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It’s the day before the LSAT, but every piece of advice out there says you should be putting the books down and relaxing. And they’re right–you absolutely should not be doing any work today, as there’s almost no chance it will help you on the exam tomorrow. You’re very unlikely to have a breakthrough that translates to a huge score increase; you’re much more likely to tire yourself out before the big game.

But I know you. You’re type-A. You’re going to do something today.

So here are a few things you can do the day before the LSAT without tiring yourself out.

Go Over Your Game Day Strategies

Are you hitting all four games, or are you going to focus on three and then pick up as many points as you can on the last one? Are you leaving the Match the Reasoning/Flaw questions until the end? Are you leaving the science passage for last, or are you tackling it first while you’re fresh?

Maximizing your score on the LSAT isn’t just about learning the logic; you also have to know how you’re going to approach the test to score at the top of your score range. You don’t need to get everything right to hit your target score (even 180s can come from a few errors). So go over the strategies you’ve already practiced that resulted in the highest scores.

Go Over Your Question Strategies

For the love of everything that is dear to you, don’t do a practice section the day before the LSAT. Don’t do questions. Put the book down–you’re as likely to freak yourself out over every mistake as you are to actually learn anything new.

However, spend some time thinking about your approach to the questions. For a Necessary Assumption question, what are some trends in the answer choices? For an Ordering game, what are the common wrinkles (3D, mismatch, etc…), and how would you tackle each one? Remind yourself of the process so that it’s fresh when you go in to take the test.

Prep for Test Day

Go through the LSAC list of what you need to bring and what you’re allowed to bring. Figure out how you’re getting to the testing center and how you’re getting home. You can make plans for after the test (since your friends and family probably want to see you again), but give yourself a few hours after the exam so you don’t feel panicked if the test goes long.

Additionally, find 5-10 LR questions and a game or passage to bring with you to the test center to warm up. Make sure they’re easy questions you’ve done before and you completely understand–this is just to get your brain shifted into LSAT gear. Be sure to show up a little early so you can walk through them quickly, and then toss them in the trash. It’s highly cathartic.

Relax

At this point, there are two things that will determine how well you do tomorrow: the specific questions on the test, and how relaxed you are. You already know all the logic you’re going to know, and the questions are out of your hands.

So focus on the one thing you can control—your mental state. Go for a jog, if that’s your thing. Enjoy massages? Schedule one. Watch a movie or some television. Get yourself mentally relaxed so that you don’t go into the exam more nervous than necessary.

Because you will be nervous. There’s no way around that, and there’s nothing wrong with it. But you’ve got this. Seriously, you’re ready. So use those nerves to focus yourself on the test, and good luck! ?

Don’t forget that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person LSAT courses absolutely free. We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.

Matt Shinners is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in New York City. After receiving a degree in Biochemistry from Boston College, Matt scored a 180 on his LSAT and enrolled in Harvard Law School. There’s nothing that makes him happier than seeing his students receive the scores they want to get into the schools of their choice. Check out Matt’s upcoming LSAT courses here!

Deep breath. It’s not the end of the world, but it is surprising: LSAT testing center security has increased. Red Alert LSAT Geeks! LSAC now requires a full-body scan of anyone who enters the testing site. They will use the same equipment used in airports and all images will be reviewed by T14 law school graduates. Those who refuse the scan will be subjected to a hearty frisking. Not surprisingly, students are pretty angry; all of the test-takers from UC Berkeley have announced they will arrive in kilts and opt for the frisk.

No, no – it’s not that bad. But, it is slightly more inconvenient: you now need to bring a photo of yourself (along with your approved photo ID, your ticket, etc. – read about all of it on LSAC’s website). The picture must be of you within the last 6 months, and if right before test day you dye your hair, put your beard into dreadlocks, or pierce your forehead with a horseshoe, be sure to have  a picture of you with your new look. The photo needs to be no larger than 2 x 2 and no smaller than 1 x 1. Basically, get a passport photo. It’s definitely annoying – and what irks me most is that I now have to wonder whether people have actually gotten away with sending in an LSAT geek-double to take the test for them (or is the question, how many have gotten away with it?). Apparently, the usual photo ID and the affidavit that LSAC has you write in cursive were not enough to scare away evil-doers. (In case you’re wondering about the cursive requirement, studies prove that writing in cursive legitimizes a statement more than any other type of writing except for using Comic Sans.)

On a related ridiculous note, back in the 70s, a guy traveled the world using a passport in which he had replaced his photo with that of his dog. This speaks volumes for one of several things: the sense of security that existed in the world in the 70s despite the cold war, the theory that people look like their dogs, or the general state of that guy’s face or his dog’s.

So, off to your local drugstore for the picture. Say something witty as the camera clicks to bring a smile to your face as you prepare to destroy the LSAT on test day.

If you’re having a bit of an LSAT freak-out, take a break from your umpteenth preptest, stop negating assumptions and talking about contrapositives. Drink some tea (not Long Island), and read some tips:

Final tips from people other than your mother

Tips for chilling out and getting YOUR best score

What to do the night before the LSAT

The LSAT is less than a week away, and people are often asking for final tips about test day.  Here’s my best of:

1.  Easy does it. Don’t take any full preptests within the last two days.  The brain is a muscle, let it rest.  Take a few timed sections each day up until 3 days before the LSAT, a couple untimed two days before, with a bunch of review of work you’ve already done.  And the day before just re-do LSAT sections you have already done.  On the morning of the LSAT, re-do one easy logic game on your way to the test center to get your brain moving.  Caveat: if you know you’ll do better with momentum, go right ahead and get momentumming and go crazy on the LSATs the week before.  Some people like to do a six-section LSAT a week before test day to make 5 sections seem easy.

2. Pack-up the night before. Get all your pencils sharpened, print out the ticket (and make sure your printer doesn’t cut off any part of the ticket), and find that analog watch your dad gave you years ago.  Make sure you know how to get to your testing center – there’s nothing worse than freaking out on your way to the test.  Plan to arrive early and to enjoy a coffee outside while you do a warm-up section, or a crossword puzzle or something that is fun and slightly intellectual. Read more

June 8th is just a few days away, and people are often asking for final tips about test day.  Here are a few to add to the mix:

1.  Easy does it.  Don’t take any preptests within the last two days.  The brain is a muscle, let it rest.  Take a few timed sections on Saturday, a few untimed on Sunday, and watch a stupid movie on Sunday night.  On Monday morning, re-do one easy logic game on your way to the test center to get your brain moving.

2. Pack-up the night before.  Get all your pencils sharpened, print out the ticket (and make sure your printer doesn’t cut off any part of the ticket), and find that analog watch your dad gave you years ago.  Make sure you know how to get to your testing center – there’s nothing worse than freaking out on your way to the test.  Plan to arrive early and to enjoy a coffee outside while you do a crossword puzzle or something that is fun and slightly intellectual.

3. Eliminate, eliminate, eliminate, eliminate.  On all but the easiest problems in LR and RC, you should generally eliminate 4 answers.  If you’re going down the answer choice list, and (B) seems to be the answer, act suspicious – assume you’ve been duped – and go and look at the rest of the answer choices, seeing if you can eliminate them.  It’s too easy to “shut down” your brain once you think you’ve found the answer.

4. Move along.  If you are stuck on a question, take comfort in the fact that most everyone around you is probably struggling with that question too!  Some of your neighbors will spend 4 minutes on that one question, and others will move on and devote time to questions they can tackle.  Those who move on probably will do better and keep their cool.  So, make an educated guess, bubble it in, circle the question number, and move on.  If you have time, come back to it. Read more