The December LSAT Test is only days away. You need to stay calm and keep happy. Remember, you’ve been working hard during your LSAT prep, studying smart and dodging all of LSAC’s red herrings and tricks. Now, what next?
First thing’s first. If you haven’t driven to your testing center at least once, then why not go on a test drive? It’s important to keep yourself as centered as possible on the day of. So freaking yourself out getting lost on the way to your LSAT is something you should definitely avoid. Next, you need to go onto LSAC’s site and make sure you have everything on the LSAC list of testing items that is required to be admitted into the testing center. If you are missing an item you WILL be turned away. Make sure to make a checklist and check it twice. Don’t let not attaching a passport-sized photo to your testing ticket be the reason why you have to wait until February to take the LSAT, which could mean the difference of waiting one more year to go to law school for many of you! If I may, I’d add a healthy snack to the list. I’d recommend something with peanut butter. I, myself, brought a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Peanut butter is brain food and bananas are full of potassium, so your hand won’t cramp bubbling in the answers!
Alright, what should you be doing study-wise? These next few days are where you really need to be honing in on the details. We are fine-tuning and checking all the nooks and crannies of your LSAT knowledge. Take ONLY timed sections, so you can get yourself as used to the pace and endurance of the sections as possible. Let’s go through a very quick break down of things to go over in each section.
For Logical Reasoning, make sure to review your Sufficient & Necessary formulas and know them like the back of your hand. Remember to identify the premise and conclusion in every argument you read because by doing so you can pinpoint the flaw. When dealing with a Strengthen question, you want to fill in the flaw, and when dealing with a Weaken question you want to tear apart the flaw further.
For Reading Comprehension, remember to always identify the main point, tone and purpose of the passage. Stay consistent and minimal with your symbols and markers. The symbols and lines you draw on your passage should be signs of where to come back to for a certain idea. Don’t waste your time rewriting paragraphs in the margins.
For Logic Games, I want you to take your time getting your setup, rules and deductions down on the page. Remember, when you take the time to get the deductions down, you save time later. Use your previous work to answer your questions. The LSAT is a test of endurance, especially in the Logic Games section. Don’t waste time trying out answer choices when you’ve already written them out in hypotheticals for previous questions. Double-check your rules! I can’t tell you how many times students have been stuck on what would be an easy game because they forgot to write down a key rule.
Remember, every single question on the exam is worth one point. Don’t waste your time on questions that will take a while or are confusing. SKIP THEM and then come back to them when you are done with the rest of the questions in the section.* Don’t waste your time trying to figure out a hard question when you have easy and medium questions ripe for the picking. It’s not a race. You’ve been working on your pace. Accuracy is more important than the quantity of questions you get to.
And most importantly, remember to breathe. The day before your exam I encourage you to take a break. If it makes you nervous not to study at all the day before, then do a couple of timed sections, but stop your studying latest by 1pm. Take the rest of the day to relax. You know, as well as I do, that those last few hours are better spent easing your mind than tiring it. If you’re counting on those last few hours to make or break your score, then we’ve got other problems. I guarantee you that it’s more productive to wind down the rest of the day. You’ve worked hard. Take a breather. Rent Legally Blonde, or do anything else that has nothing to do with what law school or the LSAT is really like. I went to Disneyland the day before my exam. It was a well-deserved and very relaxing day. Plus, the park is Nightmare Before Christmas themed this time of the year!
Stay confident and calm.
Happy Studying and Good Luck!
*If you decide to jump any questions, MAKE SURE YOU NOTE YOUR ANSWER SHEET! The last thing you want to do is misbubble.
