171 Oct LSAT - Test day tips

qs2159

Hi 7sagers,

As I am close to finishing my school applications, I now have extra time that I used before for LSAT study. I saw some posts about test day questions, and I would like to share my own test day experience and tips

1. Pick a time slot that works best for your body and brain
   We set up our "preferred time slot" for practice tests, but if you are like me, who would predictably get anxious for the real test, it might not be a bad idea to pick a slot that 1 - 2 hours later than the usual practice test time to calm the overly hyped body and brain. I did it for the Oct test, and it turned out to work well.

2. Brain warm-up if you can
   If you decide to give yourself an extra 1 - 2 hours before the actual test, you may want to meditate, do some light exercises, and warm up your brain. There are some other discussions about how to warm up before the test. The standard way is to do one game, one passage, and 7 - 8 LR questions. I found that warm-up with LG questions only works best because LG questions integrate understanding, inferences, and diagrams, which quickly alert the brain and transfer it to the test mode.
   Talking about LG, just a side note - you will only allow five pieces of scratch paper for the entire test. No refill over the break. So diagram as much as you want, but also be cautious just in case there are 2 LG sections, and you will have to diagram a TON.

3. Ask the proctor if you have any question BEFORE starting the test
   If you have any test-related question, make sure to ask. There is a 10 - 20 mins check-in section before starting the test, and after you finish the check-in, most proctors will not force you to begin the test right away unless you agree that you are ready as well. Take your time to clear all test-related questions so you can focus later. If your proctors forget to mute their microphone, it's also okay to politely ask them to mute themselves.

4. Restrain water intake
   You will allow bringing a clear bottle of water (around 20 ounces), but may want to use it considerably. I nervously drank the whole bottle over my second RC section, and ended up focusing on something else than fully dedicated to the test in my last section. I might score slightly better if I did not abuse the water resource XD

5. You can eat in front of the camera but cannot miss the check-in after the break
   There will be a 10 mins break before your third section, and you will have to click "check-in" within this 10 mins in order to continue the test. Even if you click at the 5-minute, the test will not be resumed until it reaches the full 10 mins break. So if you are really afraid of losing minutes or forget to click in, just click "check-in" first, and then do whatever helps you with the test (whatever that does not violate the LSAC rule; no phone or any other electronic devices. But it's a perfect snack time!)

6. After finishing the test, do not close the test window immediately.
   Check with your proctors, and they will guide you to exit safely.

Additionally, to my international test-taking fellows: don't let the "language barrier" (or whatever other people may have said) discourage you. You don't have to be an English master to write the test. But I would suggest starting a personal LSAT vocab dictionary for unfamiliar words from stimulus or passages, such as legal terms. Some of these terms are not familiar to native speakers either. Don't be discouraged -- everyone was once a beginner!

Good luck to everyone! Please feel free to reach out if you have any question about test prepping! I am happy to help!

QS

lawyer2021

hey I'm having trouble setting some of LG boards up, if you can help, I would appreciate it. Thank You!