The morning after…the LSAT
This past month has been a grind leading up to writing the February LSAT. It’s certainly been a great experience learning how to balance my time with starting my new co-op position, managing my team as one of the VPs of the Commerce Students’ Society, applying for law schools across Canada and making time for rest. Preparing for the LSAT might sound scary at first and you might feel like this:
A little nervous.
…but with some helpful tips, it will feel like second nature to you and perhaps you might even look forward to logic games 😉
Working away on my Kaplan LSAT prep books.
With just having written the LSAT, here are the 7 tips that are fresh in my mind that I found useful and would like to share with YOU.
1. Sign up for a prep class. After spending last summer doing practice test after practice test, I can say with 100% certainty that a prep course such as Kaplan would be worth your time and money. I chose to study with Kaplan and I found their tips extremely helpful. I would recommend Kaplan to anyone; however, I would suggest looking at your options and find a prep company that works for you.
2. Balance your time. Don’t overdo it for fear of burning out. It is important to find time to meet your school commitments, extra-curricular activities, hanging out with friends and whatever else you do to fill your time. (Note: hanging out with friends doesn’t mean going to the bar the weekend before the exam to wind down. Leave this for the EVENING AFTER your LSAT. A movie, shopping or the gym are great ways to de-stress with friends.)
Outside the exam room, the weekend before the test.
3. 1 week before the exam: check out the location of your exam. Do this. The location is posted on your admission ticket from the LSAT website. I found it helpful to find the exam building and room the weekend before the exam. When I arrived to the exam Saturday morning, I felt more calm because I knew where to go.
4. A couple days before the exam: Ride. Make sure you sort out your ride situation beforehand because you are NOT allowed to bring in your cell phone to the test centre. It is best to leave it at home because the proctors do not have a place to keep your phones.
5. The day before the exam: Take the day off. At this point you have learned everything you need to know and it will only do you harm if you try to cram every last hour with studying. I spent my day working at my co-op, grocery shopping, doing laundry and watching Legally Blonde (Kaplan suggested it!) It was certainly tough to put the books down when the exam was only hours away, but I found that it helped focus my thoughts and relax a bit the night before.
All prepared and ready to take on this challenge.
6. The night before the exam: After you watch a movie, make sure you have all of your things ready for test day. Government issued identification, pencils, mechanical pencil sharpener, eraser, a drink in a plastic container, snacks for the 15 min break (after Section 3 of the LSAT), cough candies and tissues. All of these items must fit in a zip lock baggy.
7. 24/7: YOU CAN DO THIS. Positive energy. This exam might seem daunting at first but with enough practice, you can do this! Constantly feed yourself with positive energy (as suggested by the awesome Kaplan tutors). For myself, I put post-it notes on my laptop: “Keep going, I can do this”. Sometimes the little things can go a long way.
Good luck with preparing for your LSAT. You can do this! Don’t ever stop believing in yourself because the moment you do, you’ll lose sight of your dream. Find your passion and never let it go.
