For graduate student Lissa Oshei, studying for the LSAT was not something she took lightly.
Oshei, originally from Buffalo, N.Y., said she earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Puget Sound in Washington before coming to MSU and took an eight-week prep course to prepare for the exam.
She said she received an OK score on the LSAT and decided to attend MSU College of Law after the school extended her a scholarship offer.
To help students prepare for the LSAT, Kyle Clifton, vice chair for Finance and Operations at ASMSU, said ASMSU offers assessments and practice exams, as well as weekly in-class preparation.
“Last fall and spring semester, over 70 students took advantage of our test prep courses,” he said. “Which is pretty impressive, considering this is the first year ASMSU offered this service.”
Clifton said the courses cost nothing to the university and are offered to the students at a discounted price of $310.
Kaplan has helped students get into law school for 40 years, and Jeff Thomas, Kaplan Test Prep’s director of prelaw programs, said the LSAT is a completely different kind of test.
“It’s an entirely skill-based test,” he said. “It’s like learning to play an instrument.”
Thomas said the LSAT is not a test where you can memorize information and use it to help you answer fact-based questions, but is a series of logical questions that can be mastered with lots of practice.
“There are many ways to go at questions, but there is only one way to do it best,” he said.
Thomas said the hardest part of the test is the four-hour time limit, so it is important to first study the information without a timer.
He said the next step should be to take the test with a timer, then break down what type of questions are difficult and focus study time on that type of question.
“The biggest mistake is to just practice,” he said. “They could see immediate gains, but then they flatten out.”
As far as getting into law school, the LSAT plays a major role in the application process.
MSU College of Law Director of Admissions Wayne Hutchison said there is no numerical formula to the LSAT, and it’s part of the overall package the admissions department looks at.
He said that the MSU College of Law looks at the LSAT scores, transcripts, grade-point average and letters of recommendation.
“The LSAT is by no means a deal breaker at MSU Law.” Hutchison said.
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