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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

See the money wanna stay, for your meal…

“Greenback Boogie” by Ima Robot

If you’re like me (in the ‘know’), you’d recognize the title of my article as the title of the Suits theme song, Greenback Boogie by Ima Robot. Suits stars Gabriel Macht as the suave and, dare I say, chic (in the most masculine way possible) mentor to Harvard “alumnus” and not-so-qualified associate Michael Ross played by Patrick J. Adams. The show is a nine-season legal drama, and though wholly unrealistic, is super fun!

While everyone in my close circle was off having a glamourous summer abroad or enjoying a relaxing three months at home, my life became a three-season legal drama.

With the LSAT only a year out, I came to one hot summer day and realized that A) the clock is ticking and B) everyone is “too busy” or “too tired” to study, but everyone else is doing it anyways.

After a regrettable experience during the second semester of my sophomore year, I noticed a thick and emotionally heavy brain fog settle over my previously “hustle until you can’t” grind-set headspace. This summer I was determined to get it back.

I dove into studying headfirst using guidebooks graciously gifted to me by a dear friend and learned a lot about the LSAT, but also about myself.

With plenty of support, inspiration and advice from others studying for the LSAT, current law students, and practicing attorneys I came across on social media, I greenback boogied my way right back into the hustle.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far, and what I will never forget:

1. Just start and start now.

I found the most painful part of studying to be starting, but really once you settle into your routine, it becomes something you can find sanctuary in.

I work in the service industry, so the last thing I want to do at the end of my shift is talk. I found a lot of peace in the quiet challenge of studying. Also, it’s a legitimate, airtight reason to not be bothered by family for two hours.

The first thing I did was find a notebook and record exactly what I studied and did over the course of an hour.

On my very first night of studying, I spent one hour studying my PowerScore LSAT Reading Comprehension Bible and had ChatGPT create a study program for legalese (legal vocabulary), various cases and their subsequent case briefs, and a study schedule for my books.

I gradually increased the time I spent on each topic and currently spend around two or two and a half hours a day studying.

All you have to do is start.

2. Nervousness is for losers. Intensity wins.

One of the very first things I learned in my prep book was that nervous energy should, or, rather, must, be channeled into intensity in order to achieve success.

You take the test. Don’t let the test take you.

Be bold and energetic, and, as crazy as it might sound, enjoy it! Each time you practice, you’re more than likely to learn something new.

3. “I hear voices!”

Chris Young has a great song called “Voices” in which he essentially goes over the “voices” in his head which are lessons that the people closest to him have ingrained in his head.

One of the lyrics is “Like, my dad saying, ‘Quit that team,/and you’ll be a quitter for the rest of your life.’”

This lyric, besides reminding me of my own father who forced (yes, forced) me to play baseball (no, not softball) until I was at least ten, is great LSAT advice.

If you made it to a point where you decided you wanted to practice law in the future and began studying for the LSAT, there is a reason.

Quit now and you’re just a quitter.

4. Eat the frog.

Eating the frog is not only a funny phrase but also a great productivity strategy.

What works for regular folks without an inclination towards the practice of law typically won’t work for those with one, thus rendering the “start with the small tasks and work your way up” is not realistic or helpful when studying for the LSAT.

Eating the frog is doing the biggest and most challenging thing first and sorting out the smaller tasks after.

5. Your “flaws” are nothing of the sort.

Ever been called nosy? Annoying? Loud? Argumentative? Defensive?

Do I have to finish this sentence?

6. Strategy, strategy, strategy.

The key to successfully taking the LSAT is working the LSAT. All prep books will have valuable strategies to help you take the test. Apply them and you’ll be unstoppable.

7. Not so useless now, huh?

Where are my English majors and soon to be J.D.’s?

For all of us who have been told that our degree is a waste of money and won’t get us anywhere, congratulations. Law is reading and comprehension on steroids, so use your English talents to your advantage. Read actively like there’s no tomorrow, write and practice writing.

8. Respect the test.

The last bullet point on my first ever page of notes from my LSAT prep book was a starred phrase:

‘RESPECT THE TEST.’

The people who create the LSAT are not dumb. The test is not simple, nor should it be treated as such.

Respect the test makers and respect the test.

9. I don’t have to be the best.

The reason I picked up my test book again after months of it collecting dust in my bookbag is because I realized two things:

1: I don’t have to be the best.

2: I won’t be the best, because everyone is the best. That’s why we’re taking it.

I realized that I don’t have to be the smartest in the room or do better than everyone I know on my practice exams.

I just have to want it more than you.

What I might lack in this study process in pure wit and skill is replaced tenfold by grit, work, mental toughness, and a pure, unadulterated willingness to do whatever it takes to trample everyone else to get what I want.

My dad used to wear a shirt that referenced Skinless’ 2006 death metal album, “Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead.”

Was this the best lesson baby me could’ve picked up from my dad? No, but it is certainly applicable here.

However toxic the mindset is, I know that I must give everything I’ve got to studying and I have to want it the most.

Prepare to be trampled.

The LSAT is not easy. That’s the point, but it can be manageable, and you are capable of great success if you believe you are.

Mary Quinn, known as MQ to most, has been a Her Campus contributor at St. Bonaventure University for three years! Mary Quinn is currently a third-year honors student studying English with a passion for writing, service and social media marketing. Aside from Her Campus, Mary Quinn writes for PolitiFact NY, a media organization dedicated to publishing the whole truth, as a political reporter. She is the St. Bonaventure University English Department's social media manager and she works with the Student Government Association (SGA) as her class's president. She also serves as co-president of Break the Bubble and is involved with SBU College Democrats, the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), Badminton Club, SBU Orion and the SBU Indigenous Student Confederacy (ISC). In her time away from academics, Mary Quinn loves spending time with her friends, roommates and girlfriend. She enjoys online shopping, listening to new music and reading. Mary Quinn absolutely adores cats, and though she is highly allergic to them, spends any free time she can at the Cattaraugus County SPCA. Mary Quinn's shining star achievement is that she was awarded "Camp Gossip" two years in a row. She believes that any problem can be solved by a quick scroll on "X," a hot gossip sesh with her roommates, "Mean girls" by Charli XCX, water from the Hickey Dining Hall and Trader Joe's soup dumplings.