The LSAT Digital PrepTests are (Finally) Here!
In the first week of March, 2020, LSAC launched a robust digital practice platform. Amidst all the turmoil of the last few weeks, the launch went largely unnoticed. To be frank, it’s not a great time to announce an exciting new product.
What it most certainly is a great time for, however, is more digital practice tests! With students worldwide extending their study by weeks or months, this is a welcome time for new digital material to go live. LSAC is now offering a $99 subscription service called “Official LSAT Prep Plus.” In this blog post, I’ll introduce you to this exciting resource.
So What Is Official LSAT Prep Plus?
Prep Plus is a subscription service, meaning you don’t actually buy the tests—you buy access to the tests. For one year after your purchase, you can log into the Prep Plus website and access the “Law Hub.” There, you’ll find a library of more than 60 digitized PrepTests that use the authentic testing interface. At present (March 2020) the library includes every test from PrepTest 19 to PrepTest 88, except one. PrepTest 21, I don’t know what you did, but it must have been baaaaad.
Is Official LSAT Prep Plus Just for Taking Practice Tests?
No! One of the coolest things about Prep Plus is that every test is available in two modes: Exam Mode for simulating test day, and Self-Paced Mode for other practice.
In Exam Mode, each section is timed and automatically closes when time is up. The only difference between Exam Mode and the test day interface is a “Pause Section” button. You can’t pause the exam on test day, but in Exam Mode, they’ll let it slide.
In Self-Paced Mode, you still see the countdown timer, and you still get a 5 minute warning. You even get a “Time’s Up!” alert at 35 minutes. What makes this “self-paced” is the fact that the section doesn’t automatically close when time is up. You can keep the section open as long as you like.
If you want to practice with digital LSAT material but you don’t want to do an entire timed exam, Self-Paced mode is the way to go. You can do as much or as little of a test as you want. Simply open a test, tackle the material you want to work on, then hit the “Pause Section” button. From there, you can navigate back to the library and open up whatever test you want to work from next!
In Self-Paced Mode, you can also reveal the answers to individual questions as you go. This is great for untimed practice. The catch? You have to enter an answer to activate that functionality. Once you’ve selected an answer for a question, the “Show Answer” button will magically appear.
Does Official LSAT Prep Plus Give You Feedback?
Yes…and no. It gives you feedback in the sense that it provides the correct answers. It also records your answers, which questions you skipped or flagged, and any annotations you made. These records are available to you as long as you have the subscription. Each time you select a test from the Library, you can start a fresh version, resume one that you paused, or click “view history” to review your previous attempts.
What Prep Plus doesn’t give is aggregated performance data or any kind of analytics. It won’t tell you which question types you struggle with, or what the games you’re worst at have in common. If you’re looking for that kind of feedback, you’ll need to take your testing data from Prep Plus and enter it into a secondary system like our LSAT Navigator (which, by the way, you can access for free by signing up for our LSAT Starter Kit!).
Does Official LSAT Prep Plus Have Accessibility Features?
It does! Just like the actual testing interface, the digital practice platform lets you increase the size and spacing of the font.
Exam Mode also lets you set the minutes per section yourself to accommodate students who have been granted extended time. When you select to do a test in Exam Mode, the bottom of the alert badge includes a field to set the minutes per section. There is also a setting that allows you to change your default time for all exams from 35 minutes to whatever you’ve been granted. Find it by clicking your name in the upper right hand corner of your Law Hub and selecting “Settings” from the popup menu.
Self-Paced Mode doesn’t have the extended time feature yet, though LSAC tells us in their FAQ page that it soon will. In Self-Paced Mode, the default time is always 35 minutes per section, but since the sections don’t automatically close, you can keep the section open as long as you need it.
What Devices and Operating Systems are Supported?
LSAT Prep Plus can run digital practice tests on any type of device: computer, smartphone or tablet. If possible, I recommend prepping on a touch screen tablet because that’s what you’ll use on test day.
If you’re using a smartphone or a tablet, you’ll need to have an up-to-date operating system. For Apple devices, that’s iOS 12 or 13. For Android devices, it’s just the most recent operating system. It doesn’t have a name. Search for system updates on your device and it should automatically retrieve the right one!
Isn’t There a Free Version of Digital LSAT Prep?
Yes there is. It’s called “Official LSAT Prep” and it’s just like Official LSAT Prep Plus, except that instead of 60+ tests, you only get 2—PrepTest 71 and PrepTest 73. If you already have an lsac.org account, you’ve been automatically registered. You can check it out by visiting this website and logging in with your LSAC credentials.
The Final Verdict
If you have at least 3 weeks before your scheduled exam, you should purchase Official LSAT Prep Plus. If you’ve only got a couple weeks to study and you haven’t already completed Digital PrepTests 71 and 73, you can probably get by with the freebie version. Still, with the uncertainties surrounding the administration of the LSAT right now, I’d rather have too much material than too little. If your test might be cancelled and your prep extended for weeks or months, you’re going to want to have Prep Plus. There’s no better way to prepare for the digital LSAT than by using the real testing interface in practice. Speaking of that, check out our comprehensive guide to the digital interface to learn all of our best tips for making the interface work for you.
Happy Studying!
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.
Laura Damone is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in San Francisco, CA. She fell for the LSAT while getting her undergrad degree and has now taught LSAT classes at more than 20 universities around the country. When she’s not teaching, learning, or publishing her work, she can be found frolicking in the redwoods and exploring the Pacific coast. Check out Laura’s upcoming LSAT courses here!