<p>I'm a freshman in my first semester at college. Right now, my goal is to go to law school after graduating with my bachelor's in either philosophy, psychology, english, history, sociology, and minor in possibly math. I don't know, i got another year to choose my major. All i know is that i'm anticipating a couple career changes because i want to live a dynamic life. So a little about myself: i have forced myself to become a more avid reader. I try to read 50 pages per day in any book. Not anything specific. I read more fiction with ol' ye english sometimes. I try to read more expository books in psychology than fiction. I was wondering, for the LSATs, what skills i should sharpen and make pat before taking the LSATs. What little things i can do every day to make myself become even stronger and more prepared for this exam? Would brain teasers work? Does reading help? Anything brain-stimulating? I need suggestions. Thank you for answering in advance. Thou hath me obliged to thee. </p>
<p>P.S.- please excuse me if for repeating a question that might have been asked prior to creation of this thread</p>
<p>Sybbie- I think the change is coming in June 2007. Supposed to affect reading portion only. Details will be made more public in February 2007. </p>
<p>Gista --Check LSAC.org for details. In all honesty- read-read and read maybe take a philosophy/logic course and don't really start to study too much in advance. It probably leads to burn-out. My d started studying end of summer. I can't imagine anyone studying more than 6 months for this exam. </p>
<p>D's taking LSAT tomorrow. She's upstate NY so the weather should be OK. But I wonder if the mid-west kids will be affected by the snowstorms out there?? If test is cancelled might it skew the curve???</p>
<p>At this stage- nothing matters. D just wants to get through the day and party tomorrow nite!!</p>
<p>i say you can drop that 50 pages per day requirement. if you want to learn new words there are plenty of books for that. and on the other hand you can take logic or technical courses. otherwise just read what interests you. i would think reading articles with a distinct point would be better generally for the lsat than reading novels anyhow.</p>
<p>imo reading is much more quality over quantity. don't measure reading by number of pages. if you must have a requirement, maybe it should be to always be reading a book.</p>
<p>Sybbie --Graduation is 2008 for our family too. Can you believe it?? I know both of us have been around these boards for a few years. I thought I'd be gone by now, but maybe I'll try to make it to "Senior Member" Status or is it Senior Citizen Status?? (I think I've passed that point already- AARP card and all.)</p>
<p>Thanks for your good wishes. I've hardly spoken to my d about the test. I think she likes it better when I just shut up about it.</p>
<p>PS. I did try to check out if mid-west might be affected by storms as someone asked about SAT and cancellation due to weather tomorrow.<br>
Went to Northwestern website to see if anything was mentioned--there was a power outage on campus this AM--so weather conditions can definitely disrupt the LSAT as well as SAT tomorrow.</p>
<p>This may be one of the few times my d can say she is happy with the weather in upstate NY in December!!</p>
<p>She'll be doing study abroad next semester and didn't want to spend her time in Italy studying for June LSAT. She's a very smart girl!!<br>
She didn't want to take LSAT's for the first time next October as she would have to apply to schools before she got her results or would be hurrying doing the applications once the results were known. If she wasn't doing study abroad, she probably would have gone for the June LSAT- but that is going to be the "brand new" version of it--so maybe this is all a good thing. I think she is as prepared as she is going to be.</p>
<p>My D is on a study abroad now and will be taking the exam in february when she is on a leave term & doing internship and living at home. the June exam is the day after their graduation (right on the heels of finals. life on the quarter system) so she would not have enough time to adequately study. In addition, she is staying to see all of her 07 friends graduate.</p>
<p>You need to plan ahead abit- especially if you want to do a Study Abroad or an Internship program. D decided in August to switch gears and go for the December LSAT. She barely had enough time to do it. If she waited another few weeks, I do not think she would have had enough time to really study for the LSAT. My gut feeling is that you need at least 3 to 4 months of pretty intense studying.</p>
<p>And Gista- I would suggest that you do not buy any of the study guides until the test changes occur. Trust me- there will be new versions of Kaplan-Princeton Review- Powerscore Reading etc once the new test comes out. I also assume the publishers will just be guessing as to the new test format during the first few months. By next fall it may be worth your while to get some of the study guides. I also think the LSAC site may be the most helpful during this transition time.</p>
<p>If you are part of the class of 2008- you have no choice. Most of you will be stuck with the new test without having too much time to prepare for it. Good luck.</p>
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My gut feeling is that you need at least 3 to 4 months of pretty intense studying.
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<p>It varies from student to student. I know a student who only took the online sample test and walked out of the test with a 177. I know another student who did 20 tests for a month and also scored a 177. It goes on and on.</p>
<p>Simply put, the amount of preparation needed depends on the student. </p>
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If you are part of the class of 2008- you have no choice.
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<p>This is simply not true. I am taking the February exam, and I have a good two months more in which to prepare. I've been taking practice tests since early November.</p>
<p>OK Nspeds- I was talking in general. Though it sounds like you too are studying over a 3 month period. (Nov through Feb)
As alot of kids seem to take the June and/ or Oct. exams, it seems that a bunch of the Class of 2008 will be dealing with the new exam. Just remember, if you aren't happy with your February result, you too may have to take the NEW exam in June or later.<br>
Wishing you alot of good luck- so you just have to take the exam once.<br>
Marny</p>
<p>I read 50 pages a day mainly to keep my brain active and to avoid idleness. </p>
<p>Would Brain Teasers and logic puzzles help me?</p>
<p>For law school, what would be the best and most impressing major for law school admission officers: philosophy, psychology, english, history, sociology, or etc? All i know is that i'm minoring in math no matter what.</p>
<p>latin is not a requirement, major in whatever you are passionate about. </p>
<p>Anna Ivey, former dean of admissions at U of chicago law school says this:</p>
<p>*Question: I am a freshman in college who is interested in going to law school after college. My question is, is there a particular major that impresses law school admissions officers? Some people have told me that Political Science is the best. I am particularly interested in an English major but will choose whichever major is most appealing to law schools. Thank you! *</p>
<p>Anna's Answer: Good for you for starting to plan ahead so early! Make sure to keep an open mind, though, because you don't want to lock yourself into a particular career goal too early. It's tough trying to make career-related decisions as a freshman. You wouldn't start law school for another four years at the earliest, and who know what you'll want out of life at that time? Think back to four years ago, when you were about fourteen, and think about how much you've changed since then, your priorities, your outlook, your maturity. Your personal development proceeds at lightening speed during your high school and college years. You'll need those first couple of years in college to try out different subjects and disciplines and to think about different career paths. </p>
<p>Once you're a junior and ready to pick a major, go with your heart. That will be the best outcome for you personally, and it will be the best outcome for you in terms of law school admissions (if that's still what you want down the road) for two reasons: </p>
<p>First, while it's true that the most popular majors for law school applicants are Political Science, History, and Economics, that phenomenon just reflects the popularity of those majors among people who end up applying to law school; it does not reflect a preference on the part of law school admissions officers. You absolutely do not have to pursue one of those majors to be a successful law school applicant; if anything, you might have a harder time distinguishing yourself from the pack as a Poli Sci major.</p>
<p>do at least 5-7 questions on a practice LSAT each day -- not 5-7 random questions, but one whole game, or one reading comprehension passage, or one page of arguments. i'd think that since your goal is only to keep your brain sharp for the LSAT, it would be more helpful than just reading (which obviously won't hurt you).</p>
<p>eta: i know the above poster said you can major in whatever you want, and i thought i'd that even taking one latin class isn't a requirement for law school, just because (in america) latin is to law sort of like french is to ballet...the version of the language used is not the correct spoken form at all. the french teachers i've had would faint if the heard the way i pronounce french words in my ballet classes :)</p>
<p>Just got off my other new favorite site- lawschooldiscussion.org</p>
<p>It seems the LSAT's and SAT's were cancelled today due to the weather in portions of the mid-west. Seems test was cancelled in St. Louis and a host of other places. The "guess" is that the LSAT will be rescheduled and the kids will probably get a past "undisclosed" test. But no one knows for sure.</p>
<p>Spoke to d - all she would say is the test is what she expected. I have a feeling I'm not getting any more details than that.</p>
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Spoke to d - all she would say is the test is what she expected. I have a feeling I'm not getting any more details than that.
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<p>That is good:)</p>
<p>It should be noted that the LSAT has become harder as of 2001, when the LSAC started using ACT to make the test. The logic games are easier to do, primarily because diagrams are no longer as crucial as they were in previous games. The reading comprehension and other sections are harder in that they are significantly more abstract.</p>
<p>Well d did give me a bit of details- she said RC was not too bad. I was glad to hear that cause I have been reading on that other website that RC has been extremely hard lately.Maybe that is why they are "changing" the RC portion of the test in June. I also told her that based on todays discussion on that website, it looked like the first section was experimental (logic games??). That made her HAPPY!!.</p>