Do I Have Enough Time to Get Ready for the LSAT?
Time keeps on slipping...
Welcome to the panic room! Let’s start with a deep breath.
Those asking this question fall into a few categories, which we can broadly group as follows:
A. Test-day anxiety Annie
B. Novice Nick
C. Half-prepared Henrietta
We’ll start with Annie. She freaked out during the last LSAT. She was scoring decently on her practice tests, but lost her cool on the first logic game on test day (or perhaps the first LR section, or second RC passage, etc.). She definitely does have enough time to get ready, and here’s what she needs to do: 1 or 2 full-length LSATs per week. Time those tests like the pros (here’s a proctor), do them in various settings, and use an experimental section! Annie needs to review that LSAT deeply. (Here are some tips on how to effectively review.)
Let’s move on to Nick. Nick just began. He recently realized that his dream of opening a great Korean barbecue food truck has already been done, and furthermore, he’s allergic to kimchi – so he’s off to law school. Nick needs to start by taking a practice test. Then he should look at the GPA and LSAT calculator to see what his chances are. If he’s over 15 points below the minimum he’d need for the two “easiest” schools that interest him, he probably needs to shoot for the Feb LSAT and applying for 2012 to give himself more time to prepare. Sorry, Nick! But, depending on what score band he’s at, if he needs only 5-10 more points, that’s within reason IF he fully devotes himself to the process! This would mean he does not work (and, let’s face it, it sounds like he’s free). His schedule would look something like this:
Day 1.
8 – 12. Practice LSAT
12 – 2. Break/lunch/take a walk
3 – 6. Lessons and Practice sets
Day 2.
8 – 11. Lessons and Practice sets
11 – 1. Break/lunch/go the gym!
1 – 3 Review previous LSAT
3-4 Break
4-6 Practice sets
Day 3.
8 – 11. Lessons and Practice sets
11 – 1. Break & lunch
1 – 3 Replay tough games from previous LSAT
3-4 Break
4-6 Practice sets
Repeat!
(Nick might want a bit more structure than that – so he might want to take a look at our Self-study Courses.)
And finally, let’s talk with Henrietta. She has prepared somewhat – maybe read a book and took a few practice LSATs. She needs to take a hard look at what she’s really scoring on practice tests and what her real (and realistic) goal is. She may actually need the same regimen as Nick. But, if she has only a few weaknesses, she may be able to cut that schedule in half. However, Henrietta is actually in the most danger of not really studying enough. Nick knows he needs to dig deep to get the score he needs, Annie needs a bit of practice and confidence-building to get her groove back, but Henrietta can easily fool herself that doing a bit more of what she did before will do the trick. That may be another example of insanity – doing the same thing and expecting a different result…
If you need help getting started, look into some of our free workshops. Good luck!