Furthermore, while schools do take a look at a applicant's undergraduate score, the truth is that schools are FAR more concerned with an applicant's LSAT score.
U.S. News and World Report ranks a school largely based on the applicant's LSAT score. Schools are very concerned about their rank. In a weak legal economy, you should be prepared to do the best you can. That means reading everything that you can in order to prepare for the LSAT. There exist some very pricey LSAT courses, and these may be worth considering. However, before enrolling you should focus on books and other materials that can gauge where you are.
One book that I highly recommend is located at this link.
The following article was also posted at PreLawAdvisor.com which offers an excellent resource for those who are looking to go to law school.
1. Taking Action Without Planning
Taking an official LSAT without careful planning in advance is what I call “the sucker punch.” I see it all the time. People say, “Well, I thought I would just try it to see what happens. Maybe I’ll get lucky.” Luck. As if LSAT results were a lottery. Then they end up with a 137 (an 8th percentile score that tells the law schools that you are definitely unqualified).
Do not, do not go down this path. Instead, start here: Click Here!
2. Planning Without Taking Action
Sometimes, people, driven by their fear of the real LSAT, spend endless amounts of time (and large amounts of money!) in LSAT preparation classes and in the exercises of LSAT preparation books. They comfort themselves that they are preparing effectively for their future, but they never engage the enemy. If this is you, test your current level of readiness, now, by taking a complete practice test. I mean by this an old official LSAT, under true timed conditions, and then score it. What’s your score? What’s your target score? What should your target score be? Feel free to contact me with your result and your thinking about your goal. I’ll let you know if you are on track, or wasting your time in an ineffective approach.
3. Unrealistic Timeframes and Expectations
“I’ve got two weeks free. I can prepare for the LSAT in that amount of time, right?” Maybe, but probably not. The score results from old LSATs—taken under true timed conditions—will reveal your readiness. If you are truly an LSAT “prodigy” (only about 4% of test takers, in my experience), your first practice test will reveal a strong score. But if you are like the overwhelming majority of people (the remaining 96%) you will need time to master the LSAT. It can be mastered. But you may need a considerable amount of time. Don’t give yourself a short, artificial timeline. That can be a formula for failure. Listen to your practice LSAT results.
The article, on PreLawAdvisor.com mentioned the following story, which was rather interesting:
"It took me about half a year to prepare for the test since I was still in school and had other exams to cope with. What I did was really simple! I took a test under simulated conditions on Monday. On Tuesday, I went over the test again, problem by problem, and analyzed the answers and marked the questions I didn't really understand well, without any time restraint. On Wednesday, I took a break. Thursdays through Saturdays I repeated my Monday through Wednesday schedule. On Sunday, I restudied the difficult questions in the two sets I took in that week. The entire process took me 17 weeks. I took two weeks off to deal with school exams. In total it took me 19 weeks. At first glance, you may think I spent a great deal of time preparing for the LSAT. I took 34 practice tests! But counting the hours, it's not that much. I believe I spent an average of six hours on each test, including two review sessions. That adds up to around 200 hours in total. My score improved from 151 on the first test to low/mid 170s on the last five tests. My actual test score was 177.
My improvement from the low 150s to the low 160s was quick, about seven to eight tests. But it took me 15-20 tests to go from 160 to 170. Once I broke 170, I stayed in the low to mid 170s for the remaining seven to nine tests. It seems to me that about three weeks and six to eight tests are needed to consolidate a level. That's why I think it's important to take as many real tests as possible (at least 25, 30+ is preferred).
I graduated from a college in northeast and am going to law school in the same region next semester." This student was admitted to Harvard Law School with an LSAT score of 177! Do you want to have a chance at Harvard Law School as well?
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| Harvard law school is a reality for those who score well on the LSAT |
4. Reasons “Why” Are Unclear
Why do you want to go to law school? What basis in life experience do you have to make such a decision? Are you being pushed to go by someone else, like your parents? Are you secretly trying to torpedo your chances by failing on the LSAT? If so, you need to have a frank conversation with those around you. Get your life on a solid course. Make ambitious, achievable goals that are in line with your heartfelt desires. LSAT preparation and law school will be absolute misery for anyone not truly desiring to become a lawyer.
5. Denial of Reality
Are you operating solely on your own theory about how to achieve excellence on the LSAT? If so, stop immediately and test it, by taking a timed practice test on an old official LSAT. Score it. How did you do? What do you need to earn? What’s the gap?
6. Conflicting Values
This relates to item 4 above. Who is driving you to law school? Your own ambitions? Or someone else? Is law school your main vocational objective now? Or is it someone else’s? If your values about this project are in conflict, you won’t be able to do your best.
7. Diffusion of Energy
“How can I study for the LSAT? I’ve got school, a job, family members to care for, my car payment to earn, problems from my past to solve (etc.)!”
One can make endless excuses—and often good ones—to avoid the often painful investment of time to master the LSAT. But if you want to win admission offers from respected law schools, you are going to have to restructure your life in order to defeat the LSAT. Don’t let schedule pressures push you by default onto the road of poor performance in the LSAT. If you do, you won’t reach the law schools—or in the future the legal employers—that you really want.
8. Lack of Focus
In your time of LSAT focus, you have to make LSAT preparation your “weird hobby”. You’ve got to give it a large, measured, consistent amount of time and effort, regularly including practice tests. Hold the image in your mind of the e-mail you will receive in the future from LSAC, with your name on it and your targeted, high, LSAT score. Work towards that steadily as part of your schedule, six days each week.
9. Trying to Do It All Alone
Get help if you need it. After you take and score a practice test, come to a 100% understanding as to why each correct answer on the LSAT is correct. If you can, great. Then move to the next one. If you cannot, you may need the help of an LSAT tutor or an LSAT prep class. But remember, no tutor or class can substitute for you proving to yourself, over and over through timed practice tests, scored by you, that you are truly ready for the LSAT. Consider these Top 15 LSAT Tips.
10. Fear of Failure
“I’m not preparing very much for the LSAT because I’m afraid I will fail it.” But then your lack of preparation assures your failure. Stare your opponent straight in the face. Attack it regularly, in practice test after practice test. Learn from every mistake you make. Track your practice test score results. If you practice diligently, extracting the maximum possible learning from each practice test, you will climb the LSAT learning curve. Click Here!
This is great advice. I am taking the LSAT this February and am very nervous. I have the "Cracking the LSAT" which is a good book for self study. I am also considering doing a seminar course, but am confused as to which I should choose.
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