How to Speed Up on Timed Practice LSAT Exams

In the final month of your LSAT preparation, you should take full, timed, practice exams.

Some of you have difficulty transitioning from untimed sections to timed ones. With the added pressure of timed 35-minute sections, sometimes you lose track of the fundamentals. This post will help you stick to them.

Once you already have a strong foundation in the various sections of the LSAT, most of your mistakes will be careless.

This means you missed the key words in the stimulus or answer choices.

That one word you skip or neglect can totally change the meaning.

Of course, it all comes down to being careful, but sometimes that isn't enough.

Taking PrepTest sections untimed is kind of like riding a bike with training wheels. It may look similar to riding a two-wheeler bike, but it's a very different experience from the real thing.

Finding your center of gravity was a gradual process with a patient parent or older sibling slowly letting go.

Leading us to...

2 tips for students scoring below 165

1. Adjust to the 35-minute limit
Adjusting to timed sections may be difficult, so gradually cut down the time you allow yourself per section.

If you've only been doing untimed sections, consider giving yourself 40 minutes/section in your next practice exam, then decrease 1 minute/section on each of your next exams: 39, 38, 37, etc...down to 34 or 33. You want to have a small cushion to review anything of which you were unsure. Don't forget to leave time to bubble your answers!

2. Consider not answering every question
If you're struggling to make it into the 150s, it may not be realistic for you to answer every question.

If this describes you, and if you're okay with admitting that you may not get in the 160s or 170s on Test Day, consider the following tips:

On Logical Reasoning, consider taking more time for the easier questions (the earlier ones in each Logical Reasoning section).

On Logic Games, consider skipping the hardest Logic Game. (It could be any of the games, but generally not the 1st. It also varies from person to person and from exam to exam).

On Reading Comprehension, consider skipping the passage's topic you dislike the most. Topics typically include: Humanities, Law, Natural Science, and Social Science. (Although, as I've always said, the topic shouldn't matter!) Alternatively, you might consider skipping the Comparative Reading passage.


A tip for students scoring around or above 165
Even if you're not expecting to get 165+, this tip may help you, but use it at your own risk.

-Answer the first 10 Logical Reasoning questions in 10 minutes.
Another trick many students use is to complete the first 10 Logical Reasoning questions in 10 minutes.

The benefit: the first 10 LR questions tend to be the easiest in the section. Getting through them quickly gives you more time for the more difficult questions towards the end.


Along those lines...

Remember that the average time per game or passage is not your actual limit.
Remember 8 mins and 45 secs (35 mins divided by 4 games or passages) is just the average amount of time you have for each Logic Game and Reading Comprehension passage. You'll find some LG and RC easier than others. Believe it or not, some games and passages are solvable in less than 6 minutes. For this reason, don't force yourself to complete each in the average allotted time. You can use the time you save on the easier ones for the harder ones.

Reviewing the fundamentals
However, you might still find timed sections unbearably frustrating even after you've already eased yourself into doing them. If this describes you, it may simply be that you lack a strong foundation in certain question types. Take a few days to slowly analyze your approach to the question types that give you difficulty. Don't be afraid to spend even 5-10 minutes looking at a question that you answered incorrectly or were unsure about.

As you begin to acquire the LSAT mindset, you'll adjust to the timing aspect of the exam.

If I haven't yet answered your pressing question, leave a comment!

Photo by thatguyfromcchs08

5 Signs of LSAT Burnout, and How to Recover From It

As the LSAT approaches, you've probably started clutching your PrepTests for protection. Your friends have started to compare you to Linus from the Peanuts comic, who carries his blanket wherever he goes.

However, if you've been studying for a while, you might be sick of the LSAT by now. Your body might start to reject the LSAT like an organ transplant gone wrong.

So how do you continue to prepare when you feel like you just can't take it anymore, but the LSAT's still a couple of weeks away?

More importantly, how do you know whether your aversion to the LSAT is due to burnout or laziness? Believe it or not, people sometimes mistake one for the other.

Here are some tips to help you determine whether it's burnout or laziness, and, if it's the former, how to deal with it.

Burnout vs. Laziness

1. Average PrepTest scores drop
If your PrepTest scores have recently dropped below your average PrepTest score, it's probably burnout.

If your score was never high to begin with, it's probably laziness.


2. Careless mistakes
If most of your recent mistakes are due to carelessness, rather than a lack of understanding, it's probably burnout.

If you just make a lot of mistakes in general, it's probably laziness.


3. Studying but feel like it's going nowhere
If you've done several practice exams recently and feel like it's going nowhere, it's probably burnout.

If you haven't done anything recently and feel like you're studying's going nowhere, it's probably laziness.


4. Feel guilty for taking short breaks
If you took a break from studying for an hour and felt guilty, it's probably burnout.

If you took a break from studying for a month and felt guilty, it's probably laziness.


5. Studying 10 hours per day
If you study for 10 hours per day, it's probably burnout.

If you think about the LSAT for several hours every day, and you count those hours as actual studying, it's probably laziness. (Note: lawyers often bill for this kind of "work" too, so you'll be in good company after graduating from law school)


If you've identified your problem as laziness, read 5 Reasons to Stay Motivated During LSAT Prep.

If your problem is burnout, read on.

How to recover from LSAT burnout
You may just need a break to recharge your batteries.

The burned-out student might say, "But I can't stop studying now! The test is 2 1/2 weeks away, and I still have another 30 PrepTests to finish before then."

You may not have any brain cells remaining if you try to do that many PrepTests in such a short period of time.

The LSAT's like riding a bike. Memorization's not involved, so cramming won't work. Sure, there are some things you need to remember. However, if taking a day or two off makes you forget them, you probably didn't understand them in the first place. The LSAT is about skills and a particular mindset, not facts.

So take a day or two off and exercise, watch a TV show or two, whatever you like to do to unwind.

Then rebuild your confidence by redoing your favorite Logic Games, Logical Reasoning questions, or Reading Comprehension passages. This will help you get back in the groove and gear you up to get back on schedule (see Daily LSAT Schedule Recommendations).

Why NOT to use Adderall and NoDoz to Study for the LSAT

Students often take Adderall and NoDoz in a misguided attempt to study the LSAT 10 hours a day, which is just too much. You don't want to end up like Jessie Spano from Saved by the Bell, a classic burnout case.

I'm not a healthcare expert, so I certainly advise you to do your own research. If you actually have the condition for which Adderall and similar medications are prescribed, this post does not apply to you. This post is written for those who do not have ADD or ADHD but seek out these drugs for a "boost." Since it's a common misconception that study drugs are uniformly helpful on the LSAT, I'd like to offer some evidence to the contrary.

Negative in the long-term
Needless to say, caffeine or Adderall may give you a short-term boost, but both can lead to psychological dependence - in short, they're addictive. Using Adderall without a prescription is illegal. Besides, if you "need" pills for the LSAT, will you also "need" them throughout law school, studying for the bar, and throughout your career?

Stimulants can hurt more than they help
Adderall and other stimulants may actually hurt your LSAT performance more than they help. Additionally, they can cause sleep deprivation.

The intense concentration these stimulants allow may actually prevent the creative "thinking-outside-the-box" mindset that some Logical Reasoning questions require. The drugs can also bog you down in the details of Reading Comprehension passages, where reading for structure is more important.

Since I'm not a psychiatrist or neuroscientist, I'd like to refer you to a recent article in the New Yorker, "Brain Gain: The underground world of “neuroenhancing” drugs."


A few excerpts from the New Yorker article
This excerpt supports the idea that Adderall may harm your ability to do Logical Reasoning and Reading Comp:

That afternoon, he went to the library, where he spent “too much time researching a paper rather than actually writing it—a problem, I can assure you, that is common to all intellectually curious students on stimulants.”

So does this one:

“It only works as a cognitive enhancer insofar as you are dedicated to accomplishing the task at hand,” he said. “The number of times I’ve taken Adderall late at night and decided that, rather than starting my paper, hey, I’ll organize my entire music library! I’ve seen people obsessively cleaning their rooms on it.”

This one discusses addiction and side effects:

Drugs such as Adderall can cause nervousness, headaches, sleeplessness, and decreased appetite, among other side effects. An F.D.A. warning on Adderall’s label notes that “amphetamines have a high potential for abuse” and can lead to dependence. (The label also mentions that adults using Adderall have reported serious cardiac problems, though the role of the drug in those cases is unknown.)

Bottom line on study drugs: They may hurt more than they help. It's much healthier and safer to exercise. Regular exercise will help your sleep patterns. Eating a healthy diet (which includes breakfast!) with plenty of protein will keep your mind sharp.

Photo by alexdoddphotography / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

LSAT Logical Reasoning: Asteroids, Dinosaurs, and Volcanoes

A list of Common LSAT Logical Reasoning Topics I wrote back in March contained "Dinosaur extinction, ice ages, volcanoes, and asteroids."

If you've done a couple of LSAT Logical Reasoning sections, you've probably seen a question or two on this topic. If you didn't believe that scientists actually make logical fallacies like the ones you've seen on the LSAT, prepare to be blown away.

An LSAT student of mine, Nick, (he also found an article I used in "LSAT Logic In The Economist"), pointed me to a National Science Foundation press release entitled, "New blow for dinosaur-killing asteroid theory."

Unfortunately for the National Science Foundation, the "blow" was not the exposure of a logical fallacy underlying the dinosaur-killing asteroid theory.

Instead, the press release actually commits a few logical fallacies.

Take a look at the press release and see if you can spot them. I'll dissect relevant portions of the press release below.

***

Flaw #1

At one site at El Penon, the researchers found 52 species present in sediments below the impact spherule layer, and counted all 52 still present in layers above the spherules..."We found that not a single species went extinct as a result of the Chicxulub impact," says Keller."

There might have been species other than those 52 prior to impact that simply were not found in that layer. Those species could have died off after impact, and we simply have no record of them ever existing, period.


Flaw #2

This conclusion should not come as too great a surprise, she says. None of the other great mass extinctions are associated with an impact, and no other large craters are known to have caused a significant extinction event.

She's saying it's not a surprise because they haven't found other asteroids to cause extinctions. Maybe previous studies have made flaws similar to the first one I note above. She's taking a lack of evidence found thus far as confirmation that there is no evidence.


Flaw #3

"We found that not a single species went extinct as a result of the Chicxulub impact," says Keller...Keller suggests that the massive volcanic eruptions at the Deccan Traps in India may be responsible for the extinction, releasing huge amounts of dust and gases that could have blocked out sunlight and brought about a significant greenhouse effect.

The asteroid's effect on the extinction could have been indirect and delayed. The asteroid's impact could have caused the volcanic eruptions that potentially led to the extinction.

Note: This post meshes incredibly well with PrepTest 10, Section 1, Question 15.

(You can find PrepTest 10 in 10 Actual Official LSAT PrepTests, which I've reviewed in the Best LSAT Prep Books post.)

Photo by somebodysmom / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

(Didn't see a Creative Commons photo that included Asteroids, Dinosaurs, and Volcanoes all in one photo.)

Cornell Law Admissions Dean | Rankings Article

Back in April, I interviewed Cornell Law admissions dean Richard Geiger.

He wrote a great article for the New York Law Journal this week on law school rankings. Among other things, he discusses admissions committees' overemphasis on LSAT and GPA as a result of the rankings. Check it out!

Photo by haarald / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Case of the Secret LSAT PrepTests

This week's posts consist of a 5-part series on "The Case of the Secret LSAT PrepTests."

The Case of the Secret LSAT PrepTests - Part 1
If you've looking into getting recent LSAT PrepTests (past LSAT exams - the best material for studying), you've probably been annoyed that the only way to purchase the exams after PrepTest 38 is to pay $8/exam. ($6/exam if you buy in multiples of 4 on Amazon.

They're all linked the big list of LSAT PrepTests.


(Also recommended: Best LSAT Prep Books.)

You've probably wondered why the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) hasn't published another book of 10 exams containing PrepTests 39-48 and called it something like "The Next 10 After the Next 10 Actual, Official, LSAT PrepTests" or "Even 10 More Actual, Official, LSAT PrepTests." That would've been the next logical step, given the trend thus far. After all, I figured one purpose of publishing books of 10 exams was to lower the barrier to affordable preparation by allowing students to pay $2/exam.

This mythical book of 10 should have come out after December 2005 (when PrepTest 48 was administered).

I recently called LSAC at 215-968-1001, pressed 0, and spoke with Pat, a sweet woman who didn't have many answers for me. The below excerpts of our conversation are not word-for-word, but they're pretty close.

Steve: When does LSAC plan to publish another book of 10 exams?

Pat: They have no plans to publish a follow-up book of 10 actual LSAT exams. It hasn't been discussed.

I'd also learned through LSAC's website (click on "The Official LSAT PrepTests") that it was no longer selling PrepTests 39, 40, 41, and 42. This meant that not only has LSAC failed to publish another book of 10 exams, forcing students to pay $8/exam, and not only is its shipping incredibly slow, but now it's made PrepTests 39-42 difficult to obtain.

Me: Were these exams not selling well?

Pat: They were selling fine. They [the Publications Department] just decided to stop publishing them because new exams were coming out. Next year, they'll probably stop publishing PrepTests 43 and 44 as new exams are released.

If students want the exams, and if a drop in demand for these exams is unlikely to happen anytime soon, LSAC shouldn't stop publishing them. Given that students need several recent LSAT PrepTests in order to adequately prepare, there's no reason to impose scarcity. PrepTest 39 is already out of stock on Amazon. The same will eventually happen to the others.

Me: If LSAC isn't going to sell these exams, why not release them for free download?

Pat: They haven't made that decision. I don't know why.

If LSAC isn't going to sell them, and distribution cost is virtually zero, why not?

I'm sure LSAC cares about:

-increasing diversity in the legal profession
-closing the achievement gap
-reducing the barriers for low-income future law students

However, its actions (lucrative licensing agreements with prep companies) speak louder than its words (DiscoverLaw.org and the Pipeline Diversity Directory).

What licensing agreements? LSAC gives prep companies the right to reprint LSAT PrepTests, but for the right to reprint these exams, LSAC charges the companies quite a bit. With 61 released PrepTests, 60 of which are available for licensing (supposedly - several companies print the 61st exam, the February 1997 PrepTest, anyway), those numbers add up.

I emailed LSAC at LSACInfo[at]LSAC[dot]org to ask about this (under a pseudonym). Emails below are edited for brevity.

Steve: A few questions for the publications department:

1. Does LSAC allow prep companies to reprint exams 1-6, 8, 17, and 39-42 for their students? [Ed: PrepTests 1-6, 8, and 17 also aren't directly available to students.]

2. How much do prep companies pay LSAC for the right to reprint them?

3. If members of the public can only acquire these exams through a prep course, this appears fairly discriminatory to those who cannot afford to take a prep course. How do you respond?

Publications Dept. Representative: Attached is a copy of our test-question licensing policy for your review. It should answer most of the questions you have. [Ed: See Part 4 for details.]

The rep was apparently so excited to see someone interested in the licensing process that she forgot to read my 3rd question. I continued emailing the conversation to see what else I could learn.

Steve: Is it possible to license PrepTests 47-56?
Publications Rep: Yes. All PT are available to be licensed.

Why You Should Care About the Secret PrepTests

PrepTests 1-6, 8, and 17 were administered in the early 1990s, so they're less relevant than newer ones. The main reason to do them is if your goal is to complete every LSAT PrepTest (admirable, but certainly not necessary). So why else should you care? It's the principle of the thing.

However, PrepTests 39-42 are recent (2002-2003), so they're relevant (and, in my opinion, required) prep material.

To paraphrase an old saying, "When PrepTests 39-42 are outlawed, only outlaws will have PrepTests 39-42."

I hope the irony isn't lost on LSAC. Many students will break the law (by downloading PDFs of these "secret PrepTests") in order to become lawyers.

Differences in the Cost of PrepTests
I did some calculations using LSAC's licensing policy and additional emails from Felicia.

If you're a prep company, you can get 60 exams for a total of $194. If you're a student, you can only get 49 exams, but you have to pay $208. (See Part 3 for my calculations.)

Students pay LSAC more than prep companies but get less in return. Is it just me, or this is backwards?

***
Read on for Part 2, "Official LSAT PrepTest February 1997."

Photo by mwichary / CC BY 2.0

Official LSAT PrepTest February 1997

This post is Part 2 of the "Secret PrepTests" series. The series starts with "The Case of the Secret LSAT PrepTests."

In this post, I find LSAT prep companies claim to provide students with the February 1997 LSAT. However, LSAC claims that it's not available for licensing. I go on to discuss a few possible explanations for these differences and reflect on their importance.

What Prep Companies Say:
The LSAT prep companies take advantage of their unique access to PrepTests. Here's what several large prep companies say. All emphasis is added.

1. "We license all of the available LSAT tests, so you will have access to all of the LSAT questions since 1991...We have every single released LSAT since the June 1991 LSAT...including the February LSAT administrations from 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2000..."

2. "Our Full-Length course includes every currently licensable LSAT question...practice exams included in the Weekend Course materials are....Feb97..."

3. "We do provide students with every released question, through our practice exams and the questions we use in our course materials..."

4. "[W]e have every released LSAT on file...That includes the tests that you mentioned [February 1997 and SuperPrep]..."

5. "[E]very question ever released from LSAT (sic) is included in our materials...We do offer the Feb. 1997 test...If it's been released by LSAC, you're going to have it in your hands..."

The difference between released and licensable is the February 1997 LSAT.

Released means the exam was available at some point in time.

Licensable means LSAC currently grants the right to reprint it.


What LSAC Says:

The LSAC publications dept. representative, said via email, "We haven’t included [the] Feb 1997 [LSAT] in the licensing program."

Why wouldn't LSAC want prep companies to use it?

I suspect LSAC prefers that students pay $18 for LSAC's ItemWise, the online version of the February 1997 LSAT. LSAC originally sold it as the "Official LSAT PrepTest with Explanations," which is now out of print.

However, as you saw above, prep companies claim to provide students with, or give them access to, the February 1997 LSAT.

In an attempt to figure out this puzzle, I've looked over the coursebooks from a couple of these prep companies. In doing so, I found specific copies of questions from the February 1997 LSAT, so at least some of the companies that claim to provide it aren't lying.

In the spirit of the LSAT, I will treat this as a Logical Reasoning "Resolve the Paradox" question. A few potential explanations come to mind:

1. The prep companies reprint these questions without LSAC's knowledge and pay no licensing fees for them at all.

2. The prep companies reprint these questions with LSAC's knowledge, but LSAC doesn't care. Perhaps LSAC makes enough from other licensing fees to look the other way.

3. Both LSAC's representative and the licensing policy are incorrect, and the Feb 1997 LSAT is, or has been, available for licensing by prep companies.


Prep Companies Pay:
$0 = if LSAC doesn't license these exams, which seems to be the case.

or

$3 = I'm guesstimating, but this is the cost to license each of the SuperPrep exams (as I learn in Part 4), which are from the same time period.


Students Pay:
$18 for online-access only (impossible to print or resell), but it includes LSAC explanations.


Why You Should Care
The exam is fairly old, so like PrepTests 1-6, 8, and 17, it's certainly not necessary. However, the cost is unreasonably and inexplicably high. At the very least, the cost should be lower, and the exam should be printable. Again, it's the principle of the thing.

***
Read on for Part 3, "Cost of LSAT PrepTests | Prep Course vs. Self-Study."

Cost of LSAT PrepTests | Prep Course vs. Self-Study

This post is Part 3 of the "Secret PrepTests" series. The series starts with "The Case of the Secret LSAT PrepTests."

In this post, I contrast the costs of LSAT PrepTests depending upon whether you're a prep company or a student. It turns out LSAC charges prep companies less than it charges students, but it gives the companies more exams in return.

See Part 4 (LSAC's PrepTest Licensing Policy) for how I arrive at the figures for what "What LSAT Prep Companies Pay."

See Best LSAT Prep Books for how I arrive at figures for "What Students Pay."


What LSAT Prep Companies Pay:

Exams --- # of Exams --- Licensing Fee

June 2007 LSAT - 1 exam = $0 (free download)
46-56 - 11 exams @ $5/exam = $55
32-45 - 14 exams @ $4/exam = $56
17-31 (minus PrepTest 20, which was a free PDF) - 14 exams @ $3/exam = $42
1-16 - 16 exams @ $2/exam = $32
SuperPrep - 3 exams (without LSAC explanations) @ $3/exam = $9
February 1997 LSAT - 1 exam (without LSAC explanations) = (Not available for licensing, according to email from LSAC, but prep companies print it anyway - see Part 2)

Total: 60 exams for $194 per set



What Students Pay:

Exams --- # of Exams --- Cost

June 2007 LSAT - 1 exam = $0 (free download)
43-56 - 14 exams @ $8/exam = $112
39-42 - Not available for student purchase (pending availability on Amazon).
29-38 - 10 exams @ $2/exam in book of 10 = $20
19-28 - 10 exams @ $2/exam in book of 10 = $20
(PrepTest 20 was also a free PDF) = $0
18 - 1 exam @ $2/exam in book of 10 = $2
17 - Not available for student purchase.
9-16 - 8 exams @ $2/exam in book of 10 = $16
8 - Not available for student purchase.
7 - 1 exam @ $2/each in book of 10 = $2
1-6 - Not available for student purchase.
SuperPrep - 3 exams (with LSAC explanations) = $18
February 1997 LSAT - 1 exam (with LSAC explanations) - (now called LSAC's ItemWise - online-only) = $18

Total: 49 exams for $208 per set

You can't even get the other 12 without buying them used (if you can find them) or illegally downloading them.

***
Read on for Part 4, "LSAC's PrepTest Licensing Policy."

Photo by dborman2

LSAC's PrepTest Licensing Policy

This post is Part 4 of the "Secret PrepTests" series. The series starts with "The Case of the Secret LSAT PrepTests."

In this post, I include:

1. additional emails with an LSAC Publications Dept. rep about PrepTest licensing costs.
2. my brief calculations of prep companies' actual costs for one full set of PrepTests.

***

My Additional Emails with Felicia (an LSAC Publications Dept. rep)

These are edited for brevity.

Steve: Is there a fee to license PrepTest 20 and the June 2007 LSAT, given that they're both available for free download on LSAC's website?

Publications Rep: There is not fee (sic) to print the free downloads.

Here’s the fee schedule as noted in our license policy

PrepTests 46 – 56 $5 per test, per copy 11 test x $5 = $55
PrepTests 32 - 45 $4 per test, per copy 14 test x $4 = $56
PrepTests 17 - 31 $3 per test, per copy 15 tests x $3 = $45
PrepTests 1 - 16 $2 per test, per copy 16 tests x $2 = $32
TOTAL: $188
Feb 1996, 1999, 2000 @ $3 each would be an additional $9

***

My calculations:

$188 (for PrepTests 1-56) + $9 (for Feb 1996, 1999, and 2000 PrepTests) = $197
$197 - $3 (for PrepTest 20 - was a free PDF on LSAC's website)= $194

Total cost to prep companies = $194

***

Read on for Part 5, "Suggestions for LSAC on Restructuring LSAT PrepTest Sales."

Photo by ifindkarma

Suggestions for LSAC on Restructuring LSAT PrepTest Sales

This post is Part 5 of the "Secret PrepTests" series. The series starts with "The Case of the Secret LSAT PrepTests."

In this post, I discuss why and how LSAC should change its policies regarding student access to PrepTests.

LSAC earns $194 for each student who receives a full set of licensed exams from the prep companies, and all LSAC has to do is give prep companies the PDFs.

The prep companies pay all printing and distribution costs, but they get to market themselves as the exclusive providers of otherwise unavailable PrepTests.

Meanwhile, LSAC enjoys the $18 in profit for the online "ItemWise" Feb 1997 exam. I can't think of a good reason why this exam should be online-only or why it should cost $18. SuperPrep also contains LSAC explanations and costs about $18. However, it's an actual book, and it contains 3 exams.

For LSAC, it seems to be all about the passive income.

Given that most students probably wouldn't purchase $194 or $208 worth of exams on their own, it makes financial sense for LSAC to create scarcity. LSAC wants to give students an incentive to take a course and indirectly pay (through prep course fees) for $194 worth of exams.
Even if a student independently bought two $20 books and 10 individual exams at $8/exam, that's "only" $120, and Amazon and the printing companies get a sizable cut of that.

When LSAC has prep companies do the printing, that $194 is pure profit, baby.

This is a great business model for LSAC, which continues to earn money off these exams long after it has recouped the cost of writing them. However, LSAC is not a business - it's a nonprofit whose ostensible purpose is to serve the public interest, law school applicants, and law schools.

If the word "free" makes LSAC shudder, it should borrow the iTunes concept and let students download every PrepTest as a PDF from its website for a flat fee of 99 cents each. If 99 cents is too low, the least LSAC could do is match what it charges the prep companies. Either way, LSAC's sales of PrepTests would skyrocket, and it'd no longer have to give a cut to Amazon, bookstores, or printing companies.

Students wouldn't waste so much time searching online for PDFs and answer keys because it wouldn't be worth the trouble. The alternative, legally purchasing the exams through LSAC, would be easier and more appealing for students. Besides, these sales would be pure profit for LSAC.

LSAC is technically a nonprofit, but it sure doesn't act like one. Many LSAT-takers are college students or recent graduates (many of whom are unemployed). The cost of a prep course is prohibitive for many. (Courses are often unhelpful, aside from the PrepTests they provide. Please see the LSAT Blog Manifesto for my thoughts on courses.)

The cost of purchasing all past exams is prohibitive as well. Students tend to scrounge for the money, do without the exams, or turn to illegally downloading PDFs.

If LSAC wants to fight "piracy" of its PrepTests and end its discriminatory limits on access to them, it would do well to reconsider its policies.

***
Will there be a Part 6?

It's up to you. Enough of you are reading this that you can do something about it.

You can email LSAC at LSACInfo[at]LSAC[dot]org or call them at 215-968-1001 (then press 0).

Please be firm but polite. The people answering the emails and phones aren't evil, and they're not the ones making the decisions. Just ask the representatives to pass your feedback along to those who do make the decisions.

If LSAC contacts me with anything substantive, I'll publish it on the blog.

***

Update: Read on for Part 6, "LSAT Logic at LSAC."

Beating the LSAT Interview on Legal Blog

The Blackbook Legal Blog recently interviewed me about LSAT preparation.

In the interview, I answer the following questions:

1. Can the LSAT be learned?

Without a doubt, the LSAT can be learned. There's no question on that matter. The easiest and fastest way to improve is to become familiar with various LSAT question-types. This doesn't take very long, but the payoff is minimal. The quickest way to see a significant improvement is to learn solid diagramming techniques for the Logic Games. This takes a moderate amount of time. The next step is to understand the LSAT mindset. This is the most difficult task. It's like becoming a Jedi or seeing through the Matrix.

2. Is the LSAT a good predictor of law school performance?

I believe that the LSAT is a good independent predictor of law school performance. People born with the LSAT mindset are likely to do well on the LSAT and in law school. People who intensively prepare for the LSAT and eventually acquire the LSAT mindset are likely to intensively study in law school and eventually get the law school mindset.

3. What is the LSAT mentality?

Learn to be critical and skeptical of arguments, avoid taking things at face value, consider potential alternative causes for any result and potential alternative explanations for any conclusion, devote obsessive attention to detail, understand nuances and apply general principles to specific situations.

4. How long does it take to adequately prepare for the LSAT?

1-2 months is not adequate for the vast majority of students, especially when they have to balance LSAT prep with school or work. Students who shoot for high scores (as well as those shooting for mid-level scores) need time to fully understand the various sections, to develop strategies for attacking them, and to work on pacing and endurance strategies. I recommend that students devote a minimum of 3 months of preparation and that they study on a regular basis during this period of time.

LSAT FAQ | Common Questions When Starting LSAT Prep

Most people starting their LSAT prep tend to have the same basic questions. This post is my attempt to answer some of the most common ones.

What is the LSAT, and what's on it?
The LSAT is the Law School Admission Test. It contains 4 scored sections: 1 Analytical Reasoning section (Logic Games), 2 Logical Reasoning sections, and 1 Reading Comprehension section. There's a 5th unscored experimental section of any type mixed in, and you won't know which section is the experimental until later. There's also an unscored Writing Sample.


What are Logic Games?
"Logic Games" refers to the Analytical Reasoning portion of the exam. Logic Games are logic puzzles containing several variables. These variables can usually be represented by letters. Most games contain rules that impose conditional relationships between the variables. After giving you all the rules, the game will contain 5-7 questions based upon that scenario and rules. Each Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games) section contains 4 Logic Games, giving you an average of 8 minutes, 45 seconds to complete each "game." In order to solve the game within the time limit, it makes sense to learn a solid diagramming strategy.


How much time do I have for each section of the exam?
All sections of the exam are 35 minutes long. This includes scored sections, the unscored experimental section, and the unscored Writing Sample. This means that you have an average of 8 minutes, 45 seconds, to complete each Logic Game and Reading Comprehension passage because there are four of each per section.


I saw you mentioned PrepTests a few times on the blog. What are those?
They're LSAC's (Law School Admission Council's) cutesy name for previously-administered (actual) LSAT exams. They're the best source of LSAT questions for studying.


I already got an LSAT book. I went to the bookstore and got LSAT for Dummies and---
Please don't scare me like that. LSAT for Dummies doesn't use real LSAT questions. You should only use books that contain real LSAT questions. With dozens of real LSAT exams, there's no need to use fake questions.


If there are dozens of real exams, why would an LSAT book use fake questions?
Because LSAC charges a large sum of money to companies for the right to reprint past exams. Most companies choose to avoid the fee and simply write their own questions for their retail books.


What's wrong with fake questions?
1. Real LSAT questions are written by people with backgrounds in philosophy. As a result, the questions are written with a degree of tightness that is extremely difficult to match. Real questions are heavily-vetted before test-takers even see them. They're also administered as part of the exam's experimental section before they are administered as scored questions. They're simply held to a higher standard than those written for the typical retail prep book.

2. Fake questions can be constructed to demonstrate the "effectiveness" of techniques that would be ineffective on real questions.

3. Fake questions can actually be real questions in disguise (tainting recent PrepTests).



How do I know if a book uses real LSAT questions?
Believe me, if a company has paid the fee for the right to use actual LSAC-written questions, they'll brag about it on the cover. (Contrapositive: If they haven't bragged about it on the cover, they haven't paid the fee. Assuming they're not breaking the law, this means they're not using actual LSAT questions).

Here are a few books I've reviewed that don't use real LSAT questions:

Barron's LSAT Prep Book Review

Kaplan LSAT Prep Book

Princeton Review LSAT Logic Games Workout



Where should I get PrepTests?
They're available on Amazon. Amazon's the best place to buy them, and it offers the fastest shipping. Here's a big list containing every LSAT PrepTest. Out of the books I recommend, bookstores tend to stock only 10 Actual Official LSAT PrepTests (the oldest book of 10 exams). I suspect this is because it has the most official-sounding name. Some bookstores carry all the books of 10 exams, but I've never seen a bookstore stock individual PrepTest booklets.



Which LSAT prep books DO you recommend?
They're all listed in my Best LSAT Prep Books post.


How long should I study for?
There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but a minimum of 3 months is ideal.


I only have two months until my exam date, and I haven't studied at all yet.
Then you'll have to seriously buckle down in order to get into the LSAT mindset. No distractions. If you work full-time or are in school full-time, you should strongly consider postponing the exam until a later test date."


Which section of the exam is hardest?
Most students find Logic Games to be the most difficult at first. However, it's the easiest section to improve upon because it contains the fewest question types. If you create a solid diagram for each game and make the inferences, you've just netted yourself 5-7 questions.

Reading Comprehension is the most difficult section to significantly improve upon.

Logical Reasoning contains the greatest number of question-types.

The bottom line: the hardest section is different for each person.


Whenever you talk about Logical Reasoning on the blog, you talk about the stimulus and question stem. What are those?
"Stimulus" refers to the short paragraph that starts each Logical Reasoning question. It's typically anywhere from 4-13 lines long and usually contains an argument.

"Question stem" refers to the 1-2 line part that comes right before the 5 answer choices.


How much should I study for the Writing Sample?
How to Prepare for the LSAT Writing Sample contains everything you need to know. It'll take about 5 minutes to read.


Which month's test is hardest?
Please see "Hardest LSAT: Feb, June, Oct, or Dec?"


I was thinking of taking a course because it'll force me to study. If $1,500 doesn't force me to study, nothing will!
How do you expect to get through law school if you can't buckle down and study for the admission test? With regard to discipline, the only thing a course can do is make you feel guilty for not doing the homework. It may force you to go to class, but it won't force you to study outside of class. Despite your fantasies about the LSAC being a picnic, it's not. You will have to put in the bulk of your prep time outside of class.

If you want help sticking to your commitment to take the LSAT, use a site like StickK, which will donate your money to charity if you don't follow through. You can also form an LSAT study group on Craigslist.


I want to do well and am committed to studying. Should I take a course?
One big concern with courses is the lack of credentials provided about instructors prior to signing up. You should have the option to switch instructors if you don't like yours, no questions asked. I'm not necessarily saying you should skip courses altogether. Some students prefer courses over private tutoring. However, private tutoring can be more efficient (more personalization/flexibility) and serve as a supplement to self-study.


What are your thoughts on LSAT prep courses?
Please see LSAT Prep Courses vs. Private Tutoring.


How do I reach you?
I love hearing from students. You can email me at help@lsatunplugged.com


Can I have more LSAT FAQ?
Sure! Here are some more LSAT FAQ.

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Also see Is Ten Hours in a Single Day Too Much to Study for the LSATs?, and the About the LSAT Video by LSAC.