What can you tell me about the LSAT?

Question

How should I prepare?

What other habits will prepare me for the LSAT (reading, etc?)

Is it wise to take the LSAT in the summer before my 3rd year of college instead of the summer before my 4th year? Will law schools consider a grade that early?

Thanks!

Answer 1

It is a test to help you prepare to get into law school.

Answer 2

Prepare: take a review course and do as many practice tests as possible.

Reading a lot helps improve your reading speed. The faster you read, the more time you have to take the test. What you read doesn't matter too much.

Taking a logic course is a waste of time (I did, that's why I say that). Don't bother taking any special college courses at all to help improve. They won't. It's an urban legend kinda thing that won't die among undergrads. It's like the "take poly sci cuz law schools like that major" lie. Poly sci can be good, but it's not cuz law schools want to see that major (it's cuz it's easy and law schools care about a high GPA the most, along with your LSAT score).

Take it the summer before your 4th year or even that fall. Law schools will consider a grade that early, but why? Give yourself more time to study. If you take it in the summer, you can still take the October one if you need to retake.

Answer 3

You should prepare the best way you know how.

But I recommend getting a good LSAT prep book from the bookstore. This will provide you with a basic outline of the kinds of questions asked and format of the test.

If you feel like you need more structure, consider taking a Kaplan-esque preparatory course. Although, these courses can be expensive and not always very effective at improving scores.

Reading is also good exercise. But the best mind exercise has to be crosswords. If you're good at crosswords, I guarantee you can do well on the LSAT.

I'm pretty sure that the LSAT is good for 2 years. But you might want to check with the schools you are applying to about their time limitations.

check out lsac.org for more info.

Answer 4

It is one of the hardest exams I have ever taken in my life. If you can afford it try to take a prep course. My best advice is to practice, practice, practice.

When I took the exam, I was in my last year in B-school and I didn't devote as much time as I should have to studying for the exam. I ended up with a decent score and I was accepted at a couple of good schools but I know I would have had more choices if I did better.

Most law schools will consider an exam score that was posted within the last 5 years. But check with the schools that you are interested in to verify this information