Scores from the October 2011 LSAT are likely to be released over the weekend. For those of you who got the scores you wanted, congratulations! (You’re also probably not reading this). Students that were disappointed in their scores should consider a retake; however, this decision can be hard to make, and students often decide based on emotion rather than data. LSAC reports that students improve, on average, between 1 and 3 points on a retake, and that roughly 2/3 of students improve on a retake.

Here are the key factors that go into that decision.

How do you know if you should retake the LSAT?

• There was some extraneous circumstance, like you were shorted on time, ill, or misbubbled (and for some reason you didn’t cancel)
• Your score was significantly lower (>2 points) than the average of your final 3 full prep-tests
• You didn’t devote yourself to a complete course of study (i.e. you worked through LSAT for Dummies and took one full real practice test)

If you got a score that’s comfortably in the range of your past prep tests and you devoted 3+ months to studying the first time, you probably shouldn’t retake. Students that have a vague sense that they “could do better” rarely improve much, and it’s probably time to get on with the admissions process with the score you have. (I’ve gotten calls from students that have been studying for the LSAT for over 4 years. Don’t be one of those students.)

You should also consider how taking the next test will position you in the admissions cycle.  For those who took the October LSAT, having to wait for a December score could put you at a  disadvantage in the rolling admissions cycle of very competitive schools if you plan on entering in 2012.  That said, if you are able to raise your score by even 2-3 points, you’ll on net have a better admissions portfolio.

How to Prepare for a Retake

If you simply weren’t prepared, well, work harder! But for students that thought they were ready for the test, make sure you think about your retake studying strategically. Looking through the same books again or re-taking a prep course is unlikely to help much in our experience. Here are a few guidelines:

• If you took a prep course, retaking the same prep course, even for free, will likely not help you improve.
• Students that studied on their own might benefit from the guidance of a one-on-one tutor or another flexible prep strategy. (If you already know the basics and studied from decent prep books, a lecture-style prep course will generally go over the same material you already know).
• If you weren’t on a regular study schedule, it’s time to get on one. Many students studied haphazardly; LSAT prep is like a job. If you’re going to be successful, your study times and practice tests should go on your calendar just like classes or work shifts.

The good news is that in our experience, students who follow these guidelines often can make substantial score gains that really impact their admissions chances. Needless to say, if you’re retaking in December, today is a great time to start.

Next Step Test Preparation provides complete courses of one-on-one tutoring with an LSAT expert for less than the price of a commercial prep course. Email us or call 888-530-NEXT (6398) for a complimentary consultation.

LSAT burnout is a serious disease with any combination of the following symptoms:

• Pure hatred of the test and everything associated with it
• Dropping preptest scores
• Practice that doesn’t seem to go anywhere — you don’t feel yourself improving, and there’s no upward movement in scores

It’s important to distinguish burnout from two other distinct phenomenon: plateauing and laziness. Every student has a natural ceiling past which no amount of studying will move his/her score. This is why the world isn’t full of 180 scorers that started in the 140′s. This is natural; if you’re feeling very good in practice and scores just aren’t going up, you may be reaching this point. Congratulations – reaching your maximum score on a regular basis is the goal of studying. Laziness is what it sounds like — you’re just not working hard enough.

Students who are suffering burnout are usually doing so because they are working on the LSAT too much. A past student of ours was working a demanding full-time job, coming home, exercising, working on the LSAT for several hours, and then going to bed, each and every night. However, he took Saturdays off, and did a full preptest on Sunday. His Sunday scores were significantly higher than any of his other tests. See the pattern?

The lesson is that each person only has so many high quality hours in the day. Burnout is hard to avoid if you are working on the LSAT during low-quality hours. Students that have full-time jobs should consider taking every few nights off.

This is also why it’s so critical to start studying early. Students that try to cram a complete course of studying into 6 weeks or less simply won’t have enough high-quality hours in the day to make it work.

Hear that, October test-takers?

Next Step Test Preparation provides complete courses of one-on-one tutoring with an LSAT expert for less than the price of a commercial prep course. Email us or call 888-530-NEXT (6398) for a complimentary consultation.

Several months ago we posted on LSAT prep book anti-recommendations. In short, just don’t buy a book that doesn’t use real LSAT questions or that for any reason takes you too far from doing real LSAT sections with pencil and paper. Here now are our recommendations for what books you should use.

Highly Recommended

• Preptests 40-60. These are currently available only as one-off’s and are a bit on the expensive side. However, the most recent LSATs will provide the very best preparation. Get at least 4-5 of these and use them for full-test practice towards the end of your practice cycle.
• 10 Real series. These are books of 10 actual LSATs published by the LSAC. Specifically, you should definitely get 10 Next and 10 More. The tests are relatively recent. These are also the great bargain of the LSAT prep world, 10 tests for around $20 on Amazon.
• Powerscore Logic Games Bible. Yes, everyone recommends this book and we have little reason to disagree. It includes tons of licensed LSAT questions and first-rate methodologies for attacking the games.

Recommended with reservation

• 10 Actual Official Preptests. This is the first set of tests put out by LSAC. While the test hasn’t changed dramatically since these tests were administered in the 90′s, there have been many smaller changes that make these the least-desirable tests to use for practice. In particular, you’ll find that there are many logic game types that appear very rarely on the modern test (pattern and mapping in particular).
• Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible. Lots of our students have used this book, and some of our tutors recommend it highly. What’s great about it is what’s great about every Bible — lots of real LSAT questions arranged in thoughtful ways, with good explanations. However, at a fundamental level it’s extremely hard to advance your thinking on LR by using a book. That said, Powerscore does it as well as any other book, so if you’re not seeking any other professional help on the LSAT, you might want to pick it up.
• Powerscore Reading Comprehension Bible. This is a decent book, I just don’t think students really need hundreds of pages of explanations for RC. But, again, it’s probably worth it to have some direction for this section, and Powerscore has tons of real questions.

Not recommended

• Any off-the-shelf prep book by Kaplan, Princeton Review or others that do not use real LSAT questions. (Caveat: Kaplan and TPR materials given to their classes use real LSAT questions, but those materials are very different from the $15 books available at Barnes & Noble). While I have specific gripes about the methodologies of these two companies, the overriding concern is that their books just don’t publish real LSAT questions. With ample real Preptests available, there’s just no reason to spend time on fake questions, and there are not any fantastic methodologies you’ll miss out on.
• Exam Krackers books. Sorry to single these guys out since their books look really great, but the only timed practice sections are 25 minutes/15 questions. There’s just no excuse for not doing timed practice under the actual constraints of the exam (35 minute sections). The back cover says that this is what they do in their classes; that just means the classes are also doing things the wrong way.
• Any book or web service or class that relies on working with tons of questions online. The LSAT is a paper test, and you really really need to practice doing it on paper — jotting notes, scratching out answers, etc. Yes, this really makes a big difference. Until the LSAT goes paperless, the best way to practice is completing and reviewing real practice tests.

A great advantage to being a small prep company is that our tutors aren’t beholden to any one methodology or curriculum. There’s no way around it — a good LSAT study plan will include lots and lots of real Preptests.

Next Step Test Preparation provides complete courses of one-on-one tutoring with an LSAT expert for less than the price of a commercial prep course. Email us or call 888-530-NEXT (6398) for a complimentary consultation.

Not allowed for the LSAT

A Next Step student called the LSAC this week to ask about whether earplugs are allowed. It turns out they aren’t, which comes as a bit of a surprise. They didn’t give the student a solid reason; one possibility is that it would be hard to make sure the earplug wasn’t part of some kind of CIA-style communication device.

At any rate, make sure that you’re incorporating normal ambient noise into your practice routine. It could come as a bit of a shock if you’ve done all of your preptests in complete silence, only to be faced by the dropped pencils and toe-tapping inevitable in a room full of nervous type-A’s.

Next Step Test Preparation provides complete courses of one-on-one tutoring with an LSAT expert for less than the price of a commercial prep course. Email us or call 888-530-NEXT (6398) for a complimentary consultation.

LSAT prep companies and tutoring gurus differ over a wide range of issues related to LSAT prep.  Many of these seem to be small distinctions, but today I want to focus on an issue that has divided the prep community and that, in my experience, really can impact students’ scores.  That is: in logical reasoning, should students read the question first, or the stimulus?

To be upfront, I’m going to come down on the side that students should read the question first, then use that as a means of interpreting the stimulus.  This is the method taught by several of the largest test prep companies.  However, others, namely Powerscore, teach that students should read the stimulus first.

Why you should read the question first

In short, I believe it saves significant amount of time.  For example, if a student did not read the question, she would immediately devote time to mapping out the argument, predicting assumptions, etc, That time would be wasted if the question was a relatively straightforward “find the conclusion” question.  Further, on the most difficult questions, it can help enormously to know what you are looking for.  Another example: in the more difficult “flaw” questions, it is not always apparent to test-takers that there is a problem in the argument.  If that student knows she is looking for a problem, she can save a good deal of time.

Why others think you should read the stimulus first

The excellent Powerscore LSAT Logic Games Bible says “We are certain [those who recommend reading the question first] are seriously mistaken.”  They list several reasons, but the most important is their claim that “reading the question stem first tends to undermine the ability of students to fully comprehend the information in the stimulus.”  In short, they believe that students should do their best to understand the stimulus on its own terms, then figure out what the question actually wants you to do.  They believe that, on complicated stimuli, the student is forced to “juggle two things at once” by also considering the stimuli.

I think this is backwards.  On more difficult questions, the student who attacks the stimulus first risks spending a ton of time breaking it apart and analyzing the  arguement.  In at least some of those situations, the question itself will not be so difficult.  We’ve all seen LSAT logical reasoning questions where the language was deliberately opaque or overly complicated, but actually solving the problem was relatively straightforward.  In these situations especially, it makes the most sense to attack the stimulus knowing what you are trying to do.

As with all things LSAT, it makes sense to try both methods in your prep.  In my experience, students are more comfortable and build their score when they practice reading the question first.

Next Step Test Preparation provides complete courses of one-on-one tutoring with an LSAT expert for less than the price of a commercial prep course. Email us or call 888-530-NEXT (6398) for a complimentary consultation.

Here’s how to address a low PrepTest score near your test date.

Next Step tutor Andrew offers some words of wisdom on dealing with test day anxiety

With all the pressure it’s no surprise that the LSAT conjures feelings of fear, despair and loathing in many of the people who have, or are preparing to take it. In other words, test anxiety. Preparing for, and dealing with, potential anxiety should be part of any LSAT preparation regimen.

Everybody copes with stress and anxiety differently; therefore the best strategy will depend on your personality. Pick and choose as appropriate for yourself.

- Simulate realistic test conditions when you prepare. Take timed tests on Saturday mornings.

- Your test day starts on Friday night. Don’t go to the bar, and don’t try to cram for the LSAT. Make sure that your zip lock bag of test supplies is packed and then just stay home. Read a book, watch a movie, get a nice dinner – just take it easy and get to bed early.

- On the morning of the test get up early and take a shower (it helps you wake up). Go get a good healthy breakfast (fruit, not pancakes), grab a coffee and go to the test center. Leave yourself plenty of time so that you’re not rushing to get to the test or find parking.

- When you get into the test center make yourself comfortable. Do some meditation or deep breathing exercises if that’s your thing. Stare at the wall if you’d rather. Generally it takes a while to get everybody in, tests passed out, and through the general instructions  so this can be a time of high anxiety. Just remember that the test is printed already and sitting on the proctors table – nothing you do now will change it. You did all your preparation and you’re ready to go.

Next Step Test Preparation provides one-on-one tutoring for the LSAT in Chicago and online.

I was just interviewed by Paul Tosto at Minnesota Public Radio on the increasing number of older law schools applicants and some of the challenges they face.  You can read the whole thing here. An except:

Rood says he sees many older applicants looking to take the test on short notice.

This was certainly the case this December and January which are traditionally slower months; the February LSAT (the test is administered 4 times per year) is a “last call” for 2010 law school admissions and I saw heavy interest from older applicants.”Older applicants are less likely to be familiar with the law school application process. A great example: law schools (like other grad schools) highly value academic letters of recommendation, but working professionals have usually lost contact with old professors. They are more likely to be uncertain about things like personal statements.

Older applicants are more likely to be bound geographically by family, real estate, etc. I see many older students that have identified 1-2 law schools (often in smaller cities); if they don’t get into these schools, they won’t go to law school.

For comparison, most undergrads plan on applying to 5-15 schools and going wherever fate takes them.

Next Step Test Preparation provides complete courses of one-on-one tutoring with an LSAT expert for less than the price of a commercial prep course. Email us or call 888-530-NEXT (6398) for a complimentary consultation.

One of the benefits of private tutoring is that students get a study plan that’s personalized for them and that also evolves as they progress through the program.  However, lots of people have asked for a basic self-study plan.  Here’s an ideal study plan for 3 months.

Why 3 months?  3 months is about the right time to study if you can devote significant time to the LSAT (10-15 hours a week or so).  I’ve certainly seen students prepare and get the scores they need in less time, but especially for those who are balancing school and work, 3 months is the right timeline.  After about a 4-month timeframe, students start plateauing and reaching points of diminishing returns.  It’s better to prepare semi-intensely for 3 months than to work on LSAT once a week for 6 months (or to cram for 1 month).

This plan is front-loaded with learning and is back-loaded with practice.  It’s critical to lay down a solid foundation in methodology before you start taking timed tests (except for the diagnostic.

For this plan you’ll need the following books:

• Powerscore Logic Games Bible
• Next 10 Preptests
• 10 More Preptests
• Optional but highly recommended: Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible.
• Optional: The last 5 published Preptests (available from Amazon)

Numbers refer Preptests from Next 10 and 10 More.

Read the rest of this entry »