Friday, October 27, 2006

Study Method

If money is not an impediment, then the best way to study for the LSAT is to:
  1. Either find a LSAT tutor or sign-up for a LSAT prep course; 
  2. Actually do all the homework problems (which ought to be real licensed LSAT questions....if the tutor/company you're working with uses anything else, then you're being gypped); 
  3. Re-do those homework problems (several times); 
  4. Start doing full sections - and do some untimed and some timed;
  5. Start doing full tests and time yourself (try to hit under the time limit).
Roughly speaking, this is the best LSAT study method (it worked for thousands of test takers).

Now let me tell you a true story (I love telling this story), my friend (he'll remain anonymous....but seriously, this guy exists!) took the LSAT in 2002. He didn't have the luxury of spending money on some fancy shmo tutor or testprep course. So he did the next best thing, purchase as many 10 Real LSAT books along with $10 separate single test booklets (not yet a part of the 10 Real LSAT series) and started taking as many practice tests as possible. So far this sounds quite typical, right?

Well, what set him apart is that he went through all the tests from June 1991 - June 2001 FIFTEEN times!!! CRAZY GUY!

He ended up memorizing every single question from June 1991-June 2001. If I were to ask him, "What's question #23 on June 1995 section 2?" he will (NO JOKE) recite the entire question + answer choices + the reasoning behind why each wrong answer is wrong and why the correct answer is correct; to the dot of the "i" and cross of the "t." This guy was insane!
.
.
.
You know what he got on his LSAT?
.

.
180!!!! (I'm dead serious).

When he started doing these problems over and over again, he didn't merely memorize the questions, he also memorized the reasoning behind each and every question. He loved learning to think like a test maker. And the LSAT test makers can only be so creative. A lot of the questions are predictable, once you've seen and done enough practice problems.

Do I recommend his method for everyone? Honestly, NO!


The moral of this story isn't for you to go crazy. The moral of the story is to give you hope and help you understand that if you're hungry enough, you can (and probably will) do well on the LSAT. What's important is for you to first find a study method that works for you and be disciplined enough to stick with it. 

If you find the right study method, you will also actually enjoy studying for the LSAT!

Crazy?

Maybe, but I don't think so. I've seen thousands of people do it, so I know it's possible for you.

No comments:

Post a Comment