Great Advice on How to Get 160+ on the LSAT...(Unstoppable)

1. 180

2. No books, except for those from the LSAC containing just prep tests.

3. None.

4. I began studying in August and took the test in December. I did not work or go to school during this time, and I had to move home with my parents to allow that. For some, that might not be possible, and for many more, it would be undesireable. For the latter among you, I suggest you take the time to assess what is really important: a test that can and will contribute significantly to determining the career opportunities you will have for the rest of your life, or your personal lifestyle for the next few months? If you lean towards the latter, I suggest you re-evaluate your commitment to law school to begin with...

My preparation consisted almost entirely of prep tests, mostly under very strict conditions. Because four sections does not really prepare you for the six you will face on test day, I usually did them in pairs: four sections (a full prep test), then a 15 minute break, then four sections (another full prep test). This is more extreme than the actual test, so if you can master that level of endurance, then the actual thing will be a piece of cake. I also used the same equipment I would be using on test day, down to the same pencils, sharpener, watch, et cetera. This is important because you do not want anything to be different on test day so that it might throw you off. Some people advise taking prep tests in a public area where there are other people around such as a library. This may be a good idea if you are prone to being distracted by that sort of thing, but I just took my tests at my desk at home and did not find the change in environment at all distracting on test day.

The other important thing, and this is echoed in the posts of a few other top-scorers, is you don't just take the prep tests, but you have to review them thoroughly. I would say that I spent about twice as much time reviewing each test as I did taking them. Any question I got wrong would get exhaustive attention in this review; I would analyze exactly how I approached the question, why that approach failed, and what approach would have allowed me to select the credited response. I would similarly pay great attention to each question that I had marked as 'unsure' during the test. It is important to see how you got it right, and how you avoided getting it wrong (perhaps narrowly) rather than just be content that you got the correct answer. That said, there may be questions for which the answer does not seem as cut-and-dried, even after extensive consideration, as perhaps it ought to be. Do not dwell extensively on these; whether the problem lies in you or in the test (neither is perfect, I assure you), there should not be so many of these as to seriously affect your score on test day. In fact, I would say I only encountered a question which I could not reconcile about once every four prep tests. If it is happening a lot more frequently for you, then you may be missing some important rule or concept which is essential to understanding those questions. Try to look at them as a group and see if they have common elements, and perhaps discuss them on a forum like this one where other people may be able to illuminate the issue that is causing you problems.

5. In the end, I did between 30 and 40 prep tests. If you are going to leave some out, then leave out the older ones, since it tends to be the case that the more recent the test, the more relevant it is to the one you will have on test day.

6. I would have investigated my test center a little more thoroughly. As it turned out, my center was fine (except for the fact that they did not get started remotely on time,) but it was one area that could have caused trouble and I essentially just "lucked out" in that regard. Other than that, as I am completely satisfied with the outcome, I would not change anything.

7. I was worried about taking the test in the morning, especially with a 1 hour plus drive to the test center, so I switched to a sleeping schedule whereby I would sleep from about 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. about two weeks before the test. This allowed me to take the test in "my afternoon," and worked quite well as I never felt remotely tired or unfocused during the test. However, I don't suggest doing this unless you know how your body will react. That said, if you are really not a morning person it is something to consider, though I'd suggest that you start experimenting with adjusting your circadian rythm months ahead of time to get a feel for what you can expect.