruins everything. In this episode, Alex breaks down exactly how to build RC pacing from scratch in seven weeks: the midpoint checkpoint that keeps you on track without clock-watching, and the counterintuitive drill that exposes whether you're wasting time going back to the passage.

Went from a 149 to a 155 but can't seem to break into the 160s? You're not alone, and you're closer than you think. In this episode, Alex breaks down the three things that actually move the needle at this stage: fixing your study habits, finding your weak spots, and drilling them until they click. Whether you're prepping for June or giving yourself a longer runway, this is your game plan.Drop your LSAT question in the comments and we might answer it on a future episode.

You're scoring 175+ on blind review but can't break free of minus three, minus four on timed sections. So what's the magic trick? Alex explains why there isn't one, why the "what clicked for you?" question might be holding you back, and what to actually do instead. Plus, some general advice that applies at any score level: detach from results, attach to process, and stop looking for the right answer.

A listener wants to know: "has anyone tried just skipping straight to the hardest questions?" We break down why that might actually work, why it might not, and how to experiment with your approach without blowing up your score. Plus, we rattle off a bunch of other strategies worth testing, from passage order in RC to skipping question types to how you read answer choices. The key? Treat your prep like a science experiment. Change one thing at a time, give it a real shot, and don't panic if it feels weird at first.

Five weeks in, two hours a day, and still getting most questions wrong. Sound familiar? This week Bailey responds to a listener who's overwhelmed, behind on their study plan, and wondering if they should just hire a tutor and get it over with. The answer is probably not yet, and here's why: before you throw money at the problem or panic about your timeline, you need to slow down and let the curriculum do what it's designed to do. Bailey breaks down what blind review actually means, how to tell sufficient from necessary assumption questions, and why feeling stuck this early is not the red flag you think it is.

A listener says they've been drilling and studying but keep putting off full practice tests until things "click" more. Bailey breaks down why that hesitation is so common, why your early PT scores say nothing about your ceiling, and how to ease yourself into a consistent testing rhythm. Plus: is memorizing little phrases and acronyms for each question type actually worth it?

Struggling to balance reading for structure and reading for content in LSAT Reading Comprehension?In this episode of the Short Cut by 7Sage, Bailey breaks down one of the most common RC pitfalls. If you feel like focusing on structure makes you forget the passage, or focusing on content makes you lose the argument, this is for you.We cover:Why structure and content are not actually separateHow to build quick, low-resolution summariesA simple method to track both purpose and meaning without slowing downHow to avoid overcomplicating RCIf RC has ever felt like you are choosing between understanding and efficiency, this episode will help you do both.

You've been grinding through your LSAT prep and finally start seeing scores in the mid-to-high 170s, only to fall back to the high 160s on your next practice test. Sound familiar? In this episode, Alex and Bailey break down a question from a student dealing with exactly that kind of score variance. They discuss what's behind those frustrating swings, how tension and underconfidence can quietly tank a score, whether a partly fresh PT can inflate your results, and what you can actually do to build consistency when you're trying to break out of a plateau. If you've been stuck in a score range and can't figure out why your best performances aren't sticking, this one's for you.

Feeling burned out right before test day? In this episode, Alex and Bailey tackle a question from Sharon, who's been studying for six months and has hit her target score on multiple practice tests but is battling mental fatigue with the April LSAT just days away. The hosts share practical advice on what to do (and what not to do) in the final stretch, including how to structure light study sessions, when to stop taking full practice tests, and why this last week is more about protecting your score than improving it. Bailey also shares a candid look back at her own LSAT journey and the lessons she learned the hard way across four attempts.

Just finished the LSAT core curriculum and frustrated that your Reading Comprehension timing isn't where you want it yet?Alex tackles a question from Zach, who's been drilling for a few weeks but can't hit the 8:45-per-passage average. Alex's honest answer: it's going to take time, and that's completely normal. No gimmicks, no shortcuts, just the reassurance that consistent daily practice is the only thing that actually works.If you've ever felt behind on your LSAT prep timeline, this one's for you.