If you’re reading this, it’s likely that one day you will take the LSAT. Or, maybe you’re simply reading this for fun, despite the LSAT’s lack of explicit entertainment, and props to you for that!
I’ve taken the infamous LSAT twice, and it has certainly been a journey. Between the countless hours of studying and the occasional (or frequent) emotional breakdowns, I’ve learned a bit about what works, what doesn’t, and what I wish I’d known when I started.
While everyone’s experience will inevitably look different, I wanted to share some of the advice that helped me navigate this incredibly challenging process beyond simply the best study methods.
1. Take a Diagnostic, but don’t let your score define you
I began “studying” last year. I neither had an idea of what I was getting myself into nor how to go about it. I took a diagnostic exam in December, having never studied and being only barely exposed to the LSAT.
I jumped into the deep end, uncovering the horrors of the LSAT in one fell swoop. Forcing myself to confront that confusion, terror, and fear all at once was important. I realized that I could get through the exam, even without the tools necessary to do well. It made the test less scary than people made it out to be.
More importantly, it provided a starting point to understand my weaknesses and mistakes. I could see where I needed to go and how I could begin progressing. So, if you bomb your first-ever diagnostic, please don’t spiral. Trust me, there is plenty of spiraling left. In fact, performing poorly can be a good thing! It gives you the opportunity to recognize where you stand and what to improve. Progress is progress, and starting anywhere means that you can eventually get somewhere.
2. use a study schedule
I’m a huge fan of to-do lists, calendars, and organizational tools. I like to break up my endless lists of responsibilities into days and times that are more achievable and less stressful. If I had one enormous to-do list for the entire semester, one glance at it would be daunting and paralyzing. So, creating a study schedule was helpful.
There are schedules available online, and I believe I utilized examples from both the LSAT Demon and 7Sage. These can be especially helpful when starting out because you might not know exactly how or what to study.
A schedule gave me a specific, achievable task each day. Rather than wondering where to begin, I could approach knowing what to work on and check something off my list by the end.
This doesn’t mean that I stuck to my schedule every day. There are going to be rough days when the goals aren’t feasible. At least, there were for me. But that’s okay! I tried to give myself grace when needed because being a college student is difficult, and doing so while preparing for an intense exam is even tougher. Adjustments, changes, and modifications can be made.
A study schedule should provide structure, not become another source of overwhelming pressure. Having a plan is important, but recognizing when that plan needs to change is equally valuable.
3. don’t be so hard on yourself
Also, please try not to be tough on yourself. If you’re anything like me, you’re a go-getter and a hard worker. You’re driven in both your academic studies and your LSAT preparation, and you probably have some pretty high expectations for yourself.
While that motivation can be beneficial, it also means that you might put an enormous amount of pressure on yourself when things don’t go according to plan. One of the hardest parts of preparing for the LSAT is accepting that progress isn’t always linear. There will be days when you perform significantly better than you expected, and there will be others when you feel like you have somehow forgotten everything you spent the previous several months learning.
I found it helpful to remind myself that one unproductive day didn’t erase the work I had already completed. A disappointing practice exam didn’t suddenly mean I was incapable of succeeding, and struggling with a particular question type didn’t mean that I’d never understand it. I know this is easier said than done, but trying to approach your preparation with patience is just as important as improving an understanding of the exam itself. You can hold yourself to high standards while still recognizing that you’re human.
4. take care of yourself
There were many days when all the studying and preparation felt so exhausting that it physically hurt. I had one streamlined headache from early June until my exam in August.
However, we’re all working toward a much larger goal, and the journey certainly doesn’t end after this exam. Because of that, I think it’s important to develop practices that allow us to take care of ourselves along the way.
For me, alone time is beneficial. I need opportunities to recharge, especially after particularly exhausting days. I developed a nighttime routine that worked after long, intensive study sessions. It involved a hot shower, a good meal, soft lighting, a candle burning, and a relaxing show. I found that watching something lighthearted before bed was a helpful distraction. My brain often raced with thoughts and anxieties surrounding my performance and the possibility of a disappointing score. Allowing myself some time to disconnect from those worries helped me unwind, which was important when I needed to wake up the next morning and do it all over again.
Self-care also means being your biggest cheerleader.
I often needed to hype myself up before a study session or practice exam. I had to remind myself what I was working toward and recognize that I was capable of achieving it. Also, whenever I performed well, I tried to allow myself to feel proud and happy in that moment. It didn’t mean that everything was suddenly solved, but celebrating little victories throughout a lengthy process helped me stay motivated.
Your mindset is also critical. Try your best to find the experience fun. I know what you are thinking: how could the LSAT be fun? It’s unconventional to think so, but in my experience, the LSAT can be fun. Learning about argumentative structures and finding the missing puzzle piece in a flaw question can be like a scavenger hunt. It’s nice to find enjoyment in excelling at the tasks the exam obligates you to.
I’ve also observed how much the LSAT permeates into everyday life. I’ve had moments in which I’ll observe a necessary v. sufficient assumption in an argument or an argumentative flaw. I even had a spat with my boyfriend and used LSAT logic to structure why his explanation was insufficient. So not only has the LSAT made me smarter; it’s also made me more annoying! All jokes aside, as painful as the experience is and as meaningless as it might feel, it’s valuable. Even if you don’t see the value for your future, the LSAT has made me better at time management and mentally tougher under stress.
5. take care of your body
This section might honestly sound a bit dramatic. I was teased for many of these overly thoughtful choices. It might not be conventional LSAT advice, or even something you may apply to your preparation, but it’s worth mentioning.
While preparing for this exam, I didn’t know what to expect. For the longest time, even up until the exam, it felt like an experience my brain and body had never been equipped to handle. I’ve taken plenty of exams and completed numerous stressful tasks, but the magnitude of the LSAT and everything it represented for my future made me perceive it as something much bigger than it actually was.
I began looking into practices that could support my physical well-being and academic performance. In the weeks leading up to my exam, I changed my diet. It wasn’t drastic, because I didn’t want to disrupt my normal routine or cause issues on exam day. I simply made a conscious effort to eat nutritious, balanced meals associated with brain health.
It made my body feel better, and while I can’t say for certain whether these dietary changes improved my actual test performance, I do think they helped me feel more energized. The biggest benefit was the peace of mind that came from controlling the things that I could. I couldn’t determine the questions or score I’d receive on exam day, but I could make an effort to ensure that I was feeling my best, both physically and mentally, when that day arrived.
Diet won’t magically improve your LSAT score (if only)! However, prioritizing nutrition, hydration, sleep, and movement can help you feel better throughout an otherwise exhausting process.
6. create an exam day schedule
If you haven’t gathered this from the previous five sections, I thrive on organization and structure.
After spending months preparing for this one particular day, the last thing you want is to feel rushed or unprepared before the exam has even begun. I recommend planning out the night before and your morning ahead of time. Consider what time you must go to sleep, when you need to wake up, when you’ll eat breakfast, how long you need to get ready, and what you need to have prepared before your exam begins.
I also think it’s important to make your exam-day routine feel as familiar as possible. If you normally eat a particular breakfast, stick with it. If you typically have one cup of coffee in the morning, exam day probably isn’t the best time to suddenly have three. Most importantly, try to give yourself time to feel mentally prepared before the exam. No amount of planning can completely eliminate the anxiety surrounding such a test, but knowing that I took care of the smaller details made the experience feel a little less overwhelming.
At the end of the day, there’s only so much you can control. You can’t know exactly which questions will appear or what score you’ll receive, but you can control your approach. And after months of studying, stressing, and preparing, I think there’s something reassuring about knowing that you’ve done everything within your power to set yourself up for success.
best of luck!
If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this article, it’s that the LSAT is an incredibly challenging exam, but it’s still just an exam. I know that is much easier said than believed, especially when it feels like your future depends on a single score. Trust me, I’ve been there.
Throughout this process, I’ve realized that preparing for the LSAT involves so much more than learning logical reasoning questions or reading comprehension skills. It involves patience, discipline, self-compassion, and learning how to manage your expectations when things don’t go according to plan.
Your scores don’t define your potential, your worth, or your ability to become an incredible attorney. I think it’s easy to become so consumed by the pressure surrounding this exam that we forget why we’re taking it in the first place. The LSAT is not the ultimate goal. It’s simply one step toward something bigger.
Study hard, celebrate your improvements, take care of yourself, and remember that your future extends far beyond the score you receive on one day.
From one aspiring Elle Woods to another, you’ve got this!