FAQ

    • Teaching Assistant for Intro Psych, Intermediate Microeconomics and Abnormal Psych in undergrad.

    • ACT/SAT/LSAT tutor for Kaplan during my gap year before law school.

    • Restarted tutoring the LSAT in August 2022.

    • Began regularly teaching group classes in March 2023.

    • Panelist for weekly webinars since May 2024.

  • Community.

  • First, think about aggregate hours. I recommend students put in 150 hours of study before they take the test. If you're working full-time or a parent, you'll need a longer runway.

    Second, be realistic about how much you'll actually study per week. Overloading yourself, then beating yourself up for falling short of your own unreasonable expectations, is not a strategy for success.

    Finally, many people decide to retake the LSAT. If you want to submit your application as soon as the window opens, you should build in two months for a potential retake.
    E.g. June/August or July/October.

  • Yes! But it’s also a learnable exam. The LSAT is not a memorization or IQ test. It’s a test of skills, all of which are learnable and master-able (if you’re willing to put in the time).

  • Glib Answer: depends on the quality of the tutor.

    Marketing Answer: there is a common rule of thumb in admissions counseling that, all other things equal, every LSAT point is worth about $10,000 in merit-based financial aid. The LSAT is the most heavily weighted component of your admissions package.

    Thoughtful Answer: Why do you need a tutor? Can you get that from a test prep curriculum’s classroom package? Are you stuck and need an expert?

  • Extremely. The LSAT is graded on a curve, so getting a 180 means you scored higher than 99.99% of test-takers.

  • Short answer: mental health breakdown during COVID

    Long Answer: I loved the intellectual stimulation of being a litigator, but hated where I worked and who I worked for. Money wasn’t enough to compensate for that.

  • I strongly recommend LSATLab. They're the most innovative and have the deepest analytics. Also has a really snazzy tutor interface that lets me view student analytics and drop practice sets into their accounts.

    Everything else is a matter of taste and learning style. I like the Loophole, but don’t use much of her terminology.

  • Rollerskating!!! I love rollerskating. It's both a mindfulness and exercise activity, and a social one since I often skate with friends!

  • Yes. I’ve taken four bar exams and ultimately they’re mainly memorization tests. The LSAT is a skills test, and therefore, is more difficult.

  • Definitely a question journal. All the SAT/ACT research indicates it's a very effective learning method.

    Differentiate between studying to learn and studying for mastery. I offer and encourage students to engage in learning exercises that are not meant for actual test-day strategy. You can’t paint the Sistine Chapel without building the scaffolding first.

    Study with other people. A tutor is fantastic (preferably me), but study groups are really powerful and very under-utilized.

  • A 179, same as me!!

Mika MacDonald

AI says: Person with glasses, wearing earrings and a beige sweater, smiling slightly.
  • I took the LSAT twice, first scoring a 172 in June 2011 (PT 63) and then a 179 in October 2011 (PT64).

  • I had a 3.25 undergraduate GPA (I partied a lot), but I was determined to go to UChicago. I applied early decision and was waitlisted. After four letters of continued interest, I was admitted in May.

  • I clerked for the (ret.) Honorable Christopher S. Sontchi of the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

  • I returned to teaching in August 2022.

  • This is what I do professionally, full-time.

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