LSAT studying: What would you have done differently?

What do you wish you'd known before starting your LSAT prep?

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:

-How much the LSAT really matters. Schools really try and say it's 1/3, but I feel like it's at least 1/2 of the decision. I would have definitely studied more.

-I spent a lot of time speeding through the questions because I was too worried about timing issues. It wasn't until the last week of preparation that I realized how much slower I could go through each section, and still have enough time. Figuring out how slow I could actually go helped me do well on the real exam. I wish I had figured this out earlier in my studying period but was thankful to have figured it out two days before the real exam.

-I didn't spend enough time practicing technique on logic games, rather I would just keep doing them and not try to solve them faster. I wish I had taken your advice earlier on to look for faster ways of solving the logic games.

-Personally I probably would have worked a little bit harder on the stress reduction. There is a lot of pressure to study, it can be a little overwhelming.

-Not to be so hard on myself and not to fear the LSAT. Also how to study smarter vs harder.

-I wish I would have taken more practice tests in an outside/semi-uncomfortable (non-home) environment.

-To photocopy the books so I could reuse them again. Erasing pencil is not fun at all.

-I would have taken way more time to study and taken a lot more timed practice tests. Timing is such a huge issue for me that I wish I focused on it more.

-Well, I decided in December to study myself and take the LSAT in February. I quit my job and studied at home 5 days a week for 8 hours a day - with a lunch break, etc. and then on the weekends about 5 hours a day. I would have definitely given myself more time - at least another month.

-I wish I had known from the start to simulate test conditions-timed, no scrap paper, pencil... right from the start. Especially the no scrap paper. I think my score was most impacted by not having reams and reams of scrap paper to make my Logic Games charts.

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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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