Advice for a freshman in college early prep for the LSAT Forum

[kinglew]

Hello, I'm new to the forum

I'm a freshman attending a undergrad university and I was just wondering what are some helpful books/tips to prepare
for the LSAT, i know it's pretty early to be prepping for the LSAT, considering i won't be taking it until junior/senior year but i figured
there would be no problem practicing as early as possible, because practice makes perfect and I do want to get the highest LSAT score i can,
If anyone could recommend any readings or books on things covered on the LSAT like logic games etc that would be greatly appreciated.

[King]

It is indeed pretty early for you to study, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare for the test. I'm sure a lot of people would agree with me in saying this, but it's very important for you to read a lot of dense material. It will definitely help you develop the concentration needed for the reading comprehension section of the test (which is by far the most difficult section to imporve upon).

Knowing that you're a freshmen lets me feel comfortable about recommending a formal logic course in the philosophy department. You'll get to gain exposure to a lot of the formal (as well as informal) logic that shows up on the LSAT. I personally found it very helpful taking a couple of logic courses, but some people claim that the scope of these courses are way out of the scope of the LSAT. This is true, so it's up to you. What's for sure, though, is that it doesn't hurt.

I don't recommend studying for the test intensively. A prolonged period of test prep isn't that productive (especially if it's two to three years). Just take a look at a practice test to see what you're working towards, and follow my advice on honing the broad skills that are tested on this exam (i.e. reading comprehension skills, reasoning skills, etc.). Lastly, try to enhance your reading speed. You've got lots of time until the test, and virtually anyone who has gone through the process would agree that being able to read quickly (while comprehending) dense passages is a plus on the LSAT.

Good luck.

[splitterhopeful]

Major in Dance and get a 4.0. Read everything made by Powerscore.

[fasttrack226]

Major in Dance and get a 4.0. Read everything made by Powerscore.

+a million

[lsatgenius]

you have enough time, so plan on doing every PT available. All 59 + SuperPrep, June 2007, and February 1997.

[09042014]

Relax. Get a good gpa, and then do this http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =6&t=41657 five months before the June LSAT.

[holydonkey]

Party. Develop social skillz. Get a high gpa.

[kinglew]

does anyone here recommend taking any prep courses or private tutoring before taking the LSAT? Not during freshman year but in general,
and when should I start taking these prep courses and tutoring? sophomore or junior year?

It is indeed pretty early for you to study, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare for the test. I'm sure a lot of people would agree with me in saying this, but it's very important for you to read a lot of dense material. It will definitely help you develop the concentration needed for the reading comprehension section of the test (which is by far the most difficult section to imporve upon).

Knowing that you're a freshmen lets me feel comfortable about recommending a formal logic course in the philosophy department. You'll get to gain exposure to a lot of the formal (as well as informal) logic that shows up on the LSAT. I personally found it very helpful taking a couple of logic courses, but some people claim that the scope of these courses are way out of the scope of the LSAT. This is true, so it's up to you. What's for sure, though, is that it doesn't hurt.

I don't recommend studying for the test intensively. A prolonged period of test prep isn't that productive (especially if it's two to three years). Just take a look at a practice test to see what you're working towards, and follow my advice on honing the broad skills that are tested on this exam (i.e. reading comprehension skills, reasoning skills, etc.). Lastly, try to enhance your reading speed. You've got lots of time until the test, and virtually anyone who has gone through the process would agree that being able to read quickly (while comprehending) dense passages is a plus on the LSAT.

Good luck.

thanks for the information, i greatly appreciate it. How difficult is a formal logic course on average?
do you believe it'll be too much for a freshman to take a class like that early on? I'm considering signing up for a formal logic course in the fall, and like you said it'll give me a lot of experience with the formal logic that shows on the LSAT.

can you recommend any dense materials to read? I've heard of some magazines that are good but I'm not sure of which ones
exactly

Party. Develop social skillz. Get a high gpa.

fortunately and luckily i'm able to do a good amount of partying and I have very good social skills, so that's good,
but I see what you're saying as far as not stressing yourself out, my schedule allows me to balance work, life, and partying effectively

[quickquestionthanks]

A good GPA is really important, obviously. That said, you seem like you'll be a hard worker. The best UG major to prepare yourself for not only law school but the LSAT is philosophy. It's probably not the best major for grades, but it will require that you do a lot of dense reading, and not literary fiction, abstract mind crunching stuff. So I would at least take a few philosophy classes, maybe minor in it. Law schools really don't care what you majored in, it's really a numbers game, but to the degree that they do, they respect philosophy and English.

[kinglew]

thank you for your help

so do you recommend taking a formal logic course as early as sophomore year?

and also what about a philosophy course in critical reasoning?

[romothesavior]

Hello, I'm new to the forum

I'm a freshman attending a undergrad university and I was just wondering what are some helpful books/tips to prepare
for the LSAT, i know it's pretty early to be prepping for the LSAT, considering i won't be taking it until junior/senior year but i figured
there would be no problem practicing as early as possible, because practice makes perfect and I do want to get the highest LSAT score i can,
If anyone could recommend any readings or books on things covered on the LSAT like logic games etc that would be greatly appreciated.

1. Drink
2. Get good grades
3. Drink more
4. Allow 2.5 years to transpire
5. Come back to TLS for LSAT advice

[romothesavior]

thank you for your help

so do you recommend taking a formal logic course as early as sophomore year?

and also what about a philosophy course in critical reasoning?

I would definitely take a formal logic course at some point because it lays the foundation for some of what you'll use on the LSAT. And you should always take philosophy when possible because philosophy is bad ass.

[exitlane]

major in sociology and get a 4.0 (Michelle Obama style). Do all the formal logic practice stuff on your own and not part of a class (you wont get a D if you fail to understand logic problems immediately).

[Matt07]

Philosophy courses are a great choice for you. Pick a major that interests you. If you are really interested in that subject you will not mind working hard to get good grades. Don't worry if the major isn't engineering, it won't matter if your GPA is high enough. I wish I would have known that.
Just look for ways to get involved on campus. Enjoy yourself. Study abroad if you can. Party. Work hard. Just keep your GPA up. When it comes time to take the LSAT then you can come back here and practice all you need for it. The key for you now is to just work towards a good GPA imo.

[Matt07]

Hello, I'm new to the forum

I'm a freshman attending a undergrad university and I was just wondering what are some helpful books/tips to prepare
for the LSAT, i know it's pretty early to be prepping for the LSAT, considering i won't be taking it until junior/senior year but i figured
there would be no problem practicing as early as possible, because practice makes perfect and I do want to get the highest LSAT score i can,
If anyone could recommend any readings or books on things covered on the LSAT like logic games etc that would be greatly appreciated.

1. Drink
2. Get good grades
3. Drink more
4. Allow 2.5 years to transpire
5. Come back to TLS for LSAT advice

This

[kinglew]

I'm a psychology major right now and it's something I'm very interested in fortunately, and it's something I like.

I think I will take a formal logic course this fall, but I just don't want to take the course for no reason, what type of formal logic
is covered on the lsat? I believe the formal logic courses at my school covers modern deductive logic, propositional logic and theory of quantification

[gerghk]

well if you happen to be an engineer take the intro discrete math course with the CS department... you'll learn Boolean logic, which I found incredibly useful for LR and LG. You get lots of diagramming practice when you learn how to do proofs in that class.

Obviously this is a strange suggestion, but it worked very well for me.

[superserial]

Hello, I'm new to the forum

I'm a freshman attending a undergrad...

work on your grammar if you're going to troll law school forums.

[melinda.corbin]

Hello, I'm new to the forum

I'm a freshman attending a undergrad university and I was just wondering what are some helpful books/tips to prepare
for the LSAT, i know it's pretty early to be prepping for the LSAT, considering i won't be taking it until junior/senior year but i figured
there would be no problem practicing as early as possible, because practice makes perfect and I do want to get the highest LSAT score i can,
If anyone could recommend any readings or books on things covered on the LSAT like logic games etc that would be greatly appreciated.

I applaud for early awareness of LSAT. You will get great benefit of long term consistent practice and preparation.

[kinglew]

thank you for the information

I was wondering which course best applies with the information that will be covered on the lsat? these are two different classes both offered at my school that I'm interested in taking. The descriptions of what is covered on each course are below

Course 1-

"Study of deductive and inductive inferences. Attention to formal and informal fallacies and the relations of logic and language. Emphasis on critical thinking and the attainment of skill in it."

or

Course 2-

Examination of the relationship between logic and language. Accelerated introduction to the concepts essential to the identification, analysis and evaluation of arguments, with attention to deduction, induction and common fallacies. Emphasis on the application of these concepts.

[longdaysjourney]

Well, first of all. Get perfect grades....make an A- unacceptable for yourself. Enroll in Logic courses... will help you with one section of the test. Enroll in courses where you will be reading difficult material (i.e. Shakespeare, Chaucer (in the original)). I would also take a broad range of UPPER LEVEL classes, this way you will become adept at learning new ways to think about things...you have to think like a physicist in an upper level physics course, and you have to think like Sartre (or whomever...) in an upper level philosophy class....this is not necessarily true in introductory level courses.

Also...I would tell you NOT to start directly preparing for the LSAT until the summer after your junior year. There are only a finite number of practice tests and the are precious. You don't want to use them up when the test isn't even in sight.

Also, meet with your pre-law adviser and tell him/her what you are considering and see what advice they have for you. Also, you should join a club and start some volunteer work and do it through all four years of college, which looks very impressive on a laws school application.

Thirdly, if you don't go to a highly ranked school....I would try to transfer to one.

Finally, try to get summer internships at prestigious DC or NY law firms... i'd imagine that would look good. Look up what it takes to graduate phi beta kappa from your school and do that.

(***edit....take both of the above-mentioned courses, in the order that you mentioned them)

[kinglew]

thank you! the information you gave was extremely helpful

the thing about the courses above is I can only take one or the other, you can't take both. So I'm
not sure which one would be more beneficial to the material covered on the LSAT

[kinglew]

anyone know which out of the two courses above i should take?

[quickquestionthanks]

anyone know which out of the two courses above i should take?

Doesn't matter. Their descriptions make them sound nearly identical. Either one, you'll be studying the subjects you need. If one has a higher number (ex. PHIL123 vs. PHIL342) I would take the lower one.