Hi mbrefo,
A good question! Some other instructors might have different opinions about this so I'll invite them to chime in as well but I'll give you my general suggestions here:
1.)
Go back to basics. It's been awhile since you finished your course so I would first recommend going back and reviewing all of the material to make sure you remember all of the strategies and are applying them correctly. The course books are organized with a good study schedule in mind so I would stick with the order of topics they go with. Start with Lesson 1. Review everything in the lesson portion, reading the introductory material and going over all of the questions. Then, do all of the Lesson 1 homework and really go over all the answers to see how you did and see if you can identify why you made the mistakes that you did. Next, move on to Lesson 2, etc.
Don't be afraid to go over questions you've already seen. Even if you did all of the homework when you were taking your course, I guarantee you won't remember all the answers to the questions. Sometimes you might not even remember ever seeing the question! And for the ones you think you do remember, do them anyway. You'll continue to learn from questions the second time around. Especially if you study the questions as though you will have to teach them to someone else.
Check out this blog post for more on this approach to studying questions that you've already seen.
2.)
Schedule regular, timed practice tests for yourself. Think of studying for the LSAT as training for a marathon. You need to work on your test-taking stamina and the best way to do that is to take practice tests. If you've already done the ones you received with the course, you can buy books of past tests or single copies of some of the more recent ones. Just make sure that you are practicing with tests that are real PrepTests released by LSAC.
Try to replicate actual test-taking conditions as much as you can so that you'll be prepared for the big day. Time yourself strictly. You can use the
PowerScore LSAT Virtual Proctor, your own timing device, your significant other, whatever you prefer. But when time is up, stop working. You won't get a few extra seconds on test day so don't practice as if you can take extra time. Use bubble sheets to fill in your answers. Use non-mechanical #2 pencils, etc.
3.)
Track your progress. After each practice test, analyze your performance to see how you did. Go over the questions that you missed and questions that you may have gotten right but you felt unsure about. Identify the types of questions that you are missing and look for trends. Are you missing mostly Weaken questions? Questions with conditional reasoning? Do Grouping games give you more trouble than Linear games? etc. This will help you focus your studying, especially in the weeks right before the exam. For instance, if you already reviewed Must Be True questions but you're missing several of them on your practice tests, go back to Lesson 1 and review Must Be True again.
4.)
Make a plan and stick to it. When you are creating your study schedule for the summer, make it consistent and realistic and
write it down. You have plenty of time before the September test but, at the same time, it's amazing how quickly that time can pass! Sit down with a calendar and try to map out a study plan. It's best to study some every week so you are retaining your knowledge but it's okay to take off a week or two for a vacation. Really think about how much time you can devote to studying and keep it reasonable. Don't plan on doing 2 hours of LSAT practice every single night if you know that some days you're going to get home from work and only want/be able to sit in front of the TV and watch HGTV. If you make your plan too ambitious, you won't be able to stick with it and the more you fall behind, the less motivated you'll be to catch up.
Only you know what your other time commitments are, but with this many weeks before the test, I would try to get through reviewing 1-2 lessons a week until you get through Lesson 6 or 8, and then trying one lesson + one practice test per week. Once you've reviewed all of the lessons, it then becomes one practice test per week + reviewing areas that are giving you trouble on the tests. You can also work in timed 35 minute practice sections for when you want to study but don't have time for a full practice test. It's okay if there are some weeks that you can't take a practice test, but look at your schedule now and try to figure out when you can and put them on your calendar. Sometimes it's hard to find time to take a 4 hour exam so if you don't go ahead and carve out the time now, you might forget to prioritize them later!
Finally, avoid studying burnout. Make sure that your schedule allows you to accomplish everything you want to accomplish but leaves you breathing room for work/family/school and/or anything else that is part of your life besides this test. Also, include some time for fun and/or relaxing activities. It is summer after all! And being the most stress-free, sane version of yourself you can possibly be while studying for the LSAT will help your score
Hope this helps! Good luck with the studying!
Best,
Kelsey
