So you want to be a lawyer.
Deciding to apply to law school is a big step in your career. You may have dreamed about the courtroom from a young age. Alternatively, you may have recently discovered the legal dimension of a field of interest. Law school applicants may be inspired by different reasons, but they all must overcome a common obstacle: the Law School Admissions Test.
A strong LSAT score can pay a significant return. Higher scores can lead to lucrative scholarships. Higher scores can also lead to a J.D. from a school with a strong reputation in the legal job market. However, law school itself can be very expensive. The reality is many aspiring lawyers are juggling bills and student loans, in addition to saving for law school. So how can you keep costs down whilst still optimizing your law school application?
Tip #1: Choose the Right Approach for You
Many students have come to me after spending significantly on courses and books that just didn't work for them. The costs add up when you try the same thing over and over without seeing results.
The big LSAT preparation providers take an approach based on memorization. They will split the LSAT into a long list of questions, each with a different (copyrighted) acronym to remember. For a select group, this approach does work. Strong memorizers tend to know this about themselves, and often have particular aptitude for learning languages. If this doesn't sound like you, then don't waste your money on an approach that won't pay dividends.
My approach is to focus on foundational reasoning skills. I teach my students to reason the same way a personal trainer teaches you how to weight-lift. We start slow and focus on good form, and eventually ramp up the pace and the difficulty. This approach works best for individuals who enjoy learning through discussion, anyone determined to improve their reading and/or communication skills, and folks who find textbooks to be tedious.
Not only do you need to pick the right approach, but you also need to pick the right tutor. Your tutor should be someone you enjoy spending time with. Before investing large sums into a tutoring package, make sure to speak directly with the tutor you will be working with.
Tip #2: Make a Plan Around Your Goals and Lifestyle
Many LSAT experts forget that the LSAT is not the be-all end-all. It has a role to play within the context of your life circumstances. This "context" includes your career goals, finances, work schedule and family obligations.
Before getting too far into your LSAT journey, it is important to make a concrete plan. What schools are you applying to? What LSAT score do you need to get? Which test dates are acceptable? When will you have time to study?
Invest your preparation budget into hitting the score you need, by learning the material that will be most helpful, at a time when you have the energy to be focused. A good LSAT tutor should be able to help you make a realistic plan that will maximize your goals whilst minimizing the impact on your budget.
Tip #3: Focus on the Core Logical Reasoning Concepts
Many students spread themselves thin trying to master every question type and memorize complex formal logic rules. But here's a more efficient approach: focus on the foundational concepts that appear across almost every question.
The core skills you need are identifying premises and conclusions, understanding how to strengthen or weaken an argument, and recognizing necessary assumptions. Once you're comfortable with these, you'll find that most question types are just variations on the same themes.
Reading Comprehension? It's essentially extended Logical Reasoning with longer passages. The questions still ask you to identify the author's main point, strengthen or weaken claims, and draw inferences.
As for formal logic notation—those complex diagrams and symbols—it's helpful but not strictly necessary. Many top scorers never fully master it. Your time is often better spent building intuition around arguments.
The bottom line: a strong grasp of these core concepts will carry you further than surface-level familiarity with every question type.