LSAT Blog: LSAT Unplugged YouTube / Podcast

Getting every LSAT PrepTest?

How far should you go to get every PrepTest?

Every released LSAT is useful.

Of course, the older it is, the less relevant it is.

The ones that are hard to get (for example, PrepTests 1-6, 8, and 17) are only worth using if you plan to do all the others, also. But they ARE worth using if you have the time.

What about the Digital LSAT?

LSAC's website has some LSATs in the Digital LSAT format over at familiar.lsac.org - otherwise, you can use PDFs if you have them and write on scratch paper on the side. (Alternatively, treat your books of LSAT PrepTests like PDFs - don't write anything on them - and do all your writing on scratch paper.)

If you're looking for more on the Digital LSAT, check out my YouTube channel, where I have several classes focused on Digital LSAT prep. And my LSAT courses go into even more detail on Digital LSAT prep strategies for each section.

What about Kindle versions of LSAT PrepTests?
LSAC does sell PrepTests on Kindle, but it REALLY pisses me off when students use these.

Why?

Because you can't display them the way the Digital LSAT does, and you can't even print them out, either! It's important to take PrepTests in Test Day conditions - as realistically as possible.

And you're not likely to find any websites providing actual LSAT questions for free, because LSAC charges a licensing fee to show their questions anywhere.

If you look around and find "LSAT questions" online, make sure they're not fake ones - make sure you can see references cited for the exam number, section number, and question number.

A lot of websites and books have fake "sample" questions that are NOTHING like the real ones. This is a great way to get around LSAC's rules and avoid paying licensing fees, but it hurts students when they get a question "wrong" because the question itself is a bad question!

When I first started my website, I wanted to be able to display LSAT questions online for free to students anywhere in the world. Of course, LSAC wasn't cool with this, so I decided to one-up them and wrote my own "fake" Logic Games not only are they perfectly valid (no mistakes of any kind), but they're just like the ones you'd see on the LSAT.

With ONE exception.

They're actually a bit HARDER than actual LSAT Logic Games! So try 'em out if you haven't already and need some extra practice materials.

So, how many PrepTests should you actually do?

If you're studying for the LSAT over a period of:

* 3 months or less, I'd focus on the newest 20 or so PrepTests.

* 3-6 months, I'd focus on the newest 30-40 PrepTests.

* 6+ months, I'd focus on the newest 40-50 PrepTests.

There are many more than 50 PrepTests, of course. So, what I'm saying is, you prrrroooobbabbly don't need every single PrepTest.

So, that's all for now.

Lemme know if you have any questions about PrepTests. I'm kind of obsessed with them, in case you haven't noticed :)

Forever yours,

PrepTest-Preoccupied Steve

"my way makes more sense to me than the way you explain it"

Got this question / criticism recently from a reader who will remain anonymous:

"Your Logic Games videos are awesome but sometimes I do things differently than you to arrive at the same answer and my way makes more sense to me than the way you explain it though."

HOW DARE YOU?!?!?!?!?!

Just kidding.

Using a different method to solve LSAT Logic Games is totally fine. There are TONS of ways to ways to diagram and solve them.

Sometimes, the solution I show is just how I solve them based on my personal preference, how I was feeling that day, etc.

Different people have different diagramming approaches, styles, preferences, yadda yadda. For some game types, your style might be similar to mine, and for others, it might not.

My HOPE is that my explanations show another perspective and shed some fresh light on games that you might otherwise find confusing, to help you find a more efficient approach.

Same goes for my written explanations for other sections, but this is ESPECIALLY true for Logic Games.

And Logic Games is worth mastering since it's the most perfectible section - you should do DOZENS of Logic Games sections for practice by type. (Click here to get Logic Games organized by type.)

For this reason, most books and courses spend a good amount of time on Logic Games. Test-takers often have the most trouble with this section, at least when they're starting out.

If you're shooting for 160-165+, you probably don't want to skip any games.

And keep in mind that EVEN IF you were to do only 3 games in a section, the last game is not necessarily the one to skip. The 4th isn't always the toughest. There have been plenty of cases where the toughest game was the 2nd or 3rd.

In order to be even just "okay" on Logic Games, I'd say that means you're missing fewer questions there than on other sections (ideally less than 3-5 wrong, depending on your goal score).

It means you feel that you have a solid understanding of them and a consistent, systematic approach that you can adapt when LSAC throws a twist into a familiar game type. In my LSAT courses, I cover Logic Games from the basic (easier) types, all the way to the toughest "curveball" games.

And in my LSAT explanations for all sections - Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension - I make sure to fully explain all 5 answer choices.

I took the time to do this (without resorting to lame phrases like "out of scope") ----

so that - no matter where you went wrong - you'll understand EXACTLY why the wrong answer choices was wrong, and why the correct choice was, well, correct!

Do me a favor:

Reach out and let me know if you've used my explanations and found what you think is a better way to solve a game - always interested in hearing other points of view...and sometimes proving them wrong :)))

Open-mindedly yours (kind of),
LSAT Steve

When NOT to submit your law school application

Law school admissions is "rolling," meaning law schools look at each application as soon as they get it.

This often leads students to apply as soon as they can, even before getting their LSAT score back!

Sure, you CAN submit your apps before your LSAT score comes in, but if you have a previous LSAT score on record, *be sure to tell schools not to look at the applications until the new score comes in.*

The risk is that the school might mistakenly look at the application with the prior LSAT score and reject you without waiting to consider the newer score (even though you've told them - they're busy and stuff can get lost or forgotten). Once rejected in a cycle, that's it for the cycle.

I recommend avoiding this potential issue altogether by waiting to hit "SUBMIT" until you get your score back.

What you can do:

Make sure you've written everything else for your application by the time LSAT scores are released so you can submit your app as early as possible once they come back.

BUT....just to be on the safe side.......

hold back on something crucial to your application - like your personal statement!

Seriously. Wait to upload it until your new LSAT score is released. This way, you make sure they don't mistakenly consider your application without the new score.

And, if you're taking the LSAT for the first time (or if you've never taken an official LSAT and kept the score), your file won't be complete anyway until the LSAT score comes back. After all, they need to know your LSAT score before they look at your application! If this is you, the situation I'm describing isn't as much of a big deal.

Either way, though, it's still better to wait in case you LSAT score isn't what you want it to be, and you need to retake.

If you haven't started writing your personal statement yet, or you need some help, check out this HUGE compilation of my best tips on writing your law school personal statement:

My BEST Tips on How to Write Your Personal Statement --->

More LSAT goodies coming your way soon. Stay tuned.

-LSAT Steve

P.S. Please don't write your personal statement about To Kill A Mockingbird. Yes, it's inspired generations of high school students, but this means that TONS of people use it in their personal statements. You want to stand out, not be "another one of those."

P.P.S. You also want to show that you understand what real lawyers do, not how they're sensationalized in books and movies :)

Recommended Resources:

1. A Comprehensive Guide to the Law School Personal Statement
This guide provides tips on conceptualizing, planning, writing, and editing the law school personal statement.

2. Law School Admissions Guide
I've written a concise guide to the law school admission process with tips on completing every aspect of your applications from start to finish. It's a small price to pay for a whole lot of guidance, and it's short enough that you'll actually read the whole thing.

3. Law School Admissions Cheat Sheet
Quick-reference guide for the law school personal statement, the "Why X?" essay, and the law school résumé. (You can also get it with the LSAT Cheat Sheets.)

Law School Admissions Waitlist Advice

For students who have already applied to law school:

Waitlists will likely see a lot of movement - especially because law schools likely won't get as many seat deposits as expected -- many students will be more hesitant to make the law school commitment this cycle given how uncertain the world is right now.

The cancellation of the March LSAT (soon to be joined by April) means students who were relying on those tests to boost their odds for this cycle are disadvantaged, and those who were not planning on retaking the LSAT and currently on the waitlist will benefit as a result.

One thing you might do is send a Letter of Continued Interest right at the time of seat deposit deadlines - this way you'll be top of mind when they're looking to admit students from the waitlist.

Which LSAT prep course is best?

I get this question from students ALL THE TIME...and I have some pretty strong opinions about it.

But, first off, prep courses I would NOT recommend are.....

Kaplan and Princeton Review

Why not?

Because they don't require their instructors to have gotten super-high LSAT scores on an actual LSAC-administered LSAT PrepTest.

As you might know by now....it's one thing to take a PrepTest by yourself (reduced stress knowing it's not the real thing, bathroom breaks, no proctors circling around, etc.)

And it's a VERY different thing to take the LSAT for real when the stakes are:

* where you'll go to law school

* what you'll tell friends and family

* whether you'll have to study more and retake

Not only that, but last time I checked, Kaplan only requires its instructors to have scored in the 90th percentile on the LSAT (around 164-165)....which is perfectly respectable for most people, but not the kind of expertise you probably want your LSAT guru to have.

I'd say you want your LSAT instructor to have scored at LEAST a 170, if not a 173+ (99th percentile) on an actual LSAT PrepTest.

So, my answer to the question of which LSAT course is best --- aside from mine, obviously :) ---

is....

What matters more than the company providing the course is the instructor you'll actually be working with.

You need someone who's knowledgeable, experienced, engaging, able to answer random questions on the fly, and go off-script to address the actual needs of the students.
You also need an instructor who can strike a balance between the needs of the "slower" and "quicker" students. Unfortunately, most classes contain students of all different ability levels (people shooting for simply 150+ and others shooting for 170+). In a class, you need an instructor who doesn't cater solely to one group or the other.

Ideally, if you take a course, you should be able to speak with the instructor before starting the class, get references, and sit in on a sample class actually taught by that instructor.

If you do take a course, it's good to give yourself plenty of time after the course to review things more thoroughly on your own before taking the exam itself.

Why?

Sometimes people fall behind with homework during a prep course, especially in classes where they assign a TON of it. You might just more time to let things digest,

This assumes you'll be motivated/have time to study more after the course ends. If that sounds like you, it's worthwhile to give yourself more time afterward, but it really depends on you/your personality/your schedule and other obligations.

You can use the extra time to review what you learned, fill in any conceptual gaps, and get used to taking full sections and tests. Some courses focus a lot on doing questions by type, so I typically recommend spending any extra time on full practice tests and timed sections, catch-up, and reviewing weak areas.

(Every major course now uses real LSAT questions from past tests, so you don't need to worry about that.)

If you have any questions about joining my LSAT courses (created by me, personally, after I scored 175 on an ACTUAL LSAT), just reach out and I'll get back to you as soon as I can :)

-Steve Schwartz - Creator of LSAT courses
Recommended Resources:

1. LSAT Courses
The best of my LSAT material with exclusive access to attend my Live Online LSAT Master Classes + Q&As, and on-demand video lessons you can watch anytime. Plus, LSAT study plans to keep you on track. Save hundreds of dollars with an LSAT course package.

2. LSAT Day-By-Day Study Plans
Preparing for the LSAT is confusing. There are dozens of prep books and practice tests out there, and 1,000+ articles on my website alone. When, and how, should you use them all? These super-specific study plans give you a clear plan of attack.

3. LSAT Cheat Sheets
Based on what I'd typically do in college: read what the professor emphasized and condense it all onto a single piece of paper. It gave me a quick reference, making things a lot less threatening and a lot more manageable.

how NOT to get kicked out of the LSAT

I get reports after every test from readers who end up getting kicked out of the exam. Why?

Because they brought their cell phones!

Here's the kinda question I typically get about bringing cell phones:

I'm taking the lsat soon. I know we're not supposed to bring our cellphones into the testing room but I'm taking a taxi to the testing center so I don't have a car to put it in. How do people deal with this problem? Sorry if this is a silly question but help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Short answer is: DON'T bring your phone!

Phones ring/alarms can easily go off because you forgot to turn it off (easy for that to happen just because of Test Day stress)

....and you get kicked out of the test!!!

Not worth it.

So. Please. DON'T bring your phone to the test.

Anyway....I'm sure the proctors will have their cell phones, which you can ask to borrow to call someone if you really need to.

Also, I heard that once, at Columbia University, the proctors asked anyone with a cell phone to come forward (implying they'd hold your phone for you). Then, they immediately kicked out all of those people!

So, yeah, they can be pretty serious about the rules.

Also, if you haven't already, please register for the LSAT - conveniently-located test centers get booked up early.

You don't want to have to travel to a faraway or inconvenient test center.

You also don't want to have to take the LSAT at a test center with small desks, poor lighting, etc.

You can always postpone your test date (LSAC calls it a test date change) anytime up until approx 3 weeks before the test date. There is a fee to change it, but it's worth not having to travel far or take your test at a bad test center.

And don't take the LSAT "just to see how you'll do."

I'm not a fan of taking diagnostics before you've studied at all, but if you want to take a proctored exam after studying for a while, here's what you do:

Go to one of those prep companies like Kaplan or Princeton Review that offers free proctored exams for marketing purposes.

Last time I checked, I heard Kaplan uses PrepTest 36 for all their free marketing proctored exams. If you tell Kaplan you've already done that one, they might be able/willing to provide you with a different PT. Just request it in advance so they'll have it ready for you if they're able to accommodate.

If you live in a decent-sized city, you might be able to attend several of these close to Test Day and even bring your own exam!

Just consider listing your phone number as something like 867-5309 to avoid repeat follow-up phone calls from them afterward. :)

If you don't want to deal with all that, you can always proctor exams for yourself.

Some tips:

* Take some tests in mildly stressful environments (like a library or a coffee shop).

* Keep your own time, and don't count on getting a 5 minute warning (sometimes proctors forget).

The idea's just to get ready for any potential distractions and issues on test day.

This is getting pretty long so I'm going to leave off for now, but if you want more, I put together a full article about this:

10 Tips to Prepare for the Day of the LSAT ---->

Lemme know if you have other questions about Test Day - maybe, if you're lucky, I'll answer your question in a future article!

-Steve

P.S. Before I sign off, I'm going to share 5 YouTube videos to help get you pumped for the LSAT, whenever you're taking it.

* 40 inspirational speeches in 2 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wRkzCW5qI

* football-focused, but the message is applicable to LSAT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ

* if Elle Woods can score 179, so can you! :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Pc1acaP_k

* LSAT-themed remix of "I Gotta Feeling": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU5ZhL6CsHg

* how one guy got rid of his prep books post-LSAT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE-F6CexvzA

Watching videos like that helps to get you into a positive and success-oriented mindset. It sounds silly to some people, but top scorers will use any technique that might have a remote chance of helping.

In my experience, more students benefit from techniques like this one than you might expect.

If a technique, whether an uplifting video or or Legally Blonde reference, could help get you more motivated to study, or sharpen your focus...

If it could get you even one more point on the LSAT...

Wouldn't you want to take advantage of it?

These are just a small sample of the LSAT Mindset techniques I use in my LSAT Test Day Success course (part of the LSAT courses).

So watch these videos whenever you're feeling down about the LSAT (I know it can be frustrating at times!), when you just want an energy boost to jump back into studying....

...and, obviously, on Test Day itself!

If you have any favorite motivational videos, please hit reply and share them! I'm always looking for more.

LSAT Score Cancellations

"How do you decide whether to cancel your score, assuming that the LSAT does not go well for you on test day, or you think it didn't go well?"

How do we know? It's not always easy to tell. Especially when you are so close to the problem that you have tunnel vision and you can't see straight. Once you walk out of the LSAT your brain is going to be fried. If you've done a 5-section exam, or maybe even gone really nuts and done a 6-section exam, you know what that feels like. After the LSAT, you're not in the best situation to make an evaluation of where you stand.

So for that reason, don't make any sudden moves. You don't need to cancel your score right away. You've got six calendar days from the day of the exam to cancel your score, and there is no benefit to canceling the day of or the next day vs three days later.

You will always have the chance to come back later with a fresh perspective and see where you stand. So for that reason, I would say, first of all, just don't do anything drastic in the moment. What you can do is take a reasoned assessment of how the test went, and I want you to walk through the following questions.

First of all, were you fully prepared? Did you do everything that you reasonably could have done? Or did you suddenly realize that for the past 2-3 months, you've been doing everything wrong. You've been working out of some awful, off-the-shelf prep book that doesn't even use real LSAT questions.

If that's the book you've been using, and it was using fake questions, then yes, you've been doing it wrong. You could probably improve your score drastically by taking a wholly different course of prep.

But if, on the other hand, you've been prepping in a reasonably solid way, you've been using well-reviewed LSAT materials from trusted sources, you've been using actual LSAT problems, and you've been getting advice from people that you consider to be experts.

Maybe you've even been taking their courses or using their study plans and you found that it just fell apart for you for one vague reason or another.

Now, let’s define "fall apart." Is it that you suddenly forgot everything and were at a loss for the entire 35 minutes per section? Or is it that you encountered a couple of difficult problems and weren't entirely sure how to handle them? If you just have this vague sense of dread because you didn't answer everything 100% correctly, then you probably shouldn't.

Maybe you could take a couple of days and think, “It might not have gone perfectly. Maybe it's a couple of points lower than I wanted, but...honestly, I'm not sure. I'm not sure how it went.” If that's the case for you, then I wouldn't cancel.

The reason is, there are many people who have gotten great scores, but they had that vague sense of dread right afterwards. And it's because the test is scary. Your adrenaline is running, your heart's racing, and that fight or flight kicks in and it feels like it was 10 hours of agony.

And then it also feels like it went by in the flash of an instant, all at the same time. And you walk out of there sweaty and drained. That's the situation that everyone's in. Even when it doesn't count and it's just a practice run, then it can still happen. It's normal, but if that's all you're feeling, I would keep the score. For more, I've got an entire LSAT Unplugged playlist focused on LSAT Test Day prep here -----> and several articles on LSAT Test Day prep here -----> Free Stuff | YouTube | Podcast | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Books | Courses

LSAT Logic Games - How to diagram "or" conditional statements

In this article, I'm answering your questions about diagramming "or" conditional statements.

First question's from Nadia:

On the LSAT, is "or" inclusive or exclusive?

On the LSAT, the word "or" is inclusive, meaning it allows the possibility of having both (not just one).

And sometimes, just to mess with you, the LSAT says, "one, the other, or both" - even when it's not NECESSARY to say both. (Click here to see how to diagram rules saying "before or after, but NOT both.")

For example, take the following rule from PrepTest 33 (December 2000), Game 2 (birds in the forest):

If J, M, or both are in the forest, then so are H.

It could have said:

If J or M are in the forest, then so are H.

instead, and the meaning would have been the same:

In other words, saying "or both" in the original is unnecessary.

(You can see how I diagram this ENTIRE game, step-by-step, in this article and this video.)

***

Next question's from James:

If a statement said the following:

To graduate from law school you must be both smart and resourceful.

Therefore, the contrapositive of the statement would be:

If you are not smart or not resourceful then you will not graduate from law school.

Can you explain the and --> or part? I am getting a little confused (thinking too much about the or), what if someone is smart but not resourceful, can they not graduated then?

Any explanation/examples would be appreciated.

Break the statement into two parts, and things get clearer REAL fast:

If graduate -> smart

If graduate -> resourceful

Contrapositives:

If not smart -> not graduate

If not resourceful -> not graduate

Graduating requires both, so...if you lack one, the other, or both, then you cannot graduate.

***

Bonus question from Rachel:

What about dealing with words like "only" and "until?"

the only = sufficient indicator

only if / only when = necessary indicator

until / except / unless / without = tricky indicator words

2 main ways to translate these tricky indicator words:
Method 1.) when you see these words, replace them with the phrase "if not"

Method 2.) take them as introducing the necessary condition (whatever immediately follows is the necessary condition), then take the other part of the sentence, negate it, and then that part will be the sufficient condition

for example:

"No X until Y" can be translated...

Using Method #1:

No X if not Y = If not Y, not X

Using Method #2:

If X then Y.

I personally prefer the 2nd way, but both are TOTALLY fine ways to deal with these annoying words.

Next time, I'll share some tips on dealing with sufficient and necessary conditions with some examples to make it REAL.

(These DEFINITELY won't be your typical boring ones about the LSAT, Harvard Law, and Elle Woods.)

Stay tuned,

LSAT-Obsessed Steve

Recommended Resources:

1. LSAT Courses
The best of my LSAT material with exclusive access to attend my Live Online LSAT Master Classes + Q&As, and on-demand video lessons you can watch anytime. Plus, LSAT study plans to keep you on track. Save hundreds of dollars with an LSAT course package.

2. Logic Games Explanations
The explanations that should have come with the LSAT. These tell you why the wrong answers are wrong, why the right answers are right, and the easiest way to get the correct answer.

3. Mastering LSAT Logic Games
This guide to Logic Games is by a former writer of actual LSAT questions! Enough said.

LSAT Prep During Coronavirus Pandemic

I know you’re all worried about a LOT of things, such as how the coronavirus will affect future LSAT test dates. The April LSAT will almost certainly be canceled. The June LSAT is uncertain.

*Everyone* is being affected in some way - it's a crazy time.

What we DO know is that you should take advantage of the downtime, if you have it.

Take advantage of the uncertainty and make the most of the time you have - even if you’re stuck at home. And with the LSAT being digital now and so many available resources online, you actually don't need books. You don't need to go anywhere. What you need to do is turn your home into a study oasis, where you can focus on getting things done.

If you have more free time, NOW is the perfect time to sit down and study. Even though it might feel like you’re in limbo, prepare yourself just to be ready. That way when the time comes and things start to clear up, you can take the next LSAT you want to.

It's hard to study when you have uncertainty about when and where the next test is going to be and what law school is going to look like in the summer and fall. Is it going to be online? Is it going to go forward? A lot of unknowns are floating about; it feels like all these external forces are crashing down on you, whether it's the latest government lockdown or LSAC canceling the April LSAT, maybe even the June LSAT. There's no downside to being ready for the LSAT too early. These skills do not go away.

Right now is a good time to hone those study skills and just get it done.

And it's better to be safe than sorry. It's better to prepare now whether you're going to take it in two or six months. Just prepare as much as you can. At the end of the day, we don't know when this coronavirus pandemic is going to lift and when things are going to start opening again.

But it's best to do what you can to take advantage of the hiatus -- dedicate yourself to reaching your fullest potential.

Want to increase your LSAT score? Get my free Easy LSAT Cheat Sheet today.