When preparing for the LSAT, a test that is a major determining factor of what law school accepts you, so many questions and options present themselves. When do I take the test? June? September/October? February? Does it even matter? More importantly, how do I prepare for this potentially life-altering exam? How much time should I allot for preparatory studying? Is studying on my own enough? In my experience, the inner questioning is endless. Here is what I have concluded:
According to several LSAT preparations sites, it is best to take either the June, September/October, or December LSAT if you plan to apply the following autumn. This will provide you with ample time to receive your scores and apply to whatever law school suits your desires. Basically, you will be safe; deadlines will not be missed. If you wait until the February test, you may miss the deadlines for some law schools, and you will be cutting it extremely close for many others.
So which one should you take? Personally, I plan to take the June LSAT. This way, if something unexpected (like traffic issues, the flu, family emergency, personal crisis, or anything that may impede upon my ability to travel to the testing center or successfully complete the exam) comes up, I will not have to worry because I will still have the option of taking the October test. Or, if I do not like my score from the June test, and feel as though re-taking would be the best option, I would have both the ability and the time to do so. On the other hand, taking the June test has several drawbacks. I will be required to study during school, whereas if I took the October test I would be able to spend my summer preparing. Plus, the June administration date is right after finals week, so I will be psychologically exhausted as well. The positives and negatives of each test administration are important to understand when deciding when to take the final test.
When considering whether or not to re-take the LSAT, it is important to understand that some law schools average your LSAT scores, and others simply take the highest score. The University of Washington School of Law averages your scores, for example, while Seattle University School of Law generally takes the highest score. UW Law’s Policy: “We average multiple LSAT scores. Scores are valid for three years.” SU Law’s Policy: “If an applicant has more than one LSAT score, the Committee normally gives greater weight to the highest score. However, the Committee does not disregard previous scores and applicants are encouraged to discuss issues surrounding their prior performance in an addendum to their application.”
Also, as noted in the University of Washington School of Law’s policy on averaging LSAT scores, scores are valid at different law schools for different lengths of time. While both Seattle University and the University of Washington only accept scores that are up to three years old, other schools, like Harvard, suggest that you submit an LSAT score that is no more than five years old. This should be kept in mind when thinking about taking time off before law school and considering when you want to take the LSAT.
Once you have decided when you want to take the LSAT, it is necessary to figure out how to study for it. You can study on your own, take a prep course through a center (Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc), take logic classes in school, and the list goes on. How you study depends on each individual person and their study methods/habits. Different techniques work well for different people. Plus, the amount of time a person has to spend on studying may have a lot to do how they choose to surmount this task.
When studying on your own, you can download information from the LSAC website, buy books, and simply force yourself to focus, concentrate, and work hard. If you do not have time to take a test prep course, or you do not work well with other people and would rather teach yourself, this would probably be the best option. However, you might want to consider that you may be missing something when studying on your own, and you also will not have the option to ask an experienced teacher when you don’t understand what the book is implying or if an explanation is not quite sufficient.
Most test-prep centers offer similar prices and options, some slightly more expensive, some less. It is important to pick one that is best for you and will work with your schedule. In my opinion, more hours with a teacher is not necessarily better if it means that you will be losing valuable time that you could be spending on an internship or focusing on your school studying.
In the end, the possibilities are endless. There are many ways to prepare for the LSAT and many options that you need to weigh out when considering when to take it. Just remember to relax and stay calm in order to obtain the best possible score you can!
—Melissa Eckstrom: Junior -English, European Studies