How To Jedi Mind Trick Yourself Into A Killer LSAT Score

One trick to help you crush the LSAT.

JediOn June 6th, many of your younger, careerless friends will take the LSAT. It’s too late now, you can’t convince them to stay out of law. Today, I want to give test takers advice that they can incorporate over the next couple of weeks to improve their score.

With only two weeks left until test day, there are probably no new methods that will really help you improve your score. But, I’ll let you in on a little secret: there aren’t really any specific methods for taking the LSATs. I, like other LSAT tutors, have come up with some cool hacks (many of which I plan to share over the summer for those taking the September exam), but those hacks were designed to help me, Zach Abramowitz, succeed on the LSAT. Not everyone thinks like me or takes tests like I do. And here’s another secret for you: tricks or good test taking methods have very little to do with why I, or anyone else, did well on the LSAT.

Do you know why I did well on the LSAT? Because, at some point, I decided I was good at taking the LSAT. People had told me that I would do well on the LSAT (maybe because we got into a debate or something, I don’t really know), I had parents who told me I was going to be a lawyer and — and I know this will sound strange — I was a good Talmud student. I know how strange that sounds to many of you, but I am telling you this because it can help you. I had heard stories about yeshiva students who excelled at Talmud study and found that this made them strong LSAT takers right off the bat. Think I’m crazy? Ask any of the Orthodox Jews at your firm (if you’re in NYC, I’m sure there are plenty), and they will share with you stories (Hasidic lore even) about excellent Talmud students who never even attended college and got into Harvard or Yale on LSAT scores alone. Before I ever looked at an LSAT review book, I had decided that since I was good at Talmud, I would be good at the LSAT, like those Talmudic geniuses.

Don’t worry, you don’t need the Talmud. There are many things that would make someone good at taking the LSAT. Choose the one that is relevant to you and decide that, because you’re good at that, you will be good at the LSAT.

The key to doing well on the LSAT is mentally convincing yourself that you are a good LSAT taker. That is how I scored in the 99th percentile, and you can too. Of course, it helps if you read English well (a highly important and underrated LSAT skill), can dissect arguments, have practiced for hours and are getting good scores. All of those things help convince your brain that you are a good LSAT taker. But, none of those are necessary per se. What you must do is decide that you are good at taking the LSATs. I have met people who are much smarter than me but couldn’t crack a 161 on the LSAT. When I spoke to them to diagnose their issues, I realized that none of them really believed that they could score high in the high 160’s or low 170’s. On the other hand, I used to tutor folks who were not all that bright but had simply convinced themselves they were going to crush it.

And they did.

Half of you who read are going to conclude that this is a bunch of hocus pocus. That’s okay, this advice is not for you, and I wouldn’t expect you to get it. But, for the rest of you who believe in Jedi mind tricks, here’s my advice: over the next two weeks, whether you decide you need to tweak your methods, practice more or simply stare in the mirror and repeat “I am going to get a 170” fifteen times, just remember that all of these are simple means to accomplishing the ultimate goal: convince yourself are a good LSAT taker.

Sponsored

Did you want to give your friends LSAT advice but weren’t sure how? Sharing this post with them would be a good start! Are you taking the LSAT on June 6? Send me an email when you get your score back letting me know that you crushed it.


Zach Abramowitz is a former Biglaw associate and currently CEO and co-founder of ReplyAll. You can follow Zach on Twitter (@zachabramowitz) or reach him by email at zach@replyall.me.

Sponsored