2017 is going to be the last year that the December LSAT will conflict with university finals – in 2018, the LSAT will instead be administered in November and January to avoid a conflict that has plagued undergraduates for years.

However, if you’re reading this, chances are you are getting ready to take the LSAT this December, when the LSAT will conflict with your finals. We thought we’d put together a quick list of tips to help navigate this really tricky situation

1. Prioritize your school work

It’s pretty easy, all things considered, to reschedule or cancel the LSAT. It is not so easy to redo a semester of college. Most people will only have one chance to achieve a competitive GPA for law school, and most people will have the opportunity to take the LSAT more than once. While it will cost you some money, you can cancel the LSAT or take the test in February if you absolutely need to; school comes first

2. Make time for a test every weekend

If you don’t have time every week to take and review an LSAT practice test, then it’s probably not a good idea for you to sit for the test until you have that time. The LSAT is a long test, over four hours, and to get the best possible score you’ll want to do regular practice if only to build up your stamina (but really, there are a lot of benefits to taking regular practice tests).

3. Try to do a little LSAT every day, rather than a lot over one or two days

It’s strongly preferable when you’re studying for the LSAT to do 30-60 minutes a day, rather than spend, say, twelve hours in a single day and nothing for the rest of the week. Because the LSAT is a skills test and not a knowledge test, preparation is more similar to preparing for an athletic event than for a traditional knowledge-based quiz. That is to say, you build your skills slowly over a lot of practices spread out over many days, rather than by staying up and cramming as you could for, say, a Spanish or geography test.

4. Take your practice tests with others at your school

See if you can find other people taking the test when you are, and see if you can set up common test taking administration. Practicing your test at the same time as others (even if you’re doing different tests) will give you a better approximation of the test day experience. You will do better when you take a practice test in your own kitchen than you will at a test center, so see if there is anyone else that you can test with.

5. Don’t put yourself under unnecessary pressure

The LSAT is a hard test, and it’s not something you want to take without thorough preparation. If the combination of studying for the LSAT and doing your schoolwork is burning you out, then reschedule your LSAT. Some people can be in top shape for the test despite their school work, but for others it may be a good idea to defer.

Good luck!