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Why the LSAT is a good reflection for law school success: from limited experience of a 1L
LSATcantwin
Alum Member Sage ⭐
I thought I’d take some time to write this out for you. It’s becoming clear that the LSAT is a good reflector of Law School success for so many reasons that extend beyond just the “logic” of the test. I feel many of these things go overlooked, but are important to keep in mind.
1.) There is NO handholding in law school. They will throw you into the fire right away. It is 100% on you to sit down, sift through all the information being thrown at you, and pick out important take aways. You need to learn how to learn the law on your own.
This is much like what we have to do on the lsat. We are presented with an unfamiliar type of test in which you need to figure out what it is you are suppose to be learning. You have to learn how to learn logic. It’s very much a personal challenge that you have to devlop through on your own. Just like law school.
2.) the way to prepare for finals is to take practice tests and make outlines. You have to dedicate weekends to work on outlines and take full practice tests. This is one big way to prepare for finals. You need to have the discipline to work on your time off.
This is exactly what you do with the lsat. If you want to be successful on that test you need to tell your friends “no” to going out all the time. You need to take a significant amount of your own free time to sit down and do the LSAT. If you can do that, it is an indicator you have the potential to be successful.
3.) you have to want it. Law school doesn’t come easy and it is easy to let the work “slip” into the back seat. Doing the readings, staying on top of office hours, and briefing cases can become easy to “put off”. If you put it off until finals come you’re screwed. Cramming in law school is just not an option.
Which is exactly like the lsat. You can’t cram for that test. It just doesn’t work like that. You need time to develop the understanding of the logic and how to properly spot and apply it. Just like the law where you have to learn to spot issues and apply the law. The parallel is uncanny.
These are just a few of the parallels I notice so far. So when you hear that the lsat “isn’t even what we learn in law school” it’s because that is looking at it wrong. It’s not the subject matter that the LSAT tests, it’s your ability and desire to learn subjects that are largely unfamiliar and your dedication to that pursuit.
Keep at it 7Sage, you will be successful!
Back to Civ Pro reading.....
Comments
This is insightful, motivating, and encouraging! Thank you for sharing!!
Hope you crush it this year @LSATcantwin it sounds like you’re on the right track. What are your thoughts on outlining strategy? I’ve heard some say outline as early as possible and keep refining and synthesizing as you read more cases. Would love to hear your insights
Thank you so much for sharing! Your motivation is contagious.. good luck with the rest of the semester!
it is great! thank you for sharing!
Awesome post! Glad to hear from someone actually in the thick of it!
fellow 1L chiming in with some advice to 0l's. Once you're in law school, be sure to constantly talk about your LSAT score and how you're on a scholarship.
Haha I haven’t heard this at all!
I love when people say that the LSAT doesn’t have anything to do with law school.
wait - is this sarcasm?
Thanks @LSATcantwin From what you've said the process of studying for the LSAT seems to be more important for actual success in law school. The score just gets you in. Thanks for the motivation! Much needed to keep me going until Nov 17th. Best of luck with the end of the semester.
Thank you for sharing this. This is soooo important
Excellent post, thanks man!
lol
I don't remember off the top of my head, where did you end up? Hope 1L is going well for you!
Wait... there are practice tests for law school exams? What does that even mean?
Yeahhhh lol so there are things called “E and E’s” which are examples and explanations. They give you practice hypos that you can use to apply law. Then (some) teachers release old exams you can practice with. Also, resources like quimbee have mock tests.
Some teachers give ungraded midterms as practice too.
My school (NU) only grades the final.
Thank you for putting it all into perspective. Beyond being determined to destroy the test, it's nice to know that the habits one must develop along the way will be useful down the road (and dedication, hard work, and sacrifice needed here are likely useful in many pursuits beyond law school).
Good luck with your studies!
Oh wow, that's actually pretty comforting to know. I was afraid that law school would be more abstract and unstructured than the LSAT. Thanks for sharing
Haha I am now scared and excited. Hope your 1L year is going well!
I'm sure it was sarcasm lol. As another fellow 1L, I have not heard one person state their LSAT score since I've been in law school. Ever.
Thanks so much for this post. I have to admit that no. 2 is giving me angst. I was planning on spending my weekends with my family (I plan on living on campus during the week) so I can make up for missed time during the week. The thought of having to study on the weekend is giving me pause. Do you know any law students that have families? Just curious if you see a difference between them and you.
From speaking to law students, and from watching videos of student interviews on the "lawschoolchannel" on youtube, many people manage to treat their studies like an 8-5 full time job without having to study a lot during weekends.
I've heard the same as @oshun1 - you can treat law school like a full time job 8 to 5 M-F and do just fine. Since you'll be away from your family during the week, you could probably do even more. Study in the evenings during the week too so you can concentrate your free time on the weekends. It sounds doable, from what I've heard and read from others.
As @"Leah M B" also mentions you can do the 8-5 thing, most of the semester.
When finals start approaching though, I’m not so sure the 8-5 holds as much water. You will want to use some outside free time to study for them.
So basically it’s 8-5 everyday until a few weeks out from finals.
The difficulty for me is staying motivated subject-wise. It is because LSAT seems so inapplicable, subject matter-wise, to what we will eventually do for our law career. Nothing in LSAT is actual law. But that's why you go to law school, I suppose.
For example, logic games, I know it is supposed to test and hone your skills in logic and critical analysis/thinking. Still, it's not actual law, so in that sense, it's hard for me to truly enjoy studying it. Now if attorneys actually had to solve logic game puzzles in their jobs, I would probably be much more interested in them.
It was like the MCAT and medical school back when I was studying for it- MCAT just seemed so irrelevant to actual medicine we were supposed to study later on. Turned out, it really was.
Yeah, I figured once finals roll around that I would absent for a couple of weeks - I just don't want to be absent a whole semester. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it goes.
@"Leah M B" @oshun1 thanks for chiming in. I've heard the same thing and really hoping all that translates into real life!
So... sounds like doing online classes where I have to stay on top of things and essentially teach myself will pay off. LOL
Thank you for coming back to let us know what things are like and how things relate to what we know now. I can't tell you how awesome that is.
Thank you for sharing this @LSATcantwin. How many hours do you need to study everyday in order to do well in 1L? And would you recommend reading a general law introduction book (ex.Law 101) before starting law school to get a background knowledge so that it’s easier to catch up with the lectures? When should we start preparing for the bar?
I’m particularly concerned about catching up with the lectures since I have sleep problems from time to time and I space out easily during lectures but I really want to do well in law school.
Totally agree with your assessment. I'm not in law school yet but even I feel the same way as you when I hear things like "the LSAT doesn't test anything useful for law school"
Cheers, thanks for the comment.