I want to go to a law school?

Question

I would like to become a lawyer. What kind of classes should I take in college while getting my bachelors degree in order to get prepared for LSAT test? Thank You.

Answer 1

Unlike the answerer above, I would take a different approach and steer away from those business law, criminal justice and paralegal classes.

The LSAT is based is a type of logic IQ test. The LSAT is full of logic, reasoning and puzzles.

With the games, the key is to know which type of game they are playing. If you study enough games, you start to see similarities and that will help you in responding more quickly and with more accuracy. Second, know how to diagram the rules. Don't be a good diagrammer, but a great one. Everything should be second nature and you should be able to set up the games like lightning. Third, practice enough so that you understand time pressure and how much time it takes you to do certain things. The more you know yourself, the better you can perform.

With arguments, you have to read very carefully because they are always trying to trick you with similar wording that is incorrect. Knowing how to spot the premises and conclusion is also critical. You also have to know conditional and causal reasoning cold, because those two show up all the time on the exam.

With Reading Comprehension, you have to read fast and you have to be able to spot structure in the passage. Getting that mental "map" of the passage helps place everything and allows you to find the needed info quickly.

If you want specific classes then I would I suggest taking Philosophy classes about basic logic since they are going to be the closest to LSAT logic you will find at your university. Not only will philosophy aid you in the LSAT but it will also deveolp your creative thinking and critical writing which you certainly help you during your life at law school.

Other courses I recommend are psychology, political science, sociology and some form of ethics class. If you have very little knowledge of the legal system, then perhaps some intro courses in this area may give you a basic understanding, but it is not needed for the LSAT.

Although to actually study for the LSAT there are two ways, self-study and prep courses. I highly recommend doing them both. Either way I would highly recommend that you pick up the following books: Powerscore Logic Games Bible, Powerscore Logical Reasoning Bible and Kaplan LSAT 180.

You will also need to invest in actual practice tests, you should them from the people who create the LSAT, so I recommend picking up: 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests, 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests and The Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests.

Tutoring and prep courses are also a great way to practice. They will lay out the strategies for you, structure your prep and it is a great way to meet, talk and discuss these issues with friends who are in the same boat as you.