constructing a long-term study plan

[sejinlee]

Hello,

I was wondering if anybody could give me some detailed advice on constructing a long-term study plan.

I have taken two lsats before, but cancelled scores both times. So this is really my last chance and I would like to be well-prepared for October 2014 lsat. I am currently an undergraduate student in Canada who has finished 4 years, but going on an exchange program abroad to Europe this semester for experience and will be there for the spring semester(Jan-May) and come back to my home country at the end of May. As I will have completely finished my undergrad by then, I am hoping to apply for law schools after I come back this year, so that I could attend in September 2015.

I am thus aiming for the October Lsat, but as I have already tried before, studying only for the summer never worked very well for me in the last two years. I took a powerscore full length course one summer and the other summer I prepared on my own, but was not well prepared both times. I was also unable to continue preparing during the semester. So I really need advice on using my time well until october. I am thinking of beginning my study now and study also while I am abroad, although I feel that it would be best to maximize my experience abroad.

I stopped studying for the lsat since last summer, so I forgot a lot of the concepts and I am not sure where I should start. I will be leaving to Europe in one week. Considering that I will be doing an exchange program abroad for the next five months so I can't solely concentrate on lsat and that I will be applying for law schools this year when I come back and that the october 2014 lsat will be my last chance, what advice can you give me?

I have plenty of lsat materials including powerscore lesson books from 2 years ago, the three bibles, and many preptests.

1) Could anyone suggest me a very detailed study plan that I could use from today until october to be well prepared for October lsat ? Also, I could only take a certain number of books with me abroad.

2) What prep materials do you suggest I take to study while studying in Europe for five months? Considering that I will be taking some classes there and learning the language, etc., would it be better to aim to master one section, for example, focus solely on logical reasoning and take LR related materials, or should I try to study all sections and question types?

3) I have only one more chance to write the exam in 2014 as I already used my two chances in three years. Would it be risky to aim for the June lsat? Considering that I will be applying to law schools in 2014 fall, is it okay to take the october lsat or would it be too late?







Thanks a lot in advance!

[Jason Schultz]

Hi sejinlee,

To address your last question first, taking the test in October 2014 is easily early enough to apply for the following fall.

As for the remainder of your post, its difficult to plan out a 10 month study schedule. Were I in your shoes, I would simply review the concepts and do very light studying, maybe a few hours a week maximum, while you are in Europe. As for the books, I wouldn't bring books If I could avoid it. I would take advantage of Powerscore's digital offerings which you can access from a laptop (including this very board). Upon your return you'd still have four months to prepare for the October exam. and I worry that going at this too hard for too long can lead to burnout.

Besides, a semester in Europe is a once in a lifetime experience! You'd be kicking yourself if you spent your evenings poring over logic games while there are sights to be seen and food to be enjoyed.

Does that help?