Want To Improve Your LSAT Score? Read This.
The LSAT plays a critical role in law school admissions. Some experts say it’s one of the most important factors in admissions.
“Your undergraduate GPA is probably set in stone, or is nearly so,” according to Kaplan. “Therefore, your last best chance to improve your odds of admission is to improve your LSAT score. And your LSAT score is important regardless of your GPA. If you have an impressive GPA, the test can be a liability; a poor performance can call your academic record into question. If you have a poor GPA, the test is an opportunity; it can overcome doubts raised by your transcript.”
Gabriel Kuris, founder of Top Law Coach and contributor at U.S. News, recently offered a few tips on how applicants can improve their LSAT score and practice more efficiently.
FOCUS ON YOUR WEAKNESSES
If you’re looking to improve your LSAT score, the first place to focus on is your weaknesses, Kuris says.
“Imagine you’re learning tennis,” she says. “As a beginner, you’re learning constantly. As you become good enough to hold your own on the court, your improvement tapers off. Why? First, you may get complacent. When you master a strong forehand, you may let your backhand skills atrophy. That might be OK for regular play, but a professional competitor would readily recognize and exploit this weakness.”
Exploiting your weakness and seeking discomfort, Kuris says, are critical first steps to improving your score in the long run.
“Do you hate the reading comprehension section, especially its science passages?” Kuris says. “Devote extra time to practicing it. Resist the temptation to lean into your strengths.”
PRACTICE WITHOUT THE CLOCK
Timing your practice exams can help you prepare for the actual text environment, but Kuris says it’s important to take untimed practice exams as well—especially if you want to approach your weak points strategically.
“Without time pressure, you can feel free to experiment with new approaches to troublesome questions,” Kuris says. “If you find yourself losing focus in untimed practice, set a loose time limit and gradually return to timed practice.”
PRIORITIZE REST
LSAT prep is a time-consuming process. It involves reiteration and focus, over-and-over again. That’s why, Kuris says, it’s important to take a break from studying to avoid burnout.
“Turn toward other helpful daily habits to keep your mind sharp without the repetition of practice,” Kuris says. “After a break, you might see your problems from a fresh perspective. Remember that the best time to break through a score plateau is during practice, when your score doesn’t count.”
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