What do you wish you'd known before you started your LSAT studying?

What do you wish you'd known before you started your LSAT studying?

I asked the following questions to some blog readers who recently took the LSAT:

What do you know now that you wish you'd known before starting your LSAT prep? What would you have done differently?

Here are their responses:


-I was pretty intimidated by the LSAT when I first checked it out and I almost gave up. I wish I'd known that within a few months it would become almost second nature and a lot less scary. I would have freaked out less at the beginning. Also, the first time I took the test I had a mini panic attack in the middle of it. The second time I learned how to relax and it went smoothly. I wish I had learned how to relax before the first test!

-I would have stopped trying to perfect my ability to solve the problems and moved to timed practice sooner.

-I should have practiced the logic games more.

-I wish I had really done the time trials more. I was pretty good at the questions, but an intense full-time job made it difficult for me to sit down and take a full-length test or even more than one section at a time. I think I really needed to stick to the schedule.

-I wish I would have known that (for me at least) it would take 3-6 months of serious study to get me to a 170+ score so I wouldn't have had to take it so many times. I wish I had also practiced test-taking conditions/stress reduction techniques so I wouldn't have freaked out the second time I took it.

-I know now that timing was essential to prep. Since I was self studying I consumed myself with learning the materials first and timing was secondary. It should have gone hand and hand. It made a huge difference in round two when I focused on taking more practice tests before LSAT.

-I wish I would have known more about the new twists and turns that have been on the Games section in recent years.

-I wish I had looked into the type/rank of schools in relation to LSAT score before I took the test. Had I known my testing range was not high enough for a tier 1, I would not have sat the first time. I had prepared a lot, but I still had room for improvement and should have waited.

-I shouldn't have underestimated the time involved in preparing for the exam!

-I wish I would have begun studying earlier. I believe that 7-9 months is a great time frame that allows for easy, non pressured learning.

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If you've taken the LSAT before (or have been prepping for a while), how would you answer those questions?

(See previous survey responses.)

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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