Preparing for the LSAT

There are many ways to prepare for the LSAT, and the key to success is finding the method that works best for you. There is no one method that works for everyone, and sometimes a combination of different methods may work best. It is essential that you choose a method (or methods) that matches your learning style, as that is likely where you will find the most success.

JUMP TO: TIMELINE | FREE LSAT PREPARATION RESOURCES | THE LSAC FEE WAIVER | LOW-COST LSAT PREPARATION RESOURCES | OTHER LSAT PREPARATION RESOURCES

Timeline 

The amount of time you will need to dedicate to preparing for the LSAT will differ depending on your learning style, how far away you are from your goal score at the beginning of your preparation process, and your own personal schedule. It is advisable to allow at least 3 to 6 months to prepare for the LSAT. The Office of Pre-Law Advising recommends that you prepare for the LSAT between January and August of the calendar year during which you intend to apply to law school. However, you want to begin preparing for the LSAT first and then select your test date based on your level of preparation. You do not want to approach this process in the opposite order (selecting your test date first and then preparing for a specific test date). If you underestimate the amount of time that it may take for you to sufficiently prepare for a particular test date, then you could end up in a situation in which you are taking the LSAT multiple times. You should aim to only take the LSAT once! A strong score in isolation will make your application stand out much more than a strong score on the second or third try.

If you plan to apply to law school during your senior year at Duke, it's essential to start your LSAT preparation no later than the spring semester of your junior year. Your aim should be to take the LSAT between January and August of your junior year.

Free LSAT Preparation Resources

The Office of Pre-Law Advising recommends that all students begin their LSAT preparation with the free Official LSAT Prep® offered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) through LawHub. A free LawHub account currently gets you access to 4 official LSAT PrepTests.

It is highly recommended that you begin your preparation with a full-length diagnostic test. This gives you a baseline as to where you are before you begin to study and will help you get a sense of how much (or little) time you need to dedicate to studying to reach your goal score. Your goal score should be the LSAT medians at the schools to which you would like to apply.

One of the best features of LSAC’s Official LSAT Prep® through LawHub is that it gives you access to the authentic LSAT test interface. It is absolutely essential to practice using the actual test interface before test day. When doing full-length practice tests throughout your preparation process, you absolutely want to use LawHub to practice using the actual test interface vs. on paper or via some other electronic medium.

The LSAC Fee Waiver

LSAC offers fee waivers to eligible applicants for their programs and services to save them tremendous money on the law school application process, including LSAT prep. Therefore, before you spend any money on LSAT prep, you want to find out if you qualify for their fee waiver. It is important to know that, if you are approved after paying for LSAT prep, LSAC will not reimburse you. So, you must secure approval in advance.

LSAC’s fee waivers include a one-year subscription to LawHub Advantage, which provides access to 70+ Official LSAT PrepTests. Many test prep providers require their students to purchase LawHub Advantage because they integrate it into their courses. Fee waiver recipients do not have to worry about that additional test prep cost. Some test prep providers will also offer discounted or free courses to students who have qualified for an LSAC fee waiver. Although LSAC does not cover these costs directly, this is one of the indirect benefits of receiving an LSAC fee waiver. Such providers are indicated on the list here. If you have already received a fee waiver, you will need to contact the test prep companies directly about this.

Low-Cost LSAT Preparation Resources

After exploring the above free resources, if you feel that you still need additional help, there are low-cost options that you can add to your preparation.

If you do not qualify for an LSAC fee waiver, one option is to purchase LawHub Advantage. LawHub Advantage will give you access to the same resources as a free LawHub account plus 70+ full Official LSAT PrepTests for $115 for one year. You can find more information about LawHub Advantage as well as a useful chart comparing the features of a free LawHub account and LawHub Advantage here.

Another option is to buy individual books that will teach you LSAT strategy, provide you with practice tests and solutions, and/or focus on success on a specific section of the LSAT. LSAC has two series of LSAT preparation books and eBooks available for purchase: PrepTest and SuperPrep. The PrepTest books contain either one complete, previously administered LSAT or a compilation of 10 previously administered LSATs with answer keys and score-conversion tables so that you can compute your score. The SuperPrep books contain three previously administered LSATs with explanations for every question on all three tests, which is a considerable advantage over the PrepTests. You should be aware that the books currently available for purchase will use the former structure of the LSAT; that is, they will include an Analytical Reasoning section.  Volumes 2 and 3 of a new LSAT PrepTest book called TriplePrep contains PrepTest using the new structure of the LSAT (i.e., only Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. You can find a list of the books and eBooks published by LSAC here.

As a general rule, you should look for resources that provide full explanations of the questions (for both right AND wrong answer choices). LSAC’s SuperPrep book series includes these, but their PrepTest book series does not. If you are going to use the SuperPrep series, you may want to incorporate it earlier in your preparation process. However, once you reach a point in your preparation at which you feel that you fully understand the sections and question types and don’t need every answer choice explained to you, the PrepTest books will be helpful.

As a general rule, you should look for resources that provide full explanations of the questions (for both right AND wrong answers).

Some test prep providers publish their own PrepTest books that will include detailed explanations for the PrepTests published by LSAC, so you can use these to supplement the PrepTest books. You will find books published by test prep providers about overall LSAT strategy or strategy on a specific section of the test. If you choose to use books published by a test prep provider, you want to make sure that you are preparing using official content from LSAC. LSAC only provides official content to its licenses. You can find a list of all of the LSAT prep providers licensed by LSAC here. If a provider is on this list, you can feel comfortable using their materials. If not, it is advisable that you not engage with them.

Other LSAT Preparation Resources

There are a large number of test prep providers today that offer some form of LSAT preparation. It should come as no surprise that this is the most expensive LSAT preparation option and can cost thousands of dollars. Remember that many of these providers that are licensed by LSAC offer fee waivers for free or reduced-cost courses to test takers who have received an LSAC fee waiver.

Since student needs vary greatly, the Office of Pre-Law Advising doesn’t recommend any particular test prep companies. However, here are a few tips to consider when selecting one:

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In order to evaluate whether a particular provider presents the information in a way that matches your learning style, some test prep providers provide free preview online courses led by one of their instructors. Check out their websites for more information.

Some test prep providers offer programs that guarantee a certain score increase or a minimum test score. You want to make sure that you understand all of the fine print associated with those guarantees before committing to those types of programs and that you are able to follow their program exactly as directed so that you don’t forfeit your opportunity to request a refund if you don’t achieve their guaranteed minimum score or score increase.