How long are you studying for?

jasmine.lsatter

I’m curious as to how long i.e. how many months you are studying for prior to taking the LSAT.

samantha.ashley92

So my plan was to study from October to June and retake in July and/or September. I wound up getting a serious concussion a month into studying, and forgot basically everything I had learned. I restarted in May. I'll be taking the LSAT for the first time in September, putting me at a total of four months. This is definitely not how I planned it. However, I'm doing a solid 30+ hours a week of studying.

Based on my timed drill score increases (which don't require the mental stamina of a full-length PT), I have gone from a 155 to a 163 in the last two months. Knowing that I still have time to study, I'll probably get around a 163 on exam day haha. The point of all of this is that I've put in about 300 hours since my concussion, and my score has increased by 8ish points. Your decision should be based around how much time you can commit every week and how much you want to improve.

ebalde1234

You’ll notice the trend of people studying then stopping and picking it up again for various personal reason. Myself included. That being said it’s not so much the time as it is your strategy; you’ll also have to do an inventory on your burnout rate/ general study habits. Also this is going to depend on what your diagnostic score is and what your target score is . I would say avg time is 4-6 months give or take. Plus you also need to account for the fact that most people usually don’t get their ideal score the first time they take the lsat.

Seeking Perfection

@"jasmine.lsatter" said:
I’m curious as to how long i.e. how many months you are studying for prior to taking the LSAT.

I studied for less than three weeks the first time and a little over three and a half months the second.

You can't really know for sure how long it will take to get the score you want until you have it.

mjmonte17

I will take as much time as needed to get to my target score range. Of course, I would prefer to get there sooner than later, but that ultimately depends on how quickly I can internalize and accurately display my knowledge to all sections of the LSAT. I suppose it also depends on how much time you can devote to study in light of other obligations.

Leah M B

It really varies wildly for people. I studied for about 9 months before taking it the first time, although probably 4 months or so of that was only half-hearted studying. Then stopped for quite a while since I applied last cycle, then picked up again for just a few weeks before a 2nd take. Likely going back to it soon... but... summer... haha. Hard to push through it this time of year.

JustDoIt

I studied for 3 years...different strokes for different folks I guess!

jasmine.lsatter

Thanks all! These discussion boards are awesome. I’m new here and it’s incredibly refreshing to be around similarly minded people. I have felt bad at times for not studying enough though I know that’s a choice. Glad to hear I’m not the only one.

I was set on a number of months so thank you. I’ll just need to work through the material and see where I’m at.

So I’ve already taken the LSAT after some ridiculously half-hearted studying. Can I use my LSAT score as my “diagnostic”?

jasmine.lsatter

@"samantha.ashley92" happy to hear that amount of progress is possible in such little time (studying hard, of course!)

SomewhereBetween120and180

I've been studying roughly 13 months and counting. Was originally going to study for around 6 months then write the December 2017 LSAT, but I didn't feel quite ready yet. I've taken a couple 3 week breaks during this time for exams and papers, besides that pretty constant.

I am also no longer much fun at parties. Telling stories about that time you totally saved youself on a tough LG section appeals to a rather specific demographic.

samantha.ashley92

Thank you. I don't feel like I've made a lot of progress, but that's probably because I'm comparing my "before" to how I think I'll score on the LSAT in September.

tringo335

I think you see a lot of people taking breaks like someone echoed above. I studied for about six months under the LSAT Trainer, took a break for about four months then started 7Sage for about 9 months now with maybe two - one month breaks in that period. Working or going to school full time often puts a wrinkle in your plans but acknowledging that you can’t stop until you reach your goal helps with perseverance.

cvaldez74

I started 7sage (my first and so far only course of study) in late November 2017. I studied probably about 10 hours/week until the end of February. For various personal reasons (family obligations, exams, papers, etc), I stopped studying until May. When I started studying again, I put in about 20-30+ hours each week and will continue to do so until I take the test in September. I was originally scheduled to take it in July but I knew I wouldn't be quite ready. I'm not sure I'll be ready in September, either, but I'm giving it a go anyway. if I'm not happy with my score, I can retake it in November and still have time to apply for Fall 2019.