If I am taking two months to study-How many hours should I study a day (June LSAT)

Comments

• 9 Likes

  pappasm91 Member

  April 2021 230 karma

  I see this comment/question asked quite a bit on this forum and for a sincere, genuine response, there is no magic number of hours to hit when studying for this test. It's the quality of time spent rather than the amount of time you practice. You want to make sure you have a solid grasp on the fundamentals and spend time applying those to PTs. Once you start hitting your target score consistently, then people usually suggest signing up for the test. Since you are signed up for June, I would spend most of your time working through the Logical Reasoning in the core curriculum as it sets yourself up nicely for Logic Games. Additionally, be mindful of burnout. It's happened to most of us, myself included, and if you try to study when you are tired/not mentally attune, it will be a waste of time since you won't be absorbing information. I originally signed up with 7Sage in September 2020 to take the January 2021 test and was not ready for it (to my annoyance) and then signed up for April and STILL wasn't happy with my score and finally pushed it back to June. My point being, if you don't have to, don't force the test to work with your timeline, rather prepare yourself and crush the LSAT so you wont ever have to worry about it again Good luck!
• 1 Like

  PhillyNittanyWildcat Member

  April 2021 79 karma

  @pappasm91 said:
  I see this comment/question asked quite a bit on this forum and for a sincere, genuine response, there is no magic number of hours to hit when studying for this test. It's the quality of time spent rather than the amount of time you practice. You want to make sure you have a solid grasp on the fundamentals and spend time applying those to PTs. Once you start hitting your target score consistently, then people usually suggest signing up for the test. Since you are signed up for June, I would spend most of your time working through the Logical Reasoning in the core curriculum as it sets yourself up nicely for Logic Games. Additionally, be mindful of burnout. It's happened to most of us, myself included, and if you try to study when you are tired/not mentally attune, it will be a waste of time since you won't be absorbing information. I originally signed up with 7Sage in September 2020 to take the January 2021 test and was not ready for it (to my annoyance) and then signed up for April and STILL wasn't happy with my score and finally pushed it back to June. My point being, if you don't have to, don't force the test to work with your timeline, rather prepare yourself and crush the LSAT so you wont ever have to worry about it again Good luck!

  Thank you so much for the response, this was genuinely helpful . I will take this advice and see where I am when around the time comes!
• 8 Likes

  Hal Incandenza Member

  April 2021 424 karma

  IMO, I’d avoid doing 7 days a week, as it not only makes burnout more likely, but it also leaves your mind with no time to rest and absorb what you’ve learned. I think you’ll get more “bang for your buck” at 6 days a week.

  The previous poster is absolutely right about focusing on fundamentals first and foremost, and unless there’s great need, I advise against studying to a deadline - study until you’re ready.
• 1 Like

  PhillyNittanyWildcat Member

  April 2021 79 karma

  @"Hal Incandenza" said:
  IMO, I’d avoid doing 7 days a week, as it not only makes burnout more likely, but it also leaves your mind with no time to rest and absorb what you’ve learned. I think you’ll get more “bang for your buck” at 6 days a week.

  The previous poster is absolutely right about focusing on fundamentals first and foremost, and unless there’s great need, I advise against studying to a deadline - study until you’re ready.

  Thank you!
  Yeah I decided I'm going all out sun-thur, 1 hour of just alittle bit of reading lessons Friday, and practice tests sat. (Hopefully it all works good!)
• 1 Like

  Older_LS_Applicant85 Alum Member

  April 2021 211 karma

  I do about 5 hrs a day (3hrs of LR or LG + 2hrs of RC), 5 days a week. That's been my study schedule for the last 14 months and it's worked out fine. No burnout yet. In the short term, I think you can get away with studying 6 days a week, but if you plan on studying long term (4 months or more), 5 days would be better.
• 1 Like

  chaplin___ Alum Member ⭐

  April 2021 601 karma

  I do 5-6 hours a day, 35-40 hours a week but it's a good idea to schedule breaks too. I've taken a month long break and also take the holidays off to avoid burnout.
• 2 Likes

  xicedcoffeex Free Trial Member

  April 2021 12 karma

  I'm going to be completely honest with you. I scored a 168 on my diagnostic and it still took me 3 months to get to 175+, and I'm retaking it because I wasn't able to get there consistently before my last exam. I don't think over-studying is going to fix the time issue here because of how much the LSAT can burn you out. I'd suggest splitting your studying up into two sessions a day of 1-3 hours each, with at least one full day off every week. You can probably improve to a 165+ rather rapidly but the 170+ and 175+ ranges are a bit more elusive even for the best test takers, and they require a different study strategy to reach (it's less about learning content at that point and more about drilling imo). So perhaps you should evaluate and adjust your plan as you go.
• EricLelio93 Core Member

  April 2021 92 karma

  What would you list as the essential fundamentals?
• 2 Likes

  Forever Addicted to Coffee Member ⭐

  April 2021 540 karma

  This is a great question and something that I also wondered about. First, let's get one thing out of the way. When I refer to X number of hours spent on studying, that's the time being counted ONLY for when I am 100% focused on studying. Don't count your breaks. Don't count the time when you are on FB, instagram, or Youtube on the side. Don't count the time texting friends. ONLY 100% focus in studying.

  I actually use a Pomodoro timer and log my focused time spent on the LSAT. Juggling a full workload and studying the LSAT, I only manage a maximum of 25 hours per week. Beyond that, it's burnout territory.

  20 - 25 focused hours per week may not seem a lot. But over time, I found that to be a good sweet spot for me in terms of pushing my mental faculties while preventing long-term burnout.

  Experiment on yourself. Start with 2 hours of complete focus per day this week. Log these hours on a spreadsheet to keep track. The important thing here is to keep your focused hours completely pristine, free from distractions. Then raise it to 2.5 hours per day the next week. Raise it to 3 hours per day. Etc. Do this until you feel that you've hit the point of diminishing returns. If you go as high as 4 hours per day, and realize that your focus is suffering, then dial it back. If you feel burnout, dial it back.
• PhillyNittanyWildcat Member

  April 2021 79 karma

  Update, I got lsat demon live-I go to between 3-6 hours of classes today, the format has kept me honest with studying and I don't believe I'll be burning out and have already improved a good amount.