There are people marked by fate. Some are destined for greatness, such as the presidency or the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Others, for notoriety, such as Nixon and whoever invented mayonnaise.

And, for some, the fickle finger of fate reaches out of nowhere to make their LSAT disappear.

Taking the LSAT is bad enough. But to find out your hard work fell off the back of the truck is even worse. Unfortunately, a few now know how this feels. To make up for it, are they offered gold and riches beyond their wildest dreams? Or, even better, a 170+ LSAT score (like when your roommate commits suicide in college)? No.

They’re given one week to prep for an LSAT retake.

So what should you do if you have only one week to study for the LSAT?

1. Cry and pray

Really, these are your best options if you have just a week for LSAT prep. One week isn’t enough time to develop the skills necessary for the LSAT, so a higher power needs to be involved (like Jesus or Superman).

2. Plan an Ocean’s Eleven-style heist

Once you clean up the tears and have made your peace with God, get to work on a crazy heist that involves some high-tech equipment, several levels of misdirection, and a flexible Asian (because in Hollywood, everyone of Asian descent has some type of martial arts/gymnastics training).

If you’ve already prepped, however, and you find yourself in this position (either because of an LSAC error, or because time marches on and you’re in your last week of prep), you can forgo the theatrics and faith, instead focusing on getting the points you’re most likely to pick up in a week.

LSAT Logic Games

Note: As of August 2024, the LSAT will no longer have a Logic Games Section. The June 2024 exam will be the final LSAT with Logic Games. Learn more about the change here.

If you’re still struggling with this section, I would focus my time here. LG is the most learn-able of the LSAT sections, and if you can get the methods down for it, you can pick up a few points easily.

LSAT Reading Comp

I would probably focus the least here. Reading Comp is much more skill-based than the other sections, which benefit more from a rigid method as opposed to the flexible method employed here. With only a week left, you might get a bit sharper, but you’re not likely to have a moment of clarity.

LSAT Logical Reasoning

LR is a weird beast because there are so many different question types. With one week, I would focus on Flaw, Strengthen/Weaken, and Sufficient/Necessary questions. Together, they make up ~25% of the test, and they’re very much related. Focus on spotting flaws, and you’ll be set for a very large amount of the LR questions.

Also, cry and pray.