LSAT Blog: LSAT Unplugged YouTube / Podcast

How Allison overcame the LSAT stress monster

I’m surprising absolutely no one when I tell you that taking the LSAT is stressful.

Anxiety and stress are almost to be expected when dealing with a test this difficult that requires this much preparation.

But you can’t let the stress get the best of you! The LSAT gets SO. MUCH. EASIER. if you can just calm your mind and focus.

That sounds like some advice Morpheus might give Neo (You do remember The Matrix, right?) but it’s absolutely true.

After Neo discovered that, behind the illusions, there was a simple underlying structure, he was able to defeat Agent Smith like it was nothing!

The same thing happened to my student Allison with the LSAT After she figured out how to calm down, she was able to increase her score from the mid-150s to 170! You can hear all the details directly from her in her LSAT Diary:

Allison's LSAT Diary

In case you don’t have time to read the full thing, I’ll sum up Allison’s story like this: “Having faith in yourself is a huge part of studying and preparation.”

Your friend bringing balance to T̶h̶e̶ ̶F̶o̶r̶c̶e̶ LSAT Study,

Steve

P.S. Got your own tips about how to maintain a healthy study/life balance? Let me know! Always looking to hear what’s working for you (and I’ll share the best responses in a future article).

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 Checklists
All the little items and details students don't usually think of. They hold you accountable and help you make sure you're not missing anything.

Fake LSAT Questions

You can get official LSAT PrepTests on Amazon and through LSAC’s Official LSAT Prep Plus. Avoid the fake questions out there in books like Barron's and LSAT for Dummies.

If a book does not give an actual test number and the date administered, it's probably not real. The problem? These fake questions often contain mistakes and typos, or they're simply unrealistic.

Avoid getting them. And if you already have them, give them to your worst enemy.

3 Quick Last-Minute LSAT Tips: Final Countdown

Admit it, you’re singing “The Final Countdown” in your head, aren’t you? And if you’re too young to remember that song, go look it up immediately and prepare to be humming it the rest of the day.

Ok, so this is an article about some quick last minute tips for taking the LSAT. BUT before I get into that, let me lay out two scenarios:

Situation 1: You haven’t studied nearly enough for your LSAT and are desperately hoping that some last-minute guidance from yours truly will help get them to the score they are chasing

Situation 2: You’ve been diligently studying for the LSAT and are looking for some little tips and tricks to put in your LSAT “toolbox.”

Situation 1 People: Postpone your test day. Seriously. No amount of last-minute studying is going to help you if you are underprepared. All you’ll end up doing is stressing yourself out for nothing.

Situation 2 People: Good for you! Here are some little helpful hints that can make your test day just a little easier.

1. Consider NOT using a timer.
Sometimes having a ticking clock next to you can induce more anxiety than it’s worth. If you aren’t a stone-cold test taker, this can be what I like to call “A Panic In A Box.” For some people, the constant looking at the clock is a distraction that can hurt their overall score in the end.

2. Focus on each LSAT question, not your overall LSAT score.

You may not be a world-class athlete, but it helps to have the mindset of one when taking a test. And by that, I mean you have to focus 100% on the task in front of you without worrying about the bigger picture. Just like basketball players can’t be worried about missed shots, and quarterbacks can’t dwell on fumbles, you have to clear your head after each question even if you weren’t that confident about it.

It’s easy for shaken confidence to snowball into a kind of mental paralysis. Avoid this by just thinking about the one question in front of you.

3. Get a fresh perspective on tough logic games.

If you’re struggling hard on a logic game, don’t be afraid to skip it and come back to it. Sometimes just doing a mental reset by working on another questions can be enough to shake a few new ideas loose and get you rolling.

BOOM. I kept it as short and sweet as possible and hopefully that’ll help you out. Need more than a couple last minute tips? I got you covered.

I’m really excited about these next couple articles, as we’re starting a two-part series highlighting some of my top-scoring students. This is great, because it gets you another perspective and some relief from my corny jokes.

Just kidding, I’m still going to work those in.

The LSAT Comedian Extraordinaire,

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. 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 to balance LSAT prep with your life

Studying for the LSAT is can feel pretty pointless sometimes, so taking breaks is one fo the most important things you can do to relieve some of that tension. It’s too easy to get burned out studying for this stuff, and you aren’t doing yourself any favors if you’re mentally exhausted before you even sit down in the Test Center.

(Speaking of the Test Center, did you read my last article about checking it out beforehand? If not, read this.)

A weekly LSAT study schedule:

This isn’t one-size-fits all, but I’ve used it, and it’s worked for many of my students, too.

Bottom line, as always: find what fits your life.

* If you work full-time or go to school full-time, 15 hours per week of LSAT studying over the course of 4 months is a good start.

Here's how you might fit it in over the course of the week:

-5 hours on Saturday
-2.5 hours per day, Mon-Thurs
-0 hours on Friday
-0 hours on Sunday

* If you work part-time or go to school part-time, 20 hours per week of LSAT studying over the course of 3 months might be a good guideline.

Here's how you might fit it in over the course of the week:

-5 hours on Saturday
-3.75 hours per day, Mon-Thurs
-0 hours on Friday
-0 hours on Sunday

So there you go, hopefully that gives you a good starting place.

Wanna know more? Of course you do! Here's an article that covers this with more details.

This is all well and good, if you’re just at the beginning of your LSAT prep, but what if your test is just around the corner?

In that case you’re in luck! Because my next article is going to focus on some great last minute tips I’ve developed (and may have used myself)

Stay sane out there!

Steve

Recommended Resources:
1. LSAT CoursesThe 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 Checklists
All the little items and details students don't usually think of. They hold you accountable and help you make sure you're not missing anything.

If you got 99 (LSAT) problems...

I feel your pain. You're not alone. Thousands of other test-takers are in your shoes.

It’s true, the LSAT is a beast. It’s really good at making your life miserable. The question we’re going to tackle today is: how can you make it LESS miserable?

A lot of people will tell you to practice (which you should) and to take lots of practice tests (which again, you should) but what many people WON’T tell you is to go scope out your test center.

That’s right, one of the most underrated ways to improve your concentration on test day is to turn yourself into a master thief and case the joint.

You’ve seen it in every heist movie from Ocean’s 11 to Inside Man. The savvy team of criminals go in and go over every inch of the bank/museum/casino before they hatch their master plan.

How could this possibly help you?

Well, what most people don’t realize is that every Test Center has a whole bunch of ways it can throw off your concentration if you aren’t prepared. What if the air conditioning is too cold and you’re freezing? What if it's off in the middle of June and you’re sweating to death?

What if there's a halogen light that is dying and flickering above you THE ENTIRE TIME?

It’s knowing little things like this and coming prepared that can save your sanity before you even step foot in a test room. I go into a little more depth on possible hurdles and how to deal with them here if you got time for a quick read.

If not, no big deal but still do yourself a favor and at least make sure the first time you set foot in your Test Center isn’t the day of your LSAT.

Want more tips for your big day? I’ve compiled a big ‘ol list of them right here --->

Next time, I'll share some strategies on how to live a normal life (and avoid burning out) while preparing for the LSAT, as this test has a tendency to make cranky hermits out of all of us.

LSAT Heist Movie Ringleader,

Steve

P.S. If you can’t get into your local Test Center, do your best to recreate the environment. Trust me, it works.

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.

Ashley and the LSAT Dragon: An LSAT Unplugged Story by Steve Schwartz

Ashley and the LSAT Dragon: An LSAT Unplugged Story by Steve Schwartz

(Listen on YouTube & Podcast)

Once upon a time, there was an LSAT dragon, who was very, very angry.

He should have been the last dragon with the everlasting glory of being the final majestic and fearsome beast of his kind.

But due to an overlooked typo in his contract reversing two key letters, the glory went to another dragon. (If not for that, the LSAT dragon would have been the one starring in a popular HBO television series centuries later.)

Our dragon was simply an LSAT dragon, mainly of interest to pre-law students.

So he moped about in his cave, occasionally misdirecting his anger on the neighboring townspeople.

He terrorized them with all the usual tactics, setting fire to their granaries and stealing their gold.

The only person left alone was the wizard who lived on the edge of town.

But because he was vain (even for a dragon), he hoarded the town's legal casebooks, obsessively studying them in the hope of one day resolving the contractual error that had stolen his glory.

Unfortunately, while pillaging the town's library, he accidentally took all of the LSAT practice exams that future lawyers needed to study for the test.

Among those hopeful students was Ashley, a young woman on a quest to get into a top law school and become a successful attorney.

Ashley had already faced countless obstacles, but this was the last straw.

"I will not rest until those books are back in their rightful place," she said. "I have come too far on my legal journey to let this petty LSAT dragon stop me. I will DEFEAT the LSAT dragon if it's the last thing I do."

You see, in medieval times, women were not supposed to be educated.

So, Ashley would sneak into the town's library every night after her wicked stepmother had fallen asleep.

First, she taught herself to read and quickly devoured every book and scroll in sight.

Then, she enrolled in a pre-law correspondence course so she could receive scrolls by raven from the law school in the kingdom's capital, many miles away.

One day, her wicked stepmother discovered the scrolls hidden under her mattress.

"What are these?!" she shrieked, as she hit Ashley with the scrolls. "Women should not read. You'll never find a husband that way." The wicked stepmother burned every last one.

Ashley cried for days. Finally, she resolved to leave her wicked stepmother behind and study with the wizard who lived on the edge of the town.

Everyone said he practiced Magick, so Ashley was a little scared but felt she had no choice.

"Besides," Ashley said to no one in particular, "if he is willing to defy the norms of our backward society, perhaps he will understand my plight. Only he can teach me what I need to know to defeat the LSAT dragon and get back those practice exams!"

So, she lived with the wizard for a time and learned from him the skills of logic and rhetoric from ancient times (you see, this was the rumored Magick, nothing more).

Each night, she would hone her skills by debating matters of politics, law, and current events in the tavern.

Her thinking became more deliberate. She became more critical and skeptical of arguments. She learned to consider alternative possibilities and explanations, rather than taking what was presented at face value.

She'd unplugged herself from her long-held default assumptions. She'd learned the habit of taking that critical moment to pause and evaluate an argument first.

The townspeople soon became so fearful of encountering her "Magick" that they'd change the subject to avoid being demolished by her scathing criticism.

And, of course, none of them had the courage to challenge the LSAT dragon themselves.

"You're all cowards!" she said. "Here we are, living in medieval squalor. The LSAT has already gone digital in the kingdom's capital, and we're still eating nothing but porridge and relieving ourselves in outhouses. There they drink the finest coffee, take selfies, and scroll through newsfeeds as they sit on porcelain flush toilets."

The townspeople hung their heads in shame.

She continued, "The LSAT dragon has terrorized us for far too long. He's hoarding all of our legal casebooks in his lair, and no one dares to challenge him. We pay tribute to the King, yet he won't even protect us from a pathetic dragon who can't properly read his employment contract."

"I've defied the odds and studied all my life to become educated. I'm not going to let this dragon prevent me from continuing my quest any longer. I'm going to get those books back to the library where they belong. Then I will master the LSAT and go to the capital to become the successful attorney I was always meant to be."

With that, Ashley stormed out of the tavern and climbed the hill to the LSAT dragon's lair.

"Who goes there?" snarled the LSAT dragon, as trails of smoke billowed from his snout.

"It is I, Ashley, slayer of dragons and future successful attorney, sent here by destiny to return the legal casebooks to the townspeople and get the LSAT exams I need to continue my quest."

The LSAT dragon issued a stream of fire that singed a wisp of Ashley's hair.

She jumped back in fright. But the wizard had trained her for this.

Ashley said, "I call upon the spirits of my legal heroes: Elle Woods, Harvey Specter, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- lend me your strength and guide me in my time of need!"

Suddenly, a sword materialized from thin air, and Ashley struck the LSAT dragon on the snout with a fearsome blow.

The LSAT dragon roared in anger and pain.

"That really hurt!" he screamed. "What'd you do that for?"

Ashley sarcastically replied, "Um, because you're a dragon and you stole the books, duh. You see, I'm a pre-law student and want to go to law school so I can..."

"I don't need to hear your life story," said the LSAT dragon, gingerly rubbing his snout.

"Well, if you give me the books, I'll leave you alone." Ashley retorted. "Nobody has to get hurt. But if you don't, I'll use whatever means are at my disposal to defeat you. And I'm quite well equipped to do so; I've studied the law since I was a young girl and learned Magick with the wizard."

The LSAT dragon thought for a moment, then said, "You studied law?"

"Well, only in the town's library and by raven. I want to study properly at the top law school in the capital, but I can't because you took all the LSAT practice exams."

The LSAT dragon looked around his lair, then settled his gaze on a pile of exams sitting in the corner, coated in a thick layer of dust.

He finally said, "Oh, those? You can have them. I just grabbed everything in a hurry when the townspeople were chasing me with pitchforks. I can't make any sense out of them anyway, and I really only need the legal casebooks."

Ashley replied, "I can't let you keep those either. They belong to me and the rest of the townspeople. We may not be educated yet, but one day we will fight for our rights from the capital and establish democracy. You can't just steal our books!"

The LSAT dragon roared and let loose another stream of fire. Then he declared, "You leave me no choice. We will battle to the death. I need the law books to figure out how to get out of my employment contract. I was supposed to be the last dragon ever, but due to a typo, I was instead sentenced to an eternity of being the LSAT dragon instead."

"Yeah, I've heard," Ashley said sympathetically.

He sighed, then continued in a more conversational tone, "I don't know if I'll ever make sense of the law. I couldn't even figure out the LSAT! It's a lot more difficult than I expected. Why do you need to take it for law school anyway?"

Ashley responded, "No offense, but the fact that you didn't catch that typo means you didn't read carefully enough. That might be part of the reason why future lawyers have to take the LSAT. Did you hire one to represent you?"

As Ashley spoke, the LSAT dragon shifted and became increasingly frustrated. Finally, he straightened his spine and leaned over her, issuing another stream of fire against the wall in warning.

"Listen, young woman. I'm 500 years old, and I don't need a lecture from you on what I should've done after the fact. You're going to turn around, get out of my cave, and..."

"Wait, did you say you're 500 years old?"

"Yes, why?"

"Since dragons live for millennia, that would make you only 15 in dragon years. You're still a minor. And contracts signed by minors aren't legally binding, even for dragons."

Ashley's decision to take an elective in Dragon Law during her correspondence course had turned out to have a real-world application after all.

"You mean that contract is null and void?"

"Correct, you don't have to be the LSAT dragon anymore! You can be whatever you want. And you can negotiate a new contract with The Powers That Be to become the last dragon instead if you like."

The no-longer-LSAT dragon flapped his wings in excitement. "That's the best news I've heard in centuries! I'm glad you stopped by my cave, young woman."

"My name's Ashley. Pleased to meet you." She stuck out her hand and grasped one of the dragon's claws.

The two became fast friends. The no-longer-LSAT dragon returned all the books to the townspeople. Ashley studied for the LSAT and took it, scoring higher than 99% of test-takers throughout the land. She now had the score she'd need to gain admission to the best law school in the capital.

Although Ashley had defeated the LSAT dragon, her quest was not yet over. First, she would have to defeat the Personal Statement Dragon.

But that's a story for another time.

(UPDATE: That story was rudely interrupted by the LSAT Virus, another LSAT Unplugged Story.)

Second time’s the charm

While there ARE people happy with their first LSAT score, I find they tend to be few and far between. Like rainbows or good parking spots.

This means many people end up taking the LSAT twice or more.

There’s no shame in that - if that’s you, then you’re in good company.

But the act of studying for the LSAT and taking it can be a bit time consuming and emotionally draining.

(And the award for biggest understatement goes to…LSAT Steve!)

So if you’re going to take the LSAT again…. you owe it to yourself to knock it out the park!

Anne used my day-by-day study plan and increased her score from 150 to 164!

Now, I could sit here and write a long-winded article about what she did and how, but I’d rather let her do it in her own words:

Anne's LSAT Diary

She mentions the importance of going with your gut, but my favorite part is where she mentions figuring out HOW and WHY the questions are worded the way they are.

She got in the head of the LSAT test-makers, which is KEY to high-scorers’ success, and something I focus my books and courses around.

Don’t get discouraged by your first score, just go out there and focus on conquering the exam with your next one.

Your partner in LSAT success,

Steve

P.S. If you want to be in the LSAT Diaries, reach out and share your story.

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