This installment of LSAT Diaries comes from Tamara, a 45-year-old computer programmer who scored a 166 on the December 2010 LSAT.She's got some great LSAT advice for you about how she did it, and a great description of what taking the test was like.
If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)
Tamara's LSAT Diary:
Patents and intellectual property rights interest me, and friends who are lawyers suggested my prospects for practicing intellectual property law are good. I've worked in computer software for 15 years while I attended college for degrees in communication and computer science. I had high school ambitions for law school, but high school graduation was 25 years ago. Almost on a whim, I registered for the December 2010 LSAT. I had ten weeks to prepare.
I didn't pin any specific outcome on the results. Everyone who completes a law school application takes the LSAT. So instead of pondering "Should apply to law school" and "How will I ever afford it" I decided to take the test and see what happens.
My first stop was the public library. I opened the phonebook-sized guide and took the practice test at the front. Reading comprehension, no sweat. Short-answer logical questions, hm, some of those I'm getting backwards or not right ... ohmigoodness, these puzzles? Most fun I've ever had with a #2 pencil, but each one takes a full half-hour? Many hours later, without timing anything and with ample breaks, I had a practice score of 159. (But test prep book warmups are not equivalent to the actual tests.)
So my journey began. Next step, Internet, where I quickly found LSAT Blog. Based on the advice of using official LSAT practice tests, I ordered five. One for each of the last five weeks of preparation. I didn't share this goal with anyone other than my housemates; people who could see for the huge tome labeled LSAT preparation on the coffee table.
The first five weeks, I focused on accuracy on the two weak spots: short answer (logical reasoning) and logic games (analytical reasoning). I spent weekday evenings casually answering 10 or 20 logical reasoning questions, then working on the types I got wrong. I learned about the question types, and how to identify the argument and conclusions. I followed a strategy of discarding the obviously wrong answers right off and then selecting the one best answer from the remaining answers.
Logic games? Definitely hard. Fortunately, it's the same type of reasoning required to solve the trickiest real-life computer programming problems. I photocopied logic games on individual pieces of paper and carried them with me, so that a wait at the mechanic or the vet became logic game time. I worked on them in the break room at work, where I sat and tried to figure out the contrapositives and grouping and scheduling and charts and placing square people at round tables.
Spending the weekend drinking Lone Star while trying to figure out which seagull shat on which man was a highlight of my study time. After that game, my speed picked up. I started doing two games every time I sat down, finishing one and immediately starting another, and finally got to where I could solve two in a half hour. Three. I needed three. And eventually four? Would I ever compress two hours of work into 35 minutes?
The last five weeks I focused on completing the test in the allotted time. Oh, and without a cigarette break. And getting my 45-year-old eyes trained in on bubbling selections accurately on those tiny cramped answer sheets. Each Saturday I woke up at the time I'd have to wake up for the real LSAT, drove to the library, and took a practice test. I still needed more speed on logic games. Sometimes getting three completed during a practice test. Sometimes. Almost, but not quite. I had accuracy; if I got to a game, I got all or all-but-one of the questions right. If I worked too fast, jumped to a false conclusion, didn't re-read and carefully map out the initial information? I got the whole thing wrong. Accuracy took time, precious time, but I'd rather get two completely right than four completely wrong.
But at the same time, I remained casual about the results -- if I got a good score, I'd continue down this path and apply to schools, if not, that was OK too.
Game day rolled around. Got there early and joined hundreds of others sitting around waiting to be assigned to a room. Then we had interminable delays while the proctors figured out that even if you'd grown a beard since your license picture you still were allowed to take the test (a rather common thing, you'd think, considering that LSAT studying didn't seem to allow time for shaving...?)
The wait to get our LSAT test booklets was long and frustrating. The proctor mis-read and mis-pronounced instructions. Settled into a zen-like calmness for the rigamarole and tiny uncomfortable chairs; I never thought to practice sitting in a horrible chair with a tiny tiny platform and no place to rest my pencil? Logical reasoning, reading comprehension, logical reasoning, a break to walk around, more logical reasoning, will this never end? It's well after noon, and the quiet and tedium are taking a toll. Finally the analytical reasoning, the logic games. Read them through, ranked them order of attack, worked the first, third, fourth ... time was called, and bubbled in C on the blanks. Oh, and I never did work down my list of things to do and practice that writing sample. Arguing on the best choice for a summer camp? Whatever.
They collected our packages, and the whole thing was over. And I'd gotten to three of the four logic games. And I was jubilant, driving home, calling friends who practice law, my sister, anyone who might care: I'd finished the LSAT. Finished. It is done, and now I'm sharing. Keeping my plans quiet helped keep it low-key. Then we could wait for the scores to be published together.
The results of ten weeks of casual preparation? A 166 that I can send off with my other data to the nearby top-14 law school. Due to LSAC data-sharing settings, my email inbox is filling up with other schools inviting me to open houses, waiving admission fees and talking scholarships. All without ever breaking a sweat. Take it easy -- know the question types, know your strengths and play to them. You can improve your LSAT score with three to five hours a week of consistent but moderate effort over a ten-week period and maintain your job. Friends and family will barely miss you. Next up? Applying to schools. Again, I'll do my best to achieve good results without being too attached to any particular outcome.
Photo by offshore
Patents and intellectual property rights interest me, and friends who are lawyers suggested my prospects for practicing intellectual property law are good. I've worked in computer software for 15 years while I attended college for degrees in communication and computer science. I had high school ambitions for law school, but high school graduation was 25 years ago. Almost on a whim, I registered for the December 2010 LSAT. I had ten weeks to prepare.
I didn't pin any specific outcome on the results. Everyone who completes a law school application takes the LSAT. So instead of pondering "Should apply to law school" and "How will I ever afford it" I decided to take the test and see what happens.
My first stop was the public library. I opened the phonebook-sized guide and took the practice test at the front. Reading comprehension, no sweat. Short-answer logical questions, hm, some of those I'm getting backwards or not right ... ohmigoodness, these puzzles? Most fun I've ever had with a #2 pencil, but each one takes a full half-hour? Many hours later, without timing anything and with ample breaks, I had a practice score of 159. (But test prep book warmups are not equivalent to the actual tests.)
So my journey began. Next step, Internet, where I quickly found LSAT Blog. Based on the advice of using official LSAT practice tests, I ordered five. One for each of the last five weeks of preparation. I didn't share this goal with anyone other than my housemates; people who could see for the huge tome labeled LSAT preparation on the coffee table.
The first five weeks, I focused on accuracy on the two weak spots: short answer (logical reasoning) and logic games (analytical reasoning). I spent weekday evenings casually answering 10 or 20 logical reasoning questions, then working on the types I got wrong. I learned about the question types, and how to identify the argument and conclusions. I followed a strategy of discarding the obviously wrong answers right off and then selecting the one best answer from the remaining answers.
Logic games? Definitely hard. Fortunately, it's the same type of reasoning required to solve the trickiest real-life computer programming problems. I photocopied logic games on individual pieces of paper and carried them with me, so that a wait at the mechanic or the vet became logic game time. I worked on them in the break room at work, where I sat and tried to figure out the contrapositives and grouping and scheduling and charts and placing square people at round tables.
Spending the weekend drinking Lone Star while trying to figure out which seagull shat on which man was a highlight of my study time. After that game, my speed picked up. I started doing two games every time I sat down, finishing one and immediately starting another, and finally got to where I could solve two in a half hour. Three. I needed three. And eventually four? Would I ever compress two hours of work into 35 minutes?
The last five weeks I focused on completing the test in the allotted time. Oh, and without a cigarette break. And getting my 45-year-old eyes trained in on bubbling selections accurately on those tiny cramped answer sheets. Each Saturday I woke up at the time I'd have to wake up for the real LSAT, drove to the library, and took a practice test. I still needed more speed on logic games. Sometimes getting three completed during a practice test. Sometimes. Almost, but not quite. I had accuracy; if I got to a game, I got all or all-but-one of the questions right. If I worked too fast, jumped to a false conclusion, didn't re-read and carefully map out the initial information? I got the whole thing wrong. Accuracy took time, precious time, but I'd rather get two completely right than four completely wrong.
But at the same time, I remained casual about the results -- if I got a good score, I'd continue down this path and apply to schools, if not, that was OK too.
Game day rolled around. Got there early and joined hundreds of others sitting around waiting to be assigned to a room. Then we had interminable delays while the proctors figured out that even if you'd grown a beard since your license picture you still were allowed to take the test (a rather common thing, you'd think, considering that LSAT studying didn't seem to allow time for shaving...?)
The wait to get our LSAT test booklets was long and frustrating. The proctor mis-read and mis-pronounced instructions. Settled into a zen-like calmness for the rigamarole and tiny uncomfortable chairs; I never thought to practice sitting in a horrible chair with a tiny tiny platform and no place to rest my pencil? Logical reasoning, reading comprehension, logical reasoning, a break to walk around, more logical reasoning, will this never end? It's well after noon, and the quiet and tedium are taking a toll. Finally the analytical reasoning, the logic games. Read them through, ranked them order of attack, worked the first, third, fourth ... time was called, and bubbled in C on the blanks. Oh, and I never did work down my list of things to do and practice that writing sample. Arguing on the best choice for a summer camp? Whatever.
They collected our packages, and the whole thing was over. And I'd gotten to three of the four logic games. And I was jubilant, driving home, calling friends who practice law, my sister, anyone who might care: I'd finished the LSAT. Finished. It is done, and now I'm sharing. Keeping my plans quiet helped keep it low-key. Then we could wait for the scores to be published together.
The results of ten weeks of casual preparation? A 166 that I can send off with my other data to the nearby top-14 law school. Due to LSAC data-sharing settings, my email inbox is filling up with other schools inviting me to open houses, waiving admission fees and talking scholarships. All without ever breaking a sweat. Take it easy -- know the question types, know your strengths and play to them. You can improve your LSAT score with three to five hours a week of consistent but moderate effort over a ten-week period and maintain your job. Friends and family will barely miss you. Next up? Applying to schools. Again, I'll do my best to achieve good results without being too attached to any particular outcome.
Photo by offshore
Wow that was amazing, 10 weeks are you kidding me, lord knows what you would have gotten with 15 weeks, you definitely got a knack for this 159 on the first try?
ReplyDeleteCongrats and all the best!
-Neblina
Nice work Tamara! Glad I could help...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Neblina! My challenge was time. Thank goodness I have a lot of experience in puzzling out answers. But I never did learn to get 4 logic puzzles complete in time. That's the key in retrospect, logic puzzle accuracy and speed.
ReplyDeleteAnd a good sense of humor too, Caleb, that puzzle was the break-through moment, for sure!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI'm an aspiring future law student. I was just researching about law schools info and found your blog. I just want to say thank you for time you'd taken to share your story, it's very inspiring to believe that it is possible when there's focus.
Thank you,
David Nguyen
Sounds too easy. Unfortunately my passion for law is a lot stronger than "oh if I get in, I get in."
ReplyDelete