AbrasiveFadedMammoth '25–'26 app cycle

Here’s a summary of how I scored a 179 on the LSAT:

• The only service I paid for is Lawhub Advantage to access official LSAT practice tests. This is basically mandatory in my view. Other than that, I only used free resources.
• For LSAT strategy/mindset, I primarily learned from LSAT Demon/the Thinking LSAT podcast, and Hey Future Lawyer/the LSAT Simplified podcast. I used only their free resources. The mindset you should aim to have for each and every question is to understand the argument and question. Ask yourself: What is the passage saying? What is the question asking? What is each answer option saying and why is it correct or incorrect?
• My general practice strategy was to do untimed practice questions, spending as much time as needed to get as many correct as possible. Don’t move on until you feel confident in your answer, or at least have solid reasoning behind it (after considering it for a long time). Over time, you will get faster and be able to complete sections within the time limit, but accuracy needs to be learned first. I occasionally did timed sections and even more occasionally, timed full tests, to practice timing and build mental endurance. Doing timed practice early on limited my improvement, but I started making the big gains in score and accuracy when I slowed down and focused on accuracy first.
• That being said, you do eventually need to start doing timed practice sections once you get solid accuracy. It will be timed on test day, so you need to practice like you play. The key to timed practice though is to ignore the clock. It sounds counterintuitive, but doing timed practice while ignoring the clock will help prepare you for dealing with the time pressure on the actual test while still focusing on accuracy first.
• I generally did 1 practice section a day, then immediately reviewed the whole section. My review consisted of going through the whole section and mentally confirming my thought process for ones I knew I got correct and trying to figure out the ones I got wrong or were shaky on. I did not find blind reviewing or keeping a review journal helpful/necessary. I looked up explanations for any questions I could not figure out why I got wrong. Total practice time was about 1 hour every weekday, more or less, over the course of several months. I think consistent, non-stressful practice is the key to learning and improving.
• Only sign up for the real test once you can consistently score in your target score range. I signed up for my first test before being ready and I underperformed.
• My official test strategy was to treat it like a practice session. Stay calm, don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself, and once you finish a section, mentally move on.
• Be prepared to take the test multiple times. I took the real test 3 times, because I knew I could score better each time. My scores were 169 > 172 > 179. It was expensive but hopefully the scholarships will pay me back.

Feel free to DM me with questions. I’ll probably be active on LSD until the end of 2025. Good luck!