I believe that most students can improve on the LSAT, for two reasons. First, I’ve seen it done. Second, I suspect that the brain actually grows when it is repeatedly exercised. Recent research supports this idea.
Researchers at Berkeley studied a group of students who are preparing for the LSAT. They imaged their brains before and after a three-month BluePrint course, and compared those results to a control group of similar students who weren’t preparing for the LSAT. They found that the LSAT students had measurably more “white matter” (the axons that connect the “gray matter” of the neurons). Here’s a popular write-up and here’s the published research.
I work on the assumption that repeated stimulation of neurons changes them in some way. The neural network experts assure me that the receiving end of a neuron (the “dendrite”) changes with use, and the Berkeley research shows that there is some change to the sending end (the “axon”) as well. I assume that thinking hard, long, and often about any topic will increase the number of possible connections between nerve cells, resulting in long-term change to the brain itself.
To boil this down to a bumper sticker, you are what you think. Think a lot about any given topic, and you’ll wind up thinking more about it. That’s bad news if the topic is lust, rage, greed, or fear. It’s good news if you want to go to law school and you’re thinking about logical reasoning!