Zen and the Art of Test-Taking: How Meditation Can Improve Your LSAT Score
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One tried and true way to improve your LSAT score is to study the right strategies. How should you diagram an Open Grouping game? How should you approach a Sufficient Assumption question? And what the heck is conditional logic?
In other words: understand the test.
Another way to tackle the LSAT is to practice techniques that will make you a better test-taker. Top scorers on standardized tests are able to focus, remain calm during difficult question sections, and keep their energy levels strong during the final innings.
In other words: understand yourself.
Ideally, you’ll want to take both approaches. And one way to become a better test-taker is, as you might’ve guessed from this title, to try practicing meditation.
The Science Behind Meditation
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, you might find it hard to swallow that meditation can help you improve your LSAT score. But when it comes down to brass tacks, mindfulness meditation is all about learning how to remove distractions.
Meditation has a long, rich history across a whole slew of cultures—as well as some recent scientific backing regarding its benefits for test-takers. According to a 2013 study published in Psychological Science and reported on by the New York Times, undergraduates who participated in a two-week meditation training bootcamp performed better on mind-wandering and working memory tests—as well as on the GRE.
(And for those flaw-seeking LSAT students, these test results held out even when participants were controlled for other variables, like nutrition.)
These results aren’t too surprising. Meditation helps you learn to center yourself, limit the distractions your brain constantly comes up with, and control your emotions. These are all great skills to master if you’re looking to tackle a big, tough, stressful test!
Here are 3 specific benefits that meditation can provide when it comes to improving your LSAT score:
1. Take It Easy
This one’s not just a line from my favorite ABBA song. (“Does Your Mother Know,” for those of you following along at home.)
Test anxiety is a serious obstacle for plenty of people who approach the LSAT—and for good reason. It’s a monster of a test! Though learning the right strategies and practicing can help boost your confidence, something like meditation could also improve your control over test stress. You’ll become better at shelving the anxieties and concerns that pop up while you’re working—acknowledging that, yes, you’re stressed, but also that your stress doesn’t have to control you.
2. Focus On Me
And this one’s not just my favorite CeeLo Green-in-an-Ariana-Grande-song line. (“Focus,” ditto.)
Even if you don’t feel too much anxiety, your mind is still liable to wander during the LSAT—wasting away those crucial seconds. This is especially the case when you tackle a tough scientific Reading Comprehension passage or an absolutely convoluted Logical Reasoning stimulus. Instead, you want to learn how to stay 100% focused for 100% of the test, no matter how boring or confusing the material might feel.
By learning to meditate, you train your brain to eliminate distractions like a bouncer at an exclusive nightclub: no daydreams allowed.
3. The Big Pause
I couldn’t find any relevant song lyrics for this one, but I promise it’s still important. (“I like the Big Pause and I cannot lie”?)
In my mind, the Big Pause is the perfect example of how meditation can help in an LSAT-specific way. When you take the Big Pause, you’re essentially asking your brain to take a step back and let the logic game’s rules wash over you… While in the middle of a timed, high-stress test! Plenty of test-takers just can’t stand the feeling of “doing nothing” when there are questions to be answered—even though the inferences you might make during a Big Pause can help you speed through those questions with greater accuracy and efficiency.
By practicing mindfulness meditation, you’ll start to see the power in clearing your headspace, if only for 15 seconds.
Convinced? Here’s How to Get Started!
Can’t wait to begin? Meditation practices can come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and flavors, but here’s a simple step-by-step guide to get you started:
- Find a quiet, peaceful place to meditate, and make sure you’re wearing comfy clothes.
- Sit on a pad, pillow, or blanket, with your legs crossed. (You can put your hands on your legs, or in your lap, or wherever is comfortable. Likewise, you can keep your eyes open, closed, or somewhere in between.)
- Focus on your breathing. Follow your breath as you draw it into your lungs and exhale it into the room. (Don’t fall asleep!)
- When your brain started to wander, simply take notice that you’ve drifted away, dismiss the distracting thought, and focus on your breathing again.
Try it out for 3 minutes—it’s tougher than it sounds. Eventually, you can work your way up to 20- or 30-minute sessions. Hopefully, the work you put into meditation should trickle down into your test-taking, whether that means reduced stress, increased focus, or better Big Pauses! ?
Has meditation helped you in your studies? Tell us in the comments!
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Ben Rashkovich
is a Manhattan Prep LSAT instructor based in New York, NY. He’s a graduate of Columbia University, and he scored a 172 on the LSAT. He enjoys the mental challenge and logical acrobatics of the LSAT—and he feels that studying for the test can teach everyone to approach problems more rationally. You can check out Ben’s upcoming LSAT courses here!