This isn’t really a “How to Get Into Law School” Site, there are certainly plenty of those out there.
My LSAT pointers are fairly simple:
1) Study early, study often. I knew when I was renewing for my third year of JET that, after my third year, I wanted to go to law school. On the same day I renewed for my third year, I purchased and LSAT study book on Amazon, got onto LSAC – and figured out the registration deadlines and dates for the June LSAT.
2) Negotiate the time off with your boss so you can take the test – keep an eye on your available nenkyuu.
3) There is currently one LSAT location in Japan. I was under the impression when I started this post that there were two: one in Okinawa and one in Tokyo (Kawasaki-shi). According to LSAC, the current testing location for Japan is at Temple University’s Tokyo Campus.
4) Depending on the amount of nenkyuu you have, I’d suggest getting to Tokyo at least one day early for the test, if not two, and making sure you give yourself time to go through a practice test while there, before you head in to take the real deal.
5) Take the LSAT seriously. It’s going to determine both the schools that are open to you, as well as the potential amount of scholarship money you’ll be eligible for. At the end of the day, it is just a test – but it’s a serious test, with serious implications. My first LSAT was during my senior year of undergrad. I studied poorly, I didn’t sleep well the night before, and I didn’t perform to my expectations. I took the LSAT again, three years later, while on JET. I studied hard, made a real effort to understand the problems, the test taking strategy, and to think out my plans for getting down to Tokyo/getting to the test site well ahead of time. My LSAT score actually went up by 10 points.
As an aside, outfits like Kaplan do offer LSAT classes in Japan, but if you were in uber-Inaka Tohoku like I was, chances are these courses will be nothing more than an impractical tease.
There are plenty of potential law students willing to offer LSAT advice, though, and just a cursory Google search should produce all the guidance you’ve ever wanted to hear about taking the LSAT, whether from law school forums or from self-proclaimed LSAT gurus offering pointers over YouTube.
Here’s just a taste:
JurisJapan 