I am considering law school after I graduate from college. I know I need to take the LSAT, but I’m wondering what the best way to prep is. I’m not worried about my GPA at all, but I would like a good LSAT score to keep my options open.
How did you study for the LSAT and did you think it was the best way?
Thanks,
Robin
I didn’ take the test, but I picked up one of those LSAT practice test books at the bookstore. I didn’t look like something that could be studied, really. I didn’t go all the way through, but it seemed more of a reading comprehension and logical thinking test than an information test.
Someone who knows better will be along, I’m sure. But you might consider looking at one of those guides.
There are some very effective strategies for dealing with the Logic Games sections. These techiniques will almost certainly improve your score on one of the toughest sections of the test.
My first advice ** MsRobyn** is run away! Don’t do it–or at least spend several months in a law firm that does close to the type of law you want to do. Had I done that, I’d be poorer, but I would be a vet instead…many of my lawyer friends don’t like what they do either.
For the LSAT, if you insist on going through with this :), I think it depends on what type of a learner you are. I’ve always learned by reading so the practice book worked great, if you are more of a listening learner, do the course (it’s expensive but worth it. It’s the games section that gets most people becuase unless you know the right way to set it up, it’s really time consuming. That’s the only section I missed any in. In the end I got a very good score and got a full scholarship to law school based on that one number alone.
And, practice, practice, practice…
I worked for a very large (500+ attorneys) firm right out of college, thinking that it would at least give me some exposure to what the legal profession is really all about. I highly recommend that you do the same. It ain’t “LA Law,” that’s for sure.
As for the LSATs, I took them without much prep at all (except going through a prep book), and then re-took them after taking a Kaplan course. The course helped quite a bit, particularly with the logical thinking portion (which has been expanded since I took the LSATs).
After all that, I didn’t go to law school - I didn’t think it was the right move for me at the time. I’ve since gained a tremendous amount of insight into “what I want to be when I grow up,” and I’ve given some thought to going back to law school (I’d do much, much better now than I would have then).
Buying one of the prep books will help you with this.
Other than looking at the strategies for logic games, the only prep I did was buying two books of ten tests each off of LSAC.org and then burning through them. I tried to do at one a day under proper timing conditions for a few days and then in the last few days before the exam I upped it to two a day, then took two days off before the exam. My score jumped ten points from the first exam I took to the actual test, and I got a few points above that on one of my practice tests.
I’m already intimately familiar with law school and the practice of law. My mother and brother went, and so I’d just be entering the family business. 
Thanks for the advice.
Robin
First go to:
http://lsac.org/LSAC.asp?url=/lsac/download-forms-guidelines-checklists.asp
and download the free sample test.
Two great books I used were 10 Actual Official LSAT’s and 10 More Actual Official LSAT’s. You can also order other tests from LSAC.com. If you take a number of old tests when you take the test there will not be any surprises. It will also help you relax since you have already taken the test so many times. The problem with most test prep books is they don’t use real tests.
You should also check out Arco GRE/LSAT Logic Workbook (which I used) and The PowerScore LSAT Logic Games Bible (which I didn’t use). LSAC.org also has a whole section of Testprep material.
Agreed: Do the practice test at LSAC.org and get their practice books.
An attorney friend of mine, who also tutors people for the LSAT, was very clear on this: Don’t get practice books from anywhere other than LSAC. Those are actual past tests, and will help you far more than any other source.
I start law school this fall; got a full scholarship (due entirely to my LSAT, as my undergrad GPA was fairly lousy), and I’m quitting my current job in August. Whew.
Good luck!