When to start preparing for LNAT

Thank you for taking the time to write this!
Sounds like really useful advice when did u start revising for it?

I was really nervous about it so I started revising by the end of Y10 haha. To be honest, the LNAT is a difficult thing and you should really be listening to what your brain is telling you since none of us here could probably accurately tell you anything that could help you. I also posted on forums and asked around before I did it, but in the end, just doing the practices and then self-reflecting on how much I need to improve was probably the most productive part of my prep haha. I also found that as I studied my subjects more (which were all essay-based), I naturally got better at my LNAT. I suspect in retrospect that I probably could've started my prep only about 6 months before the test, but I'm glad I started mine early since I'm a very anxious person.

I did pick up the book Letters to a Law Student, which had a surprising amount of insight into how to do the test. Again, not all of his tips ended up working for me, but it might be useful to you

I was really nervous about it so I started revising by the end of Y10 haha. To be honest, the LNAT is a difficult thing and you should really be listening to what your brain is telling you since none of us here could probably accurately tell you anything that could help you. I also posted on forums and asked around before I did it, but in the end, just doing the practices and then self-reflecting on how much I need to improve was probably the most productive part of my prep haha. I also found that as I studied my subjects more (which were all essay-based), I naturally got better at my LNAT. I suspect in retrospect that I probably could've started my prep only about 6 months before the test, but I'm glad I started mine early since I'm a very anxious person.

I did pick up the book Letters to a Law Student, which had a surprising amount of insight into how to do the test. Again, not all of his tips ended up working for me, but it might be useful to you

By the end of Year 10?!

I’ve heard of preparing in advance but that’s something else 😂

End up getting 42 I hope?

When should you start revising for this if you’re aiming for the highest possible mark? (I want at least 30)

I was only gonna start revising for it after my end of year internal exams this year (I’m in year 12/L6th form)

I was wondering cause some of my friends who are gonna apply for medicine are already preparing for BMAT or UKCAT (can’t remember which one)

Obviously medicine is different to law but still

—-
(Btw I don’t think I will apply to oxbridge)

I did it in October and got 29, although I got higher when I practiced, which was a good enough score for Oxford and Durham. I started revising after my year 12 summer exams, for about an hour or so every other day, probs less. I know it’s a test your not meant to revise for and in an ideal world that would be so, but with only two practice tests online it’s very difficult. I bought the UniAdmissions course, which is effectively an online book, but it was very useful. For the essay I gave my history teachers some to read to comment on technique, which is worth doing anyway as it improves your essays in general.

Thank uu I’ll start revising maybe in may then ❤️

For the first question, the earlier the better if you're aiming for such a high mark. Whenever you can, start. Dedicate some time during the day and make sure to practice regularly to hone the 'skills' needed to improve.

Also, my advice from experience: Arbitio should become your best friend. Trust me, it's so so so helpful. It makes you become overly careful and meticulous and just the improvement trajectory you go through is insane if you use it regularly. I studied last minute, and kept on practicing with the books and Arbitio and if i could go back in time within that limited time frame I would have just mostly focused on Arbitio and then move on to the books. Or, if I had time maybe just start with the books in the beginning to familiarise myself with the LNAT questions and then mostly focus on Arbitio.

I also liked Mark Shepherd's books and especially the essay tips. The past papers on the LNAT official website are much easier than the actual thing, btw. I was getting quite high MCQ scores in the past papers, which is not at all an accurate reflection of how I did on the actual thing and how difficult it actually was (yes I timed myself). Maybe it is because exam conditions might have made things seem harder to be fair, but I'm honestly 99% sure the questions were much harder in the real thing.

I'd say Arbitio (in my experience) is the closest to the real thing, but just a tad bit more difficult. If you're starting early honestly that's the best decision you could ever make because, although some might disagree with me, while it is an aptitude test you really can prepare for it and the earlier and more frequently you practice the better. I had so much anxiety during the test and guessed so many questions but I still did what I deem relatively good becauseI practiced regularly, which was almost like working out different muscles' strengths: reading fast, knowing where the tricks are and being pedantic by nature when reading the questions and answering. So, basically, practice, practice, and practice. Good luck!

* Sorry if I am not so coherent in this post, it is 3:47 am and idk what I'm doing with my life tbh xD

It does depend from person to person and you’ll likely improve the more you do but I wouldn’t overdo it as a lot of the resources aren’t that like the real thing.

Timing is something you really need to work on - I’m sure you’ll be fine.

It is one of those tests though that I wouldn’t say I “want 30 as a minimum” as it is incredibly difficult and not like a test you would have done before, especially when you consider the average in recent years has been around 19.

If you get around 25/26 that’s a very good score as it is so don’t put too much pressure on yourself

Ugh timing 😭

I’ll keep that in mind it’s just bc my top choice will be Durham which I’ve heard I’ll need a high score of 29 at the least 🤧

The LNAT is a weird one with how it’s used - especially with Durham this year.

There is no official cut off but this year some people have been rejected with scores of 29/30, which is extremely high, while some have been accepted with scores of around 18/19.

We have no idea how much weight is put on it but to say you need 29 at least is not true at all as I doubt many of the people this year that got accepted got 29, probably about 10%

You definitely can't revise for the LNAT, it is literally just a selection of multiple choice questions aimed at testing your ability to process information/understand it. I didn't revise and was able to get an Oxford interview and offers from Kings College and Bristol.

I'd be sure to perform well in the essay writing task if possible- make sure that you make a concise and persuasive argument. Make sure that you don't waste time getting bogged down writing down irrelevant information, they will be looking to see that you can draw together a solid, logical argument with sound reasoning- as this will translate best to a law degree. Ensure that you are not repeating yourself, use advanced vocabulary where possible. At the end of the day, the offers will come down to your A-Level grades and personal statement, the LNAT is certainly not the end of the world and it is certainly possible to perform well (even without preparation).

In terms of questions, if I remember correctly I was given a selection of essays- I feel like the one I chose was about advertising and its effectiveness in some way? That's unfortunately all I can remember. Besides that, it will just be questions which require you to think as logically as possible- just take the time and think carefully about the questions and you'll be great.

Best of luck :-)

PS. I think I got around 28/29 (maybe) and got an Oxford interview so don't panic. It really depends on how other people do this year, if everyone really struggles then they'd clearly take you with a lower grade. At the end of the day, they will just take the students with the best scores so please don't worry about what you'd need to score in too much detail!

That’s so dodgy! where did u find out this info?

There’s no official info but people applying this year have said they’ve been rejected with 29, while someone yesterday said they got accepted with 16, which was way below average this year.

So a high score on an LNAT doesn’t necessarily guarantee a place, while similarly a low score doesn’t rule you out either.

Try not to stress out about it too much as you’re probably putting too much weight on it and you definitely don’t need to get 30 or higher to get a place haha

Okay
That’s reassuring (if I underperform) but frustrating if I do really well😂😭
Anyway I’ll apply to a mix of unis..so ik Bristol puts a set weighting on the lnat so maybe I’ll apply there as well as Durham, which is a little unclear in the weightings