Get it? It’s cute because I fit the word LSAT into the word anecdote. Do you see? Okay, I thought maybe it’d be nice for you to know a little bit about my own LSAT past as you trek along in your LSAT present. I want you to know that I, too, have been on this LSAT prep journey, so I know how rough and rocky it can be.
I went through multiple LSAT courses, read as many guides as possible, practiced, practiced, practiced; basically, I did it all. And yet, at a certain point, I hit my epic brick wall with my practice LSAT scores. No matter how hard I strived to surpass it, it seemed each practice LSAT had something against me. Each score stared back at me grinning, with one palm on each side its face, splayed out in jest towards me. If an LSAT score had a tongue, it would have been sticking it out at me. I’d get the same exact score on my practice LSATs over and over and over again! It had gotten to the point where I almost would have been okay with a lower score just so I wouldn’t’ have to see that exact score again! Almost
But, then, something changed, and I’d like to share that with you. I want you to note that at this point in my LSAT prep I was only a few points away from my goal score, but I just couldn’t get to it. It’s like those last five pounds. You work out, and you diet and the pounds eventually shed off until you get to that last devilish five pounds that seem to cling to you for dear life. Well, that’s what it was like for me and those last couple of points. I felt that, that was it for me. I had reached my LSAT capacity. I trudged around for a while wondering what I was going to do, when lady luck shone on me.
One of my good friends who was a fellow LSAT studier, asked me for a bit of help on her different sections. She wanted to be closer to my score and thought I could help her get there. Now, at this point in my LSAT life I had not had any experience tutoring or explaining LSAT questions. But, I shrugged and thought, hey, it doesn’t seem like I’m getting any farther, I can at least try to help a good friend. So for a few days we sat together and I explained to her what I thought was wrong with her technique. We covered at least fifty different problems, doing them together and discussing why the correct answers were correct and why the incorrect answers were incorrect.
After a week of in-depth tutoring with my friend, she needed some time to practice what I had taught her (remember, practice is key.) And so I begrudgingly returned to my own LSAT studies. I took another practice LSAT, and reluctantly scored it knowing I’d be face to face with that dreaded score again, when to my surprise it did not appear! Not only had I finally hit my LSAT goal, but I had actually surpassed it!
I realized that my tutoring was key. Having to sit down and really think about how to explain the questions to someone else, helped me piece together the last bits of LSAT technique that I needed. I tell you his story because I truly believe that teaching my friend was what pushed my score over that final hill. Teaching is actually one of the best ways of learning. And remember, when I did this, I had absolutely no experience or training in tutoring the LSAT. I just relayed what I knew and how I understood the LSAT. In doing this I was actually deconstructing the parts of the questions for myself so I could see the base of each question and build upon it. Tutoring my friend helped me finally see through the pattern that is the LSAT. Try it out! I really think it will help you. Ideally grab a friend whose score is lower than yours and is willing to sit through at least a few days of you trying to teach them. It’s a win-win situation because you will both gain from it!
Happy Studying!