Long-Term Study advice needed for someone with no clear test date

Mike_Ross

Hello friends,

I was planning to take the LSATs in September/November but as it seems, plans have changed.

I received an amazing job opportunity that I cannot pass up, however I don’t want to give up on the law school dream. I had been studying diligently for 6 months and would like to keep going if possible. The difference is, the pressure and intensity is no longer there. I’m not really sure if this is good or bad yet..

Anyway, I’m reaching out for advice regarding what a long-term study plan with no foreseeable test date in mind look like?

I suspect many of us were in the opposite scenario where we planned to take a test by a certain date but found that we needed more time to study. I now find myself in a situation where I have no end date in mind and have limited time per day to study over an undetermined period.

I might take the LSATs in a year, 2 years, no idea. Or of course some of you might just suggest I keep going now and take the test in November or March anyway.

How do I stay sharp when my study schedule is now so spread out over time? How do you stay motivated with no clear objective test date? What would you recommend for someone worried about spreading out the study process so that by the time I learn X, I would have forgotten about Y because it was months ago? Sometimes, it seems like the LSAT prep prices requires an all out effort or I shouldn’t waste my time.

I’m hoping that those of you who studied for over 1-2 years can share some advice about what worked well and not so well. Thoughts on a study schedule, etc

Any feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

studyingandrestudying

I'd say first get adjusted to your new job and stay in the loop, but not to the point of burnout, with this site and the lessons. Maybe pick a topic and spend a few days on it. Where are you with the lessons right now? When do you think you may want to enroll in law school?

ebalde1234

Try to stay fresh on the material you don’t want to forget then lose your progress - lsat scores are viable for a few years (depends on the school what the latest Lsat they will take is going to be ) but at the same time since you don’t have a date in mind you shouldn’t study too intensely . I started back in July from last year then I got a job and put Lsat on the back burner , come jan of 2018 I had to start from the beginning because I wasn’t studying in between. From jan to mid May I was studying off and om about 3 days a week. Now I’m planning on taking the July lsat and have been studying a lot more (5 hours per day , 5 to 6 days a week ) sometimes less or more . Point of my rant - try not to put it off it really veered my course and it was hard to find motivation for the lsat. The more you spread it out the greater the risk (my own personal experience) if you can study now then write it sooner rather then later that’s what I would do , pm if you’d like good luck

keets993

When I first started the CC I did it with no end date in mind and that actually allowed me to freedom to really understand the concepts. If you're slowly and steadily learning then the chances of you forgetting the fundamentals are really low to be honest. That's because you'll have spent that time without the time crunch to thoroughly understand a concept. You won't find yourself rushing because you're supposed to finish the unit on logic in 3 days according to the schedule and if you fall behind you won't start taking PT's till X and then you won't have enough time to be confident and miss the date and whatever else ramblings our anxiety fuels.

As for motivation, well motivation is fleeting. Make it a habit and make it fun. Make sure you don't sacrifice your life to prep since you'll have limited time. I'd recommend checking out threads of people sharing tips of studying part time while they were working and juggling other obligations: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/14787/q-a-with-sages-lsatcantwin-cant-get-right-on-how-2b-successful-while-working-full-time-studying

Mike_Ross

@lsatplaylist said:
I'd say first get adjusted to your new job and stay in the loop, but not to the point of burnout, with this site and the lessons. Maybe pick a topic and spend a few days on it. Where are you with the lessons right now? When do you think you may want to enroll in law school?

Thanks! I honestly have no idea when that’ll happen. I’m being tapped for an executive position, so that means it’s unlikely law school will come any time soon. But who knows? Perhaps things could change. Just want to keep working towards the possibility but don’t want to do anything (work or lsat prep) half-heartedly. In my experience, I only do well with single-minded focus. So I’m entering some different territory here. Certainly right about the burn out thing. I was burning both ends of the candle with work and lsat prep the last 6 months. Now the focus is work and I want to find a way to keep the lsat prep going without sustaining the same intensity and killing myself, all while understanding there’s a possibility that law school won’t happen soon

Mike_Ross

@ebalde1234 said:
Try to stay fresh on the material you don’t want to forget then lose your progress - lsat scores are viable for a few years (depends on the school what the latest Lsat they will take is going to be ) but at the same time since you don’t have a date in mind you shouldn’t study too intensely . I started back in July from last year then I got a job and put Lsat on the back burner , come jan of 2018 I had to start from the beginning because I wasn’t studying in between. From jan to mid May I was studying off and om about 3 days a week. Now I’m planning on taking the July lsat and have been studying a lot more (5 hours per day , 5 to 6 days a week ) sometimes less or more . Point of my rant - try not to put it off it really veered my course and it was hard to find motivation for the lsat. The more you spread it out the greater the risk (my own personal experience) if you can study now then write it sooner rather then later that’s what I would do , pm if you’d like good luck

Thanks for the advice! Yes I think maybe I’d spread it out. One of the ideas I had was maybe just foolproof games 20-60! 3 days a week. I think maybe this is one way to stay sharp, by mastering the abstract and underlying conditional logic structure so that the skills would remain relevant to LR, whether or not I would be actively studying LR

Mike_Ross

@keets993 said:
When I first started the CC I did it with no end date in mind and that actually allowed me to freedom to really understand the concepts. If you're slowly and steadily learning then the chances of you forgetting the fundamentals are really low to be honest. That's because you'll have spent that time without the time crunch to thoroughly understand a concept. You won't find yourself rushing because you're supposed to finish the unit on logic in 3 days according to the schedule and if you fall behind you won't start taking PT's till X and then you won't have enough time to be confident and miss the date and whatever else ramblings our anxiety fuels.

As for motivation, well motivation is fleeting. Make it a habit and make it fun. Make sure you don't sacrifice your life to prep since you'll have limited time. I'd recommend checking out threads of people sharing tips of studying part time while they were working and juggling other obligations: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/14787/q-a-with-sages-lsatcantwin-cant-get-right-on-how-2b-successful-while-working-full-time-studying

I love this! You certainly understand how the anxiety feels! It was like that prior to the job opportunity. Now the pressure is off and I’m free to take my time. The problem is it’s like when the pressure was off, I didn’t have the same desire to study again. LSAT prep is definitely fun, but the pressure definitely helped sustain my engagement... perhaps I’ll just go through the entire CC again...