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 things 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 (here). Make sure you have everything on the LSAC list of testing items that are required for admission to take your LSAT exam. If you are missing an item you WILL be turned away. Make sure to make a checklist and check it twice. Remember to attach a passport size photo to your testing ticket. Don't forget to bring a healthy snack as a starved mind will not get into law school. As a personal recommendation, peanut butter is a wonderful go-to snack for test day. 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. Only take 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.
The LSAT Section Checklist:
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Logical Reasoning
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Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension (RC) is defeated with 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. More tips on the LSAT's Reading Comprehension section here.
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Logic Games
Logic Games (LG), as I'm sure you've realized by now, are by no means a game. 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 the questions. The LSAT exam is similar to a marathon as it is a test of endurance, especially in the LR section. Don’t waste time trying out answer choices when you’ve already written them out in hypotheticals from 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 or wrote a rule down incorrectly. Get into more logic game tips and hints here.
Logical reasoning, also known as "LR", is significant hurdle for LSAT students. Follow these tips and score higher on the LR section. Make sure to include the premise and conclusion in every argument you read in order to identify the disconnect or flaw of an argument. When dealing with a strengthen question you want to fill in flaw, and when dealing with a weaken question you want to tear apart the flaw further. Get more on the logical reasoning section of the LSAT exam here.
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. Accuracy is more important than the quantity of questions you get to.
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 3pm. 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 during your. Take a breather. Rent a movie like Legally Blonde, or do anything else that has nothing to do with what law school or the LSAT is really like. Personally, I chose to go to Disneyland the day before my exam. It was a well-deserved and very relaxing day.
Stay confident and calm.
Happy Studying and Good Luck!
P.S. if you decide to jump any questions, MAKE SURE YOU NOTE YOUR ANSWER SHEET! The last thing you want to do is miss-bubble.
