Great Advice on How to get 160+ on the LSAT... Forum

[Slimpee]

1) What score did you get? 164

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc) Kaplan

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? Kaplan Classroom, Kaplan Extreme

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) I took two, two month classes while working full-time. From April-June I was wicked stressed at work. It was difficult to study for the test but it did offer a bit of a "release" from the crappiness of each day.

5) How many preptests did you do? Maybe 10

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? Doing more practice outside of class. Class was very important for me but I didn't get in enough timed practice.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. I really liked my Kaplan experience. I had a great teacher and I know that it made me better. Other than that I would suggest nailing down the strategies untimed and only when you've gotten the strategy down cold then more to timed practice. Treat it like a house: first you have to build the foundation and then the framing. Only then can you finish your house.

Also, I did three timed sections in my exact test room two days before the test. Because of that I wasn't nervous about the room, surprised or distracted by anything. If you can do this, you totally should!

[MetsFan]

1) What score did you get? 173

2) What books did you use? Kaplan + then just all the LSAT practice test books

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? None

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) Studied during the school year.... had about 2-3 weeks after school ended before the test; started studying in late February

5) How many preptests did you do? Close to 40

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? Focus more on timing. I missed a question in games/LR because i didnt have enough time. i could have easily had 1-2 points more

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. Just log in the hours. If you work hard, youll do well. I know so many people who just take the class and do no work on their own. I took a crapload of practice tests and it really helped me score in the 170s

[T14]

1) What score did you get? 176

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc) Powerscore LRB/LGB + Ace the LSAT Logic Games

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? None

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) 6 months while taking classes

5) How many preptests did you do? 45

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? practice games more

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. I started out with an abysmal games score and drastically improved by doing all the games multiple times

[marbletop]

1) 179

2) CurveBreakers, Next 10 Actual LSATs
CurveBreakers was awful. The "just like real LSAT" questions were often ambiguous or muddled. My PT score jumped 8 points when I dumped the book for real practice tests. Don't waste your time on anything less!

3) No prep course.

4) Spent about two hours a week for three months before June. My main problem was accuracy on LR/RC, so I worked a section at a time as slowly as I could, letting the rhythm of the questions sink in. When I was comfortable with that, I started doing the tests all at once for endurance.

5) 10 real preptests + 2 useless ones.

6) Nothing, really.

7) I never got any of the Bibles, so I didn't know about the systems for LGs. I think this came in handy on the dinos game, as I just worked it from scratch like any other. It wasn't until I logged in here that I realized it had been so different.

Good luck to all the September takers!

[lawlover829]

1) What score did you get? 176

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc) Logic games bible, reading comp bible, I also took PR (there class) and I also took Kaplans class.... I was crazy... I learned about the bibles later (after I took the classes). ALso, all I had all the exams from past administrations...

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? Full length over the summer.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) 1 year on/off.

5) How many preptests did you do? All

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? nothin.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. I started out with an abysmal games score and drastically improved by doing all the games multiple times

The key for me was finding strategies that worked for me. I did Princeton, Kaplan, and Bibles. I think what I got from all of those is the experiences of approaching each question. When you talk about tough questions your mind gets thinking. I think you condition yourself to look at things differently. After those classes I would have study sessions with my friends and we would debate answers and then later look explanations up.

Also, I can't say this more, but the key is to keep on practicing. Practice Practice Practice. Analyze your mistakes and look for trends. Do ALL of the exams that are out after you have mastered the techniques. Save the newer ones for last (the test has really changed espc the LG).

good luck....

[el_gaucho]

1) 160 on June 09 (just made the cut for this thread)
2) Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, Official Practice Tests
3) Princeton Review and then TestMasters. Both full length. Regret both decisions.
4) About a year during full-time work. Tried to study every single day after work and on weekends.
5) 15-20
6) I wouldn't spend a penny on a course. I think that with the Bibles and practice tests (especially the more recent ones that are sold as singles) you have enough material and instruction.
7) I only really started to understand anything after I started seriously working on the Bibles, which was well after I started studying. Also, I found that I really saw some gains when I would take 5 section practice tests times and then review them, trying to understand what I was doing wrong. Last of all, this was a pretty hard experience for me and definitely a humbling one.

[mdd05d]

I took it back in OCT 2008, but forgot to post so here goes...

1) What score did you get?
164

2) What books did you use?
All the Kaplan books that come with the course. Endurance, Pacing, etc. Also I used the Logic Games Bible which I can't recommend enough.

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend?
Full length over the summer.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc)
The first time I took it I relied more on the Kaplan prep classes than my own work. The second time around I did my own thing, just went to the library and studied my ass off, took every prep test ever and completed everything in the Kaplan workbooks that I could.

5) How many preptests did you do?
Just about all of them.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
If possible I would have not taken classes so I could have focused solely on the LSAT. For a lot of people that's not possible but if it's an option I highly reccomend. Also, I wouldn't have taken the Kaplan class. The materials I got from the class were highly useful but the instruction was not that great. I feel like the people who do really well (90th percentile and above) are the ones who are very self motivated. You have to really want it, and that includes putting in a lot of work by yourself not just going to a class and listening to someone else telling you how they did it.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
Really the only sure way to improve is to practice and figure out what you're doing wrong and fix it. Have a loved one proctor tests for you because I feel like there is something lost when you're proctoring a test and taking it at the same time. Time is such a crucial aspect of this test and you have to get that timing down. Take it seriously, don't be cocky, be realistic about your goals. There are very few people who with maximum practice can score a 170, or even a 164. If you're not one of those people you need to realize this!

Good luck! If any of you ever have questions don't hesitate to ask I've gave pointers to a bunch of my friends who've taken the test and they all have benefited from them.

[chewdak]

1) What score did you get? 165
2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc) LG Bible, LR Bible (read 2/3), don't forget excellent discussions on this forum.
3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? None
4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) 3 months
5) How many preptests did you do? Almost all
6) What would you change if you were to do it again? concentrate on quality, not quantity. Re-taking in September.
7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
Consider your weaknesses, which may be more general than LSAT itself.
In my case, performance anxiety hurt bad during the exam. I got comfy taking PTs in quiet surroundings and wasted all my time chasing 175+ PT scores. I wish I looked back on many performance anxiety experiences in my life and worked to condition myself.
Better I took 5 section PT at strict 30min/section in noisy public places once a week and lots of review instead of 4 sections at 35-37 min/section PTs 4 times a week at a quiet library study room.
Live and learn.
Good luck!

[krispykitten]

.

[BlueWhiteWhatever]

1) What score did you get? 160 (Hanging on by a thread and proud of it.)

2) What books did you use? Kaplan Course Books (minus the lesson book) Blue and Green power score bibles (buy. them.)

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? - I did the Kaplan course for a week, hated it and dropped it. My score went up 10 points from the diagnostic anyway. Take that Kaplan Method.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) On and off starting in March, but I was still busy with school, so I'd devote maybe 10 hours a week to familiarize myself with the material. I didn't start cracking down until after graduation. For three weeks I spent 3-4 hours a day studying until the exam

5) How many preptests did you do? 7 or 8

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? Really knock the logic games. I spent a lot of time devoted soley to them but I only got about half correct, which dragged my score considerably as you can imagine.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. If you don't feel like doing full tests, at least do a succession of timed portions of the test. Start timing yourself as soon as possible, even if you're only do a section or two. Don't study the day before the test, but make sure you read. I know, it may cause worry/anxiety since the LSAT has such a rythm, but I read a book I enjoyed, which relaxed me but still made me feel as though my brain wasn't going into sleep mode.

[iminlstrick]

By special request for cross-posting:

Okay, okay last post then I'm out -- this is for all of you "omg kilself my score sucks people":

Yea, I know exactly how you feel. EXACTLY. My first diagnostic was a 151. My two best friends scored 177 and 179 respectively on their first go. I worked two jobs to afford a TM class with a bad teacher (omgz wtf such a waste) and still got a score on my first test that was seven points lower than my PT average going in. I wanted to kilself. I almost gave up on the idea of law school altogether and sobbed for a few hours in a shower that made me more wrinkly than a rotten raisin.

Took three months off. Decided to skip an application cycle and retake, because I knew that I could do better. Came back, studied my ass off for three months -- key difference was reviewing each and every single answer to each and every single question, right and wrong -- and boosted my PT average to 175 going into the June '08 test. Second take, up 8 points from first take. Up 22 points from initial diagnostic.

My point is, and then I will get off this very fat ugly soapbox, is that if you want to go to law school, and you KNOW you can do better than this first test score demonstrates, then please don't give up and certainly don't kilself. TLS is a WONDERFUL resource, and if you can be flexible in your timeline for studying law and patient in your study analysis, you CAN improve and you CAN do well. I promise. Pinky swear.

I know how hard it is to look at a score and feel crushingly disappointed. But please don't give up! People on this site are here for ya

--
My data:

1) What score did you get? 173 retake, 165 first try, diagnostic 151

2) What books did you use? Kaplan Mastery, Kaplan BOB (for practice), Powerscore LG, LR, and RC bibles, Powerscore Ultimate Setups Guide, Ace the Logic Games Bible, LSAT SuperPrep, any and all preptests I could get my hands on, all TM course books

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? - Testmasters (dropped it two weeks before the end, couldn't take the idiocy of my teacher anymore, no worries, I think he was fired for being lame.)

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? Prior to October 2008, three months seriously, everyday 4-6 hours a day. I was super hardcore, taking PTs daily, etc. Prior to June 2009, three months seriously, but more targeted study, only 2-3 hours a day, usually in a library, and only one PT a week

5) How many preptests did you do? all of them, twice.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? I would have done the whole "review all answers, right and wrong" during my first round of study; checked my teacher's stats before signing up for the class; studied with LSAT Proctor/in a public space from the get-go to get over the really bad test anxiety I should have foreseen

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. Follow your gut. A lot of people say don't study the day before the test, but for me, I had gotten into a really solid routine of doing 2-3 sections each day between certain morning hours, and I had no intention of breaking that (like I did for my first take, baddddd idea). I also did review before the test at a coffee shop nearby (about 10 LR problems, 2 hard games, 1 medium RC passage) to settle nerves. It REALLY helped me. Also, believe in yourself. I had "Disturbia" stuck in my head the first test, and realized how BAD this was going into my second, so I got "Let it Rock" stuck in my head for the second to help take my mind off the actual test itself. Kevin Rudolf helped me walk into that testing center so fiercely that during the bathroom break, girls followed me to find less full bathrooms because, "I looked like I knew what I was doing." Ha. Finally, know that THE PROCTORS DON'T WRITE START AND STOP TIMES ON THE BOARD!!!

[BaiAilian2013]

1) What score did you get?
180

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc)
Princeton Review Cracking the LSAT; Kaplan LSAT 180

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend?
None

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc)
I started studying two months before the test, while I was still in grad school (it made class less boring), but the bulk of my studying was done over the summer, for the month or so before the test, when I had very little else on my plate. This made it possible to do a practice test almost every day in the couple weeks leading up to the test, which I think was helpful.

5) How many preptests did you do?
2 by Princeton Review (which sorta don't count since they're not real tests), then 13 real ones, plus 3 more real ones that I divided up to provide "experimental" sections for all but one of the 13.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
I would have used the Princeton Review tests as the experimental sections, since the questions aren't quite perfect and I do tend to score lower on those.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
-During your last few practice tests, simulate test conditions in every way possible. For me, that meant using the pencils I was going to use, not eating or drinking, doing the damn writing sample at the end, etc. This way, on test day I was not distracted by not being able to do the things I would usually do during a practice test (chew on my plastic pen, drink coffee, and stuff my face).
-After 10 or 15 practice tests, every question you see is a repackaged version of something you've seen before. The more tests you do, the less likely you are to be thrown by an unusual question on test day. And speaking of unusual questions, use both old and new practice tests, because I think this provides a little challenging variety, especially in LGs.
-Be mindful of your chemical needs. If you need a cup of coffee to get through a practice test, bring some in your plastic baggie and chug it during the break.

[taylor]

1) What score did you get? 172

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc) Kaplan

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? Kaplan Classroom (once a week)

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) I started studying 3 months before, but it was on and off because of school and work. I wish I had started earlier or devoted more time, but I'm happy with my score.

5) How many preptests did you do? 10

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? more prep tests!

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. When my score started to drop, I took a break and closed my books for a week, and then my score started improving again. Also, make sure to take the day before the exam off, don't go to class/work and don't do any LSAT prep, you do not want to burn out!

[LSATfromNC]

1) What score did you get? 159, 165

2) What books did you use? Powerscore

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? Powerscore Virtual Class (would not recommend, I usually just ended up surfing the internet while listening to the instructor).

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? Saturdays while at work during down time and Mondays (only day I was off and the baby was at daycare).

5) How many preptests did you do? 25, maybe?

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? Calm the freak down, the first time I was to prepared (bag packed, woke up hours early, first to arrive etc).

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. Read stuff out of your norm (ex. economist), convince yourself that you are interested in the subject matter of the reading passages.

[06132010]

1) What score did you get? 175

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc): Powerscore LRB + LGB; lots of old PrepTests.

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? None

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) 2-2.5 months over the summer

5) How many preptests did you do? 29

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? I'd bubble in answers while practicing because it takes about two to three extra minutes per section, which caused me to run out of time on reading comprehension on the real thing.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. Powerscore FTW

[insidethetwenty]

It feels somewhat bittersweet to be making this post, because I really wanted 170+, but here's what I did and a short addendum about what I intend to do for September. Hopefully I'll do better and can bring back some more info then.

1) What score did you get? 163

2) What books did you use? bibles, 10 real LSATs, and PT's through PT56

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? None.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? Monday thru Thursday from 8-10am from January to April, then full-timed tests in May. I was at home for the early parts because I was in school, I took two PT's at my actual test center. You should do this if you can. I also did random side-study things like doing Sudoku and reading dense material. For September I'm going to read a book on informal logic.

5) How many preptests did you do? 8 or so full ones, but probably 15 more broken up into individual timed sections.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? I really should've spent more time reviewing questions after I finished PT's. It's a very onerous and time-consuming process, but I think it would've helped immensely. It's definitely what I intend to do for September.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. See #6. This is what I'm going to focus on for September, as well as try to read a book on informal logic.

[BearTerritory]

1) What score did you get? 165. First diag three months earlier was 150. Scoring between 163-169 towards the end. I will take it again in September and aim for 170+.

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? Took the testmasters early course .

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? ok this is really important. i thought i was smart before the test. i did well on my sat's went to berkeley and thought I would get at least a 160 on my diag. well, turns out im not smart....or at least in terms of the lsat. i came on this forum and started looking at success stories and thought to myself....ok, i can either just say its impossible to move up 15-20 points, or I could just put my head down, not be a bitch, and work my ass off for three months. and even though working that hard for three months may not always be sufficient, it is definitely necessary. i treated this as a full time job, and would regularly have dreams about the lsat.

how i did it: overall, i only took about 7 real preptests. (i have about 5 leftever for the test in september). First, i did not have a job. In terms of studying, I went to all my classes, did every single homework question, and highlighted each question i got wrong. i NEVER timed myself on any of the hw questions. at the end of the homework, i would go back to each question I got wrong and re-do it. after answering the redo, i would point out exactly why I got that questions wrong. Also, dont just do a question and simply move on. After doing that quesion, look at it and see the bigger picture...because questions do repeat themselves, just with different words. At first, you may be getting the majority of them wrong, but after a while, it really starts clicking (especially with games). Also, DO NOT plan on seeing immediate results. how the lsat basically works, in my opinion, is in two ways. 1) there is a ridiculously big pool of questions they always use....after a while, you are exposed to more and more questions from that pool and eventually will be able to predict the answers (sometimes). 2) The structure of the question stem is the most important part. read that slowly so you will be able to get the answer right the first time. when i go over time, its not because im reading to slowly, but probably the opposite because i cant answer the question the first time around. REMEMBER....speed only comes with practice.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? Nothing really....my dad had open heart surgery five days before the test (he is great now), so that threw me off. Just treat it as a full time job, and follow a routine.

[lsatsurvivor]

I remember reading this thread months ago. Feels good to be able to post here now.

1) What score did you get? 164 (1st cold diag was 151)

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc) Princeton Review, Powerscore, REA logic games, Kaplan.. basically anything I could get my hands on

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? None, but I hired a private tutor from Powerscore to help me with games

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) 6-9 months, mostly on weekends or in the evenings after work but sometimes on my lunchbreak or before work

5) How many preptests did you do? ~30

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? I would have treated studying more like a full-time job. I would have constantly reminded myself that when I'm being lazy, other people are studying

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. Replicate test conditions as much as possible. It really makes all the difference.

Edit: I want to add that I had severe math anxiety growing up, and the games section scared the hell out of me at first. I went from around -12 on the games to -3 on the real thing, mostly thanks to the tutor.

[terpette]

1) What score did you get?
164- not happy with that though, going to retake in September

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc)
started out on Powerscore LG bible but stopped after my class began

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend?
full TestMasters course, best decision I've made regarding law school thus far

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc)
about two months- the class started in April and I took June 09. The dense homework assignments/etc unfortunately seemed to pile up right around finals week so I'm hoping that studying for 2 or 3 months this summer without school obligations will show an increase in my score


5) How many preptests did you do?
6? This is defintely where I went wrong. I want to do 20+ more before September


6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
I would take more preptests. Study longer (unfortunately school got in the way)


7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
focus!

[mabelgs]

1) What score did you get?

Diagnostic: 172
Real score: 172

...no joke.

Ok. There have many people who have come on this board warning...if you get a high diagnostic score, you will have no motivation to study, and you'll be screwed. I can honestly say...they were right. I had all kinds of high expectations...I was going to study my ass off, I was going to end up with a fantastic score...no. I ended up with the exact same score that comes naturally to me. I'll repeat this, but...if you want to improve your score...study, damnit!

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc)

I went through the LGB. I know everyone around here recommends it, but it's very well-done. Good resource.

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend?

None

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc)

I studied for a couple weeks during the school year. Then it got towards the end of the year and I had my comps and such (for my masters)...and then I lost interest.

5) How many preptests did you do?

5 or 6. Scores ranged from 168-176.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?

I would study more. The fact is...I studied a little, but I didn't really put my heart into it, and I didn't crack any LSAT material for about 2 months before the test. And I ended up with EXACTLY my diagnostic score.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.

Um...study.

Also, study.

The end.

Edit: damn, I use a lot of ellipses. Oh well...I'm drunk right now. I'm allowed.

[hiro86]

2) What books did you use? I had all three bibles, I read through the LG bible once and never really went back. Read through the LR bible and went back to it somewhat often. Read about 20-30 pages of the RC bible (by the time I got to it I was already solid on RC and didn't want to use up passages).

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? None, if you are the type of person who learns better from reading stuff than from listening to a lecture I think prep courses are only needed if you are really struggling. If you start out doing well, don't waste your money on a course, they wont have anything that you can't learn from the bibles.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? About 2 months, probably 5-10 hrs a week until the last 3 weeks when I did about 15-20 hrs/week.

5) How many preptests did you do? 15 full pts, an additional 10 LR sections and 15 additional LG sections.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? Nothing in particular, I think I did it about right. However, everyone will need a different plan in order to achieve the best results possible. One thing I think helped a little was that I expected to do worse than my pt average, so I was not very anxious on test day.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. When I did my first test I did well on LR and RC and was never terribly worried about those sections. However, I spent my first week of prep thinking there was no way I would ever finish the LG section in time. Luckily, LG is very learnable. I know many people recommend making copies of all the games and repeating them several times. This isn't something I did and am not sure that it is a great use of time. The effectiveness of this strategy is difficult to measure for several reasons, but if you have time and are struggling I guess you should go for it.

[SkiBumLawyer]

1) I had 153 October, 156 December, and finally a 163 in June. I approached the LSAT in June an entirely different way so I will talk about that here.

2) I used the LG and LR bibles, and the Kaplan Mastery book.

3) Self Study, pithypike method

4) As soon as I was rejected from the top law school of my choice in March I began studying again. During the school year I would read the bibles slowly doing all the problems at the end of the chapters. I would do about 2 chapters a week, reviewing them daily. I pretty much followed pithypikes method

When I was done with school in May, I began studying about 40 a hours a week. Taking 1-2 days off per week. This is where I made the most progress on my score. I feel like if I had a few more weeks my score would of been higher. You will find yourself getting in the zone and answering questions comes naturally

5) For the June LSAT, I probably took about 15 preptests and repeated some of the prep tests from previous tests I studied for.

6) I did all the logic games twice, didn't have enough time to do them 3 times like pithy pike recommended. I aced the dino game but still missed 3 on LG, I kind of slacked on LG in the weeks leading up to the test and I really think doing about 50 more LGs would have enhanced my speed on test day.

7) TAKE A BREAK 2-3 days before the test. DO NOT DO ANY LSAT STUFF on these days. I think burnout was a problem my first 2 times and the third time i was much more relaxed. One thing I did with LR problems was cut out the ones I missed and tacked them next to the wall near my toilet. I got really familar with them over a 2 month period.

Otherwise, I really think pithypikes method is solid. I would of also bought the kaplan mastery book quicker.

[basicgrey7]

For those of you who took your test at the school that you went to undergrad at, how much did that help? I am pretty excited to be able to take it at my undergrad school and it kind of makes me feel better.

[billyez]

It helped me tons mainly because it made it very easy to take practice tests in the same room that I took the LSAT in. I just felt really comfortable - but only because I utilized the opportunity. Take the tests at the location a few weeks before the exam.

[lz06]

1) What score did you get? 171

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc): powerscore LG and LR, superprep, and preptests

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? none.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) I took the June 09 test, and focused for all of spring semester on the LSAT. I was in school and also working. January and February I read the PS bibles, slowly and making sure I took everything in. In march after spring break I started taking PTs. I tried to aim for two a week, making sure I didn't burn out. Classes ended for me at the end of April, so I was lucky to have 6 weeks of LSAT prep while working but atleast no school work. During these weeks I usually did about 3 a week. I ended up taking around 30 PTs, which sounds like a lot but it worked out cause I started early.

5) How many preptests did you do? around 30, explained above

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? nothing

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. start early! Though I did study for 5 months only the last final weeks were really hardcore/stressful. I started in the 140s and worked my way up to the 170s. It's hard work, but it's worth it