One of the first things I tell my LSAT test prep clients is the fact that the LSAT is a completely different kind of test from the tests that prospective law school students have taken previously.
Many future lawyers view the test as an advanced version of the SAT, and some even expect it to be similar to exams they have taken in college. In fact, the LSAT is fundamentally different from the SAT, GRE, GMAT and all other standardized tests and forms of evaluation that students are familiar with from high school and college.
Since it is fundamentally different, most students don’t know how to prepare properly for the exam. This week, I’ll outline three common myths about LSAT preparation and what a strategic LSAT taker should actually do.
[Check out these seven tips for LSAT success.]
Myth 1: You only need a few weeks of intense preparation. One of the most common requests my office gets in the four to six weeks leading up to every LSAT test is from students asking to begin an intensive tutoring program for the upcoming test.
The perception that this is a realistic schedule is a product of both optimism and experience with other tests. Other standardized tests generally require much less preparation than the LSAT, in part because most of the questions on other tests are easier and because the LSAT is by far the most tightly timed standardized test.
The level of difficulty and timing issues make it necessary for students to spend much more time familiarizing themselves with both methods for answering questions and timing strategies.
My general recommendation is that students study for several months at an average of ten to fifteen hours per week. This is because the LSAT requires students to fundamentally alter the way they think and requires consistent practice of time management strategies And since studying for the LSAT and taking practice tests is so energy and focus intensive, it isn’t productive to spend more than 15 hours per week preparing.
Myth 2: You can plan for a target number of wrong answers per section. Many students approach me with a mentality that they just need to get their logic games section down to five questions wrong and then they’ll be where they want to be, or that they need to work on the logical reasoning section until they’re getting only three questions wrong per section.
These plans are attempts to quickly answer the more complicated question of how to allocate one’s study time most efficiently. This question is best answered by a tutor who knows your strengths and weaknesses and who can assess where you’re most likely to gain the most points.
One of the most common areas for students to gain points quickly is the logic games. Many of my students have started their preparation only able to complete one logic game, but once they learn the methods, they are able to get nearly 100 percent of the questions correct.
[Learn how law schools evaluate LSAT scores.]
Myth 3: Success only requires taking a few full, timed practice tests. This myth is one of the simplest to dispel. In order to get a 179, I took every single published practice test twice before taking the real thing.
There were many fewer tests available back then, so I don’t recommend that our current clients take that many tests. You should, however, expect to take at least 30 full, timed practice tests and you should ideally take the most recent practice tests.
I recommend that students take all published tests since the June 2007 test, when the comparative reading passage was introduced. These tests are most similar to future tests, and students who take these tests will feel most comfortable with the real LSAT they take.
Have you been misled by these or other LSAT preparation myths? Let me know in an email or tweet me @shawnpoconnor.
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Erase 3 Top LSAT Preparation Myths originally appeared on usnews.com
