A few final tips for December test-takers

Looking ahead to Saturday's test, Strategy's Ben Olson has several tips for how to round out your LSAT preparation.

Friday Game Plan

Because the LSAT is a skills-based test, there’s little you can do to improve your score overnight. You can’t cram this one. But in many ways, that’s a good thing. You can’t lose your skills that quickly either. In short, by Friday afternoon, don’t plan on doing anything else LSAT. The hay is in the barn, as some people say. Take it easy. Watch a movie.

And don’t even stress about getting the perfect night’s sleep. No one does. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, put in another movie. Eventually, you’ll get tired and fall asleep. That’s better than stressing about not falling asleep and then kicking off the covers at 2:00 am in the morning and stomping down the hall because you’re still awake.

Before you hit the hay (no illicit shift in meaning here), print out your ticket, secure your photo, and put all your pencils, IDs, snacks, and other goodies in your zip lock bag. Your ticket should be unsigned.

Saturday Game Plan

On Saturday morning, eat a slightly larger than normal breakfast, but only slightly. You don’t want to get tired (or go into cardiac arrest) in section two from eating an oversized, cheese-stuffed IHOP omelet. The test often doesn’t start until 10:00 or 10:30 am, which means the break isn’t until noon or so. And that’s the first time you can eat.

Some students like to print out a few practice questions (http://strategyprep.com/timer/sample-test.pdf) to take right after they arrive at the test center. You technically can’t take those questions into the building, but you can do them outside, in your car, or in a nearby building. This warm-up can get you in the right mindset for the test so that your first few questions start off without a hitch.

December vs. February

If you’re signed up to take the December LSAT, but you already know that you’re unlikely to get the score that you need for the schools you’re applying to, and you already know that you’re going to take the February LSAT, seriously consider not taking the December LSAT. In this situation, the December LSAT score will appear on your record and is unlikely to help you. And it could hurt your application if any of your schools average scores.

The one big downside with taking the February LSAT, for those applying this year, is that many schools don’t accept it because it’s too late. And for the schools that do accept it, many don’t take it seriously because your application is so late in the process. Granted, more schools accept the February LSAT now because of the recent drop in law school applicants, but it’s still rather late in the cycle.

Withdrawal Deadline

You have until midnight (EST) on Friday to withdraw from the test. You will not get a refund, but nothing will appear on your record. If you try to withdraw after midnight, a cancellation will appear on your record. One cancellation is not a problem, but if you’re not planning to take the test in December, you should withdraw before midnight.