If you had a wonderful time with the LSAT, I understand. If you hate the LSAT with all your might, I understand. I took the LSAT three times after devoting a tough summer to studying it day and night and spending +1000 dollars on a Princeton Course (I’ll mention more on this later). It was challenging and interesting, so please feel validated wherever you are on the journey. During this time, I tried to become obsessssssed about this test and find all the resources I could. Now I am so happy to pass on things I found helpful.
- LSAT unplugged website & podcast: this is a killer resource filled with interviews of deans, LSAT prep materials and an innovative way to look at the LSAT.
- AccessLex: this is a non-profit aimed at helping law school students with tools for budgeting, choosing a law school, and, of course, the LSAT. I recommend their free webinars.
- Use the way you study best now: one thing I regret doing exactly what my Princeton course said instead of doing what I know works for me to learn. Do not make the same mistake–if you like flash cards, use flashcards. Outlining is all you do? Outline.
- Find new ways to study if your stuck: that being said, pivot if you are not seeing growth! Do not forget that you can change and adapt. It is okay if something that worked in the past does not now. Treat this adventure as an experiment.
- Everything counts: I studied for a lot of time and saw no growth. And then it all connected and boom, I started doing better. It may take time for your brain to also change like mine, but it will. Also, do not worry that something you have done is not valuable! Some days you can do 5 questions. Do 5 questions. You may feel like you are doing nothing but every step moves you closer to your goal.
- Practice tests & go through them: The best thing I think you can do for your score is do a LSAT test. The important part is not taking the test, but correcting the test. As you go through the test, put a dash on any you are unsure about. When you correct it, pay attention to these questions and the ones you got wrong. See these as incredible opportunities to grow and pay attention to patterns. These will teach you about the intricacies of the test and train your brain to succeed. Nevertheless, I understand that practice tests can be hard because they can get you down. I have been there! Yes, they are helpful indicators of where you are at, but do not get stuck in thinking that it is where you will stay!
- Warm up before your LSATs: Before my LSAT I would do a whole practice test. A whole test. This might sound crazy, but my first LSAT I did not do this and did not do as well (i think partly because of it). I could tell my brain was not warmed up in an LSAT matter of thinking. You may not need to do a whole LSAT like me, but experiment by doing a practice LSAT with various warm up times.
- Study: Obvious? Not obvious? Well, I thought like any other test I take that I would study for a few days and be done. Ha ha ha. I laugh every time I remember this now. Although I know some people who don’t study and do good enough, this is not the majority. The LSAT is tough, so you need to study. I mentioned above that I did a Princeton Course (LSAT 165+ exactly) and I thought it was valuable. Because I took it in the midst of COVID, I could not study in a classroom, so I selected this virtual live class. I loved the accountability of it. A caveat, I do not think you need to do a course, even having done one. I chose to do one because I did not know enough about self-studying and was in a time crunch. If I did it again, I might have used the incredible resources available online or the cheap study books you can purchase.
bold brookings & brews 