LSAT Advice

[raven1231]

Hey everyone this is completely random I know, hence the off topic section. For anyone who has taken the LSAT, do you have any advice for test day? I recently graduated with my Master's and plan on starting law school next August, and will be taking the LSAT on October 3rd.

I have only had a month to prep but have been going over some of the practice material and seem to be doing great. The logic games seem to be the toughest for me in regards to timing. So, I am trying to focus on them mainly until test day.

Anyway, does anyone have advice in regards to the test or test day itself? I have taken the GRE and it went great, the layout of the LSAT seems similar although the material is obviously different. I'm just seeing if anyone has any pointers or advice that may help or might have worked for them.

Thanks guys/gals!

[Icanfaptothis86]

LSAT was a bitch a did only a touch over average and dropped out of law school before even attending

Basically any standardized test ... learn the test get good sleep and chug a bunch of coffee

[jawn]

Study the test: learn scoring, timing, and question formats. This should be priority one. Getting better at the stuff you're bad at is important, but for short term study I'd try to make sure that for the stuff that you think you know, you're 100% on. For the logic games, make sure you write down or map out every bit of information they give you on scratch paper. It's way easier if you're looking at your own diagrams.

I definitely think the LSAT can be a little harder to feel confident about when compared to the GRE, but it's still a standardized test and still is fairly predictable.

I used to teach test prep for a living.

[SkiRideDrive]

Practice your but off. Take full tests, several per week. I took an entire week off right before the exam and I think that did wonders to allow me to recover. Keep exercising through the process and hitting the gym if you do that regularly, it helps with the stress.

This is one test where you can learn to beat it with strategies and practice. Don't regret not preparing later. Every point gets you lots of extra scholarship money at each school.

As for the test itself, timing is everything. Practice your tests beforehand under the time limit. Find a strategy that works for you on marking questions you need to skip. I like to mark my best guess before I move on, incase I don't have time later to reread the question. That way with 60 seconds left, you can fully mark those you guessed on, better than a random guess. Always eliminate answers before guessing. If you can eliminate anything, answering will improve your score statistically. Get a lot of sleep beforehand, and make sure you are fully hydrated the last few days leading up to it. It can even help to drive to your test center at the time you will do it on test day, practice the whole procedure. It will remove some of the nervousness on test day, which if you are taking this seriously, will be substantial.

Good luck.

[SkiRideDrive]

Oh and last bit of advice... Take a long hard look at law school before you decide to attend. Not only are the chances of landing a biglaw job small... the job is grueling if you make it. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions or details.

[calmtigers]

I'd suggest moving the test date, unless you're scoring at a spot that will actually get you a job you should retake.


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[kch]

Originally Posted by raven1231

I have only had a month to prep but have been going over some of the practice material and seem to be doing great. The logic games seem to be the toughest for me in regards to timing. So, I am trying to focus on them mainly until test day.

You don't have a whole lot of time to prep, but you can't really do much prep for the LSAT in the first place. I did a weekend prep course (I think powerscore? dunno, it was 2006) and thought it was worthwhile, if only for logic game techniques. After that, i just did practice tests all day erry day for a month or so.

Maybe do some research on the logic games to see if there are faster methods you can use. You don't want to be pressed for time on those. I screwed up question 2 on one logic game because I was rushing. Consequently, I got like the next 3 wrong as well. I coulda had a 174 but had to settle for 169

Oh, and before I forget, the obligatory: "Don't go to law school unless someone else is paying for it." I'm in the hole to the tune of $90k and it hurts.

Edit: more advice. Take a few days off before the test to relax. Don't change any of your routines for the test day. That is, if you don't normally drink coffee, then don't drink coffee on test day, etc. And you can PM if you have any further questions.

[raven1231]

Thanks everyone seriously I appreciate any advice I can get!

[Timmy_Jones]

Drop out, the legal path is so difficult and has few rewards.

Computer Science is always a great idea, couple that with a business degree and you are good to go!

[raven1231]

Originally Posted by jawn

Study the test: learn scoring, timing, and question formats. This should be priority one. Getting better at the stuff you're bad at is important, but for short term study I'd try to make sure that for the stuff that you think you know, you're 100% on. For the logic games, make sure you write down or map out every bit of information they give you on scratch paper. It's way easier if you're looking at your own diagrams.

I definitely think the LSAT can be a little harder to feel confident about when compared to the GRE, but it's still a standardized test and still is fairly predictable.

I used to teach test prep for a living.

Thanks! I have been using a Kaplan prep book and another logic game book which I honestly felt more helpful than the kaplan one. Timing is what I have been focusing on the most. The logical reasoning sections come naturally to me as it is what you tend to do regularly in grad school, and at least for me on an everyday basis.

The writing comprehension is similar the timing just adds too the difficulty, and the logic games some I'm great at (sequencing, grouping) but a few of the hybrids I can waste too much time on. So the focus has been on timing with the writing comp questions and the working on the logic game types that give me the most trouble.

Originally Posted by SkiRideDrive

Practice your but off. Take full tests, several per week. I took an entire week off right before the exam and I think that did wonders to allow me to recover. Keep exercising through the process and hitting the gym if you do that regularly, it helps with the stress.

This is one test where you can learn to beat it with strategies and practice. Don't regret not preparing later. Every point gets you lots of extra scholarship money at each school.

As for the test itself, timing is everything. Practice your tests beforehand under the time limit. Find a strategy that works for you on marking questions you need to skip. I like to mark my best guess before I move on, incase I don't have time later to reread the question. That way with 60 seconds left, you can fully mark those you guessed on, better than a random guess. Always eliminate answers before guessing. If you can eliminate anything, answering will improve your score statistically. Get a lot of sleep beforehand, and make sure you are fully hydrated the last few days leading up to it. It can even help to drive to your test center at the time you will do it on test day, practice the whole procedure. It will remove some of the nervousness on test day, which if you are taking this seriously, will be substantial.

Good luck.

Thanks man! A lot of your advice correlates with what kaplan has been saying in their books. I will be using all of it ha ha.

Originally Posted by SkiRideDrive

Oh and last bit of advice... Take a long hard look at law school before you decide to attend. Not only are the chances of landing a biglaw job small... the job is grueling if you make it. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions or details.

I will and I appreciate your time. I am ultimately wanting to work in Federal law enforcement specifically in counter terrorism. I got my master's in criminal justice, and bachelors in criminal justice with a double major in psychology and am now working on finishing up my bachelors in arabic at the moment. But if that doesn't pan out being a lawyer is the backup.

Originally Posted by calmtigers

I'd suggest moving the test date, unless you're scoring at a spot that will actually get you a job you should retake.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I took my first practice test last night through kaplan and scored a 167. It allowed me to see what question types I scored the worst on and what I need to focus on most these last couple of weeks.

Originally Posted by kch

You don't have a whole lot of time to prep, but you can't really do much prep for the LSAT in the first place. I did a weekend prep course (I think powerscore? dunno, it was 2006) and thought it was worthwhile, if only for logic game techniques. After that, i just did practice tests all day erry day for a month or so.

Maybe do some research on the logic games to see if there are faster methods you can use. You don't want to be pressed for time on those. I screwed up question 2 on one logic game because I was rushing. Consequently, I got like the next 3 wrong as well. I coulda had a 174 but had to settle for 169

Oh, and before I forget, the obligatory: "Don't go to law school unless someone else is paying for it." I'm in the hole to the tune of $90k and it hurts.

Edit: more advice. Take a few days off before the test to relax. Don't change any of your routines for the test day. That is, if you don't normally drink coffee, then don't drink coffee on test day, etc. And you can PM if you have any further questions.

It is rather crazy how big of a difference a point or two can make in not only the test score but what school you get into, the funding you may get, and your future. Thanks for the advice bud!

[raven1231]

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Drop out, the legal path is so difficult and has few rewards.

Computer Science is always a great idea, couple that with a business degree and you are good to go!

ha ha thanks but it's too late for that. I have already invested a good portion of my life into my future plans. I want to feel like I am making a difference in people's lives and this is the route that I am most passionate about and where I feel I will truly have the biggest impact. I was in business before switching majors and hated it, I was also a store manager for 6 years and it got old quick.

[Timmy_Jones]

Originally Posted by raven1231

ha ha thanks but it's too late for that. I have already invested a good portion of my life into my future plans. I want to feel like I am making a difference in people's lives and this is the route that I am most passionate about and where I feel I will truly have the biggest impact. I was in business before switching majors and hated it, I was also a store manager for 6 years and it got old quick.

That's awesome to hear, you are in the right place then. I don't think there are any secrets outside of those practice tests then. I have taken my share of standardized tests and I know the practice exams help greatly. I would highly recommend an LSAT app if you can find one. Instead of opening the phone to check social media, fire up a few practice questions.

[kch]

Originally Posted by raven1231

It is rather crazy how big of a difference a point or two can make in not only the test score but what school you get into, the funding you may get, and your future. Thanks for the advice bud!

And to top it off, the damned question was about clowns and their fancy-colored pants.

Clowns.

Those assholes.

[calmtigers]

Originally Posted by raven1231

Thanks! I have been using a Kaplan prep book and another logic game book which I honestly felt more helpful than the kaplan one. Timing is what I have been focusing on the most. The logical reasoning sections come naturally to me as it is what you tend to do regularly in grad school, and at least for me on an everyday basis.

I took my first practice test last night through kaplan and scored a 167.

Kaplan is not a good source, but if you're with them already and scoring well that is a good sign.
The test you took was a timed 5 section test?

I'd suggest checking out top law school forums and lawschooltransparency (look specific at employment rates)