Slaying the LSAT

Photos and story by Doyle Moeller

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Kaplan has textbooks on-hand for students who decided
to register the day of the practice exam. The textbooks
are included in the price of tuition, and practice exam
participants earned a discount if they registered on the same day.

Post-graduate testing: some of us see it as the last threshold to cross before entering our “real lives,” some see it as their own personal Goliath. 

Luckily, there’s help! While the university has its own advising center that can help pre-law and pre-med students prepare for graduate school, truly effective prep must be sought outside of the university. Enter Kaplan, and the reason that I find myself sitting in a classroom on a beautiful Saturday.

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

LSAT proctor Brent Wisner, in addition to being a federal
judge's clerk, is a teacher at Kaplan. His ability to both
deconstruct difficult questions and clearly explain his
technique for doing so implies that he is well
qualified for both positions.

According to organizer Vivian Hignite, Twice a year, once in February and once in either September or October, Kaplan hosts a free set of practice tests in the Shidler College of Business’s facility on the northwest corner of the campus, at the intersection of East-West Rd. and University Ave. They offer a wide variety of tests (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, DET, OAT, PCAT), with a paid prep program that goes with them, should you decide to enroll. Kaplan provides test-takers with free same-day grading, along with suggestions for improvement.

I was present for the LSAT, and can say without doubt or reservation, their proctors are very qualified. My proctor, Brent Wilson, took the LSAT in St. Louis, and while he declined to give a figure, said he was scored in the “ninety-ninth percentile”. His LD from Georgetown Law School is evidence enough to the truth of that statement, as was his clear understanding of the test itself. Of course in order to take this free test, one must sit through Kaplan’s sales pitch, but for what you get out if it, I’m willing to say it’s a fair trade.

Before the test was handed out, Wilson gave out what he called his “pseudo-inspirational speech”. He drew a horizontal line on the board and proclaimed, “This is the LSAT, it’s a level playing field.” He spoke for a few moments on how the LSAT has nothing to do with where you’re from, who you know, or even what you know. The entire point of the test is that it’s “merit-based.”

doyle moeller / KA LAMAKUA

Organizer Vivian Hignite was present for Saturday's event,
helping students register, guiding them to their testing rooms, and
generally trying to make the entire process as wrinkle-free as possible.

Of course the first thing Wilson did after that was to destroy his model of the system. He proceeded to congratulate us, because, according to him, just by attending a practice test, we’ve gotten a leg up.

That is, we’ve already subverted the idea of the test being a level playing field.

My fellow test-takers and I were introduced to the idea that the profession that we were pursuing was one of conflict. That from here until retirement or death, we would fight for anything and everything. Law school, graduation, even our actual work, all comes out of the idea that though conflict, we excel.

"If you're going into a fight, [you] have to prepare if you expect to win," Wilson told us.

The test went on, and many a nail was bitten. As of this writing I have not yet received my results. As my fellows and I wait with great anticipation, we can smell the beast Goliath’s breath all around us, we can see the finish line, the threshold into our “real lives.”

And we’re hungry for it.