Complete newbie with 8 months to study--how? Forum

[boomah]

Hi guys,

So I very recently decided to attend law school, and thus I'm very new to the whole admissions process.

My GPA is below median at the places I'm interested in attending, so I would really like to score high on the LSAT (like 175+).

I have about 8 months to study (not full-time--I'll be doing a master's degree at the same time. But I'll be LSAT prepping during whatever breaks I can get).

What would you guys recommend I do? How should I structure my time and study?

Please keep in mind that I'm completely new to the LSAT at this point. I haven't even seen a sample test or know entirely what's on it.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[Jeffort]

Welcome, planning ahead and giving yourself a large amount of time to prep is important to give yourself the best chances of being able to hit your goal. Building up to the ability level to score 170+ on test day requires a LOT of time and dedication unless you're a rare LSAT natural type of person that starts with a cold first diagnostic score in the mid/high 160s. For us normal folks (almost everybody), significantly increasing your score range/LSAT performance skill level up to the 170s range is a long difficult process.

There are a LOT of good resources and guides here for getting started, be prepared for information overload!

Start with these threads (also stickied at the top of the index), they cover the basics and much much more including FAQs and questions you don't even know you should ask yet!

Study guides, advice, tools, etc.:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=200917

Information about prep options/methods/courses:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=151670

[wbaseball4ever]

8 months is probably too long. You really only have a few months to truly stay mentally alert for a test like this. I would shorten it to about 4-5 months and go from there. After about 4 months, it's highly unlikely that you'll progress more, and much more likely that you'll burn out or run out of materials and soften up.

[Louis1127]

You really only have a few months to truly stay mentally alert for a test like this

Uhhhhhhhhhhh........


Just stay flexible with your study plan, OP.

[jasper09]

Agree with everything Jeffort said.

8 months is probably too long. You really only have a few months to truly stay mentally alert for a test like this. I would shorten it to about 4-5 months and go from there. After about 4 months, it's highly unlikely that you'll progress more, and much more likely that you'll burn out or run out of materials and soften up.

I think it depends on the intensity with which you prep- TLS1776's post (link in the stickied thread) wherein he states that he took a relaxed approach over more than a year is evidence to the contrary, but again, it depends on the approach. If you're studying several hours a day most days of the week, 8 months is a long time to sustain that level of effort. However, if you're taking a less strenuous approach, 8 months is probably a good amount of time. I'll also add that, as someone who took the test twice (October and December 2013) and who took a month between the two where I didn't even look at the LSAT, having time to take breaks throughout the studying process is a good thing. It allows you to not get burned out, and often, concepts are a little clearer when you get back to it because you've given your brain a chance to absorb it. I probably put in 5-6 months of studying prior to the first test (less intense in the first 2-3, more intense for the final 3) and had a bad test day, then roughly 5 weeks extra prior to the second test (not intense- maybe 3-4 practice tests a week and some concept review).

Given that OP isn't prepping full time, and is instead mainly prepping during breaks, I think the more time OP has before the test, the better.