The LSAT is stressful by design. It’s meant to test reasoning abilities under pressure, to simulate the skills needed to study and practice law successfully.
Those who do well on practice tests often underperform on test day. In panic, they abandon all the hard work they’ve done to build skills with methodical practice.
Even law school applicants who excel academically may find the test daunting, resulting in a split between their grades and LSAT scores.
While test day anxiety affects some people more than others, it’s critical to understand that this is not some sort of personal defect or limitation.
Think about it like this: When you first learn conditional or causal reasoning, it may feel difficult or unnatural. But you don’t blame or judge yourself as an illogical person, because you understand that learning these techniques is part of mastering this test.
Likewise, managing your mind under pressure is a learnable skill — one with lifelong benefits.
Understand Test Anxiety
The LSAT is like an extreme sport. The test overloads your brain — which consumes about 20% of a normal adult’s body energy — with three hours of fast-paced deductions requiring total focus and mental agility.
If you think that doesn’t impact your body, consider that chess grandmasters in tournaments can burn 6,000 calories daily and sustain blood pressure levels akin to elite athletes — without leaving their seats.
When you take the LSAT, your body works overtime, furiously shifting resources and releasing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that supercharge your brain but overtax your bodily systems.
None of this feels good. Under stressful conditions, your brain and body go into “fight or flight” mode, prioritizing survival over comfort. Symptoms of these biochemical changes include self-doubt and anxiety, racing thoughts and stomach cramps.
These feelings don’t mean that you’re bad at tests.
Imagine you’re an Olympic athlete gearing up for the big day. Your stomach tightens, your muscles twitch and your mind races. Does this make you a bad athlete?
Nothing is wrong with feeling performance pressure when it’s “game time.” It’s out of your control. But you can choose how you anticipate and respond to it.
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Visualize the Experience
Knowing that this stress is inevitable, you can prepare like a pro athlete or any other top performer.
First, anticipate the experience of a successful test through visualization. Write down what you will go through, from waking up to acing the test.
To make this visualization more vivid than your fears, ground the story in real, visceral details: the taste of breakfast, the sounds of the room. Read this script out loud twice daily and mentally rehearse the entire performance.
These mental rehearsals will reassure your body that you know what’s going to happen and there’s no reason to panic. You’re not running into trouble; you’re racing to victory.
Anticipate Problems
Think of potential curveballs, like technical glitches or a noisy proctor. Game out the most rational way to respond to these pitfalls. Don’t let these distractions snowball into an avalanche of runaway thoughts.
Instead of suppressing your worries about the test, articulate your discomfort. But find sources of humor or meaning or comfort, as you may have in other tough situations.
The test will be painful, but will it feel like the soreness of a race you won? Reframe the LSAT from a test of your worth into a stage to perform what you practiced.
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Put Yourself in Peak Condition
In the days leading up to the test, build healthy habits to keep your body and brain in shape:
— Eat nutritious, brain-healthy whole foods rich in protein, flavonoids and healthy fats.
— Maintain a steady sleep schedule with a nighttime routine that helps you relax.
— Move your body regularly, whether that means walking or weight training.
— Stay hydrated and sober, since alcohol can impair focus and mental speed for days.
The day before the test, get in the right headspace to handle your rising emotions. Instead of doing stressful practice questions that feed your fears, go over notes or old problems you got right to engage your brain and build confidence.
Focus on Test Day
What do you do on LSAT test day when the clock is ticking and your brain goes haywire?
Stop fighting your thoughts and take a moment to ground yourself. Focus on something in the real world, like your breath or the feel of the desk.
If you find yourself getting hung up on a tricky question, flag it and move on. Return to it later, when there’s less time pressure.
If you feel flustered, take one tiny step toward getting a point, like ruling out a wrong answer choice or applying a technique you’ve practiced.
Wise marathoners don’t think about running 26.2 miles. They focus on keeping a steady pace for another 50 feet.
And when the LSAT is over, if you feel exhausted and conflicted and a little ill, then take heart that you ran a great race. And give yourself a rest!
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How to Manage LSAT Test Anxiety originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/11/25: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
