Preparing for the LSAT

So you're thinking about going to law school. First off, Congratulations! Getting into law school is a challenging but worthwhile endeavor.

Well before you start picking out your studio apartment and stocking up on school sweatshirts, you need to begin preparing to take the LSAT (Law School Admissions Test). There are a number of different books and websites on helping you to get ready and telling you the best way to study to receive the highest score. Here are a few things to keep in mind when getting ready to take the LSAT.

-Scoring: The test is scored out of 180 points, it is made up of 5 sections and a writing sample. Contrary to popular belief, the LSAT does not test you on your knowledge of laws or legal practices; it focuses on basic logic concepts - logical reasoning, analytical reasoning (aka logic games), and reading comprehension. Therefore, you do not need to have a pre-law background to succeed on the LSAT.

Only four of the five sections are scored, one "experimental" section is chosen at random and will not be graded, however you will not know which section that is. The writing sample is ungraded....so why is it included? Basically law schools want to see if you can write well, make persuasive arguments and think critically.

-Prep courses: I HIGHLY recommend a prep course by Kaplan. They have several different options in terms of course length, type (classroom or online) and have an amazing money back guarantee. Personally, I recommend the online course over the course of 3 months. I was logged into the course chat room every Sunday for about 3-4 hours. You get a live feed of the teacher going along different concepts and tricks, the option to ask questions live and talk to other students through the chat. In this course you will take many practice tests in and out of class. You will enter your answers online and get instant score results. In addition, every question is explained in detail as to why each answer is correct or incorrect.

My favorite part of the course was the online question bank. Actual questions from previous LSATs are stored in this online question bank and you can choose which sections you want to practice. There is no limit to how many questions you do and, again, you get the in depth explanations for each question.

The course is not cheap (expect to spend about $1,000 depending on which type you choose), however it is worth every penny. They also have a money back guarantee; if you take the LSAT and get a score you think you can improve, you can take the entire Kaplan class over again for free. I was very nervous the first time I took the LSAT and was not happy with my score. I chose to do an accelerated version of the course again and was able to raise my score significantly the second time!

-Registering for the LSAT: Make sure you sign up with plenty of time to prepare; the LSAT is offered 4 times a year at numerous locations throughout the country. When signing up for a test date, be mindful of when you will get your results and if you will have time to take it again, if need be, before you apply for law school.  For example, it is better to take the LSAT in October of the year before you want to start law school, that way if you need to retake it in December, you can still apply for the fall of next year. Once you have signed up and studied as much as you can, I recommend visiting the testing site a few days prior to the test. I took mine at a college I had never been to before and had a little trouble finding the building the test would be in among all of the other buildings on campus. There will be signs up the day of the test but it always helps to know what direction you need to go in.


There's just a little advice on prepping for the LSAT; I hope it helps you better understand the process. Good luck and happy studying!!!!