How Should Freshmen and Sophomores in College Prepare for the LSAT?

Excel in Undergrad

Your first two years of undergrad should have one focus: your grades. Establishing a solid GPA is paramount. There are no do-overs when it comes to getting as close to a 4.0 as possible. You can’t afford to sacrifice your grades for other pursuits if you’re serious about attending a top-tier law school, so use your first two years primarily to lay academic bedrock. Leave the LSAT heavy lifting for your junior (or even senior) year, as this is typically the sweet spot to start gearing up for the exam in earnest. This is especially true if you’re looking to begin law school immediately after graduating.

That said, there’s a degree of LSAT fluency that high scorers universally achieve! Meaning there’s no harm in taking steps in that direction immediately. Part of that will naturally occur as you delve deeper into academia—your reading and reasoning skills should improve significantly by simply being in college—but there are some additional LSAT-centric moves you can also make in the short term. I suggest beginning to incorporate the following considerations into your routine.

GPA is King

Your GPA can make or break your law school application, and your early college years largely anchor it. For one, freshman and sophomore curricula often include gen ed courses that can be onerous. Work hard to secure As where your peers may stumble.

Further, keep in mind that a high GPA in a less rigorous major is generally preferable to a more prestigious course of study that you don’t do well in. Don’t let that dissuade you from pursuing a degree you’re passionate about, of course! But if you’re on the fence and one academic path is more likely to produce more favorable credentials, take it. Law school is, in every sense, a numbers game. Your grades factor in above very nearly all else. But what if you have a bad semester? Try not to, but we have advice for you if you do.

Start Thinking About LORs

While we’re still talking academics, consider letters of recommendation early. Develop relationships with your professors in your first years at university and maintain them. Law schools want to hear from faculty that have long, good-standing relationships with you. The sooner you can begin to forge those bonds the better.

In short, begin to establish a forward-looking network—a theme that will continue to feature in the advice to come.

Join a Pre-Law Group

Involve yourself with like-minded individuals by joining a pre-law group like Phi Alpha Delta! It’s hard to underestimate the value of immersing yourself in a community that has the same goals as you. You’ll experience camaraderie and a shared sense of adventure as you all set sail towards a common destination. These psychological bonds are invaluable, but the more tangible benefits deserve a mention too: membership in pre-law societies often grants you significant discounts on prep courses! For example, we’ve been working with pre-law societies like PAD for over a decade and routinely offer its members substantial price breaks on many of our products and services. Most pre-law groups also maintain a small library of LSAT books for you to use free of charge. The list goes on, so get in early and participate often.

Subscribe to LSAT Blogs and Podcasts

Start to familiarize yourself with not only the test, but also with the companies that can help you get ready for it. Subscribing to their blogs and other free services, like podcasts and webinars, builds a level of trust and comfort as you journey deeper into the industry’s ecosystems, which will help you make a more informed decision down the road when your attention turns to serious prepping.

And since you already found your way here, I strongly recommend subscribing to this blog! In addition—and at the risk of some self-promotion (which won’t be my last; sorry)—check out the Podcast that Dave Killoran and I host. We release episodes regularly and cover everything from LSAT concepts and strategies to test updates and breaking news to post-exam recaps reviewing every moment of each test administration!

Follow Industry Heavyweights

Following some of the industry’s top personas on X (née Twitter; also, ugh) will keep you abreast of LSAT news and developments. Truth is, things change in the LSAT world fairly often, and frequently without much fanfare, so the more aware you are of the ebb and flow, the clearer various decisions will be when the time comes to make them. Shameless plug for Dave Killoran and myself, here. Admittedly, Dave is without a doubt the most popular and active person around, but you’ll see me make an appearance from time to time, as well.

Other LSAT Communities

In the same vein as following X/Twitter accounts, immerse yourself in several of the many online LSAT communities. My personal favorite is our very own LSAT Forum. There you can engage with our instructors and your fellow test-takers to ask, or just browse, anything LSAT.

Another really great community is the subreddit, r/LSAT. Like our own Forum, it’s well-populated and hugely informative.

The objective in all of this is for you to establish a dynamic background, a steady thrum, to keep your goals in view and your pathway to achieving them close at hand.

Challenge Your Brain

Become, or remain, an active daily reader. I can’t stress this enough. Try to read something fairly dense and academic every day, or at least as often as possible. Articles in the Economist, Nature, the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, and more are perfect for honing the critical reading skills necessary for success on the LSAT and beyond. You’ll be more comfortable when facing challenging Reading Comprehension passages (some of which are actually drawn from those very sources). And you’ll also find the reading volume in law school feels more manageable. Here is a more comprehensive list of recommended reading.

Further, find some logic puzzle exercises that you enjoy and can try solving on a regular basis. Sudoku, games on sites like Brain Matrix and Addicting Games, even crossword puzzles…these challenge your brain to think in an ordered and analytical fashion, which is a central ability the LSAT measures. Even in the absence of Logic Games, your dexterity and comfort in the face of jumbled, disordered information will repeatedly serve you well on test day.

Start Financially Preparing

Start putting aside funds for LSAT prep and law school admissions now. It can be expensive, but if done right, it’s one of the best investments you’ll ever make! As an example, our average course improvement is about 13 points. This translates into tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars in scholarships and post-grad opportunities. You’ll want to invest in the prep option that best suits you and will produce the most profound results, without feeling overly constrained by your budget, so take steps now to make these future decisions a matter of maximum reward, not limited finances.

With this early of a start, you have a golden opportunity to successfully pre-prep. Don’t squander it! Follow the tips above and you’re well on your way to the law school of your dreams.