Leading up to the LSAT, many students ask me what they should be thinking about when they walk into the test center. I always tell them to focus on the following things:Relax. Stress is your enemy. Stop thinking about specific LSAT concepts—you've prepared enough at this point. Think instead about overall success, and visualize scoring well. Be confident. Scoring well is all about believing that you CAN score well. Get in the right frame … [Read more...]
My LSAT Regimen with Marvin Dike, Part V: A Reflection
PowerScore student Marvin Dike blogs about his comprehensive study regimen so that our readers can learn from his experience. Make sure you read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV. So my LSAT journey is over. Finally. I want to give you a rundown of my test day experience and my mentality. I'll also include a handful of things I learned, a few tips, and some things I would've done differently if I could start the whole process over knowing … [Read more...]
The Power of Negative Thinking and the LSAT
We've always told you to look at this test as an enjoyable event. So, what's up with "negative thinking"? Balance the Positive With the Negative We always tell students to develop a positive mindset when it comes to the test. Cultivate the belief that success is guaranteed, and (virtually) anything is possible. Anything, indeed, including failure. True, there is much validity in the principle of so-called “self-fulfilling prophecy,” where your … [Read more...]
Tom Brady and the LSAT
Over in our free LSAT Discussion Forum, I've been trading messages with one of our students that is working towards a 170. He started at 143, and has increased his score over 20 points already. But, he was running into a few issues with confidence and having the words of others affect his perception of how he will perform. I won't recount what I've said to him publicly because it's right there on the forum. But I have also been chatting with him … [Read more...]
How to Be an LSAT Jedi
Star Wars is a classic. A particularly memorable scene depicts Ben Kenobi and Luke Skywalker heading to the nearby spaceport to find a ship to get them and their two droids (R2D2 and C3PO) off the planet. Their goal is to get back into the hands of the Rebel Alliance. R2 is carrying important information about how to destroy the Death Star. It's a great plan, but there's a problem. The Empire is looking for the droids and they've set up … [Read more...]
How to Be an LSAT Hero
This blog comes to you from special guest, Pamela Adewoyin, Esq. Former PowerScore student Pamela Adewoyin experienced a terrific score increase after taking a prep course. Here's her story. Putting in the Effort Pamela bounced from place to place as a child but learned to call the Bronx, New York, home. From a very early age, she knew that she wanted to be an attorney. Ambitious and dedicated, Pamela focused on her schoolwork throughout her … [Read more...]
Jail Time for Claiming Drinking Water Helps Prevent Dehydration?
In 2008, two German professors asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to approve a certain claim for use in labeling bottled water. The claim at issue was whether “regular consumption of significant amounts of water can reduce the risk of development of dehydration and of concomitant decrease of performance."The EFSA denied the request. Linking Drinking Water and Dehydration Understandably, the decision caused an uproar, especially … [Read more...]
7 Things People Who Prep for the LSAT Are Tired of Hearing
Statistically speaking, most of your friends aren't going to law school. For better or worse, they also know very little about the LSAT, let alone LSAT prep. Sure, they may hear you muttering something nonsensical about mauve dinosaurs, but they probably dismiss it for lunacy. That's par for the course. Why else would you go to law school in the first place?If you're taking the LSAT soon, chances are you are about to start a prep course or … [Read more...]
Batman vs. Superman is You vs. LSAC
The title's weird, I know. Let me explain. You may already be familiar with the popular movie, "Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice". It features a showdown between two of DC Comics' most legendary heroes: the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel. The Epic Battle Prior to its release, the barrage of advertising got me thinking about the epic battle of Batman and Superman. Were such a confrontation to take place in real life, who would win? More … [Read more...]
Practice and Over-Practicing for the LSAT
In a Time article on over-practicing, there are several good pieces of advice for LSAT test-takers. From that advice, we can draw some guidelines on how you should prepare for the LSAT. Let's take a look at what they said and what it means for you. The Article The article references a study published by the Journal of Neuroscience. In this study, researchers observed subjects performing tasks repeatedly and measured energy expenditure as they … [Read more...]
Get a Grip on your LSAT Prep
It's fair to say that we generally think of friction as a negative thing. That's basically an accurate view in the context of personal and societal relationships. But, friction can also be very useful, even necessary, in other settings. For example, LSAT prep. We're going to go into how you can adapt the concept of friction to grain traction in your prep and accelerate past the plateau you may be on. How Friction it Works In case you need a … [Read more...]
World Domination, LSAT-Style
For many years, the LSAT was used only in the United States and Canada. Then, a number of years ago, LSAC struck a deal with Melbourne University in Australia to have the LSAT used for admission to the JD program. Several other schools and countries that have also adopted the LSAT in some form, including schools in India, China, and Puerto Rico. But, why is LSAC doing this? The answer is market expansion and financial stability. College … [Read more...]
Digging into Supreme Court Oral Arguments Part II
Previously, we wrote about the Oyez Project, the online archive of Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decisions, including links to the oral argument in each case. Today we'd like to point out a case that might be of interest to you, Loving v. Virginia. This landmark civil rights decision held that miscegenation statutes (which criminalize interracial marriage) are unconstitutional. This came back into the spotlight in recent years in … [Read more...]
How to Stay Motivated When Preparing for the LSAT
For most people, preparing for any standardized test can be somewhat stressful. The LSAT is a very challenging test, and in a competitive field, the stakes can be high. For a lot of people, even beginning to prepare can seem daunting. With so much potentially riding on your LSAT performance, here are a few suggestions to get and stay motivated. Commiserate It can be very helpful to know that you don’t have to take on this daunting test alone. … [Read more...]