Perfect LSAT alum returns to teach crash course

Home Alumni Perfect LSAT alum returns to teach crash course
Perfect LSAT alum returns to teach crash course
(Josiah Kollmeyer/Courtesy)
(Josiah Kollmeyer/Courtesy)

Fifty hopeful lawyers-to-be are gathering this week to prepare for the first hurdle of their legal careers: the Law School Admissions Test.

Josiah Kollmeyer ’14, a third-year Harvard Law School student who earned a perfect 180 on the LSAT, is sharing his expertise to the next class of lawyers by teaching a three-day crash course Wednesday to Friday.

“I was blessed to do very well on the LSAT and would like to help other Hillsdalians conquer the test, as well,” Kollmeyer said.

Kollmeyer contacted Hillsdale College Professor of Religion and Philosophy Nathan Schlueter at the end of the summer, asking if Hillsdale students needed help with LSAT preparation. After working with the career services office and the provost’s office, Schlueter said he received the go-ahead to bring Kollmeyer to campus for a three-day instruction on the LSAT.

Kollmeyer will focus on specific strategies for tackling all three sections of the LSAT: logical reasoning, analytical reasoning, and reading comprehension.

“Next to getting a solid liberal arts education, LSAT prep is the most important thing you can do to prepare for law school,” Schlueter said. “We have been trying to figure out how to provide this to our students.”

Unlike other LSAT preparation seminars costing upward of $1,000, students can take this seminar free of charge, aside from the cost of study materials, Schlueter said.

Kollmeyer said he has found that the LSAT is a learnable test, which means that preparation can significantly improve scores. Therefore, he said he plans to focus on teaching exam strategies, including time management and the best methods for approaching each type of question.

“LSAT questions fall into predictable categories, the approaches to which can be mastered,” Kollmeyer said. “Armed with this knowledge, students will be able to make the best use of their preparation time.”

Junior Tara Ung said she decided to take the course because she plans to take the LSAT sometime next year and wasn’t sure how to start studying.

“I don’t really know what to expect,” Ung said. “I am definitely excited for the opportunity to pick the brain of someone who has done well on this exam and who probably has a different perspective on law school.”

This preparation, Kollmeyer said, will hopefully help more Hillsdale students fulfill their dream.

“We need more defenders of goodness, truth, and beauty in top-tier law schools,” he said.