12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, and 4 LSATs later, 2011 is behind us.

2011 was a banner year for Manhattan LSAT: in addition to teaching a record number of students, 2011 saw the release of the 2nd edition of our LSAT Strategy Guides.

Happy New Year from Manhattan LSAT

2012 promises to be an even bigger year, as we get ready to bring our 99th percentile approach to even more students in more places (check us out in Boston and Boulder this year!).  Needless to say, we can’t wait to help every one of our students achieve their personal goals on the LSAT.

Today I’m taking a look at the road ahead in 2012 and making some bold (and some not so bold) predictions for the year:

• There will continue to be a decrease in LSAT takers year over year.  While there was inevitably going to be a decline in test takers from the record high numbers seen in 2009-2010, one can’t help but entertain the idea that perhaps all of those NY Times articles cautioning students about the cost/benefit of law school (more on that in a second) is having an impact on the psyche of prospective law school students.

• The LSAT will continue to evolve and change. No, I don’t expect there to be a new section introduced on the test – or for LSAC to suddenly change the format or scoring of the exam, but one thing that history has consistently shown us is that the LSAT is constantly evolving. There are always new ‘curve balls’ that each new version of the test throws at test takers, and that shouldn’t be expected to change. This is why it is so important to study for the LSAT in a way that focuses on the necessary skills that the test is measuring: reading quickly and efficiently, organizing large amounts of information and making inferences, and verbal reasoning – as these haven’t changed (nor do I expect them to change) any time soon.
• LSAT takers will continue to agonize over the retake decision. As long as the LSAT exists and you are allowed to take it up to three times in any two year period, this will be the case.
• The aforementioned ‘is law school worth it’ debate will rage on. Costing three years and up to $200,000, this debate is a healthy one. Make sure you have carefully considered your reasons for going to law school, and that you have well researched what it will take to reach your personal and professional goals post law school. Often reaching these goals begins with a killer LSAT score!