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How to study full time over the summer..?

fambam24fambam24 Member
in General 215 karma

Hey all,

My circumstances allow me to take two months of the summer (July & August) off to focus solely on LSAT studying. My goal is to take the September test. This isn't my first time studying for the LSAT so the fundamental concepts are familiar to me - it's a matter of really pushing myself to refine my understanding and application.

I'm currently working through the core curriculum with a full time job. I don't know how to structure my studying currently knowing that I'll be studying full time in July & August. I'm not being consistent with studying right now b/c my work can be intense and exhausting. Any advise would be appreciated!

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  • Mellow_ZMellow_Z Alum Member
    1997 karma

    Our community chatterbox @"Alex Divine" has been studying full time after taking a leave from his job. Maybe he can help recommend some routines for you.

    I would say the last 2 months of your study should be spent PTing, BRing and drilling specific weaknesses though. 2 PT's a week is a good place to target with having full time availability. Maybe Monday and Thursday? Leave yourself enough time between the two tests to properly BR and drill weaknesses that you find after scoring the test.

  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    edited May 2017 23929 karma

    @famjad14 , I definitely encountered a similar problem while trying to prep with a demanding job. Although I ultimately decided to take a leave to study, I definitely learned what worked for me and what just burnt me out...

    I would try to wake up early and do ~2 hours of prep before I even went to work. This is major because chances are if you work a demanding job, your brain will be fried. We have a finite amount of willpower each day and each decision we make or complicated task we complete depletes some more of it. And the LSAT requires a lot of willpower. So prep when you have the most of it in the AM.

    So I would HIGHLY recommend fitting in as much prep as possible before you even walk out the door in the morning. Hopefully you're as much of a morning person as me ;)

    I would also dedicate my lunch break to doing mostly logic games or LR sections. I usually only had 45 minutes, however, over the months that time added up.

    If you're still going through the CC, then I would dedicate the morning to watching lessons and your lunch break to doing any corresponding problem sets.

    When I got home I would review all my work for the day. I never had a strict after work routine because I would get home from anywhere between 7:30pm and 11:30pm on any given night. This made it next to impossible for me to plan. If I got home early enough I would do what I could before I got tired. If you can count on getting home at a specific time, and your person life allows, set aside a modest amount of time to prep after work. Again, even an hour per night will add up!

    Now that's just what I did and your situation might be completely different -- that's ok!

    The overall pieces of advice I have are probably things you have heard before, but important nonetheless.

    1) You have to take care of yourself, especially when working a demanding job and prepping. Towards the end before I took my leave, my work was suffering and my LSAT prep was more inconsistent than ever. I experienced such burn out that I briefly contemplated giving up and just getting an MBA. (because I had previously sat for the GMAT) Avoid what I would call flurries of activity. This is where you're tired or unfocused and just feel the need to do something LSAT-related to clock hours. I can't tell you how many times I tried to prep at like 12:30am after working just to waste fresh material and burn myself out more. The best way to take care of yourself is to eat right, exercise, and take a break when you need it. These things seem like they can be hard to fit in, but just going for a walk and having a healthy meal replacement shake for lunch can make all the difference.

    2) You say in your OP that "my goal is to take the September test." That's fine, but let that be a provisional date. Your goal should be a 180, because I just don't see how aiming for anything less than perfect before you even take the test is helpful. For what it's worth, most people that get 180s never expected they'd get them either. Yet they all seem to be people who were aiming for 180s. It sounds crazy but look around at the 180 guides on the internet. It's crazy how different their methodologies were, but each and every one makes it clear that 180 was the goal.

    3) Utilize your weekends! I got a lot done on the weekends. These are the best time to take PTS, BR, and do things that take longer.

    Last but certainly not least, take notes while going through the CC. At the very least it forced me to pay attention and not let my mind wander. It also helped me to make sure I was understanding everything and proved quite useful as review material before drills.

    In sum, find what works for you and be consistent with it. One of my biggest regrets from when I was trying to work FT and prep was that I tried to do TOO much. Looking back it would have been FAR better to do 2 hours a day consistently then try to push in more and burn out into inconsistency.

    Good luck! :)

  • fambam24fambam24 Member
    215 karma

    @Mellow_Z and @"Alex Divine"

    Thank you to both for taking the time to give me some thoughtful advise. The past few weeks were crazy intense for me so didn't get the chance to thank you both.

    @"Alex Divine" I'm definitely going to try your recommendations and see how it works. I feel I'm already improving in LR with the CC. I really need to get better at Logic Games but it's just going to take a lot of practice and time.

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