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The Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) is brutal. Logical reasoning, logic games, reading comprehension and a writing section may not sound too bad until you actually take a practice exam. In order to do well on this exam, you have to practice, practice, practice and start as early as possible. Most students take some time off after they graduate to study and prepare for this test. Now, I understand why. Trying to balance studying for the LSAT and classes is exhausting.
Related: How It Feels To Take The LSAT
1. Who really understands formal logic?
Conditional statements may as well be the bane of my existence. If A, then B so that also means if not A, then not B. That may make sense now once you read it in these simplified terms, but once real phrases are attached and a bunch of other irrelevant information is included somewhere in between, with only 1 minute and 30 seconds to answer each question, you might as well just forget it. Attached to all these logical reasoning questions are rules and steps to follow that can be difficult to remember once you first begin studying. There is more to it than just understanding the question stem and information in the stimulus. LSAT test takers must remember the rules for each question and use that knowledge to tackle the questions AND get to the correct answer.
2. Prep courses can be very expensive
Full-length prep courses can rack up to about $1,000. As a college student already in debt and working to make ends meet, this seems pretty impractical. Additionally, advisors recommend learning from professionals in the preparation process in order to improve your score. Therefore, in order to actually do really well, you may feel obliged to sign up for a prep course. Luckily, if you are serious about law school, you can join Phi Alpha Delta, the Co-ed Pre-Law Fraternity, and get discounts for prep courses with PowerScore. Kaplan also offers many discounts throughout the year for prep coursesl and even offers the in-person sections on campus.Via Listing Maniac
3. Self-studying requires great commitment
If you choose to self-study at any point of the LSAT preparation process, it requires a great deal of commitment. You have to develop a schedule and devote a significant amount of time to studying each week, especially the closer you get to the exam date. Also, even if self-teaching is your thing, a different level of focus is required to actually grasp the way of thinking that you need to do well on the LSAT. Therefore, it’s important to commit your time and energy into really preparing for this exam and guaranteeing that you get the best score that you can. Remaining fully committed from the beginning to the end can be exhausting, but it will only enhance your knowledge and overall performance.
Related: LSAT: Tips for Success
4. It takes awhile for everything to start making sense
At the beginning of studying for the LSAT, almost all of the material doesn’t really make sense right away, unless you are just amazing at logic. Prep materials usually break everything down to help you better understand each aspect of the stimulus, question types and answer choices. Things start to make sense when it is all dumbed-down for you but as soon as you move away from the simplified questions, all that new material flies out of the window. After repeated practice, things everything begins to make sense. This process may be very frustrating to go through and may even make you want to give up but it is important to know that to do well on this exam, you just have to keep practicing. This will lead you to start noticing patterns in the questions and answers, which will increase your confidence and have you answering questions like an expert.
5. Managing school while prepping for the LSAT takes a toll on you
If you’re prepping for the LSAT while you’re still in school, it may be difficult to manage. LSAT test takers that are also current students are most likely either in their junior or senior year of undergrad. These are obviously the more demanding years of an individual’s college career, making studying for the LSAT an additional stressor. Dealing with exams, writing papers, fulfilling requirements for your extracurricular activities, etc. on its own is already a lot to handle and can physically and mentally take a toll on a student. On top of that, trying to push yourself to prepare and study for the LSAT with as much effort as possible can be draining and exhausting. Therefore, time management and persistence is key to doing well.
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Overall, prepping for the LSAT is NOT easy.. It may be in your best interest to take some time off after your undergraduate education to properly study and prepare for this exam in order to get the highest score that you can. LSAT scores are a major indicator on what law schools you ultimately will get accepted into and how much scholarship money you’ll receive. If you are currently studying for the exam, keep your head up and continue to push through. YOU GOT THIS!