- Before you begin studying for the LSAT, determine your baseline and target LSAT scores to identify your score improvement goal.
- Use the score improvement goal to choose a study schedule and test date that gives you enough time to reach that goal.
- You don’t need to spend a fortune to study for the LSAT. There are plenty of excellent free resources available.
Whether you’re aiming to get into Harvard, Yale, or a lower-ranking law school, you’ll need to prepare for the LSAT obsessively. After all, if you score low on the LSAT, you’ll end up paying for it one way or another.
Here’s why that’s the case:
- 90% of students with LSAT scores above 166 will receive merit-based scholarships, compared to only 16% of students scoring under 140.
- Improving your score from 155 to 160 results in an average yearly salary increase of $33,924 for the first year, and even more for consecutive years.
- While your UGPA is also considered during admissions, your LSAT score is weighted 4 to 5 times more by law schools.
So, getting a high score is important. But, you may be left wondering: how do I start studying for the LSAT?
In this article, I’ll guide you through the steps you need to take to start studying for the LSAT in the most efficient way possible. The focus here will be on quality over quantity, self-study, and optimal time management.
Follow these steps to start studying for the LSAT like a top scorer:
Learn the basic structure of the LSAT
The first place where you should start studying for the LSAT is by understanding the structure of the test. What sections it includes, how it’s scored, and what kind of questions you can expect.
Put simply, the LSAT exam comprises four 35-minute sections, three of which will affect your overall score. The fourth section, known as the experimental section, is an unscored “fake” thrown into the test that won’t be factored into your final score.
Those three scored sections will always include one of each of the following:
- Logical Reasoning: This section assesses your ability to extract conclusions from a set of materials and your capacity to comprehend and evaluate arguments. Each set comprises a short paragraph and a multiple-choice question. For official samples, check these examples of Logical Reasoning questions from LSAC.
- Analytical Reasoning: Usually referred to as the “Logic Games section”, this part of the exam measures your ability to analyze relationships and sets of constraints in a text passage. Questions in this section appear in sets of five to seven, and each set of multiple-choice questions is based on a single passage. For official samples, check these examples of Analytical Reasoning questions from LSAC.
- Reading Comprehension: This exam section assesses your ability to read and comprehend dense, information-rich texts. It contains four sets of reading questions, each based on separate reading material, followed by five to eight multiple-choice questions. For official samples, check these examples of Reading Comprehension questions from LSAC.
Finally, there is a separate online section of the LSAT: the LSAT Writing section. This section, an essay, is ungraded, does not affect your score, and is not part of the test day. While arguably not as important as the rest of the exam, it’s still compulsory and one of LSAC’s requirements for allowing you to see your LSAT score or sending it to law schools. This essay will be sent to law schools with your LSAT score, although law schools rarely use it to assess student candidates. Still, try to take it seriously as you want to gain any edge you can over other students.
Check your baseline score with a diagnostic test
Once you understand the basics of the exam, I suggest you find out straight away what your baseline LSAT score is. The baseline score is the LSAT score you have before you start studying, and it’s a great starting point for all the next steps you’ll be taking, including setting your target score and creating a study schedule.
The best way to determine your baseline score is to take a full-length, timed practice exam under conditions that simulate the actual test: a diagnostic test. The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) allows you to take two official LSAT sample tests for free, so I recommend starting from there. The official sample tests use the same proctoring software as the real LSAT, so you’ll get the most accurate assessment of your baseline score.
To get an accurate baseline score, make sure to take the sample test under the same conditions as the real exam:
- Choose a quiet, comfortable place where you won’t be interrupted.
- Clear your desk of all items except those allowed on the exam.
- Don’t take any breaks except for the one 10-minute intermission break allowed during the real test.
The average LSAT score for test-takers without studying is around 145 to 153, but each person is different, so your score could be higher or lower. In any case, don’t let the baseline score discourage you. Instead, consider it a tool in your study arsenal that helps you achieve the best results possible.
Set your target score and law schools
Now, it’s time to set your goals. These goals will be score-centric, as improving your score should be your primary focus. Also, just aiming for “as high as possible” is not good enough. Be specific and set a concrete target to focus your efforts and help you measure your progress throughout the upcoming months.
To begin, answer this question: what are your dream, target, and safety law schools?
Once you have specific schools in mind, check their median LSAT and median UGPA numbers. Instead of looking at last year’s data, check at least two years of data and get the average. The 2021 numbers, for example, are very inflated due to an extraordinarily high number of enrollments. This trend did not seem to stick, though, as 2022 data suggests that the numbers are returning back to “normal”. All the more reason to use multiple years’ worth of data.
Also keep in mind that your UGPA is weighted less than your LSAT score. In some schools, even 4 or 5 times less. So, if your UGPA isn’t as high as you’d like, a great LSAT score or a strong recommendation letter from a professor can compensate for it. That is why students with a high LSAT score and low GPA, called “splitters“, are usually more favored than “reverse splitters“: students with a low LSAT score but high GPA.
Take your dream, target, and safety law schools and their historical median scores, calculate their median score average, add a buffer point or two to be safe, and you should arrive at a target score. A score that leaves some room for error, but is ambitious enough to get you admitted into your dream school if your LSAT prep goes according to plan.
Alternatively, you can reverse this strategy by inputting your target LSAT and UGPA scores into LSAC’s law school search engine and using that to find a list of all the law schools where you have a strong chance of admission.
Pick an LSAT test date
Now, you’re all set to choose a specific day you will take the LSAT. LSAC lists all the upcoming test dates on their page “LSAT Dates, Deadlines, and Score Release Dates“, and you can also find all the available dates through The Princeton Review or Kaplan websites.
Picking a date before you begin studying for the LSAT helps you:
- Plan and execute a study schedule built around the test date.
- Know exactly how much time you have available.
- Stay on track and focused throughout the study process.
As for when you should take the LSAT, it largely depends on the gap between your target and baseline scores. Subtract your baseline score from your target score, and you’ll get your score improvement goal.
Based on the score improvement goal, you can determine how much time you’ll need to prepare for the LSAT and, what type of study schedule will match your needs. But more on that in the next step.
In general, though, 6 months of LSAT preparation is a good time frame for most test-takers. I would only suggest shortening this time frame if your score improvement goal is less than 5. If that’s the case, you can get away with 1-3 months of studying. But, if your score needs to improve by more than 5 before the exam day, I strongly recommend picking a test date that is at least 6 months into the future.
Plus, you’ll want to give yourself enough study time to take advantage of the spaced repetition method of studying. This technique aims to improve your memory four times by studying using spaced intervals of time instead of cramming, and its efficacy has been proven by hundreds of studies in cognitive and educational psychology. It’s the studying system of choice for most top-ranking med school students, so if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us. But, once again, this method needs time, so give yourself enough to reap its benefits.
Plan your LSAT study schedule
Once you know the exact date you’ll be taking the LSAT, it’s time to put together a study schedule optimized around that date.
Reinventing the wheel is not necessary here. There are great LSAT study schedules available online, often created by top-scoring test-takers or LSAT prep companies:
- LSAT course provider Magoosh has 6-month and 3-month LSAT study schedules available. They provide a great step-by-step study plan using Magoosh’s online courses, flashcards, and official sample tests from LSAC.
- Mike Kim from The LSAT Trainer also provides 4-month, 3-month, 2-month, and 1-month study plans for the LSAT. These schedules, however, require you to purchase a book from Mike Kim, as all the weekly exercises in the study schedules are based on exercises from his book.
- If you’re looking for a free alternative, you may want to consider this 6-month study plan from Steve Schwartz, a YouTuber, and podcaster who has been creating LSAT content for close to a dozen years now.
Whichever study schedule you go with, make sure it covers all the sections of the LSAT: Reading Comprehension, Analytical Reasoning, and Logical Reasoning. A good LSAT study schedule should also have you studying at least 3 times a week sfrom the beginning, then increasing frequency as the test day approaches.
Gather study resources or enroll in a prep course
Once you have your schedule laid out, it’s time to start filling it in with actual study materials. The test prep industry is massive, so you’ll find no shortage of resources available. While many students spend a fortune on LSAT tutoring, books, and prep courses, there are also plenty of excellent LSAT resources available for free.
Consider these free options:
- Khan Academy offers prep courses and a built-in scheduling system that allows you to map your study plan within the platform. Plus, they are an official partner of LSAC, so you can be sure that their content is accurate and up to date.
- LSAC’s LawHub is the best place to conduct practice tests as it has the most exam-like conditions, and all the questions are written by LSAC. You get free access to 5 practice tests, test interface practicing, and more.
- YouTube channels such as “The LSAT Trainer“, “Insight LSAT“, “Banter with Babs“, and “LSAT Unplugged” also provide a ton of great LSAT content for free. While passively watching video content is generally an ineffective way of preparing for the LSAT, it can supplement your other study materials.
When it comes to paid test prep companies, I only recommend considering test prep companies officially licensed by the LSAC.
Here’s a quick overview of the most well-known options available:
- The Princeton Review, one of the biggest names in standardized test prep, offers instructor-led and self-paced online LSAT courses, books, practice exams, tutoring, and more. They also offer a score guarantee, meaning that if your score doesn’t improve, you get a refund.
- Kaplan, another big name in test prep, also offers a variety of online and in-person LSAT courses, prep books, and more. While not as well-known as The Princeton Review, Kaplan certainly holds its own regarding LSAT prep, and they also offer a score guarantee.
- LSATmax is another prep course provider that offers all the usual resources, including practice tests, private tutoring, video lessons, and more. LSATmax also offers a score guarantee, and unlike the previous two, they also offer a fee waiver.
Whichever resource you end up using, my advice is this: don’t go overboard with the materials. It’s easy to get caught up in the prep course arms race and convinced that you must spend thousands of dollars on the best and latest resources. Ultimately, your time is better spent doing practice exams and tests rather than collecting all the “perfect” study materials.
Start executing your study plan
At this point, the preparation is all set and done, and you’re ready to finally start studying for the LSAT. While going through all these steps before beginning studying may seem like overkill, I assure you that it’s not.
To get a high LSAT score, it’s not enough to “brute force” your studies by studying as long as possible, as frequently as possible. You need a system for your LSAT journey, you need to stick with it, and you must focus on quality over quantity by studying in a way that’s sustainable and effective. Otherwise, you’ll burn out by week 2.
Here are a few final tips and tricks for getting the most out of your LSAT studies:
- The number of practice tests you complete correlates with score improvements, so you’ll want to turn practice testing into a habit.
- Focus extra hard on practicing Logical Reasoning sections, as this section makes up half of your final LSAT score.
- One of the best investments you can make in LSAT test prep is purchasing LSAC’s “Prep Plus” package, which gives you access to more than 70 official LSAT tests.
Starting the LSAT study process can be very daunting. After all, the LSAT is a high-stakes exam that can make or break your law school applications. However, by following these steps, sticking to your schedule, and putting in the work, you’ll be one of the high-scorers in no time. Good luck with your studies!
