The LSAT

The LSAT is the single most important part of your application. It sucks. I hate that a 4-hour test is more important than 4-years of your life at university, your work experience, and everything else you have to offer. Unfortunately, that’s the name of the game. Fortunately, I firmly believe that the LSAT is a test anyone can learn.

From my very first practice test to my final score, I improved 17 points on the LSAT. Between my first and second official examination, I improved ten points (I went from a 165 to 175 between my first and second take). I truly think anyone can score above a 170 on the exam if they put in the time studying. Anyone. Above a 170, in my opinion, comes down to luck. Did you get questions that were kind to you? Were the reading prompts up your ally? But, other than that, the test is learnable and anyone can figure it out.

However, that means a lot of time you need to commit. I studied for the LSAT for a total of nearly 10 months. I put well over 250 hours into studying. For me, the logic games section was the hardest part to perfect; I did every section ever released. Twice. The LSAT is arguably one of the most important tests a lawyer will ever take. If you don’t respect the test, it can really change the trajectory of your life. So, please, please, please, please give the LSAT the time and respect it deserves.

Some people estimate the LSAT is worth about 65% of your application. If you spend four years of your life making sure your GPA is great, you are doing yourself a great disservice not putting a significant fraction of time into the LSAT. On the contrary, if your GPA is on the weaker side, the LSAT gives you a really good chance to redeem yourself when applying to law school.

Moreover, just a few-point increase on your LSAT can give you a huge boost in law school prospects and scholarship money. You can literally go from not getting into a school to getting a full ride after an increase of just 5 points on the LSAT, for example. Take the time to improve if you need to. Your future self will thank you if it saves you $200 thousand in law school debt.

What I used to study

I used a program called LSAT Engine to study. I loved it! The program is online and is self-paced. The instructors are incredibly accessible and there is a video for every single LSAT question with an explanation. One really cool feature is that the questions scale to your ability for each question type. So, if you’re really having trouble with one specific type of question, you can improve at your own ability level.

It’s a bit pricey — $700, I think — but not only is it cheaper than a lot of other study programs, but doing well on the LSAT could literally save you hundreds of thousands of dollars (or make you millions more over your lifetime income). Trust me, it’s worth it to put the time and money in here.

But what if I don’t have enough time to study?

Ok… I don’t know how to respond to this sort of question. I worked 30-hour weeks throughout college and was a full-time student. I found a way to study. Unfortunately, I didn’t really go out for 9 months and barely got to play video games (which I absolutely love). During the summer, I worked 30-hour weeks instead of full time and was able to study more. Life is full of trade-offs. For me, my life was less exciting for almost a year so that I could ace the exam. For me, it was worth it.

What if I need to retake?

There is no penalty if you retake the LSAT. Let me repeat it because it’s important. There is no penalty if you retake the LSAT! Please, please, please don’t be afraid to retake the exam if you don’t do as well as you think you can. Take 6–8 weeks for yourself, completely away from any LSAT materials after you finish your first LSAT. If you need to, take a practice test to see where you’re at, then begin studying for the next exam. Remember, an increase in just a few points translates to thousands and thousands of dollars. There are stories of people taking the exam up to even five times to get into the school they want. There’s no reason not to retake if you think you can do better.

One of the problems I encountered when studying is burnout. I actually think I over-studied toward the end for my first take. By the time I took the exam the first time I was overthinking things way too much and did quite a bit worse than my practice tests. Taking those two months away from studying was integral coming back.

Your LSAT journey will have some times where things feel hopeless. When I was studying, I took one practice test per week. There was literally a 7 week period where I got the same score every single time I took the test. The. Same. Score. Can you imagine how terrible I felt? I would sit down and spend 12 hours studying over the course of the week, only to sit down and score the same amount as the week before. This happened week after week after week after week. It was heart-wrenching. You have to trust the process. You will get better if you’re actively engaged with and learning with the material. You will get better after enough time and practice.

Retake and reapply?

I’m not going to talk a lot about this, because I didn’t do this myself. However, a sizable part of the Reddit community embraces the idea of “retake and reapply.” The idea is that if you take a year off to get work experience and study for the LSAT in a hardcore way, you can greatly improve your potential law school choices. For anyone unsatisfied with their selection of law schools after applying, there is no need to settle. Retaking and reapplying is a legitimate strategy that many people take to reach their personal goals.