Ace the LSAT: Proven Strategies to Boost Your Score
So, you’ve set your sights on law school and understand the pivotal role the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) plays in your application. A high LSAT score significantly impacts your chances of admission and the availability of scholarships. If you are looking for concrete guidance on how to best study for the LSAT, this is for you.
Understanding the LSAT Challenge
The LSAT has a reputation for being a grueling test. Maybe you’ve heard things about how brutal this exam is from friends, family, classmates, or colleagues. The LSAT isn’t just another exam; it demands a unique skillset. Here’s why:
A New Way of Thinking: Up until now, your academic career has likely focused on pursuing a certain major within a given discipline, and so your studies have centered on acquiring and demonstrating specific knowledge related to that discipline. Unlike typical academic pursuits that emphasize specific knowledge, the LSAT tests logical reasoning and precise reading skills. The truth is, very few courses or majors out there equip you with the kind of logical reasoning and hyper-precise reading skills that the LSAT demands. This requires developing a new way of reading and thinking.
Aggressive Time Constraints: The LSAT is a timed test. The standard format gives you thirty-five minutes to complete each of four sections. That’s two hours and twenty minutes in total. The timing is unbelievably aggressive. Simply getting through the questions requires you to be running on all cylinders for the entire duration. That time pressure makes the LSAT both mentally fatiguing and stressful in a way that most other exams aren’t. There’s precious little time to stop and collect your thoughts.
The Scoring System: The LSAT is scored on a scale from 120 (the lowest possible score) to 180 (the highest possible). A more intuitive way to talk about LSAT scores is using percentiles, which rank your score against all your fellow test-takers. For example, a score of 152 is at the 50th percentile (aka the median), meaning it’s a higher score than what 50% of all test-takers received. A 160 score, meanwhile, is at the 75th percentile-it’s higher than 75% of all test-takers’ scores. What constitutes a "good score" depends on your target law schools. Research the median LSAT score (L50) for each school you’re interested in to gauge your chances of admission. Of course, it’s never that simple-law schools look at many other factors, including your GPA, your extracurriculars, any work experience, and your writing skills as demonstrated in your admissions essays, to name a few. You don’t need to hit the L50 in order to get into a given school, and an applicant well above the L50 could still get rejected.
Read also: Understanding Credit Recovery
Essential Resources for LSAT Preparation
There’s a big world of test prep companies out there all clamoring for your attention and money. The good news is this means that you have a lot of options to choose from when it comes to courses, books, and other resources. Alright, you’ve researched the admissions statistics of various schools and you have an idea of your target score. You’re ready to get studying.
Official LSAT PrepTests (PTs): This first one’s a no-brainer. The organization responsible for the LSAT, known as LSAC (the Law School Admission Council), makes copies of some of their past tests available. Every PT is a real test from a previous year, and this makes them an invaluable source of practice material. Any serious study effort is going to require access to these PTs, and the only way to get access is by signing up on LSAC’s official platform, LawHub. A free LawHub account will get you access to four PTs. For the rest, you’ll need to purchase a subscription to LawHub Advantage. A subscription is $115/year, so plan accordingly. That said, if you qualify for an LSAC fee waiver due to financial need, you can gain free access to LawHub Advantage.
LSAC's Khan Academy: The first phase of your studying is going to be all about learning the fundamental reading and reasoning skills that the LSAT requires. LSAC has its own free study course which you can access through Khan Academy. Because it’s free, it can be a good place to get your feet wet. However, the reality is that it’s simply not as thorough or detailed as some of the paid course material out there. (One other thing to note about the Khan Academy lessons: LSAC is in the process of porting the lessons over to LawHub.
External Resources: Many students use material from outside LSAC’s official resources. I did. A quick online search will produce a slew of options for textbooks, self-paced online courses, live classes (whether online or in-person), and private tutoring (typically online). Rest assured, the more widely recognized and reputable companies aren’t scams-they offer helpful resources that are very likely to improve your performance on the LSAT. But I do think that some are better than others.
Budget Considerations: The more hands-on the course is, the more expensive it will be. Textbooks and self-paced online courses are generally much cheaper than live classes or tutoring. And some of those books and self-paced courses really are excellent. You don’t necessarily need to spend a ton for high-quality learning material.
Read also: GPA-Boosting Classes in College
Learning Style and Scheduling Needs: Live classes and tutoring have the advantage of a clearly defined structure, immediate feedback, and some externally imposed accountability. Self-paced materials, meanwhile, allow you the flexibility to slow down when you’re not understanding something and to speed ahead when you’re totally nailing a concept. If you’re leaning towards live classes, one other thing to consider is whether the class times align with your own schedule.
Prioritize Digital Resources: The LSAT is taken digitally, either in person at a testing center or remotely on a personal computer (your choice). Because of this, I strongly recommend that however you choose to study, you ensure that you’re able to practice on a digital interface. For this reason, I would recommend against studying exclusively with textbooks. Don’t get me wrong-textbooks can be great, and I learned a lot from the books I used. But sooner or later, you’re going to need to practice on the computer.
Crafting Your Study Schedule
Consistency and a well-structured plan are key to LSAT success.
Time Commitment: First, the simple version: expect to spend at least 300 hours studying over six months. That’s roughly twelve hours a week during those six months, or an average of one hour and forty minutes per day, every day. If you want to study within a shorter time span, be prepared to spend more hours per week, but I definitely recommend against trying to cram all your studying into two or three months. In my experience, a modest but consistent study schedule over a longer duration produces better results. (More on study schedules later.) Also, be fully prepared to increase your total number of study hours beyond 300. Many people need more than that. Now, here’s the non-simple version: plan to spend as long as it takes you to reach your target score. I can’t tell you exactly how long that’s going to take, but here’s my best advice: don’t rush it. Remember how I said at the top that preparing for the LSAT is more like training than traditional studying? It takes a lot of time and dedicated practice to train up the mental muscles needed to tackle this test. Give yourself more time than you think you’ll need. If you’re ready sooner than you’d planned, congratulations.
Test Timing and Retakes: The LSAT is currently offered nine times a year. The preferred timing of your exam will depend on when you want to apply and go to law school. Most schools open for applications in September of each year, and applications are typically reviewed on a rolling basis, so you often have a slight advantage if you can apply earlier in the cycle, when schools still have plenty of open spots available. If you’re later than that, though, don’t worry-plenty of people get into law school by applying throughout the fall and winter. Also, it’s wise to leave room for a retake. You can technically take the LSAT up to a total of seven times. Your goal should be to take the test once and be done with it, but many people retake the test after further study to try to nail a higher score.
Balancing Study with Life: The most important factor in building your schedule is determining how many hours per week you can realistically dedicate to focused study. If you’re studying or working full-time, I recommend aiming for ten hours/week. If you have minimal commitments and want to make studying for the LSAT your full-time job, be careful not to overdo it. Give yourself at least one day off, and ideally two. Also, if you’re not working or in school during this time, make sure you’re still doing something besides thinking about the LSAT-an internship, a volunteer gig, or a part-time job. Give yourself at least one day off when you’re not thinking about the LSAT. On the other end of the spectrum, don’t pile all your study time into just one or two days a week. Two hours per day spread across five days is better than two five-hour study sessions every Saturday and Sunday. Once you’ve decided on your study hours, block them off in your calendar. It can be difficult when you have competing priorities, I know-especially if you have, say, a demanding full-time job or family commitments. But if law school is also a real priority-and I’m assuming it is-then it’s only right for it to take up space in your life.
Key Components of Effective LSAT Preparation
Theory: Learning the principles and skills that underlie the test. This is when you’ll primarily be working through whatever LSAT course and/or textbook material you’ve acquired.
Accuracy Drills: With the theory under your belt, your focus turns to answering sets of practice questions under untimed conditions.
PrepTests (PTs): The capstone of your study efforts will be to take fully timed PTs. You want to take these under conditions that are as realistic as possible. That means taking all four sections of the test in a single sitting, with a ten-minute break halfway through.
You might be tempted to work through these four components linearly-that is, learning all the theory, then taking nothing but accuracy drills, then moving up to timed drills, and finally powering through PT after PT. The best study plans combine all four components in a more flexible, staggered format. Let’s say you’ve just worked through the theory on Strengthen- and Weaken-type questions in the Logical Reasoning section of your course material. Once you’re nailing those Strengthen and Weaken accuracy drills, move on up to timed drills. Lastly, once you’re well through the theory and primarily focusing on untimed and timed practice, you can start taking PTs. Each time you take a PT, use your results to home in on your errors. Review the theory for areas that you’re still weak on, and shore up those skills with drills. Then, when you’ve bolstered those particular skills, take another PT and see where you need to improve next. This, in broad strokes, is what your study plan should look like.
Strategies for a 10-Point Score Increase
When students come to us wanting to improve their LSAT score, we often use a 10-point increase as a benchmark for an initial goal.
Diagnostic Testing: The first step toward a 10-point score increase is to take a diagnostic test. This means taking a previously administered official LSAT test while adhering to the test’s rules and conditions as closely as possible. If you’ve already taken an official LSAT test, you can use this as your diagnostic score. The point of a diagnostic score is to tell you where you’re starting at. After learning your diagnostic score, then you can start building a schedule for your LSAT prep. Your diagnostic score can help you figure out your goals.
Dedicated Practice: No student’s progress with their LSAT prep looks exactly the same, but speaking generally, every 10-point increase typically involves 100 hours of prep. Don’t just presume that you’ll be able to cram from the time you start your LSAT prep until test day. This usually doesn’t produce the best results, and you’re likely to burn out. If you’ve got two months to get your 100 hours of LSAT prep in, that comes out to an average of about 12 hours a week. Again, don’t cram. It’s better to spend six days a week studying two hours a day than two days a week studying six hours a day. And don’t forget to leave adequate time for things like rest, relaxation, socializing, exercise, and other hobbies.
Mastering Logic Games: The LSAT logic games-otherwise known as the Analytical Reasoning section-are typically one of the hardest sections for most students. However, it’s also the section where dedicated practice can produce the most results. This is because there is a finite number of logic game types, and each comes with tried and true strategies.
Flashcards: Flashcards are a tried-and-true study method for a reason. There’s something about distilling the vast quantity of information you need to learn into single, digestible chunks that helps the brain store that information more effectively. You can buy sets of LSAT flashcards with LSAT concepts, vocab words, logic games tips, and more.
Targeted Improvement: If you’re trying to make a 10-point increase to your LSAT score on a short turnaround time, you’ll want to pay most of your attention to your weakest areas. This is where the most growth is. Your diagnostic score should tell you the areas you can use the most improvement.
Testing Strategies: You’ll succeed in achieving that 10-point LSAT score increase with a lot more efficiency if you don’t just learn the concepts covered by the LSAT, but learn the proven testing strategies for each section. For example, with logic games, there are proven methods for drawing the most efficient diagrams. For reading comprehension, it helps a lot to read the questions first before reading the passage. These are the kinds of strategies many students overlook, either presuming that they’re not very effective or else finding that these strategies conflict with students’ testing instincts.
Timed Practice: The LSAT is a hard test, and many students leave points on the table because they don’t finish in time. A crucial part of studying for the LSAT is timed practice. You need to learn how to complete problems for each of the LSAT sections in the time you are given, and you need to know when you’ve spent too much time on a problem so you can move on. To make sure you raise your score on your next LSAT, commit to incorporating lots of timed practice into your LSAT studying. Start by completing one timed section of the LSAT at a time and work your way up to completing two or three timed sections in a row. For example, each Logic Game should only take you about 8 minutes to complete. Keep an eye on your watch and make sure you keep yourself moving through the problems at the right pace.
Full-Length Practice Tests: A critical part of preparing for the LSAT is to complete full-length practice LSATs. Many students forget this step or don’t want to do it simply because the LSAT is so long. If you’re asking yourself just how long is the LSAT, the short answer is just under 4 hours. Finding the uninterrupted time to take a four hour long practice test isn’t going to be easy. By taking full-length practice tests, you can mentally and physically prepare for a grueling four hour exam. While it’s great that you did well on one Logical Reasoning section, it doesn’t mean much if you can’t do it after an hour of Reading Comprehension and Logic Games. Part of the key to success on the LSAT is endurance. You have to train your brain to do answer LSAT questions efficiently and correctly for an extended period of time. And the best way to do that? By taking full-length practice tests!
Tutoring: The most effective thing you can do to improve your LSAT score by 10 points is invest in LSAT tutoring. A skilled LSAT tutor will help you implement every strategy we’ve listed above. Expert tutors like the kind we employ at MyGuru will help you interpret your diagnostic test in a way that reveals your strengths and weaknesses, and they’ll work with you to design a personally tailored study plan to meet your LSAT goals.
Overcoming Plateaus and Backsliding
Picture this: You’ve taken LSAT practice test after practice test. You’re at the end of your LSAT study schedule… and your score is backsliding. After countless hours of drilling, crying, drilling, crying, drilling some more, googling “why is the LSAT hard”, and crying yet again, that score still continues to drop. You find yourself screaming in the night, “I am such a failure!” Believe me, you are not a failure. Backsliding is super common for LSAT students. In fact, early on in my LSAT journey, I was there too.
Take a Break: That’s right. If you’re wondering “why is my LSAT score not improving?” It’s time you TAKE. A. BREAK. When we overwork, it’s often because we…Are seeing our LSAT score slip. Feel like we have limited time and need to make the most of every second. All of the above and then some. Taking two days off can be scary, but I promise that you won’t lose anything you’ve learned. The only thing that’ll happen is that you’ll give your brain a chance to recover. The brain is like any other muscle. It needs rest to build up stronger.
Seek Additional Support: Simply put, you might be a student who needs more. Pure, 100% self-studying doesn’t work for every student. Self-studying can lead to a good score.The LSAT is hard, but learnable. However, Princeton Review, online LSAT video courses, and all the best LSAT prep books in the world might not be your particular ticket to your dream score. If you’re going to spend the money on LSAT prep, you have to find someone who can replace the (non-existent) LSAT gods, and provide more than silence when you ask, “Why is my LSAT score not improving?” A good LSAT tutor can help you raise your understanding in a way that makes sense to you. You’ll get so much more out of 1:1 instruction than you would out of Princeton or any other online video LSAT prep course.
Additional Tips for LSAT Success
Don't Overlook Conditional Logic: For the love of all that’s good and beautiful in your life, don’t put off studying conditional logic!!! Learn how to diagram even the most complicated conditional statements. Make sure ‘unless’ statements are second nature to you. And really, really understand what conditional statements do and do not tell you!! Conditional logic, when you know it, allows you to answer a decent number of LR and LG questions correctly and quickly. So the return here is based not only on points but also on speed.
Question Explanations: Most people move much, much too quickly to question explanations. Explanations can be a necessary evil, but they are not your friend! If you’ve answered a question correctly, can you explain why the other answers are wrong? Try each of the above for all your right and wrong answers to questions. As needed read the explanation, but read as little of the explanation as possible! The moment you think you could maybe retry the problem, retry it!
LSAT-Adjacent Reading: Delve deeply into LSAT-adjacent reading opportunities. Grab 5-10 official LSATs and turn to the last pages, near the answer sheet and answer keys. You’ll find there an “Acknowledgements” page, citing the source material for the RC passages. Any source that shows up in multiple LSATs is a source you want in your weekly reading repertoire. If you don’t see a source show up multiple times, pick some that you know you can find.
tags: #how #to #improve #LSAT #score
