Your LSAT Goals

Your LSAT score is a tangible, meaningful data-point, and one which plays a big role in nearly all law school admission and scholarship decisions. Thus, your score goal should be one of your primary LSAT goals. (This chart lists the LSAT scores, GPAs, and pre-scholarship tuition costs at various US law schools.)

However, you should have LSAT goals beyond your goal score. For instance, you should aim to achieve your goal score within a certain timeframe. While some people spend a decade or more trying to reach their goal score, you should aim to reach your goal score much sooner. Your timeframe will vary based on factors such as (1) the quality of your study habits, (2) the quality of the materials and individuals from which you are learning, (3) how low your starting score is, (4) how high your goal score is, and (5) your overall life schedule and circumstances. In almost all cases, reaching your goal score should take between one month and two years. (More information about how much time it will take you to reach your goal score.)

While goal scores and timelines are very important, you may have other LSAT goals. For example, perhaps you want to enjoy the time you spend studying — after all, you will be doing a lot of it. If you do want to enjoy your study time, you must cultivate an appropriate mindset, and it also helps to choose a study approach which suits your goals.