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So I just registered to take the LSAT...

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Beaker, Aug 29, 2008.

  1. SigR

    SigR Member

    As someone who has been through all of this, I'd say listen to Waylon. He nailed most things.

    Whether it's fair or not, LSAT counts for 75%-90% in decisions for not just acceptance to a school, but scholarships too. You can have a 3.0 gpa and get into a ivy league school with a 170+. But you can't get into one with a 4.0 gpa and a 165. (Though a 165 would get you into a good school for sure) Every point higher you can get means either less money you'll have to pay or the chance to go to a better school which on average means more money down the road.

    The LSAT is mostly a test of how well you think, and how well you think under pressure *compared* to everyone else taking the test.
     
  2. leo1

    leo1 Active Member

    whoa. whoa. WHOA.

    the LSAT has very little bearing on how well you'll do as a lawyer. there are plenty of successful lawyers from second, third- and fourth-tier schools. i went to a school that's considered second-tier and we count state supreme court justices, mega-millionaires, supposedly brilliant scholars, and lawyers at some of the world's top firms among our alumni.

    the LSAT is a hoop you have to jump through to get into law school. it does end up being a decent predictor of law school grades. but it absolutely does not predict who will be a good lawyer.
     
  3. leo1

    leo1 Active Member

    be careful about the whole 'what kind of law do you want to practice question'

    for a surprising number of subjects that schools offer as "certifications" or "concentrations," there really is no specific body of law. sports law, for example, encompasses contracts, torts, anti-trust, intellectual property, and more.

    specialties like elder law, communication or environmental law, while requiring mastery of certain statutes - which you won't really learn until you start practicing because law school isn't about studying statutes - aren't so specialized that you need a specific certification. it might help you break into your chosen field, but you're better off interning or summering at a firm that does what you like.

    by the way, if you want to be filthy rich and had a science major in undergrad, be a patent lawyer.
     
  4. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    I took Kaplans & kind of liked it - their questions are not nearly as good as the real ones, but when I took it, there weren't enough real ones, and you need access to tons of questions - pace yourself on the real ones, you don't want to run out with time left before the test. I didn't find their class that helpful, but I didn't use many of their tips. With the games, either you naturally think that way or you don't, I was lucky & did, so it was by far my best section (Talmud study helps, but that is not likely to be useful advice). I liked the reasoning too. I hated t he reading comp & by the end would skim, read the questions & then worked backwards, a strategy that also worked on many (longer) law school exam.
     
  5. I have to vehemently disagree here - the logic games are the most learnable section of the test. Free points for anybody who puts the time in.

    Also, the Kaplan's COURSE uses real questions.

    The Kaplan's BOOKS that you buy in the store do not.
     
  6. Guy_Incognito

    Guy_Incognito Well-Known Member

    I didn't mean to imply otherwise, I happen to think that way so I got lucky & don't know how elbow grease works.
     
  7. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    I took Kaplan, went to 20 minutes of one class and walked out. On the advice of others, I immersed myself in the practice tests at the Kaplan center. Luckily for me, my mind took to the logic games even when my brother took the test a few years earlier. I never once got a logic games question wrong -- I was able to anticipate the questions.

    On the rest, I took 12 segments a day of each of the other two parts for the two weeks before the test. I treated it as my job from 8 am until 9 pm. You get to learn the types of question which are asked that way and you learn not to get mentally tired.
     
  8. Having thought about this, you might be better off delaying taking the test until the December date.

    One month is just not enough time to start from scratch and perform well.
     
  9. Beaker

    Beaker Active Member

    If it was only a month, I'd say you'd probably be right, but I had already started preparing for it before I officially registered last week.
     
  10. Tom Petty

    Tom Petty Guest

    i didn't even bother reading this post, but i'm going to guess it's littered with stupidity.
     
  11. With the wrong books, though. I mean, you haven't looked at a real test yet.

    Maybe you take it, but if you feel uncomfortable with how you performed cancel, and then take in December?

    It's just too important to just get it done and out of the way. It's worth putting the time in. I mean, this is your life we're talking here.
     
  12. Beaker

    Beaker Active Member

    I did pick up one of the LSAC test books that I've been looking at.

    But yes, I'm going to see how I do, and if I'm not happy with the score, I'll cancel it and take it again.
     
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