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"I plan to do every single LSAT PrepTest"

Back when I was studying for the LSAT, I truly became obsessed with beating the test. I studied every LSAT book I could find and did every LSAT question ever released.

I was looking for patterns, the hidden connections that would suddenly make everything *CLICK.*

Kinda like the guy from A Beautiful Mind.

When I think about how awful the whole experience was, I know I would've gone about it MUCH differently if I could do it all over again.

And I DON'T mean trying to do as many practice tests as possible in a week.

But, when I got this email from LSAT Blog reader Diane, I saw a lot of myself in her:

I plan to follow your suggestion and do every single prep test. (I have privilege to study for LSAT full time- no job, no school, and I hope to use this chance to maximize my LSAT score, as it's my last option to compensate for my poor gpa standing.)

Anyways, in case like this- I am curious, how many hours should students like myself (English as second language, who doesn't have genius IQ- needs to put extra effort in studying to catch up with other competitive students, who is not a fast learner but hard worker) put into LSAT studying per day to achieve LSAT score 169-170?

I've been researching and found this forum where I saw students who only put like 3 month while attending school/working full time achieving over 170 even with completing only 30-35 prep tests. Are these students extreme cases? Or is LSAT that unchallenging.

*** MY RESPONSE ***

When you're thinking about my story, you've gotta remember that I only did every exam because:

A. There were fewer exams back then.

B. I was friggin' insane!!!

Maybe you're insane, too. I don't know.

But, still-

Dozens of exams have been released since then!

I don't suggest you do every single exam - that's just what I did....
when I went about things the WRONG way!

You don't even need to complete the majority of released LSAT exams in order to prep. Using just the most recent couple dozen gives you more than enough practice material.

As for how much to study...what is *enough*...

Doing 30-35 exams in 3 months sounds like it could be trying to do too much work in too short a time period, especially if they have other obligations. This leads to burnout. That's exactly what my LSAT study plans are meant to help you avoid.

Re: how much work YOU need to do per week, given that English is your second language, and you can study full-time, I'll tell you what I tell everybody:

It's impossible to say - everyone is different and I haven't worked with you personally. Do what you feel is necessary, but don't burn yourself out.

But if it were me....I'd make the LSAT my only focus.

As you know, it matters much more than any other factor in admissions. (And it usually takes more than 3 months to reach your fullest potential, whether you're studying full-time or not.)

You're lucky that you can study full-time because it means:

*** you can reduce odds of burnout by getting enough sleep, exercise, and relaxation ***

This is HUGE. Put in all the time you can - there's no magic number.

If I could do it over again while studying LSAT full-time, here's what I'd do now:

(This also works for anyone using my day-by-day study plans.)

*** Steve's Ideal (and Kinda Boring) Daily LSAT Routine ***

Wake up 6AM

Meditate

Drink coffee/tea

Workout

Breakfast

Study for a few hours

Lunch

Study for a few hours

Take care of errands, go for a walk

Dinner

See friends / relax

In bed by 10-11PM

******************************************

Not the most exciting - reminds me of warriors in the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta (well if you replace studying with training for battle)...

But it shows you can get studying done while still doing other stuff.

This does NOT involve going to the library for 12+ hours/day and doing nothing else for 3 months.

You can work out, exercise, see friends, relax, and get enough sleep, and still study 5-6 hours each day. (More than that isn't effective anyway.)

Yes, the LSAT is challenging (obviously).

It's just that 5-6 hours/day and 30-35 PrepTests is ENOUGH.

Question is:

What do you DO with those 5-6 hours and 30+ PrepTests?
Take test after test measuring your results?

Or review in detail, analyzing where you went wrong, and what to do differently next time?

Those of you using my LSAT prep materials already know the answer :)

And for those of you NOT lucky enough to study for the LSAT full-time, check out my article on:

How to Balance LSAT Prep with Work and School ---->

Very truly yours,

Spartan Steve

P.S. Reach out and let me know what your biggest LSAT problem is right now. (If enough people ask for something, it usually happens.)

Recommended Resources:

1. LSAT Courses
The best of my LSAT material with exclusive access to attend my Live Online LSAT Master Classes + Q&As, and on-demand video lessons you can watch anytime. Plus, LSAT study plans to keep you on track. Save hundreds of dollars with an LSAT course package.

2. LSAT Day-By-Day Study Plans
Preparing for the LSAT is confusing. There are dozens of prep books and practice tests out there, and 1,000+ articles on my website alone. When, and how, should you use them all? These super-specific study plans give you a clear plan of attack.

3. LSAT Cheat Sheets
Based on what I'd typically do in college: read what the professor emphasized and condense it all onto a single piece of paper. It gave me a quick reference, making things a lot less threatening and a lot more manageable.

LSAT logical fallacies: 3 quick links for today

Listen, it's fine if you wanna spend your time scrolling through Facebook reading random posts, watching GIFs, and clicking on, well, clickbait.

But, me, personally, I'm sick of all that sensationalism and nonsense.

Why?

Well, the biggest reason is that I wish people would stop committing so many logical fallacies!!!

I've actually had fantasies where I get to add this to the 10 Commandments:

So, if you're like me and want to look at something else for a bit, check out some of my favorite links on flaws, belief in God, and free speech.

Take a look and lemme know what you think.

-Skeptical Steve

P.S. That one about belief in God probably isn't what you think it is :P

Recommended Resources:

1. LSAT Courses
The best of my LSAT material with exclusive access to attend my Live Online LSAT Master Classes + Q&As, and on-demand video lessons you can watch anytime. Plus, LSAT study plans to keep you on track. Save hundreds of dollars with an LSAT course package.

2. LSAT Day-By-Day Study Plans
Preparing for the LSAT is confusing. There are dozens of prep books and practice tests out there, and 1,000+ articles on my website alone. When, and how, should you use them all? These super-specific study plans give you a clear plan of attack.

3. LSAT Checklists
All the little items and details students don't usually think of. They hold you accountable and help you make sure you're not missing anything.

how to study for the LSAT (timelines)

Got this email from my LSAT student Mark recently.

I just finished week 1 of the 4 month study schedule. I more than a little rusty and was wondering what you though would be the best approach to completing the logic games. Ive been able to figure them out, but it takes me around 10-12 minutes and occasionally having to reference to your study guide. Do you suggest I time myself now for under 8.45 or wait until I get more comfortable in understanding them?

My response:

I'd NEVER recommend timing individual games to 8:45, since that's only the AVERAGE amount of time you have for each game - some games can and should take less time, others will take longer for most people. Don't worry about timing for now.

Nice thing is,

The time you save on the easier games can be applied to the harder ones!

So, when you're timing yourself, time the full section as a whole.

*****************************************************************************************************

As a kind of follow-up to my last article about the day-by-day study plans, I wanted to take the time to answer some more general questions about LSAT studying - how to study, and, more importantly, when.

When should I start studying? Is 1-2 years before too early?

That's probably too early to start looking at LSAT-specific materials.

And starting too early could be bad if you burn out / get sick of it, use up practice tests too early, or if you're studying at the expense of your GPA.

So, enjoy your free time, keep up your GPA if you're still in college, and read dense LSAT-like material to get familiar with the type of thinking the LSAT requires.

You don't need to read anything LSAT-specific this early in the game, but I do recommend Walton's Informal Logic and similar books. Also, you might want to do sudoku and Dell/Penny Press logic puzzles on the side, just to prepare you for the kind of thinking that Logic Games require.

And try to enjoy your free time. There's only so much of it.

What if I want to spend a year?

A year's still a long time.

If you can study hardcore over a winter break....

you might want to take in February. This gives you time for a June retake if necessary, and you'd still be able to apply at the very beginning of the cycle that fall.

On the other hand, if you can study hardcore over the summer....

you might want to take in September/October, this gives you time for a December retake, and you can still apply that cycle.

(Applying early matters less than it used to, and law schools don't average multiple scores, so retaking is usually a good idea.)

Bottom line:
Try to make sure you have a lighter-than-average workload/courseload during the time you're studying for the LSAT.

If you can't reduce it, then why not spread out the work over a longer time period?

This way, you'll be able to spend less than 2-3 hours each day studying, and you won't feel like you're falling behind.

What about 3 months?

Sounds good in theory (who wouldn't want to be done sooner, right?)

Thing is, many people end up needing more than 3 months to get up to their goal score, so I wouldn't wait until only 3 months before test day to get started.

If any part of that 3 months involves:

* going away on vacation

* planning a major life event (like a wedding)

* a major illness

* a super-busy work schedule

you MIGHT need more time.

Some unexpected things (like illnesses or weddings) can come up, so while I TYPICALLY recommend a minimum of 3 months, 4 or 5 months may be even better.

Depends on:

- how busy you are

- how quickly you learn

- how much you want to improve

When should I start taking timed practice tests?

Taking several dozen tests without learning techniques first is far from the most effective way to go about your prep. I'd go so far as to say it's a sucky method.

You should learn techniques first, then practice.

So, spend the earlier part of your prep building a strong foundation and learning techniques, then spend the later part of your prep APPLYING that foundation and those techniques to full tests.

(You might also want to spend some time toward the end of your prep drilling question-types that give you trouble as you're moving through the timed tests.)

Anyway.....

Have other questions?

Just reach out and lemme know what's giving you the most trouble. Lots of LSAT things I can talk about all day, but I want to know what YOU need the most help with.

Til next time,

LSAT Steve

Recommended Resources:

1. LSAT Courses

The best of my LSAT material with exclusive access to attend my Live Online LSAT Master Classes + Q&As, and on-demand video lessons you can watch anytime. Plus, LSAT study plans to keep you on track. Save hundreds of dollars with an LSAT course package.

2. LSAT Day-By-Day Study Plans
Preparing for the LSAT is confusing. There are dozens of prep books and practice tests out there, and 1,000+ articles on my website alone. When, and how, should you use them all? These super-specific study plans give you a clear plan of attack.

3. LSAT Cheat Sheets
Based on what I'd typically do in college: read what the professor emphasized and condense it all onto a single piece of paper. It gave me a quick reference, making things a lot less threatening and a lot more manageable.

The 5 most common questions about LSAT study plans - answered

Weird thing about LSAT studying...

People are always worrying they've fallen behind because they can't follow their LSAT schedule EXACTLY.

It's ok.

Shit happens.

Work.

School.

Family.

LIFE!!!

It all gets in the way from time to time.

DON'T WORRY.

I want to share a little secret with you.

The best thing about the day-by-day schedule is how SPECIFIC it gets about what to do. The exact day-by-day breakdown ISN'T the most important thing (believe it or not).

Just try to get through everything in order.

So if you get busy during the week with work, school, life, etc....

It's ok.

Just do as much as you can, when you can. I built in plenty of some "off days," so the schedule is easy to modify.

What does the schedule cover?

It shows you EXACTLY what to do every day between now and test day for all sections - Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension.

How's it laid-out?

Basically, it's a simple step-by-step checklist of what to do each week, broken down into individual days so you ALWAYS know what to do.

Which books do I need to use the schedule?

All you need are actual LSAT PrepTests (other books are optional).

So why do you talk about so many other books in the schedule???! I'm worried I'll have to buy a lot of books.

Some people look at all the books I mention and start worrying they'll have to buy them ALLLLL.

That's a total misunderstanding!!!

You actually don't need all, or even most, of those books to use the schedule.

I give you tips about how to use lots of different books because some people want to get lots of books, but I understand some people don't WANT to get lots of books.

That's ok.

And it's why I purposely made the schedules so all you REALLY need for them are LSAT PrepTests, and you can easily find affordable ones on Amazon.

You can benefit a TON from the schedule with nothing but PrepTests and articles on my site (which are completely free).

(If you can, though, I strongly recommend that you consider at least some of the other books, depending upon your particular needs.)

You talk about using newer PrepTests (82 and up, etc.), but I already have older ones. Can I use those instead?

Yeah, you can substitute other LSAT PrepTests for the ones I mention. But it would definitely be better to spend the 20 bucks and get at least ONE of the newer books of 10 if you don't already have 'em. The LSAT changes over time, so more recent exams are more relevant.

And it's DEFINITELY a good idea to complete the newest exams before you take the LSAT.

I have other questions.

I show you exactly what went into making the schedules (and why I made them) here ---->

But if you have any more-specific questions, just reach out and let me know.

Very truly yours,
Schedulin' Steve

P.S. Next time, I'll share some more general tips on how to structure your studying in general.

Recommended Resources:

1. LSAT CoursesThe best of my LSAT material with exclusive access to attend my Live Online LSAT Master Classes + Q&As, and on-demand video lessons you can watch anytime. Plus, LSAT study plans to keep you on track. Save hundreds of dollars with an LSAT course package.

2. LSAT Day-By-Day Study Plans
Preparing for the LSAT is confusing. There are dozens of prep books and practice tests out there, and 1,000+ articles on my website alone. When, and how, should you use them all? These super-specific study plans give you a clear plan of attack.

3. LSAT Checklists
All the little items and details students don't usually think of. They hold you accountable and help you make sure you're not missing anything.

The 3 biggest mistakes I made while trying to ace the LSAT

I made a lot of dumb mistakes back when I was studying...and it took a while before I was willing to admit this....but

it actually took me a FULL YEAR to master the LSAT!!!

I probably could've been done with it in less than half that time if I'd gone about things the right way from the beginning.

After I learned the RIGHT way to do things, I made a list of all my mistakes (at least, the ones I could think of).

I'm not going to share the whole thing because it's too embarrassing (and long)...

but today I am going to share with you the three BIGGEST mistakes I can think of:

#3) didn't use right books / PrepTests

I've talked a lot recently about bad LSAT books. (Aside from being way too long, a lot of them contain errors!) So, right now, I'll focus instead on the simple fact that:

I spent too much time on older exams, not enough on newer ones!

At one point early on, I even considered not getting the newest exams at all just because they were 8 bucks each (LSAC hadn't put them in books of 10 yet.)

In hindsight, this was pretty stupid because the most recent exams are the most relevant!

Doesn't make sense to try to save $40 on 5 individual exams if it means getting a lower score (costing thousands in lost scholarship $$$, future income, etc.)

So...get the newest exams.

#2) didn't review

Instead, I just took test after test, hoping my score would magically improve ---they didn't.

I already talked about this a few weeks ago in my article about how to review, but the bottom line is:

Don't JUST analyze the stimulus or passage (for LR/RC)...make sure you ALSO analyze answer choices.

* What was it in the incorrect answer choice you chose that tempted you? Then identify what made it wrong in the end.

Orrrrr...

* If there was something in the correct answer that made it seem unappealing, identify what it was. And identify what made it correct in the end.

#1) didn't have a study plan

I put this one first because I'd say not having a study plan was probably -- no, definitely -- my biggest mistake.

I talked about this a bit above, but, basically, I jumped right into taking practice tests without learning the fundamentals first.

And my scores didn't go up because I wasn't actually learning strategies to attack the questions BEFORE trying to attack them!

Sounds obvious in hindsight....

but with all these books of old tests out there (and thrill of POSSIBLY getting a higher score next time), I kind of got addicted to taking PrepTests, measuring my scores, and looking for trends. I had lists, spreadsheets, graphs, etc...it was all kinda nuts.

Anyway, what I needed was someone to sit me down, kick my ass when I needed it, and show me exactly what I should be doing every. single. day.

I didn't have that, so it took me WAYYYY too long to crack the LSAT "code."

So I made day-by-day LSAT study plans for you guys because I wished I had a real plan of attack when I was studying. It would've been a LOT easier if I knew exactly how to use all the practice tests and other books.

Whether you've got a plan yet or not, I know many of you still have questions about the nitty-gritty logistics of studying, how to use study plans, etc.

So, next time, I'm gonna answer some of the most common questions students ask me about LSAT study plans.

In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions about study plans, and I'll try to get to them.

Sincerely,

Studyin' Steve

Recommended Resources:

1. LSAT Courses
The best of my LSAT material with exclusive access to attend my Live Online LSAT Master Classes + Q&As, and on-demand video lessons you can watch anytime. Plus, LSAT study plans to keep you on track. Save hundreds of dollars with an LSAT course package.

2. LSAT Day-By-Day Study Plans
Preparing for the LSAT is confusing. There are dozens of prep books and practice tests out there, and 1,000+ articles on my website alone. When, and how, should you use them all? These super-specific study plans give you a clear plan of attack.

3. LSAT Cheat Sheets
Based on what I'd typically do in college: read what the professor emphasized and condense it all onto a single piece of paper. It gave me a quick reference, making things a lot less threatening and a lot more manageable.

Want to increase your LSAT score? Get my free Easy LSAT Cheat Sheet today.