7 LSAT Preparation Tips from LSAT Blog Readers

In this LSAT Blog post, 7 blog readers who achieved top LSAT scores and significant score improvements share their advice. (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. "You definitely want to be the least stressed out person at the test center – you have to play this mental trick on yourself. LSAT test day is not the most important day of your life. This test you’re about to take is just like every other prep test you’ve ever taken, and by this point in your prep you should be really tired of prep tests because they’ve become so routine. I took every prep test after 19 (except for 61)...(Sidenote: Taking prep tests in coffee shops is like training with weights on – do it)." - Ellen C., 174 (LSAT Diaries)

2. "If you’re thinking through three levels of abstractions with clauses that start with “if,” you’re thinking too much. There should be an automatic quality to your movement through the LG section. You want to complete this section like machine." - Samson, 174 (LSAT Diaries)

3. "Without the full support of my family, friends, and girlfriend, I would not have been able to achieve what I have. They simply had to understand that for three months, barring important obligations, I was off the grid. If that meant that on our one day off together, my girlfriend knew that I would disappear to the office for the majority of the day, that was the sacrifice I had to make, and luckily the sacrifice she was willing to make. It was a rough three months indeed, but I can say without a shred of doubt, absolutely worth it." - Brad, improved from 167 to 179 (LSAT Diaries)


4. "The more time that you give yourself, the more able you will be to identify your personal weaknesses, and to take measures to strengthen your approach in these areas. Think about how many people have gotten their results back and thought to themselves, “Geez, what I would give for just two or three more points so that I could get into so-and-so law school…” But it’s too late for them to “give something” to get those points. It’s not too late for you though, and all you have to give is your time and focus. Those extra points will be yours." - J, improved from 157 to 166 on LSAT retake (LSAT Diaries)


5. "Do a ton of practice tests in real conditions, three sections, ten minute break, two sections. Do not deviate from that, no allowing extra time, answering a text, working after the buzzer or taking a bathroom break." - Ricky, improved from 153 to 160 on retake (LSAT Diaries)


6. "The key for me was the repetition Steve’s study plan called for. I kept getting my butt kicked by Logical Reasoning questions where I missed a single crucial word, or choosing answer choices that were almost but not quite right. However, after doing questions of the same type over and over, I started to recognize the tricks the test-makers were using repeatedly, and I found I could train my normally skim-prone eyes to read each and every word of the stimulus." - Rebecca, 174 (LSAT Diaries)

7. "In the end, the study process should consume you. Finishing the test should be the end of a 6-month roller coaster ride. PrepTests left me feeling hopeless or elated, burned out or anxious to go again, but persistence became more and more important as test day drew near. Not everyone can stick with it, which is why not everyone will go to a top school, and realistically, that’s not the end of the world by any means. But if you have the fortitude and devotion, all of the resources are at your fingertips. Don’t make excuses, don’t quit, and remember: you can get tired, but never weak." - Brandon, improved from 150 to 170 (LSAT Diaries)

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