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Tips to Improve Your LSAT Study Habits (and LSAT Score)

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LSAT prep season is getting in full swing. This winter, per usual, was a quiet time in the pre-law world; few people sit for the February LSAT, and there’s a lull of activity in the early months of the year. But after a busier spring of June LSAT prep, even more people are gearing up for the October. So what should you do if you’re planning on taking the test in a few months? Well, this may sound obvious, but you should study. You should study frequently, you should study well, you should study regularly. You should study.

Here are some LSAT study tips:

LSAT Study Tip I: Do the work

For those of you taking an LSAT prep course, whether online or in-person, it’s not enough to just do the lessons. A lot of times people come in expecting that if they just show up everyday, they’ll improve. This is far from true. If you want to see major gains in your LSAT score, you have to work for them. Our LSAT prep students regularly spend 200-300 or more hours preparing, and say it was harder than any individual course they took as an undergrad. If you’re self-studying for the LSAT, then this becomes even more important, since you won’t have any built in homework structure.

LSAT Study Tip II: Do the work regularly

You can’t cram for the LSAT. Really. We know you think you can, but you can’t. The LSAT isn’t testing a fixed body of knowledge that you can memorize with an Adderall-fueled all-nighter. The skills tested by the LSAT are just that — skills. They need to be carefully learned and honed, which takes time. So don’t put off the homework, thinking you’ll just get to it eventually. “Eventually” will be here sooner than you think, and if you procrastinate too much, you could be rescheduling for the December LSAT.

LSAT Study Tip III: Do the work thoroughly

Your seventeen or so years of schooling has probably taught you that when it comes to homework, it’s mostly just about getting it done. We’ve all half-assed assignments just to get the credit. But you can’t do that with the LSAT. You’re learning very difficult and sophisticated concepts, so you can’t just skim the material. Make sure you fully understand a topic before moving on. Reread. Then reread some more. Don’t be afraid to cover the same concepts again and again until you get them. One of the biggest pitfalls LSAT prep students fall into is focusing on quantity over quality. It’d be better to do ten questions thoroughly than twenty shoddily.

LSAT Study Tip IV: Get going!

It’s about time to start studying for the LSAT! A lot of LSAT prep classes will be starting in the next few weeks, so if you’re enrolled in one, get ready to work a ton. If you’re studying without a classroom environment, get your last few days of freedom out of the way, then hit the books. With good study habits, the LSAT will be nothing but a fond memory come October.