The LSAT Forum

[justwondering123]

I was just wondering how hard is the LSAT really, i mean can studying prepare you or is it based on natural ability?

For marks above 170+ how many hours did you put in?

[AntipodeanPhil]

Here is a free LSAT exam provided by LSAC:

http://www.lsac.org/jd/pdfs/SamplePTJune.pdf

The best thing to do would be to sit down for a few hours, complete the test, and then score yourself. A lot of people are able to make substantial improvements on the logic games section through study, but it is relatively difficult to make substantial improvements on the other sections. Unless you have excellent reading skills, you won't be able to do well on reading comprehension, for example, no matter how many hours you put in.

I spent 3 months studying about 20 hours a week, and then one month studying about 40-50 hours a week.

[justwondering123]

Here is a free LSAT exam provided by LSAC:

http://www.lsac.org/jd/pdfs/SamplePTJune.pdf

The best thing to do would be to sit down for a few hours, complete the test, and then score yourself. A lot of people are able to make substantial improvements on the logic games section through study, but it is relatively difficult to make substantial improvements on the other sections. Unless you have excellent reading skills, you won't be able to do well on reading comprehension, for example, no matter how many hours you put in.

I spent 3 months studying about 20 hours a week, and then one month studying about 40-50 hours a week.

Just out of curiosity what mark did you get?

[flexityflex86]

OP:

It's based on both.

I know many people who started in the mid-170s, and many people who worked from a 150 to a 175 or so.

I will say that not all 150s are equal on baseline diagnostic scores. Different people pick up on different concepts quicker.

I am a firm believer in getting a tutor to get you a 165, and that once you're there it's all tweaking.

[bp shinners]

but it is relatively difficult to make substantial improvements on the other sections. Unless you have excellent reading skills, you won't be able to do well on reading comprehension, for example, no matter how many hours you put in.

It's hard to argue with a qualification like 'relatively difficult', but I've seen many students with significant improvements on both RC and LR. While it's hard to improve reading skill in the time most allot to study for the LSAT, just learning what is likely to be asked about from a passage is worth a good 3-6 points for most people. And LR can see dramatic improvements (especially since there are so many of them) by learning strategies for the different question types.

To OP - you can definitely see significant improvements if you put in the time and focus on learning methods for attacking the questions.

[ahduth]

I took four practice exams in total. I got a score.

You really need to develop a bladder management plan. In the end, the only key.