Today’s LSAT advice comes from our friends at Blueprint LSAT Prep. Blueprint offers live LSAT prep classes throughout the country and online LSAT courses for those who want to study on their couch.
If You’re Not a Morning Person, the June LSAT is the LSAT for You
The June LSAT is a bit of an oddball compared to the other three LSAT administrations of the year. The September/October, December and February LSATs are each on a Saturday morning, whereas the June LSAT is on a Monday afternoon. All in all, that’s great. You get to sleep in. No need to wake up at the crack of dawn on the weekend only to spend your morning in an LSAT test center. Instead, you can enjoy your weekend (as much as you can enjoy a weekend before an impending LSAT), have a leisurely morning, and then head over to the LSAT test center.
What some LSAT test-takers don’t realize is that since the June LSAT is given in the afternoon, you should prepare in the afternoon. Take at least a couple practice tests at the same time as you’ll take the June LSAT. The post-lunch food coma is one potential pitfall, so figure out a routine that works for you. That routine probably shouldn’t involve the all-you-can-eat buffet nearest your LSAT test center.
If you take the June LSAT, you’re in good company: average scores on the June and October LSATs are higher than on the other two. Don’t worry; you’re not directly competing against your fellow test-takers. LSAT scores aren’t curved against your peers on test day; instead, they’re pre-equated using the experimental sections on previous LSAT administrations. So there’s nothing to worry about here, but there isn’t any advantage either.
The June LSAT tends to have a slightly less forgiving curve than the October and December LSATs. You can generally miss fewer questions in June to get a given score. But I don’t think that’s anything to worry about. First of all, the difference is small. And since the LSAT is equated in advance to produce consistent results, that slightly less forgiving score conversion table should, at least in theory, mean that the questions are just a hair easier in June. Also, this is just a trend based on past administrations, so there’s no guarantee that it will continue to hold.
The biggest advantage of the June LSAT is that you’ll have the LSAT out of the way well before admissions season starts. You’ll have all summer to work on your law school applications, score in hand, and you’ll be able to apply as early as you want. If the June LSAT doesn’t go the way you hope, you’ll get a second chance in October and you’ll still be able to apply on the early side.
But remember: you will have to wake up early.
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