Top Law Schools

Posted: **Wed Feb 11, 2009 3:03 am**

1) What score did you get?
128. Big ups.

2) What books did you use?
I iz used playboy many times! Do not touch pages 47-48.

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend?
I iz wicked smart and when I asked the teacher if she wanted to play a "logic game" in my pants she has kicked me out. It must have been visiting time for her. Booyakasha!

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc)
Obviously as you can be seein from my WICKED score I has got no need for studyin. Also I iz not a nerd! Recognize.

5) How many preptests did you do?
Me Julie has taken a few to make sure she ain't preggerz.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
The bloke who is handing out the tests got well upset when I filled out the circles to look like a dong! He is a playa-hater and I am sure he is the reason I is not got a perfect score of 130.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
They is not letting you use crayons.

West Stainz Massive. Respect!

Posted: **Thu Feb 12, 2009 3:50 pm**

Ali G?

Posted: **Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:56 pm**

funbox wrote:5) How many preptests did you do?
Me Julie has taken a few to make sure she ain't preggerz.

...Fern?

Posted: **Mon Feb 16, 2009 1:47 pm**

1) What score did you get?
168

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc)
Powerscore LGB (definitely recommended, it helped me a ton), The Official LSAT SuperPrep (the sample tests with explained answers were nice, but for the most part this one wasn't really all that great)

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 spent two weeks studying for a 2-3 hours every day. I started over Thanksgiving Break at home, mostly reading and working through all the problems in the LG Bible, then spent the next week at school mostly running through lots of practice tests and questions, focusing primarily on LGs since that was really the only part I had much trouble with on my cold pretest.

5) How many preptests did you do?
Around 6, I think, all but one of them under timed conditions.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
I guess I probably would have started studying earlier. I'm happy with the score I got, particularly since I got into my first choice of school (Iowa), but I probably could have gotten well into the 170s if I had spent more time preparing.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
Do as many timed prep-tests as you can. Hit the logic games section hard; I think for most people that's the most challenging and least intuitive section. With the other parts, I don't think you'll be too pressed for time if you can read fairly fast. Don't study too much the day before the test, and make sure you get a really good nights sleep.

Posted: **Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:27 am**

1) What score did you get?
159, 165

2) What books did you use? (Kaplan, Powerscore LRB, Powerscore LGB, etc)
ALL of the Powerscore Bibles, and also Kaplan Mastery.

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)
Through summer and during school.

5) How many preptests did you do?
15+

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
I would have practiced under testing conditions from the start, as not doing so cost me 6 points.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
-Get the LSAT Proctor DVD http://www.lsatproctor.com so that you can test under real conditions and get used to distractions. I regret not doing this earlier. It is worthwhile investment.
-Take as many tests as you can under these real conditions. Do every test you can get your hands on. Redo the ones that you have trouble with.
-Understanding your mistakes is crucial for a high score.
-I don't think taking a course is a good idea; instead hire a tutor towards the end of your prep to work on your weaknesses.
-A low score is not the end of the world. Look at me, I went from a 159 to a 165. Improvement is possible.

Posted: **Fri Feb 20, 2009 2:16 pm**

This topic is truly so beneficial to me that i have read it in it's complete entirety from beginning to end. I myself am studying daily while maintaining a full time job. It may be difficult but I KNOW it's not impossible. My results on practice exams have been positive but with this topic I'm definitely bound to break 160. Thanks to all those who have contributed to this topic.

Posted: **Sat Feb 21, 2009 6:55 pm**

) What score did you get?
175 on my 3rd try (Dec. 2008); 160 on 2nd try (Oct. 2008); 156 on 1st try (Oct. 2005)

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

Powerscore LRB, Powerscore RCB, Powerscore Weekend Course book, Powerscore 2004 LSATs Deconstructed, 10 Actual Official Preptests, 10 More Actual Official Preptests, The Next 10 Actual Official Preptests, Testmasters course books, Official LSAT Superprep, LSAT TriplePrep Volume 2, (basically I did every LSAT question from the modern era); Cracking the LSAT by Princeton Review; some book by Kaplan that was lousy;

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

Powerscore weekend and Testmasters full length

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

total, 14 months; studied about 20 or so hours per week from mid-August 2005 to late September 2005; resumed studying November 2007; 4-10 hours per week from Nov. 2007-March 2008; 25 hours per week Apr.-May 2008; 40+ hours per week Jun. 2008-Aug. 2008; 25 hours per week Sept. 2008; 7-12 hours per week Oct.-Dec. 2008;

This was a rough estimate.

5) How many preptests did you do?

I forgot (I have it written down on my other computer though). I would say at least 40-45 preptests.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
I wouldn't bother with unofficial LSAT questions; you're better off just learning the actual LSAT itself. Also, I wouldn't have taken the test back that first time in 2005 because I think I was underprepared.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.

Don't give up or get down because you got a low score. If you took the LSAT and you did poorly, forget about people who say "You are only supposed to take the LSAT once." If you get a bad score on the LSAT, go back and try again. I do recommend that you take either the Testmasters or Powerscore Prep Course, or another company that uses official LSAT questions and requires instructors to score in the 98th or 99th percentile. (If you're already scoring 164-165ish regularly, you can skip the prep course and go straight to self-study though.) If you're in college, I might wait until after college and then study for the LSAT full-time. Also, if you're out of college, withdraw from the full-time work force and focus your energies on LSAT preparation. For a while I was working only 20 hours per week, so I could study about 40 hours a week for the LSAT. You wouldn't work full-time while you're a full-time student, so why should you be working full-time while studying for the LSAT? This is even more worthwhile when you consider that the LSAT is more important than making good grades are; LSAT preparation is cheaper than college tuition is as well, so you just have to worry about supporting yourself, whereas in college you have to worry about supporting yourself and paying tuition. If you're working from 8 to 5 every day, you're going to be too tired and pressed for time to put lots of energy into analyzing the LSAT every day. Can't afford to take time off from work? Consider that you're going to more than make up for it with a larger salary in the future, which is what a high LSAT score gets you. I am kind of in the hole financially now, but I am planning to get out of it due to my LSAT score.

Posted: **Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:07 pm**

jungleshark wrote:) What score did you get?
175 on my 3rd try (Dec. 2008); 160 on 2nd try (Oct. 2008); 156 on 1st try (Oct. 2005)

This is a great example of true dedication and hard work. When did you take the testmasters course, and the powerscore weekend course? Before which exams?

Posted: **Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:26 am**

Posted: **Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:59 am**

TIMLAW4151 wrote:
jungleshark wrote:) What score did you get?
175 on my 3rd try (Dec. 2008); 160 on 2nd try (Oct. 2008); 156 on 1st try (Oct. 2005)
This is a great example of true dedication and hard work. When did you take the testmasters course, and the powerscore weekend course? Before which exams?

I took the Powerscore weekend course 1 week before the Oct. 2005 exam. I took the Testmasters course from April to June of 2008.

Posted: **Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:46 am**

jungleshark wrote:
TIMLAW4151 wrote:
jungleshark wrote:) What score did you get?
175 on my 3rd try (Dec. 2008); 160 on 2nd try (Oct. 2008); 156 on 1st try (Oct. 2005)
This is a great example of true dedication and hard work. When did you take the testmasters course, and the powerscore weekend course? Before which exams?
I took the Powerscore weekend course 1 week before the Oct. 2005 exam. I took the Testmasters course from April to June of 2008.

Was there any reason you didn't take the June Lsat, right after the TM's course?

Posted: **Sun Feb 22, 2009 1:02 pm**

TIMLAW4151 wrote:
jungleshark wrote:
TIMLAW4151 wrote:
jungleshark wrote:) What score did you get?
175 on my 3rd try (Dec. 2008); 160 on 2nd try (Oct. 2008); 156 on 1st try (Oct. 2005)
This is a great example of true dedication and hard work. When did you take the testmasters course, and the powerscore weekend course? Before which exams?
I took the Powerscore weekend course 1 week before the Oct. 2005 exam. I took the Testmasters course from April to June of 2008.
Was there any reason you didn't take the June Lsat, right after the TM's course?

I wasn't ready. I was scoring in the 162-166 range right after the TM course, and I knew there was a lot of studying left to do. I was able to improve my practice test scores over the course of the summer. The TM course provided me with a solid foundation though, and it definitely brought my scores up. I have heard people say things like "You can either take a prep-course or follow the self-study route," as if they are contradictory. I think you should do both--take a prep course and study a lot on your own as well. By the way, that 160 I got in Oct. 2008 was just a really bad day; I was expecting to score significantly higher. That's why it was a no-brainer decision for me to go take the LSAT again in December.

Posted: **Sat Feb 28, 2009 3:15 pm**

I'm going to go ahead and post here now; I'll change this in June once I get my second LSAT back.

1) What score did you get? 163 (Feb. 2009; started from a 155 diagnostic)

2) What books did you use? I used the LG bible to its fullest potential. I bought the LR bible but didn't use it as much. LG was my weakest section on my diagnostic and I went from missing about 9 to missing 0 to 2 every time.

3) What prep courses did you take (if any)? Full length, weekend? None. No money, plus my cousin got a 154, took a Kaplan course and got a 156. That amount of money is not worth it to me if a smart girl is only improving two points on her LSAT.

4) How long did you study for, and under what conditions? (during school, during the summer, etc) I work full-time and I didn't start studying until late December. I wish I had started earlier since I had to spend most of my time studying on weekends. I spent about a month going through my LG bible (and a little bit of the LR bible) and then took practice tests after that. I ride the train to work everyday and I did one logic game a day on my train ride which I think helped -- you have so much noise and movement and it's good to practice putting those distractions aside. I also took three free practice LSATS at Kaplan just to simulate the actual testing day-- I wouldn't take the scores as seriously because they give the same test over and over, but I think it's good to practice the tests in a real environment as often as you can.

5) How many preptests did you do? About 15.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again? I wish I had started earlier and I wish I had focused on other sections besides LG. By the time I started taking my PTs and realizing that my RC section was really bad, it was too late for me to do a lot to fix it. I think most people would have canceled or rescheduled, but I'm glad I didn't. I got a pretty good score all things considered and I'm not trying to get into T-14. If anything, getting a 163 knowing that I bombed the RC section has made me more relaxed and confident.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions. I'd do research on the testing center. I live in a huge city and decided to take the test where my parents live (a smaller college town) because I thought the environment would be better and I was right. I think you should do everything you can to give yourself an advantage when taking the test. I'd also say, take your PTs timed and try to do as many as you can in a library or place where there might be distractions.

Posted: **Sat Feb 28, 2009 6:51 pm**

Posted: **Sun Mar 01, 2009 11:39 pm**

I just want to say thank you to all of you who have posted in this section!

I am currently studying for the June 2009 LSAT and this thread has been extremely helpful for me. The advice and information here has both given me new ideas to consider during my studies and also affirmed many of my own thoughts about how to study for this test and get the best score that I can. I really appreciate the time you all took to post here. Thanks!

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2009 11:34 am**

1) What score did you get?

176, Feb 09 1st time writing

2) What books did you use?

SUPERPREP
read through all the explanations for PTs A,B,C to get a general sense of the test

LGB
When I started off, I was only getting 8 or so questions right in each LG section. I set aside all the games from the earlier PTs, 8 through 30 I think, and did them after working through the corresponding LGB chapter. I would erase my work afterwards so that I could do the full PTs timed, later on.

LRB
I thought this one was a waste of time after the first time time I read it. Later, I was having trouble with Weaken and Assumption questions, so I went back to these sections, and found them to be enormously helpful. Don't get hung up on the debate over whether it's better to "learn the tricks" or "fully understand the material". You want to get to a point where you're so familiar with the material that these categories are indistinguishable.

Don't be scared to "learn the tricks": ie in the Parallel Reasoning section, sometimes, it is beneficial to look where certain modifiers like "most", "some", "all", are placed to eliminate answer choices. The important thing here is that you learn to look at answer choices and the stimuli in terms of how the argument is organized, and not the order in which these parts are written.

Must-read sections from the LRB: Numbers and Percentages, Formal Logic. Make sure you go over these chapters, since they're relatively short. Once you absorb the material, these questions are basically freebies.

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 three months total. I started out in the 155, 160 area, but this jumped to around 165 after I worked through the LGB and my first reading of the LRB. Then, for inexplicable reasons, I made it to the low 170s. This is when I started to go over each LR section meticulously to eliminate any effects from guessing. Then, my score would be in between 170 to 177 pending on my performance in the RC section. I probably lucked out in my February sitting, and in all likelihood "deserved" something closer to 172, if you look at how my prep was going. I performed unusually well on RC that day, and found it a lot easier than usual. So luck plays into it too.

5) How many preptests did you do?
PTs A/B/C, and 8-53 or so. I missed a couple, but can't be bothered checking how many exactly. For a while, I was running one PT a day.

I had a pretty bad day early on where I scored a 155 and completely panicked. I wrote another one right after: 157. I took three days off, and when I came back to it, I scored in the low 160s. I think this was the first time my score jumped.

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
Once I got to PT53, I completely burned out. I scored a 167 on that a week before the test, and pretty much shut down completely for two days. After that, I only wrote individual sections, and tried reviewing them more carefully, though I'm not sure how well that worked. I took a day to go over the type of questions they ask in comparative reading RC sections.

Also, I would not have worried so much about my actual score towards the beginning of my prep. When you're getting used to the question types, your score is essentially meaningless. Focus on getting more questions right. The scales for the earlier tests were completely skewed, anyway.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
The only section I feel I came close to have 'mastered' is the LR section. Timing is important. I stand by the 15-in-15 rule. Do questions 1 to 15 in 15 minutes. This helped me from overthinking the earlier questions. I would usually finish these sections in 30 minutes.

Bracket, underline, whatever, the conclusion for every LR stimulus. This helps you focus on what you're reading. When there isn't a conclusion, make note of that and try to think how the facts presented are organized.

I didn't bother with the question stem before reading the stimuli, but this is definitely a matter of taste. Experiment with this a couple of times early on, and make sure you develop a consistent system near the end of your prep.

As for RC, get over bad reading habits early on. Over the years I trained myself to gloss over anything that had numbers or scientific facts. It took some effort to get over this.

Overall: get used to the pacing. I wrote full PTs without any breaks in between. I set my watch a minute or so already into the hour as to handicap myself a bit. Then I'd try to finish the sections in 30 minutes to account for misbubble paranoia on test day. I tried tossing in experimental sections in there, but found it didn't really make a difference.

Meticulous review is essential. You have to be brutally honest with yourself when you write timed PTs. Going over the test afterward is the actual 'studying' component of your prep. Writing PTs are only a measure of progress. Try to find a partner online, or in person, to dissect a handful of PTs to make sure sure you're getting questions right for the right reasons. Learn how to think clearly. When you look at an LSAT problem, you want to be able to say not only why one answer is right, but why the others are wrong.

PS: Get into the habit of getting up very early.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2009 1:19 pm**

1) What score did you get?
170

2) What books did you use?
Powerscore LR bible, Powerscore RC bible, real prep tests (most were from the first two books of ten)

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)
Started around new years, and the test was on the 7th. Had a few days where I didn't do anything, but most days I studied for 2 or 3 hours, usually taking practice tests.

5) How many preptests did you do?
About 25

6) What would you change if you were to do it again?
I would not stay up till 4 every night of the last week, which caused me to have trouble sleeping the night before the test

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.
Studying the prep tests and reading through the LR bible did the most for me.

Posted: **Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:40 pm**

sirhitch wrote:No, my friends met me at the bar and I did my very best not to bring up the LSAT and how great I felt about myself so that they wouldn't leave me there. And its nice to hear that you would be happy with a really good score-160. 160 and up really does put you in an elite class. There is nothing wrong with setting your goals high or trying to get a score that the school you badly want to get into places as their mean, but it really gets old hearing people talk about bombing with a 168. Utter nonsense. Its also damaging and discouraging to many thinking about law as a career option to hear everybody trashing on impressive performances on the LSAT. I can't imagine how many people come on this site looking for guidance and great advice only to hear people talk about suicide if they score a 169. Absolute stupidity.

Exactly. They are also lucky they aren't within striking distance of me right now, either. If I actually heard someone complain about a 165+ score or even a 160 I would let them have it and they would remember the moment for the rest of their days.

Yeah, it sucks when you REALLY want to be a lawyer because you've been exposed to it but this POS test is like Mt. Everest between you and your goal. Too bad the terrorists don't give a damn about the LSAC.

JK guys but this is really irritating. I'm currently in the 140s and it doesn't exactly help when I see posts complaining about 160s. That is INFURIATING. Please stop doing that and just go to a good school and forget about LSAT perfection. You're already there in my mind, based on my experience when it comes to the real world vs. the LSAT. You don't have to go to a top 10 or even a T1 school to have an awesome, rewarding career.

Posted: **Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:11 pm**

tj1320 wrote:
sirhitch wrote:No, my friends met me at the bar and I did my very best not to bring up the LSAT and how great I felt about myself so that they wouldn't leave me there. And its nice to hear that you would be happy with a really good score-160. 160 and up really does put you in an elite class. There is nothing wrong with setting your goals high or trying to get a score that the school you badly want to get into places as their mean, but it really gets old hearing people talk about bombing with a 168. Utter nonsense. Its also damaging and discouraging to many thinking about law as a career option to hear everybody trashing on impressive performances on the LSAT. I can't imagine how many people come on this site looking for guidance and great advice only to hear people talk about suicide if they score a 169. Absolute stupidity.
Exactly. They are also lucky they aren't within striking distance of me right now, either. If I actually heard someone complain about a 165+ score or even a 160 I would let them have it and they would remember the moment for the rest of their days.

Yeah, it sucks when you REALLY want to be a lawyer because you've been exposed to it but this POS test is like Mt. Everest between you and your goal. Too bad the terrorists don't give a damn about the LSAC.

JK guys but this is really irritating. I'm currently in the 140s and it doesn't exactly help when I see posts complaining about 160s. That is INFURIATING. Please stop doing that and just go to a good school and forget about LSAT perfection. You're already there in my mind, based on my experience when it comes to the real world vs. the LSAT. You don't have to go to a top 10 or even a T1 school to have an awesome, rewarding career.

Is this still Top-law-schools.com??

Posted: **Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:14 pm**

1) 164

2) None

3) None

4) Probably like 4 or 5 hours. I did a practice test and reviewed the question types. That's about it.

5) One

6) Probably study more, although I don't know how much it would have changed

7) "I'm Poochy, the rockin' dog!"

Posted: **Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:32 pm**

hyst999 wrote:
tj1320 wrote:
sirhitch wrote:No, my friends met me at the bar and I did my very best not to bring up the LSAT and how great I felt about myself so that they wouldn't leave me there. And its nice to hear that you would be happy with a really good score-160. 160 and up really does put you in an elite class. There is nothing wrong with setting your goals high or trying to get a score that the school you badly want to get into places as their mean, but it really gets old hearing people talk about bombing with a 168. Utter nonsense. Its also damaging and discouraging to many thinking about law as a career option to hear everybody trashing on impressive performances on the LSAT. I can't imagine how many people come on this site looking for guidance and great advice only to hear people talk about suicide if they score a 169. Absolute stupidity.
Exactly. They are also lucky they aren't within striking distance of me right now, either. If I actually heard someone complain about a 165+ score or even a 160 I would let them have it and they would remember the moment for the rest of their days.

Yeah, it sucks when you REALLY want to be a lawyer because you've been exposed to it but this POS test is like Mt. Everest between you and your goal. Too bad the terrorists don't give a damn about the LSAC.

JK guys but this is really irritating. I'm currently in the 140s and it doesn't exactly help when I see posts complaining about 160s. That is INFURIATING. Please stop doing that and just go to a good school and forget about LSAT perfection. You're already there in my mind, based on my experience when it comes to the real world vs. the LSAT. You don't have to go to a top 10 or even a T1 school to have an awesome, rewarding career.
Is this still Top-law-schools.com??

Yes it is. However, it has evolved into basically "law-schools.com". Incase you haven't noticed, many people here are looking at T3 and T4 schools and they are normal people who achieve normal scores on the LSAT. Just because the name is top-law-schools.com doesn't mean that the members are only looking at the top law schools.

Looking back at my post, I guess I was out of line. I am simply jealous that 165+ comes so easy to some members here. I apologize for my jealousy.

Posted: **Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:39 pm**

I found this thread particularly helpful for me last year as I was preparing for the June LSAT, so I will throw in my two cents:

1) What score did you get?

I scored a 173. This was a little higher than my practice average of 170. I think what helped me score higher than my practice avg. was that I convinced myself that June was a practice test and that I was taking my real test in October. This eliminated a lot of pressure, and then I never had to take the October test because I was happy w my score. So my advice: Take the June LSAT. There is no reason not to. You will have the advantage of 2 possible retakes (Oct and Dec) if you need them. This fact alone relieves a lot of the pressure.

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

I used all the Actual LSAT books. I also got a copy of Kaplan's LSAT Mastery off of eBay to work on LR question types. These questions were from real LSATs,but Kaplan separates them according to question type and gives an explanation at the end. I also used, and highly recommend, Powerscore's LR Bible. It is an awesome book and really helped make LR more mechanical and predictable. I attribute 4-6 points on my LSAT score to that book alone.

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

I took a prep course from a small company based in Utah called ACE. Their strategy for logic games was great. I could fly through games, but their LR techniques didn't cut it. That's where Powerscore's LR Bible really helped out. What I liked about ACE is that they only used actual LSAT questions and they had proctored practice tests every saturday.

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

I studied for about 3.5 months. I was in school and working for 2 of the months and only studied one or two nights a week. For the last month and a half, for May and half of June, I was finished with school and spent 6 hours a day studying alone.

5) How many preptests did you do?

Over thirty. I actually sort of ran out of material towards the end and ended up retaking some of the tests. I had forgotten most of the questions, but every once in a while I would remember a question. I don't know if I would recommend retaking tests, even if it has been 2-3 months since you last took them, but I did gain a lot of confidence after doing that. I also feel like I got a good sense of how the tests and questions were working, how they tried to trick you, etc.

I would suggest saving 10 or so PTs for the last couple weeks before the test that you haven't even looked at. Towards the last 3-4 weeks, I was doing 2-3 PTs a week, many of them with 5 sections.

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

I would have sealed 10 PTs and not looked at them until the final two weeks.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.

Voyager's RC strategy really helped. Also, someone else on here suggested that you treat every paragraph of an RC passage like an LR stem. Recap in your mind, silently what the paragraph was saying. That really helped. RC made or broke my scores - it was my most inconsistent area. I practiced it a lot - I did every single RC section of every LSAT ever released. I started doing them in 30 minutes instead of 35, which was extremely helpful because it eliminated a lot of the unnecessary double-guessing. I just starred the question if I wasn't sure and moved on, came back to it if I had time.

I hope this helps!

Posted: **Mon Apr 20, 2009 7:02 pm**

7) Any other comments?

Yes....get a lot of sleep, eat breakfast 2 hours in advance so the food has time to settle and not leaving you feeling bloated ect....
The first time I took the LSAT I was seriously lacking sleep (3 hours of total sleep). By the 3rd section my brain was like pudding and I did horrible.
The second time around I got plenty of sleep, ate breakfast, and did significantly better.[/quote]

I agree with this! Eat breakfast 2 hours before the test. You do get a break during the exam but you cant leave to get anything to drink.
On test day I arrived early but I was so nervous I didnt eat breakfast or drank anything and during the test all I was thinking about was getting something to eat/drink. This made be do very poor on the test. So eat breakfast and do have a good night sleep and you should do fine on Test day.

This is something I would do when I retake the test in September.

Posted: **Thu Apr 23, 2009 6:00 pm**

Ken,

Did you ever video you teaching the LSAT course?
K

Ken wrote:1) 173

2) Princeton Review books and the real LSATs.

Simply the best source for taking and learning about the LSAT is to get as many real sample LSATs as you can. While other companies may seek to recreate the LSAT, they do not have the benefit of the experimental section which is utilized to weed out bad questions on the real LSATs. Order as many real LSATs booklets as you can. Try to learn from your mistakes by reviewing your errors.

The Powerscore books came out after I took the LSAT, but I have heard that they are excellent.

3) I taught the LSAT and GRE for Princeton Review. They needed a new LSAT instructor and they hired me based solely on my initial diagnostic. Thus, I was able to teach myself for free while teaching others.

While in my unbiased opinion, my classes were excellent, their effectiveness heavily varied by the quality of the instructor. Ask to sit in on 1 or 2 classes of all the test prep companies you are considering (they generally will let you in and there is certainly nothing to lose by asking). Evaluate whether the instructor is a great instructor or not and ask other students after the class if they are learning from the class and materials.

I recommend considering several test prep companies if possible. I have heard that Testmasters is one of the best test prep companies out there. (http://www.testmasters180.com). Note that I get no benefit from recommending them.

4) I studied the LSAT for an entire summer. I simply told my parents that how I fared on the LSAT was more important or as important as my four years of college. Thus, it was essential that I have the time to properly prepare myself. I was somewhat rewarded, going from a 167 to a 173. While not everyone will have such indulgent parents, try to make the time to seriously focus upon preparing for the LSAT. Few things in your life will have more of an impact and this is time well spent.

5) I took over 40 prep tests. When I took the LSAT there were a lot fewer prep tests out there. Now I would likely take as many as I possibly could and not take any of the quasi ones Princeton Review and others have created.

6) Take more real prep tests. Study my mistakes more instead of just continually taking the quasi LSAT tests Princeton Review created. Now that more prep tests are available, I would focus solely on the real tests.

I would buy and learn from the Powerscore books. They seem designed for those who want to score in the upper echelon.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.

The LSAT is FUN!!! I am not kidding, but I really enjoyed the months I spent studying for the LSAT. I felt that by learning to master the test I was becoming more intelligent. It is the best standardized test out there and to become great at the logic games and argument sections will make you a better lawyer and smarter person. View it all as a game. Similar to a very complicated crossword puzzle. The excitement I had for studying allowed me to study for hours and resulted in my score.

Take a logical reasoning course while in college. It will likely be titled "Introduction to Critical Thinking" or with a similar title. This will greatly assist you in diagraming, which is essential to succeeding on the games section.

Speed is the name of the game. I had many students complain that if they had all day they could get every answer right, but because of the time constraints they had problems. Practice under rigid time limits to get your pacing down. If you are stuck on one problem and it is just one problem (not part of a many question game), just make your best guess and move on.

Guessing wisely. It is not so much about finding the right answer as eliminating the wrong ones. Try to quickly eliminate 3 of the choices and then hone in on which of the 2 is correct.

Find a personal system that works for you. While you can learn how to diagram from your LSAT course, also utilize symbols that work well for yourself. No one else has to understand your diagrams, just you.

Save time whenever possible. I used to first complete the entire section and only then fill in the bubbles in the answer sheet. I felt that by not having to go from the test booklet to the scantron for each question saved me a lot of time. You could do this on a smaller process and just fill in after completing each large section or page. Note there is a risk here that time could run out without your having filled in all the bubbles, so have your time management down before utilizing this tip.

Cancelling your score is not the end of the world. First, avoid cancelling if you can. There will be a natural tendency to think that you did worst that you actually did. And to put yourself through the torture of 3 more months of LSAT prep plus possibly delaying your applications is not a fun thing to do. That being said, if something occurred during the test that you not would not be repeated and if you really feel like you bombed, cancelling may be the best route. While multiple LSAT scores are averaged by most law schools, a cancelled score is viewed as a slight negative but will not bring your average score down. Cancelling is only an option to implement after much decision and perhaps consulting with others.

Do not panic during the test. I probably lost a few points because I panicked when I got an experimental games section that was harder than anything I had ever seen before. I kept on thinking back to that games section during the test and it was not until the last section, which was another games section, that I realized the first one was the experimental section. Just relax and be confident during the test. Mistakes happen. I missed 8 questions and still did amazingly well. You can miss 20 and still have an excellent score. The LSAT is a forgiving test, trust in your abilities while taking it.

Get a good nights rest the night before. I was sharing a hotel room with a fraternity brother (there is no way I could get a good night's sleep on a Friday night at the Fraternity house) and his idiotic girlfriend calls at 1 am from Germany wishing him good luck. I barely slept after that. Paying for my own hotel room would have been a good investment. Most students will not need to rent a hotel room if they live in a quiet area.

Relax the day before the test. When you wake up the morning of the test tackle a few problems to get in the mindset.

View where you will be taking the test ahead of time so there is no rushing around trying to find the lecture hall. Get there in plenty of time. Do not let others stress levels be contagious. You are primed and ready for battle after doing all of the above.

Note that sometime in the next 2 years I am going to videotape myself teaching the LSAT and give it away for free. I hate that Kaplan/Princeton Review charge such exorbinant fees for their prep classes. Definitely take a prep class as for most it is money well spent, but I do wish it were cheaper.

Overall, study hard but enjoy your time studying. This will be the most effective time you spend for how you fare on the LSAT is as important as your 4-5 years in college.

Posted: **Thu May 21, 2009 9:12 am**

1) What score did you get?

176

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, and 4hours of tutoring the week before

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

I studied from the last week in April until June the 12th last year. My school was done on the 4th of May so the vast majority of studying was done in the summer. I also, told my job that I needed basically May and June off to focus on the LSAT. I studied about 7-8 hours per day for about 3 weeks.

5) How many preptests did you do?

Approximately 20.

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

I would be more efficient with my time earlier in the process. The last two weeks before the test I really started drilling over ever wrong question and even the ones I would guess right on. Essentially I would look for trends across my tests.

7) Any other misc comments/suggestions.

Practice your test taking endurance more than anything else. Efficient studying means forcing yourself to take planned shorts breaks even if you are not tired yet. The LSAT is like a dorky marathon, and even the best athletes don't go full bore in the preseason.

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