I know it is directly linked to writing, but it takes serious deduction and creative thinking to take the LSAT. I am curious if anyone here has taken it and how hard it really is. I'm thinking of going to law school after I finish off my degree in Criminal Justice.
Yes, and I have tutored others on it. It can be difficult, but the good news is that it is learnable and you can improve dramatically with the right studying. You absolutely need to invest in some good prep books, and it will pay off many, many times over with increased scholarships. I highly recommend The LSAT Trainer and 7Sage video explanations of logic games. You can also supplement these with the Logic Games Bible, Logical Reasoning Bible, Reading Comprehension Bible, or the Manhattan series on these same areas. The cost of law school is insanely high, and most law schools f*** over their students because of their low employment rate coupled with their tuition. Check out this website so you can see employment for yourself. Also, be aware that starting salaries for lawyers are bi-modal with most of the jobs at around $40,000-$60,000 and around $160,000. The $160,000 jobs are available almost solely to schools in the Top 14, with some available to strong regional schools and a very small number available to everyone else. Don't expect to make bank right out of law school unless you are going into big law out of a Top 14 school. If you're planning on going to law school, you need to get a good scholarship from a school with good employment numbers. The only good thing about the current legal market is that schools are making so much money from their law schools, they have more scholarships available than ever. If you get a good LSAT, you might be able to receive a very generous scholarship. If you have any questions, feel free to post them. I've done a bunch of research into law school, and I'm happy to share my knowledge to help people make informed decisions.
Yes, having good prep books helps a lot. I spent an insane amount of time studying for it, which is what I would highly recommend if you want to get into a good law school. It's a very hard test in general, so preparation is key. Also, like Ben414 mentioned, some schools offer scholarships, and those are the schools I would consider going to. Tuition is just too high to justify paying it out of pocket and/or getting loans.
It's not very difficult, in my view. I didn't prepare for it and scored a 174, which was enough for a scholarship offer. It isn't testing knowledge, just how you think/reason.
Yeah, some people just "get" it right away. It's just that the vast majority of people don't. It doesn't measure intelligence, so it's difficult to know how someone will do until they take a timed practice test. Personally, I was prone to overthinking the questions, which is an awful thing to do on this test. I had to "dumb" myself down to do well. Also, just to add a bit to scholarships: Every school except Yale, Stanford, and Harvard offer merit-based scholarships, including full-rides. LSAT is the most heavily weighted factor in deciding scholarship offers, so really focus on this test if you're planning on heading to law school.
@Ben414 I agree it's not an intelligence measure. It's the kind of "test" that I've always been good at, luckily. I took it pretty much at the last minute, and at the time I was in a Ph.D. program in biochemistry, with a full course load, a job as a research assistant, and two small children on a grad school stipend. So spending a lot of time and money preparing just wasn't in the cards for me. I figured I'd take it and if I did well enough to get into law school, then I'd jump ship from grad school to law school and that's what happened. I got a scholarship offer from the law school in the town where I lived, so off I went Of course, there are plenty of others types of tests and subjects where I have friends who just 'get' it and find them pretty easy, and I always had a much harder time with them.
A lot of the people I talked to said it was hard, so I spent a lot of time studying for it. I tell anyone wanting to take the test that it's better to be safe than sorry, so study hard. We all can't be as smart as Steerpike.
I didn't mean to trivialize the test score; it's impressive to get a 174 even if you do study! (For people who don't know, that's the 99th percentile.) Since three people is a small sample size, my prior post was merely meant to reiterate that most people have a long road of studying ahead of them. I know a guy whose first test score was a 158. Then, he studied and got a 166. Then, he studied more, got a 173, and ended up at Harvard. Lewdog, I hope you pull a Steerpike and are great right away. If you're don't, you can still get a high score!
I don't think it comes down to smartness. It just happens that it is the type of test I've always been good at, so that was fortuitous for me. Meanwhile, Physical Biochemistry kicked my ass, whereas a friend of mine in the class just seemed to take it all in almost passively and ruin the grading curve for every exam
I can't remember my real score (177, maybe, but it was a long time ago) but I remember it was 99.8th percentile. I didn't study for it. I did, though, as a child, have a subscription to GAMES magazine, and I loved doing their logic puzzles. Honestly, I think that did a lot to train my brain for LSAT questions. I agree that the timing is the most important part. I don't think the questions are generally hard if you take your time and work them through... the trick is to be able to do them fast enough to get them all done in the time allowed. And, honestly, it might help to not care too much. I just took the test b/c I wanted to see how I would do, to see if I should bother applying to law schools (I was pretty lazy in my undergrad, and my grades weren't great). So I went in really relaxed and just treated it like a game. No nerves to worry about, so no time wasted on jitters.
Well right now I have 81.2 semester hours and it looks like it is going to take my three semesters because of the schools rules of graduation to get my degree. My degree will be a bachelors major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology. So it will be a little while before I take the LSAT but it is a way I'm thinking of going. If I focus on contract law I would like to become an agent.
Yeah, that was my basic mindset. Sort of a "let's just see" approach. And I also loved logic game books and puzzle books as a kid. My dad always had them around the house.
