LSAT PrepTests: How Much is Too Much?

by Noah Teitelbaum Jul 8, 2011

We have exciting news: Manhattan LSAT students now have access to all 63 LSAT PrepTests. Woo-hoo!

Now that you’ve dried your tears of joy, let’s back up and talk about obsession. If you have OCD-like tendencies, the LSAT is the test for you. Not only is it one of the nit-pickiest tests out there, but the tests are also conveniently numbered and published after each administration. Except – and oh, how we love exceptions – the February exams. So, we now have 63 published LSATs floating about in the world, along with a bunch of odds and ends the LSAC put out. (Here’s a full list.)

Now the question is, should you do all 63 PrepTests? Even for our students, who now have them all at their fingertips, the answer is probably still no. Here’s why: Repetition is crucial for reaching your top LSAT score. However, simply doing LSAT after LSAT does not guarantee a great score. In fact, if you don’t watch out, you might end up reinforcing bad habits. (When I used to teach math to kids, I would never give kids oodles of division problems for this reason – or, if I did, I gave them an answer key so they could check their work after every few questions.) The key is to use your practice LSATs to practice what you’ve learned.

Here’s what you DO want to do: learn strategies – either through books or a course. Then practice those strategies with concentrated sets of that sort of question. THEN pour on the LSATs (with deep review –here are some tips on how to review your LSATs). If you have time to do 63 LSATs at that point, go right ahead. But, you should also be RE-DOING LSATs! That’s right – if you’ve done them all, it’s fine to re-do an LSAT a couple of months after your first try – you’ll probably only remember things slightly, and you’ll be reinforcing good habits (similar to brushing your teeth). This is probably a relief to anyone who’s already done 50+ LSATs and still hasn’t hit their stride – but, it’d be better if you could travel back in time and focus on learning strategies before you set off on your 50+ LSAT rampage.

For our students, pay attention – don’t start falling into the LSAT-rampage trap. Stick with the program and add in the LSATs once you’ve got the strategies understood. And isn’t it nice to know you can eat up tons of LSATs once that’s done? Bon appétit!