Can anybody give me the low down or their opinion of it? I just bought a Kaplan book the other day. It’s ok, but hearing about it from real live people is a bit more informative.
No tips, no lawyer jokes. Kick ass on the test, work hard in law school, be a good lawyer when you get out. Lawyers do important work and are vital to the maintenance of our society. But I fear I am in the minority thinking that. The difference is that I’m right. The people who complain about lawyers shut up when they need one.
As I remember, it was more like one of those Mensa logic puzzle books than anything else. Little or nothing to do with law. If you you’re good at mind-teaser type puzzles, you’ll have an advantage. I took it in 1993 or thereabouts so it may have changed. It isn’t really an indicator of how well you’ll do in law school.
I took it in 1994 (and did pretty well, I might add). As mentioned above, the LSAT does not test your legal knowledge. It tests logic for the most part.
My suggestion on how to prepare is to go through one of the books that tests you on a section followed by an answer/explanation section. Once you understand what they’re looking for, get ahold of as many sample tests as possible to practice and to get your mind accustomed to automatically thinking in that manner. Good luck!
The main benefit in reviewing the books is so you’ll be familiar with the type of questions asked in the various sections - won’t have to waste time figuring out the instructions. Bottom line, if you are good at taking standardized tests, you will do well on the LSAT. If not, apply to the DeVry Institute of Truck Driving and Law.
But there is still time to reconsider your career choice and opt to do something meaningful and fulfilling with your life. The law is a job. Nothing more, sometimes less.
By now I’m sure you’ve seen, read, and heard, that the LSAT tests logical thinking. The Kaplan type books are actually pretty good as a tool for getting used to the type of question and the type of thinking that is required, as well as for learning to pace yourself through the questions so that you have adequate time to answer them all. Practice tests are great for getting used to answering tons of questions that force you to just think, think, think.
Oh… and I’d agree that it isn’t necessarily much of an indicator on how you’ll do * in * law school… still, you generally have to do fairly well to get * into * a decent law school. Then you’ll learn to think “like a lawyer.” Hey! It’s not always a bad thing!
Good luck! When do you take it?
Best possible advice on how to prepare? See above. It sure worked for me, I scored in the 99th percentile.
Ah, past glories are fleeting…
Get yourself into the best law school you can, study 25 hours a day 8 days a week during your first year, because those first year grades determine things like whether you get to be on Law Review. After first year, years 2 and 3 are a breeze.
Or, on the other hand, it isn’t too late to go out and get an honest job. After spending 12 hour days reading cases, sometimes being a carpenter or plumber starts to sound pretty good.
The test itself is not too hard. The logic problems were the most difficult to me but mostly because I had never seen them before. The good news is studying and practicing all the different sections of the test will improve your results. If you took a logic class in undergrad then it should be a breeze.
HUGS!
Sqrl
Well, I also took it in 1994, and I kicked Gazoo’s ass! Therefore, my advice is better. 
All the advice you are hearing is good - the two things I have to add is:
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If a section seems much more difficult than you expected, or takes you longer to complete than you thought it would, don’t sweat it - it is likely the “test section” - the portion of the test that is there to test potential future questions - it doesn’t count to your score (my first section was the test section, and it FREAKED ME OUT!)
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If you are a coffee drinker, do NOT load up on coffee in the morning, just have a cup or two. Down the coffee at the lunch break. If you load up in the morning, you might crash during the afternoon part of the test (learned this from a friend who took the MCAT, and it worked).
Good luck
Thanks y’all. I am not sure if I am even going to take it yet. The next slot available would be October. We’ll see.
Muchas Gracias
This may be a bit OT, but worth heeding. Work in a law office or something before you go to school, figure out if you would like being a lawyer, what areas might interest you, and what kind of firm you would feel comfortable in. THEN choose a law school. I had no clue - wanted to be a D.A., but went to a (very expensive) law school that cranks out business lawyers. I have a huge amount of debt now, and have found that I just don’t have the political inclinations to be a prosecutor, so I’m having to learn everything on the job at my little firm (the UCC - uh, what’s that?). Knowledge is power, and you’re investing a lot of time and money, so inform yourself first. Good luck!
Drain Bead took the test just this month, and she commented on her experience here.
I took the test in September, 1998, and it wasn’t too bad. The best advice, I think, is to do as many actual practice tests as possible, and time yourself to make it real. Practice tests created by Kaplan and Princeton Review are actually a little less strange than the actual test, but they’re good rehearsals.
The “games” or “analytical reasoning” section of the test usually causes the most heartburn. There are books about logic puzzles out there that make good practice; I know that Dell publishes a series. Look in the puzzles and games section of a bookstore and see what you can find. Most of the logic puzzles are solved on a somewhat-intimidating-looking grid, but once you get used to the format, they’re actually quite addictive and fun.
Also, Princeton Review maintains a page with comments about the most recent LSAT, even telling you which section was the experimental section. Here’s the page.
Hmmmmm.
To extend this a bit, could people tell me what their real life experiences are like?
Perhaps something in the vein of AerynSun’s excellent comments.
Hmm, personal experience, let’s see, it was about six years ago, so the experience isn’t exactly fresh. I do recall that there were a lot more people taking the test at our site than I would have imagined. That was a little daunting. Getting fingerprinted to take a test was odd too.
As I was taking the test (and immediately after) I recall thinking that I had bombed, and was a little down about it. When the results finally came in the mail I was nervous as hell but then opened it to find I finished in the 97 or 98th percentile (I can’t remember which it was). Then I was, of course, elated.
From what I remember, time was my biggest enemy. I probably didn’t practice under actual time restraints nearly enough. So again, practice, practice, practice!
Uhhh, I should have clarified my question. I meant to ask about real life experiences as a lawyer, not with the LSATs themselves.
Are you a bloodsucker? Are you helping the poor fight the man? Do you do international law?
Etc.
I really enjoy it. I’m lucky that I’ve got a position that involves both court work and internal advice to the client, and the issues are always interesting. I like the academic side of the law, and appellate work, and I am able to do both. I’m never bored at work, I find it mentally challenging, personally interesting - I love poking around in the old law, and oral argument on a complicated point of law is just heaven! (Okay, so I’m weird.) And no, I don’t help the little guy with the man; when I get involved in criminal cases from time to time, I’m on the side of the man - helping to put the bad guy away. I respect my collegauges on the other side of the table who do defence work, because it’s absolutely necessary - just doesn’t appeal to me.
The main drawback is that it’s a stressful job, as I think any lawyer would tell you, whether you do court room stuff or otherwise.
A lot of the stress comes from the fact that you’re often dealing with clients who are going through a stressful period - charged with an offence, going through financial troubles, marital difficulties - no matter how much you tell yourself to be objective, you wouldn’t be human if it didn’t affect you. Even if your practice doesn’t involve those types of clients, there are the pressures of long hours, filing deadlines (court papers, business corporation filings, and so on).
So you’d better have a strategy for dealing with the stress - working out, doping (this kind ;)), family life, and so on. There are a lot of alcoholic lawyers out there.
Do I think my job is socially productive? Yes. As someone else commented, everyone grumbles about lawyers - until they need one.
I know you didn’t ask for advice on the LSAT, but seeing as I just took it three weeks ago, I have plenty to spare, and you’ll probably need it eventually anyway. So here goes.
[ul]
[li]First things first–practice, practice, practice. I took about one practice test a week for six months. And not with just one type of book or course. I heartily recommend the ARCO Supercourse for its amazing amount of games drills. After doing 165 games problems, I went from missing 4-5 per section to missing 0-3. That’s a big help. The other two sections are not quite as easy to master, but practice with several different types of books will give you a nice representation of all the question types and difficulties. I found my actual LSAT to be easier than most of the practice tests I’d taken! Just make sure that you take the practice tests timed, because one of the major problems with people who take the LSAT is that they didn’t finish. I was proud because I managed to finish every section on time, although I cut a games section pretty close, leaving myself about 30 seconds to relax.[/li][li]I’m not sure if you’re taking a Saturday or a Monday exam date, but make sure you have a way of relaxing the two or three days before the test. But DON’T loaf. If you don’t want to take a practice test then, read something that will keep your mind engaged. I took Sophie’s World (a book about the history of philosophy) to the test with me to read before I went into the room, and it helped keep my mind sharp through the nerves. Also, and you’re going to hear this a lot, make SURE you get a good night’s sleep before the test, and eat a light, nutritious meal beforehand. Don’t fill up on bacon and eggs and greasy breakfast food, because it’ll make you sluggish.[/li][li]The breaks during the test are amazingly short. 10-15 minutes barely gives you time to go to the bathroom, let alone eat. Don’t drink during the test, and bring snacks that you can eat QUICKLY. Don’t bring a huge lunch, because you’ll never manage to finish it. And for the breaks, chocolate covered coffee beans are a LIFESAVER. Munch down four or five during the first break, one or two during the second, and you’ll get a little burst of energy that should help a lot. And DON’T talk to anyone during the break. There will be little pockets of people discussing the test, and inevitably one of them will have the same form that you did. But you DON’T want to hear what they think of it, because either way, it will undermine your confidence.[/li][li]Don’t let yourself relax after the 5 MC sections are finished. In my test room, I noticed a good lot of people who were FINE during the MC, but didn’t finish the writing sample. And even though that’s not “graded,” the law schools all look at it, and not finishing it looks really bad. You may make the mistake of thinking that the writing sample is cake, and not practicing it enough. If you can, find a friend who is taking the LSAT and sit down with them to work on the same writing sample practices. Comparing your results will help you learn to strengthen your own argument, especially if the two of you ended up taking opposing viewpoints.[/li][/ul]
Good luck on the test. I expect to hear your results!
Grendel,
I received my j.d. in 1998, and have never practiced law. I was happy teaching, and didn’t need any more change in my life at that time (was going through a divorce), and frankly, the practice of law didn’t seem all that attractive.
Now, however, economic realities (i.e., I’m going bankrupt teaching) may force my hand. I’m thinking of taking the bar in February, a good 2 1/2 years after law school. So, I too am interested to hear how people enjoy practicing law. Especially how stress is handled.
Any tips on taking the bar would be appreciated as well.
djwalker