Balancing Coursework from Online Class and Jan. 2019 LSAT

[cherie_vu]

Hello everyone,

I am currently taking the 9/17 - 10/24 live online course. The material and pace of the class is geared for people taking the November LSAT. Due to family emergencies that have occurred over the past two weeks and a half, I will not be taking the Nov. LSAT as I have been unable to dedicate the amount of time needed to study to score remotely well on the exam. Instead, I plan to study for the January 2019 LSAT, which is four months away. I know the course videos and online student portal will be available until the Jan. LSAT, but I have questions regarding new study schedules and techniques. I am concerned about "burning out" these next four months.

How would you suggest I balance the fast-pace nature of the course with a longer study timeline? Should I keep at the same pace as the rest of the students (doing all the suggested homework, taking a practice test essentially every weekend until Nov, etc) and self-study with additional books after the course is over? Or should I modify my study schedule and load?

Right now, the recommended time spent on homework is 2-3 hours for each hour of class (6 hours of class per week => approx. 12-18 hours of homework a week) and with a practice test every weekend until the end of course and increase the amount of practice tests the 3 weeks and a half until the Nov. LSAT on the 17th.

Any insight and advice would be immensely helpful! Thank you.

[Malila Robinson]

Hi Cherie_vu,
You can absolutely modify the pace to better fit your schedule. And the best part is that you can do it in a way that works with your schedule. My general suggestion would be to keep up with the live part of the classes, but spread the homework and practice tests out over the extra 2 months. So, (for example) you should be able to do about one lesson's worth of homework per week, instead of 2-3 lessons' homework in a single week, and you can take as long as you need during the week to finish the homework. You also wouldn't necessarily need to start taking practice tests until you were closer to the test, and/or until you were through around the homework for lessons 4/5. I would suggest that you definitely start taking practices tests in December, if you have not already started, because timing is an important part of the test and you may need several weeks to get your timing to a good pace.
Hope that helps!
-Malila