Top Law Schools

I've purchased my first LSAT prep book. I'm a sophomore in college and I plan on taking the LSAT after in June after I finish my junior year.

A few people noticed that I bought my book and looked at me like I was crazy! They told me I would "teach myself the wrong strategies", "forget what I learned", etc.

Am I crazy for just getting the basics down early? When I take a LSAT prep class, I would rather be perfecting my skills than just learning them.

Is my logic flawed? Or maybe I am just crazy

no just dont use the most recent 15 or so PTs because you are gonna want them for the months leading up to the test

thevuch wrote:no just dont use the most recent 15 or so PTs because you are gonna want them for the months leading up to the test

That's a good idea. I didn't even think about that. I was just going through the Kaplan book and reviewing the tricks/strategies/etc. (especially for the logic games) and doing the little exercises.

bnssweeney wrote:When I take a LSAT prep class, I would rather be perfecting my skills than just learning them.

I always loathed it when students had studied before they took my class, because I either 1) left alone whatever they were doing in something so that I couldn't help them in that area or 2) had to break down what they were doing first and then teach them to do it my way. I can't optimize your way; I don't know your way, and your way may not work very well. I can teach you my way. I scored a 180 doing it my way, and plenty of my students have scored 170+ doing it my way. I can't say the same for your way.

That said, you may or may not actually need a class if you self-study for a while beforehand.

Personally, I feel that starting to study years in advance is a waste of time. The LSAT isn't really something that can be mastered via casual studying, even over a long period of time; it makes a lot more sense to study intensively at a time that's closer to your test. And while you might not forget everything you're learning now, you're going to have to re-learn a fair amount by the time you get closer to actually taking the LSAT.

It makes a lot more sense, in my opinion, to focus on keeping a high GPA and forming good relationships with a prof or two (so you can later ask for a LOR); I don't see any benefit in starting to study for the LSAT now and, as Tom said, you can actually teach yourself bad habits that you will later have to un-learn.

BPlaura wrote:Personally, I feel that starting to study years in advance is a waste of time. The LSAT isn't really something that can be mastered via casual studying, even over a long period of time; it makes a lot more sense to study intensively at a time that's closer to your test. And while you might not forget everything you're learning now, you're going to have to re-learn a fair amount by the time you get closer to actually taking the LSAT.

It makes a lot more sense, in my opinion, to focus on keeping a high GPA and forming good relationships with a prof or two (so you can later ask for a LOR); I don't see any benefit in starting to study for the LSAT now and, as Tom said, you can actually teach yourself bad habits that you will later have to un-learn.

Agreed. Also, have fun! College is an awesome time, and you shouldn't waste it on the LSAT.

I generally agree with the sentiment here however, if I were you (and at one time I was), I would take a symbolic logic class or two and challenge yourself with a class or two in informal logic. I took symbolic logic two semesters before studying for the LSAT and I will say that it simply made me more comfortable with the idea of causation, logic, and such. Plus, symbolic logic is really fun and definitely a challenge with the right professor. Also, start reading good articles more!

Notice that none of the stuff directly relates to the LSAT but rather is more like conditioning your brain for what is to come. Prime your brain for the LSAT but don't exactly prepare for the LSAT. Even if you never take the test in your life - even if you decide you don't want to be a lawyer - doing these things will still make you a better human.

bnssweeney wrote:I've purchased my first LSAT prep book. I'm a sophomore in college and I plan on taking the LSAT after in June after I finish my junior year.

A few people noticed that I bought my book and looked at me like I was crazy! They told me I would "teach myself the wrong strategies", "forget what I learned", etc.

Am I crazy for just getting the basics down early? When I take a LSAT prep class, I would rather be perfecting my skills than just learning them.

Is my logic flawed? Or maybe I am just crazy

No it's not too early. Make sure you are using the right book(s). Powerscore, Manhattan, are both good and the Lsat Trainer is what's hot right now. The latter is what I suggest. If anything just mastering LG now would do wonders. Having the ability to just work some for fun daily in 3-10 minutes depending on difficulty will make it easier when you do buckle down.
Some useful info

http://7sage.com/the-three-worst-lsat-mistakes/

http://www.cambridgelsat.com

WaltGrace83 wrote:I generally agree with the sentiment here however, if I were you (and at one time I was), I would take a symbolic logic class or two and challenge yourself with a class or two in informal logic. I took symbolic logic two semesters before studying for the LSAT and I will say that it simply made me more comfortable with the idea of causation, logic, and such. Plus, symbolic logic is really fun and definitely a challenge with the right professor. Also, start reading good articles more!

Notice that none of the stuff directly relates to the LSAT but rather is more like conditioning your brain for what is to come. Prime your brain for the LSAT but don't exactly prepare for the LSAT. Even if you never take the test in your life - even if you decide you don't want to be a lawyer - doing these things will still make you a better human.

I definitely agree with this. There's a lot of pre-prep you can do that isn't prep per se.