Here’s why winter is the best season for LSAT Prep
Winter might seem like the worst season to start your LSAT prep. It’s dark. It’s gloomy. It’s full of distractions. But it’s not the worst season to start your LSAT prep; it’s the best season.
To illustrate why winter is the best season to study for the LSAT, let me tell about my own LSAT journey. Like many students, I hit a plateau midway through my studies. Games was the hardest section for me, and I had diligently worked through Games strategy guides. My performance had gotten better, but I still found myself stumped by tricky setups and inferences. Feeling frustrated, I stopped studying for two weeks. When I returned to my studies, I seemingly magically started hitting 172+ scores on a regular basis. However, there was no magic, just rest. My break was the key to my breakthrough.
Just as athletes intersperse periods of intense workout with authentic rest, LSAT studiers must balance intellectual sprints with mental naps.
Balance is one of the hardest lessons for me to teach students. Highly conscientious students struggle to take time off. Very busy students struggle to create time for deep study. But creating a balanced study schedule is probably the most important single thing any student can do for him or herself. My students most often achieve breakthroughs after much-needed breaks and after periods of renewed diligence – whatever they weren’t doing before.
Winter is the best season to study for the LSAT because it facilitates a balanced schedule.
Some students start by studying intensely, but quickly become mentally exhausted. For these students, the winter holidays and vacations create a natural “rest” period. They study intensely, have a vacation, and then renew their studies as New Year’s resolutions roll around. Other students begin by procrastinating, and then scramble to catch up on late homework. For these students, the same holidays and vacations offer stretches of time to catch up on late work.
We have several upcoming LSAT classes that will enable this balanced schedule. Check out the offerings here, including both in-person and online courses. Many of the classes begin in December and extend through January. With midway-through sessions off, these courses offer a perfect balance of ramp-up and ramp-down. Good luck with your studies! 📝
Rina Goldfield is a Manhattan Prep LSAT and GRE instructor based in New York City. Rina started teaching art to high school students as a sophomore in art school, and hasn’t stopped since. She has taught art to people of all ages, and has worked with hundreds of aspiring graduate students with Manhattan Prep. She also currently manages the company’s instructor hiring process.