How to stay calm and master the last month of your LSAT studies

There’s just about a month to go until the March LSAT, and although that might sound like a terrifying proposition, a month is actually an eternity in LSAT time. No, not because time seems to stand still when you’re doing LSAT questions (or at least, not only for that reason) — but because a month allows you plenty of time to make significant improvements in your LSAT score, as long as you’re using your time wisely. Here’s how to use that final month to ace your LSAT.

Cover any remaining new material thoroughly

Resist the temptation to rush through any material that you haven’t covered yet — you’ll be much better off in the long run if you learn those new concepts right the first time, rather than speeding through them. And skills that you learn for a specific question type often pay dividends when tackling other question types as well, so the time you’re spending covering the remaining new stuff will have a positive impact across your LSAT performance.

Assess your progress

There’s no need to go overboard on taking practice tests — they’re useful for finding out how we’ll you’re doing and where your weak spots are, but in much the same way that abs are made in the kitchen, LSAT score improvements are made in your untimed practice. Use practice tests as a chance to see what areas you’re still struggling with, and then devote plenty of time to untimed practice in those areas; then, do another timed section or practice test to see whether you’ve improved in that area when the timing pressure is back on. Rinse. Repeat.

Focus on the question types with the biggest impact

Especially in the final few weeks of prep, you’ll want to focus your practice time on the question types where you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck. It’s important to note that this doesn’t just refer to common question types (although in many cases, you will want to practice the most common types — like Flaw and Strengthen questions in Logical Reasoning); for instance, if you’re still struggling with Main Point questions, that’s also gonna affect your performance on questions like Flaw, Strengthen/Weaken, and Sufficient/Necessary questions (in which a key first step is identifying the conclusion, so you can identify the gap between the premises and the conclusion), as well.

Don’t panic

It’s common for LSAT scores to plateau or even dip from time to time, so if your practice tests don’t budge for a bit, try not to worry. Continue reviewing the tests thoroughly and identifying what sections of the test are holding you back, even if the weak spots are different on every test. It might take a little time, but eventually, you will see the benefits in the form of a score increase.

————

Overall, the name of the game in this final month before the LSAT is to be strategic about how you allocate your time: resist the urge to rush through things in an effort to cover more ground at the expense of your understanding, keep a clear view on where you still need some work, and devote a large chunk of your time to topics that will make a big difference in your score. Above all, stay calm!