It's the scariest day of the year - 1 week before the LSAT!
It's also Halloween, but that pales in comparison to T-Day -7 👻.
Here are some thoughts on how to best use your final week before Test Day:
-take one (or at the very most two) more full length tests; but definitely don't take a full length within 3 days of your actual exam. If you were running the NYC Marathon, would you do a practice marathon 48 hours before the real thing? Of course not, you'd break your body!
-focus on finalizing your game plan for T-Day. How are you going to split your time in Reading Comp? 8/8/9/9? 10/10/10/5? 11/11/11/2? What's your target for points in LR and what are you doing to maximize the chance that you'll hit (or surpass) that target? Too many people go into the LSAT with an "I'm going to start at question 1 and keep going until time runs out" attitude; if your goal is to achieve your LSAT goals, don't be one of those people!
-stop worrying about your weaknesses: the questions that you just can't ever seem to get right in a reasonable amount of time. Instead, focus on your strengths: questions you're good at but not great, or great at but not awesome. You're more likely to pick up those last few raw points in areas in which you excel. Let your natural aptitudes carry the day and go into T-Day with confidence. 💪
-get your body and brain clocks on schedule for Test Day. Do timed practice at the same time as your actual LSAT. Go to bed the same time you'll go to bed before T-Day. Eat meals at times that are conducive to eating on T-Day. Treat your body and brain well and they'll return the favour!
-no new questions the day before your exam! As much as possible, make it a day of LSAT rest. You can do some light review, but give yourself a full day to recharge before the big event.
-choose 3-5 LR questions and/or a RC passage that you've already done - and excelled at - for a game-day warm-up. The goal of the warm-up isn't to challenge yourself, it's to stretch those LSAT muscles and build confidence going into the exam. If you're testing at a Centre, bring them with you, show up early and do them before you go in. If you're testing at home, do them about an hour before the actual exam check-in time.
-all week long, keep repeating your self-affirming mantra (if you don't have one, get one!). Your mental state on T-Day will have a huge impact on your performance. "I'm good at the LSAT. I know the LSAT better than my competitors. I WILL go to law school…"
Have questions? We're here for you!
Comments
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Is there something from fellow LSAT teacher Stuart's set of thoughts here that you think would be especially helpful to you in preparing for your test day? One thing that stood out to me was the statement, "Treat your body and brain well and they'll return the favour!" After all, if we're burned-out, run-down, and the like, how can we expect to give our best performance? 🍎
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I would not recommend taking any practice tests in the week before LSAT, unless they were scheduled prior. I took all my practice tests at the same time and day as the actual LSAT to a simulate real testing environment. So, my last practice LSAT was exactly a week before the LSAT. In the time after that, I reviewed my practice test and drilled for accuracy. However, I knew that I would not be making any significant improvements in the week before the LSAT, and just tried to relax.
#SBA
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