The February LSAT Test is less than two weeks away. Most important thing to remember is that you need to stay calm and keep happy. Remember, you've been working hard during your LSAT prep, studying smart and dodging all of LSAC's red herrings and tricks. Now, what next?
First thing's first. If you haven't driven to your testing center at least once, then why not go on a test drive? It's important to keep yourself as centered as possible on the day of, so freaking yourself out getting lost on the way to your LSAT is something you should definitely avoid.
Next, you need to go onto LSAC's site and make sure you have everything on the LSAC list of required items to be admitted into the testing center. If you are missing an item you WILL be turned away. Make sure to make a checklist and check it twice. Don't let not attaching a passport sized photo to your testing ticket be the reason why you have to wait until June to take the LSAT. If I may, I'd add a healthy snack to the list. I'd recommend something with peanut butter. I, myself, brought a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Peanut butter is brain food and bananas are full of potassium so your hand won't cramp up while bubbling in the answers!
Alright, what should you be doing study-wise? These next few days are where you really need to be honing in on the details. We are fine-tuning and checking all the nooks and crannies of your LSAT knowledge. Only take timed sections, so you can get yourself as used to the pace and endurance of the sections as possible. Let's go through a very quick break down of things to go over in each section.
For Logical Reasoning, make sure to review your Sufficient & Necessary formulas and know them like the back of your hand (this will also come in very handy in your Logic Games section.) Remember to identify the premise and conclusion in every argument you read. In this way you can be clear of what the argument is and where the potential flaw lies.
For Reading Comprehension, always identify the main point, tone and purpose of the passage. Stay consistent and minimal with your symbols and markers. The symbols and lines you draw on your passage should be signs of where to come back to for a certain idea. Don't waste your time rewriting paragraphs in the margins. And remember, every correct answer has a corresponding line in the passage. If you can't find the line, then it is not your correct answer.
For Logic Games, I want you to take your time getting your setup, rules and deductions down on the page. Remember, when you take the time to get the deductions down, you save time later. Use your previous work to answer the questions. The LSAT is a test of endurance, especially in the Logic Games section. Don't waste time trying out answer choices when you've already written them out in hypotheticals from previous questions. Double-check your rules! I can't tell you how many times students have been stuck on what would be an easy game because they forgot to write down a key rule or wrote a rule down incorrectly. And always try and start with the most restricted answer choice. It'll end up saving you so much time!
Keep things in perspective. Every single question on the exam is worth one point. Don't waste your time on questions that will take a lot of time or are confusing. SKIP THEM and then come back to them when you are done with the rest of the questions in the section. Don't waste your time trying to figure out a hard question when you have easy and medium questions ripe for the picking. It's not a race. Accuracy is more important than the quantity of questions you get to.
And most importantly, remember to breathe. The day before your exam I encourage you to take a break. If it makes you nervous not to study at all the day before, then do a couple of timed sections, but stop your studying latest by 3pm. Take the rest of the day to relax. You know, as well as I do, that those last few hours are better spent easing your mind than tiring it. If you're counting on those last few hours to make or break your score, then we've got other problems. I guarantee you that it's more productive to wind down the rest of the day, than to tire yourself out. You've worked hard during your LSAT prep. Take a breather. Rent Legally Blonde, or do anything else that has nothing to do with what law school or the LSAT is really like. I went to Disneyland the day before my exam. It was a well-deserved and very relaxing day.
Stay confident and calm.
Happy Studying and Good Luck!
