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How to Limit Test Anxiety Before the LSAT

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It’s the last day before the LSAT. Wondering how to deal with LSAT test anxiety? Read here to learn more effective ways to calm your nerves before the test.

The day before the LSAT — you are truly so close to being finished with a huge step in the application process, the last thing you need is for your mind to hold you back from demonstrating your potential. Anxiety is so common before (and during) a big exam, I’d be more surprised to hear that someone wasn’t feeling anxious the day before the LSAT. So, as an expert in Having Taken the LSAT and Some Other Tests, I’m here to share the practices that have helped me deal with LSAT test anxiety and will hopefully be helpful to you too.

1. Meditation: Ok, I’m too cynical to actually call anything I do “meditation” or “mindfulness,” but I nonetheless found meditation apps very helpful for feeling alert, but not anxious, during an actual exam. If you’re like me, any practice that reminds you to control your breathing and stay calm also helps with falling asleep the night before the LSAT. And if, also like me, you’re starting out with some biases about the type of person who practices meditation, realize that snipers, Navy Seals and professional athletes use the same practices to improve their performance (but often with names that sound really tough or mysterious).

2. Exercise: The benefits of exercise before the exam are threefold: exercise gives you something difficult to focus on, you can probably benefit from some fresh air and sun right about now, and exercise itself can help you to feel better. To quote Elle Woods, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t kill their husbands” … or rather, they don’t feel overwhelmed by anxiety heading into the LSAT.

3. Friends: One thing I’d suggest for anyone during the last day before the LSAT is to meet up with some friend. There’s no need to wallow in your test-day stress alone. The best thing for reducing anxiety could be to find the right people who are going to keep you in a good headspace and give you the kind of support that’s specific to you. Even if you prefer to have time alone to clear your mind and prepare for something important like the LSAT, consider calling someone who you know would provide some positive encouragement and even help you to feel excited about reaching this step in your test prep.

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Especially on the day before the LSAT, it’s completely normal to experience anxiety, so the best thing you can do is to find something that’s going to help you address those feelings before exam time. You’ve put in so much work to get to this point in your test prep, make sure to take really good care of yourself, because it’s going to make the difference in your score and because, most importantly, you deserve it.