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so i've made a couple of posts yesterday in the sort of general law faq discussion, and i stated that i was planning on studying for lsat this summer (late may to early august) and planning on taking the dec test.

everyone told me this was a bad idea, and that i should take it NEXT summer, in june, and retake if needed in oct. that doesn't make sense to me, because i'll feel pressured to get a great score and i'll freak out and get a bad one (i apply in the fall 2012 cycle).

i mean..should i take it this october or something? so confused, please help.

also, should i even bother with prep? i remember in high school taking a sat class...i got a 1780. i didn't study outside of class, so i'm wondering if (for me, at least) i am less inclined to study if a teacher is in front of me explaining things.

anyways advice is great. i really want a 170+ because my gpa blows.

I took the SAT so long ago that it only had a max of 1600 points, so I have no idea what your score means.

Yes, you should study if you want above a 170. 170 is something like 98 percentile. Those last 10 points are going to be hard to come by and count for a lot. I have no recommendations on when you should take it other than you want to have time to study and retake it should you screw up.

why would you study in the summer and take it in December with that huge break in between?
You can take it in October and leave open the possibility of retake in December.
Also, take a diagnostic test and figure out how much practice and preparation you need.
Good Luck!

mac35352 wrote:why would you study in the summer and take it in December with that huge break in between?
You can take it in October and leave open the possibility of retake in December.

That was my first reaction, too. It's a bad idea to study and then wait several months before taking the test. You'll forget stuff.

warandpeace wrote:also, should i even bother with prep? i remember in high school taking a sat class...i got a 1780. i didn't study outside of class, so i'm wondering if (for me, at least) i am less inclined to study if a teacher is in front of me explaining things.

Well, there's a difference between "prep" and "taking a class." Taking a class is not the only way to prepare. You can study on your own (from a book), or get a tutor, or take a self-paced online class (basically watching videos of someone explaining the LSAT), too. If you don't want to take a class, don't! But you still need to do some kind of preparation. What kind — and how much — is up to you.

Strongly advise against taking a class, especially something like Kaplan. By the logic games bible, logic reasoning bible, the three "10 LSAT" book's, and study. Also, better to study over summer when you're out of school than in the middle of a semester. You probably won't have much to do over summer which will provide you with ample time to prepare. Also, the LSAT is no SAT--what worked for the SAT doesn't translate to the LSAT. Check out pithypike's guide in the LSAT forums, it's really useful for studying over summer

thanks for the advice everyone, i'll take it all to heart.

nshapkar wrote:Strongly advise against taking a class, especially something like Kaplan. By the logic games bible, logic reasoning bible, the three "10 LSAT" book's, and study. Also, better to study over summer when you're out of school than in the middle of a semester. You probably won't have much to do over summer which will provide you with ample time to prepare. Also, the LSAT is no SAT--what worked for the SAT doesn't translate to the LSAT. Check out pithypike's guide in the LSAT forums, it's really useful for studying over summer

thank god. because if there was any type of sat/lsat correlation...i think i'd cry.

jk. but seriously.