7 Tips on How to Score High on the LSAT

In this LSAT Blog post, I've compiled another 7 tips from blog readers who wrote LSAT Diaries to share how they scored high on the LSAT. (Read previous LSAT Diaries compilations.)

Enjoy, and 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.)

1. "I took 20+ PrepTests. Slowly, PrepTest after PrepTest I began to see patterns in logical reasoning questions, the section I most needed to improve. The correct answer for necessary assumption questions, a weakness, started to take on a certain “feel.” I came to relish sufficient assumption questions for the relative simplicity of “connecting the dots” to make the conclusion work...I wrote out why the correct answer was right for every logical reasoning question I got wrong." - Lisa, 175 (LSAT Diaries)

2. "Exercise regularly: physical fitness is important for your mental acuity. Do not drink alcohol: even small amounts inhibit peak mental performance. Do not drink coffee or soda: water is superior. Do not take a practice test within an hour of waking up: you will not fully concentrate. Practice with the watch you will use on test day...Practice using wooden pencils: no mechanical pencils are allowed. Do diligence on your test center and visit in advance. Stay calm during the test: you are extremely well prepared."  - Samson, 174 (LSAT Diaries)

3. "My scores consistently hovered around 176 with two important happenings. At first, I realized I was dissecting the questions to an almost absurd degree while testing, so I needed to take a step back, and trust my gut a bit. The other was that the title of one of Steve's posts became my mantra of sorts. "How I learned to stop worrying and love the LSAT." I was at my absolute best when I viewed the test not as a source of frustration, but a puzzle, a code to crack, or a game."  - Brad, improved from 167 to 179 (LSAT Diaries)

4. "Focus and give yourself adequate time. I studied for 5-6 months on one of Steve’s LSAT study plans, but got distracted when I had to graduate and move cross-country. Don’t mimic my mistake: schedule a test date and make sure you have very little else going on. I took my test in the middle of a trans-America drive, and I am confident the stress of that trip, coupled with the drop-off in studying, lost me a few precious points." - Brandon, improved from 150 to 170 (LSAT Diaries)

5. "[R]egarding practice tests, do as many of them under timed conditions as you can. But the real key to benefiting from them is to review every single question that you got wrong until you understand exactly why you got it wrong. Failure to do this will likely result in you making the same sort of mistake on similarly structured questions in the future. Review, review, review!" - J, improved from 157 to 166 on LSAT retake (LSAT Diaries)

6. "Don’t sign up for Kaplan because they have an 'improve your score guarantee.' Anyone who is exposed to the test that much is going to improve their score no matter what. It helps for some, but you don’t need a prep course to improve. Use the books but adapt the strategies to fit your strengths." - Ricky, improved from 153 to 160 on retake (LSAT Diaries)

7. "To prep for LSAT test day, I followed Steve’s suggestion of taking the test in a public place. I went twice to my local library, and the first time I was definitely distracted and nervous with all the other people around me. The second time I was much more comfortable, though there was an awkward moment when a guy sat down next to me with an LSAT book and started practicing logic games. Moments like that were worse than anything I was likely to face on test day, and flipped out as I was in the moment, I was grateful for the opportunity to give my nerves a thorough workout." - Rebecca, 174 (LSAT Diaries)

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