The 7Sage Podcast

Bailey and Ethan start in the 7Sage forum: whether it's ever too late to start law school, how to think about the October LSAT timeline, why studying less can actually raise your score, and the real answer to "should I cancel my 158?" They also unpack a quiet red flag that sinks strong applications, including why quitting your job to study can backfire even with a 174. Then they talk to Jacob, an...

At a friend's wedding reception, Ariel struck up a conversation with the groom's brother-in-law about his first semester at Notre Dame Law. That one conversation ended up shaping the most praised Why Notre Dame essay the 7Sage admissions team had seen. But the road there was rough. She signed up for the LSAT before she was ready, studied for four months, and improved exactly two points over her di...

Leah was 35 and a decade into a political career when she decided to go to law school. This episode follows her whole journey, from that first decision to a 173, a T14 acceptance, and a major scholarship at Michigan. Ethan Madore traces the long runway she gave herself to study, the wrong answer journal that finally made things click, and the two disaster test days she pushed through anyway (a flo...

Is law school admissions actually fair? Ethan, coordinator of 7Sage's admissions program, sits down with writing consultant and Yale Law grad Pauline to grade every part of the application against a four-part test of fairness. They rank the LSAT, GPA, resume, and essays one by one, and the results aren't pretty. Along the way: what Ethan found when he researched the backgrounds of 59 current Yale...

Vivienne started with a 129 diagnostic, took the LSAT five times, wrote every optional essay Penn offered, and got the call from the dean of admissions. In this episode, she breaks down what actually moved the needle: study groups, JY's explanations, morning gym sessions before work, and a whiteboard full of scores she refused to forget. Plus her unforgettable personal statement, navigating a publ...

This week we go deep on what's new at 7Sage and what's keeping admissions officers up at night. J.Y. and Kevin join to break down two big releases: the AI Coach, which surfaces tutor-level feedback on your timing, pacing, and study plan inside your subscription, and 7Sage's redesigned digital tester built to match the new August LSAT interface. If you're prepping for August or later and still usin...

The LSAT is getting a major overhaul in August 2026, and Kyle McEntee from LSAC came on to walk us through all of it: the new in-person testing requirement, distance exemptions, the first-come-first-served scheduling window, and what the test capacity question means for you. Kyle also gets into why the LSAT looks the way it does and what it's actually measuring, why "test optional" lost steam almo...

Three segments this week. Alex tackles a listener who scored 150 on their first timed PT after six months of studying, with hard truths about blind diagnostics, anxiety, and why waiting only makes it worse. Bailey talks with Jake, a 7Sage tutor wrapping up 1L at Texas Law, about diagramming struggles, working through ADHD, the overlap between LSAT skills and law school thinking, and the advice he'...

Three segments this week. First, Alex and Bailey break down how to translate the densest, most convoluted answer choices on the LSAT into something you can actually evaluate. Then Bailey sits down one-on-one with Sydney, now a 2L at Duke Law, to hear how she climbed from a 155 diagnostic to a 179 and what changed in her prep along the way. We close with Ethan Madore, Director of 7Sage Admissions C...

Phoebe wasn't planning on law school. She was working in entertainment in LA when a friend half-jokingly suggested they study for the LSAT together. She took a diagnostic, scored a 163, and was hooked. Four months later, she sat for the real thing and walked away with a 173. In this episode, she breaks down how a screenwriter's brain took to the LSAT, the study habits that actually moved her score...

Alex sits down with Sean, one of 7Sage's tutors, to walk through his LSAT journey from a 153 diagnostic to a 173 official score. Sean talks about discovering the LSAT through a Christmas gift prep book, splitting his studying across two stints separated by a semester abroad in Spain, and what it was like to score below his practice tests on his first official exam. He and Alex dig into managing LS...

Getting into law school is one thing. Figuring out how to pay for it is another. In this episode, Alex sits down with Leah Young, Student Success Resource Lead at Juno, a company that negotiates private student loan rates on behalf of borrowers to help them get the best deal possible. Leah brings 18 years of financial aid experience, including time as a law school admissions and financial aid dire...

Alex and Bailey are joined by Kevin Lin, 7Sage's senior content creator, to tackle one of the most debated topics in LSAT prep: conditional logic and diagramming. Is diagramming a must? A waste of time? Somewhere in between? Bailey shares what it was like to resist diagramming through most of her own LSAT journey and what she wishes she'd known sooner. Kevin breaks down why even students who "get"...

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 tan...

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 session...

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...

Perfectionism can be your biggest enemy on the LSAT. In this episode, Alex tackles a question from listener Mia about how to handle frustration and discouragement when missing questions during study sessions. Alex shares a personal story from his own LSAT experience and explains why the perfectionist mindset, while it may have served you in other areas of life, can actively hurt your score. The ke...

Waitlists are longer than ever this cycle, and Ethan and Alex explain exactly why, from yield protection to the new reality of private loan financing. Ethan, who got off the Yale Law School waitlist himself, shares a practical step-by-step guide to writing a Letter of Continued Interest that actually works: what to say, what's too long, how to add new information without contradicting your origina...

Lydia spent two months studying 6 hours a day — core curriculum, live classes, drilling — and her score didn't budge. Alex explains why a flat score isn't a sign of failure, how to structure your study schedule at different stages of prep, and why blind review scores matter more than your PT score right now. If you're feeling stuck or discouraged, this one's for you.

Struggling with Reading Comprehension—even when you understand the passage? In this episode, Alex breaks down one of the most frustrating RC problems: answer choices that all look the same. If you’ve ever been stuck between two “jargony” answers or felt lost on inference questions, this is for you. We cover: Why understanding the passage is already most of the battle How to attack confusing, abstr...

You only have two chances to take the LSAT: June or October. What do you do if you’re not ready yet? In this episode, we break down a real scenario from an international student who doesn’t have the flexibility of U.S. test dates. With limited LSAT administrations available, the usual advice—“wait until you’re ready”—gets a lot more complicated. 📌 We cover: How to approach the LSAT when you only...

A full-time teacher. Weekend studying. Mid-160s. A 171 goal. So… should you take the LSAT in June, or wait until August? In this episode, we break down one of the most common (and misunderstood) decisions LSAT students face: timing your test. We explain why June vs August doesn’t actually affect your application timeline, when it does make sense to wait, and how an extra 2–3 months can impact both...

Big announcement: the podcast is expanding beyond just the LSAT. In this episode, we introduce Ethan from the 7Sage admissions team and start zooming out to the bigger picture—law school, applications, and what comes after the test. Ethan shares his path from philosophy major to Yale Law, what actually matters in LSAT prep (hint: consistency > grinding), and why starting too early can backfire....

Scoring in the high 160s but stuck just short of the 170s? This episode breaks down one of the most common frustrations we hear: getting down to two answer choices… and picking the wrong one. Alex and Bailey explain why that pattern isn’t actually the problem—and what you should be focusing on instead. They walk through how to identify real weaknesses, how to stop talking yourself into wrong answe...

Want your question answered? Comment on this video (we’re drawing from the comments first), email podcast@7sage.com, or tag us (@AlexJacobs and @BaileyLuber) in a post on the 7Sage Discussion forums. In this episode, Alex and Bailey tackle a question from theBigFatPanda: what actually separates a low 170 scorer from someone consistently hitting 175+? Spoiler: it’s not luck. We dig into what really...