LSAT Diary: Non-Traditional Law School Applicant

This installment of LSAT Diaries comes from Bob, who improved from 137 to 153 on the June 2013 LSAT after using my day-by-day LSAT study plan. (See his previous LSAT Diaries.)

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.)

Thanks to Bob for sharing his experience and advice!

Bob's LSAT Diary:

At times I felt like Jack Palance.  For those too young to remember, the late actor refused to bow to age, showing off with one-handed push-ups at the 1992 Academy Awards.  Jack was then 73.  I’m only breaking into my sixties.  But in June 2013, I took the LSAT.  I’d say that makes us equal.

Pass this by if you’re expecting some Cinderella success story; that of a non-traditional student who broke the 170 barrier and propelled himself to a top-tier law school.  That’s not me. This is a story for those who because of age, obligations, or the curse of simply being average, will never achieve a near-perfect score; but nevertheless, seek to tackle the LSAT to the best of their abilities, maybe even outperform their own expectations, and thereby advance themselves to a solid legal education.

My June LSAT score was 153.  No, not great by this blog’s standards.  But not an embarrassment, either.  It placed me in the 56th percentile and was a full 16 points higher than when I’d started five months earlier.  By that benchmark, it wasn’t bad.  It wasn’t my best.  Yet, for now, 153 is a score I can live with.

I’m a paralegal student at a community college, undertaking a late-stage career change governed by necessity.  I believe any prospective legal assistant should take the LSAT at least once.  It could open the door to unforeseen opportunity.  It will also provide one a common experience with the attorneys for whom he or she will eventually work.  Preparing for and taking the LSAT is time well spent.

My LSAT journey began on New Year’s morning 2013.  Rested, sober, but highly naïve, I took the June 2007 LSAT, the free download, timed.  Sadly, my score was a mere 137.  On Games, only four correct answers in 35 minutes!  Disappointment.  What’s more, the ordeal left me whipped.  As I wrote at the time, “It wasn’t that the test was particularly hard; it was that I was intellectually unprepared and mentally out of shape.  I need work!”  But I also wrote it may have been a blessing in disguise. “The sooner this test humbles you, the better.”

I refused to give up.  I postponed my planned test date from February to June. Within the month, as so many of us do, I stumbled upon Steve’s blog.  I adopted his four-month schedule customized with slight modifications.  I ordered his Logic Games Explanations. After a few more timed tests showing slight progress, I focused almost exclusively on Games, learning how to diagram effectively and search for the keys to simplification.  Slowly, I improved.

Research indicates age erodes working memory, the cognition that allows one to manipulate multiple bits of complex information on the fly.  It’s the one skill most valuable on the LSAT, particularly LG.  Recognizing my aging brain’s limitation proved insightful, but still frustrating.  It meant I’d seldom reach the end of any LSAT section; bypass what I’d quickly sense was the densest of the reading passages (usually the culture one); and pace myself on Games, knowing that, within reason, accuracy comes first; speed second.  Yes, always try to overcome your handicaps; but never fool yourself.

For me, there was no breakthrough moment; just steady, gradual progress. Two steps forward; one step back.  I played to my strengths.  I’m visual, competitive and analytical (Games aside.)  I preferred taking tests timed so as to map my progress accurately.  I even plotted successive scores by section on Excel column charts.  Do whatever works.  I took 31 timed PrepTests before the June exam.  Scores grew through the 140’s, and then edged into the 150’s.  My highest score, 158, came four days before the test.

Always find a cheerleader.  For me, it was Ms. O., my computer applications instructor.  My confidence grew knowing she believed in my abilities.  I found myself taking PrepTests the morning before class; grading them on campus after instruction; then returning to her classroom to share with her my (modest) progress.  Use the encouragement of a spouse, parent or teacher to your advantage whenever you can.

In mid-May, classes ended.  The LSAT became my life.  I considered taking up to six timed tests a week; then Steve warned about burnout.  I compromised at three. Scores hovered in the low-150’s.  I was torn between practice and patience.  May 22nd: “The problem with trying to avoid burnout is that you don’t test.”  After a day or two of downtime, I always felt rusty.

Most others encounter setbacks.  I did too.  On May 29th at my college kiosk, I attacked SuperPrep C, or more accurately put, it attacked me.  Section 1 was Games.  Nothing clicked.  I panicked.  Time expired.  That’s it.  I slammed shut the book; walked out of campus; regrouped.  The next day, I took a different test, and earned a respectable 152.  Back on track, sort of.  But I never again tested at my “lucky kiosk.”  As Steve reminds us, “You make your own luck.”

One week before the exam, a new strategy.  I set my own pace:  Two consecutive days of timed tests; one day off for rest, review and most importantly, Game practice.  I visited my test site.  LSAC rules prohibit practice in the test room.  But I found a quiet – perhaps, too quiet – alcove two flights up.  It became my second home, the place where I took two of my last three PrepTests, felt the most comfortable, and did my best work.  Never discount the subliminal benefits of spatial proximity.

Test day was choreographed as Steve instructs.  I visited the site early; warmed up at my alcove with several carefully chosen Games; then walked downstairs for the afternoon exam.  I knew the room and the routine.  No surprises. My only adjustment involved testing in a group setting.  I’d never taken a “Coffee Shop” test; and the nervousness probably cost me a few points.  After the break, I adapted to the environment.  Too bad my third LR was the experimental.

Like most, I was drained after the exam.  Yet I returned to my alcove one last time to write a postscript.  I predicted a score of around 150, so the eventual results encouraged me.  “It’s finally over, and I survived,” I wrote.  “Time to change gears, at least for now.  The LSAT is in my brain’s rear view mirror.  Nothing ventured; nothing gained.  Always look forward.” (My motto.)  Strangely, I found myself worrying most about the other older man who began the test in my room, then canceled out by the end of Section 2.  His day ended much differently than did mine.

Will I re-take the LSAT?  I may, depending on academic need.  Should law school beckon, I’ll test again later this year.  Next time, the crowd won’t unsettle me.  The butterflies will be fewer.  I’ve learned much and will study more.  Living in a college town, I might even network with Study Buddies, fellow law school aspirants who can replicate timed testing in a group setting.  It could gain us each a point or two.

Never give up on your dreams.  Respect your limitations.  But never think you’re too old or too average to take the LSAT.  Most Ivy League law schools accept only about 200 candidates a year.  Some must settle for West Wyoming State (if such a school existed.)  The objective for most of us is to gain admission to a decent (if not great) law school, earn a degree, and then make the most of it.  Follow Steve’s advice.  Learn the basics.  Give yourself time.  Then practice, practice, and practice some more; just as Jack Palance did before the Academy Awards.

Photo by bobaubuchon