Decisions, decisions!

A member of the Manhattan LSAT Forum community – who, like a good lawyer-to-be, is keeping himself anonymous – sent me an interesting article in the NY Times magazine that has some interesting implications for LSAT study. Take a look at the article and what he had to say about it – I think this is spot on:

The article is about “decision fatigue”: how merely making a large number of decisions (whether deciding LSAT questions or deciding your breakfast cereal) leads you to a point where you are more liable to make bad decisions or take shortcuts to avoid having to invest yourself in more decisions.  There were  a few things I think are relevant to LSAT study:

#1. This could underlie the fatigue students often feel towards the end of an individual test (it’s not just having to read a lot or analyze a lot of logic—it’s literally the act of making so many decisions) Read more

Slightly More Complicated Than Minesweeper

Comedian Daniel Tosh has a bit in his stand up act poking fun at people who claim they are ‘bad test takers’. He quips:

“Don’t you love it when people in school are like ‘I’m a bad test taker’ — you mean you’re stupid!  Oh you struggle with that part where we find out what you know?  I know, I can totally relate, see, because I’m a brilliant painter minus my god awful brush strokes.”

While it is incredibly tempting to pick apart the flawed logic used by Mr. Tosh in this analogy, I am simply going to disagree with his overall statement; being a poor test taker does not mean you are stupid, nor are standardized tests an exhaustive or conclusive measure of one’s intellect.

There are many among us who are quite sharp yet don’t excel in the realm of standardized test taking. There’s a TON of pressure, and questions are often phrased in a misleading or confusing way.  In the case of the LSAT, the exam writers are constantly setting answer traps to trick you. With all of these obstacles present in most standardized test formats, it is no wonder that many folks simply do not perform well on these exams.

Luckily for you, we at Manhattan Prep have your back.  On September 15th we are debuting our first ever “Reaching Your Standardized Testing Potential” workshop in New York City.  The session will be run by Jen Dziura, owner of two perfect scores on the GRE.  Jen will discuss the various habits and practice routines that can help improve your performance on test day, as well as hack away at some of the intimidating myths surrounding such high stakes exams.

The best part?  It’s totally free to register. Join us and begin learning how you can maximize your standardized testing potential.