I’ve received a couple of notes from readers asking about LSAT preparation. I went with the Princeton Review’s Cracking the LSAT book, which in retrospect was probably not the best approach. Many online reviews and discussions with my classmates revealed that there were better routes I could have taken. However, I did better than I thought I would on the LSAT. The process of working through practice tests from the book and old LSATs from LSAC really did help.
I didn’t take a practice course for a variety of reasons, but a good friend of mine took one with a one-on-one tutor at the same time I was preparing for the LSAT. She came out a point or two ahead of me when our results came back, but I think if we’d taken the test five times each, her average score would have been four or five points higher than mine. For one thing, she’s an amazing test-taker. She had also graduated from college relatively recently, and is really smart.
What I’m getting at here is that I’m not really sure that there’s a single best approach for LSAT success. For my friend, the one-on-one tutoring may have best suited her learning style. For me, going through practice tests and taking a lot of old exams helped.
Here are a few things I wish I’d done:
Check out the LSAT testing facility ahead of time – Do whatever you can to mitigate anxiety on LSAT day. Having the directions totally dialed in, knowing where the testing building is, figuring out parking, and yes, even knowing the location of the restrooms all would have helped.
Conduct better visualization – This one may sound a bit kooky, but if you’ve gone to the LSAT testing location, you can more easily guide yourself through visualization of the entire test day. I did some of this, but should have done more. Go through the process of waking up, going through your morning routine, getting to the testing location, sitting at the desk, taking the test calmly and cooly, and walking out feeling satisfied with your performance can help you do the same thing on exam day. Visualization works. Just ask Tiger Woods.
Monitor your mind – I had an analytical reasoning question at the end of the test that was a bit tricky. It was a typical ordering/segmenting question, but I could see daylight. I only had four or five questions to go, and instead of taking an extra 30 seconds to carefully doublecheck the parameters of the question, I went into autopilot. Belatedly I realized that due to some obfuscatory text in the question, I’d interpreted the call of the question incorrectly. 180 degrees incorrectly. Thrown off-balance by the error, instead of ditching the questing, moving through the remaining few questions, then circling back to the offending question, I maintained a doberman-like grip on the problem, spending precious time getting to the correct answer. I should have realized what I was doing and let the error go, but I was so fixated on getting that particular question right at that particular moment that I lost sight of the real goal, which is to get as many total questions correct as possible.
If you are in law school and already have the daunting task of LSAT prep and testing behind you, I’m curious which LSAT prep strategies you used, and how well you think they served you.
p.s. – If you’re wondering what books to read in preparation for law school, you may want to check out the Mac Law Students Bookstore at Amazon.com. Yes, this is a shameless plug, but so far it seems to be the least annoying way of trying to cover some of the costs of running MLS.
8 Comments
I took the Kaplan LSAT course but it didn’t provide me with much of a score boost. I took tests roughly in the low 160s range to start and ended scoring in the low 160s range. $1200 down the ol’ crapper.
I made the mistake of taking their advice on reading comprehension when my beginning comprehension was just fine. Gotta stick with what works for you, and take the advice when you’re suffering in a particular area.
The class was critical in raising my logic games score, however. I went from barely finishing the 1st set of questions in 36 minutes to getting consistent perfect scores.
What I’ve heard from the always credible law student rumor mill is that Testmasters and Blueprint are better test prep services in terms of the class approach.
I’m currently in bar study mode, and it seems to me that a test where no knowledge is necessary other than HOW to take the test would be a dream. All you have to do is practice ad nauseum and you should be good.
Logic doesn’t come easy to everyone, but it’s much easier to take on when you’re not freaking out. Do whatever it takes to be calm & collected on test day.
I took the LSAT twice, fifteen years apart. My experience (and score) were comparable both times, but my prep was different. The first time, I read every book I could get my hands on, and did some practice problems. The second time, I did only a few practice problems – but no where near as many as I wanted to. Why did I get a similar score? Because I didn’t really prepare properly either time – my score was the result of my out-of-the-box capability on the test, but I could have done much better.
I agree that trying to mitigate the stress of taking any test is the best approach (after having recently taken and passed the bar exam). Much of the above also works for the bar.
Secondly, I recommend doing as many practice problems as you can – and debrief each question. If you got it wrong, why did you do it? There are only so many ways to ask certain questions. The more questions you see, the better you will fare. That’s the way I prepped for the bar, and my results there were MUCH better than for the LSAT.
I took the Kaplan course and then ended up teaching for Kaplan. Jessie, you could have gotten your money back, with their guarantee if you didn’t score any higher. Having said that… I think it’s important to understand that most of these thousand dollar programs primarily offer accountability. They force you to study more than you would on your own. If you’re the self motivated, put in X number of hours everyday and stay committed, you probably don’t need the course. If you struggle cracking your book open EVER, the course probably won’t help you either.. but if you’re that in-between person, who just wants some coaching, any number of programs can help. (there really is no substitute for putting in lots of hours though…)
Just my 2 cents.
I ended up with Blueprint Testprep. I took their live class and it was VERY good. I like their methods of teaching. Hands down, they did wonders for my logic gams understanding. I believe they still offer the video version if you don’t want to do a live class. Even just the books (if you have the discipline to open them) are worth it. My score went up 15 points from the baseline to the actual exam.
Tim – The problem with Kaplan is that their “guarantee” is horsesh*t. I scored 2 points better than my day 1 diagnostic, thus destroying my refund.
For first-timers, sit down and take a practice LSAT cold. Get freaked out. Then debrief. Which did you get wrong, what type, and what part of the questions got to you? The benefit in doing so is that on the real LSAT, you will not have access to the Q&A after your score is released. This should expose the skills you enter with, and tell you what skills you’re missing or need to improve next time. Rest, then repeat.
Better to be freaked out now and address the lacking skills, than study and do poorly on the real LSAT on your first try.
The best approach for the LSAT is to take a course that you can adapt for yourself and for your needs. In-class courses are very standardized, and they cost a fortune. Some newer online LSAT courses provide a lot of flexibility, and they cost much, much less than traditional courses. An online LSAT course is the way to go for LSAT prep because you can take the course and watch the lessons, etc., whenever and wherever you want.
I took the LSAT in December 2004 and went to law school from 2005 – 2008. The LSAT has not changed too much in that time, other than adding a more robust writing sample. For the other sections, reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and analytical reasoning (logic games), my best preparation was using the books of “10 Old LSAT’s” published by LSAC. Because these were actual test questions, the nuances in the language used in the questions was most similar to the real test.
I also used a Kaplan book, but it’s test questions were not quite as similar. Time is of course of the essence in taking the LSAT, and it’s important to have prepared using materials that capture subtle language nuances.
I also like your advice on visiting the test center. Visualization is actually very important – a few of my law school classmates privately told me they did similar exercises before exams and found it helpful. If nothing else, it allows the test taker to feel more comfortable when taking the test; it reminds our subconscious minds of what the ultimate objective is – to get the most questions correct in the limited time provided.
Keep up the good work with your blog!