Are You Running from the LSAT?

“Are you scared, or are you really just not ready?” Ladies and gentlemen, this post is about your high school prom night. Wait a second. No…No that’s not right at all. This post is about the LSAT. Now that I am back on track, it’s time for you to ask yourself the aforementioned question, but this time under vastly different circumstances. If you read this blog or you are in a Blueprint class, I know that you have received plenty of information and advice, so I will keep this as straightforward as possible. This post is dedicated to those of you who are still unsure about whether or not to show up on Saturday. Are you going to take an absence and refresh your LSAT gameplan, or are you going to sharpen up those #2 pencils, polish off that government issued I.D., find the most nutritious damned granola bar on the market, and own this exam.

We hear from a lot of students who simply panic with a few days left, then they hear that most law schools won’t even notice an absence, so they decide to download some practice exams and tell themselves they will be ready in a few months. Don’t get me wrong. There are a few very good reasons to sleep-in this Saturday and take the LSAT next February or June.

#1) You may have severely underestimated the time commitment required to study properly for this exam. It is understandable and it happens fairly frequently. You simply were not able to do most of the homework, you were exhausted in class, you aren’t even aware that we have hundreds of video homework explanations online, etc. etc. etc… If this sounds like you, than it’s time to look at your schedule going forward and realistically assess when you will have 25 hours a week to dedicate to LSAT prep. What’s that? December and January are clear? I hear Blueprint classes are starting up this weekend!

#2) “You have pneumonia? It’s probably hard to think about tiered ordering games with those inflamed lungs and the difficulty breathing, huh?.” If you come down with a really bad flu or sickness, it doesn’t take a medical professional to tell you not to take the LSAT this weekend. It just takes a blog writer. So…”Don’t take the LSAT this weekend.” You’re welcome.

It can be easy to convince yourself that you fall into one of these two categories when you really don’t. If you were present for virtually every class, did almost all of the homework, and have seen real improvement, you may want to show up this Saturday. Remember, you took a Blueprint class, which means that you will be one of the most prepared students in your testing center. Period. It is human nature to look at the potential downside of a really scary event like the LSAT. You may be thinking about the mistakes you could make or that logic game from hell that might show up, but couldn’t things just as easily go the other way? Your adrenaline kicks-in, and you could very well perform even better than expected.

The other major factor to think about is whether or not you are truly going to be better prepared in three months than you are right this second. You just went through a pretty intensive LSAT course, and chances are you learned some pretty useful techniques. If you simply do a few timed sections and practice problems each week, you are going to lose a significant amount of momentum. On the other hand, if you have a detailed plan, or you’ve decided to retake the course, this could be the wise choice.

If you don’t think you can bear opening up to Lesson 1 again, or you’re just feeling jitters and pressure, it is not too late to show up to your testing center on Saturday and exceed your own expectations (unless you canceled, in which case I applaud you for finishing this post). You can confidently say what my high-school girlfriend told me on Prom Night 2004. “I’m ready to take the LSAT.” It was a weird night.