Return to Blog Homepage

The Last Weekend Before the June LSAT Study Schedule

BPPalex-lsat-blog-week-of-lsat-schedule
Today’s our last post in week-long preview of the June 2019 LSAT. If you’d like to review what we’ve already discussed, check out our posts where we made some predictions for the test, offered a last-week study guide, and discussed the changes to the writing section.

The fact that there’s only one weekend before the June 2019 LSAT must make you pretty nervous. Honestly, it makes me pretty nervous, and I don’t even have to take the test. Only one weekend — three-and-a-half days, if we’re being generous and including both Friday and Monday morning — separates you from this test.

Three-and-a-half days! Definitely not a lot of days. Three-and-a-half days is one of the lowest numbers of days there is. Few numbers are lower than three-and-a-half. There’s three. And two. And one. And I suppose zero days. That’s about it. So, yeah, not many days before the test!

Oh, sorry … this isn’t helping, huh? This is making you more nervous. OK, OK, sorry about that. Let’s make it up to you. We’ve helped a lot of students work through their last-weekend-before-the-test nerves. We know how to make this last weekend count. So we can help quell your nerves with a super simple, very easy-to-follow schedule for these last few days.

Friday

Take a practice exam, if you want.

Practice exams are great for measuring progress and helping you figuring out what to review. They’re good for working out your timing strategies for each section. But, at this late stage in your studies, you should already have a pretty good idea of how far you’ve progressed. There isn’t much more time to review. And you should already have your timing strategies ironed out. So, a practice exam doesn’t have quite the same utility now that it would have earlier in your study process.

Now, some people — especially the highly studious, overachieving, type A sort … who aren’t exactly underrepresented in pre-law circles — feel like they have to do a lot of practice exams before the test day. If that’s you, by all means, take a practice exam. But if that’s not you, there’s no need to take a practice exam. And if you already took a practice exam this week, and it went super well, there’s a lot to be said about ending on a high note.

If you’re not taking a practice exam, just do some light work. Try to get some untimed practice with LR question types you haven’t quite mastered yet, especially if those include super common questions like Strengthen, Flaw, Soft Must Be True, or Necessary questions. Get some last-minute review of important concepts, like conditional statements, or cause and effect, or the common fallacies. If you feel like you need more timed practice, take one or two sections out of a test and do them timed.

Mostly, don’t overdo it. No need to exhaust or frustrate yourself so close to the exam. Studying any more than four hours is kind of pushing it.

Saturday

Basically, the same as Friday.

If you took an exam on Friday, use Saturday to review the test and get some untimed work on the concepts that gave you the most trouble on that exam. Again, keep it mellow — no need to study for any more than four hours.

If you didn’t take an exam on Friday, have another day of light work. Review the major concept. Getting untimed practice, and maybe a timed section or two if you want some last-minute experience work at test-speed. Most of all, don’t overexert yourself. No need to exhaust your brain before the big day.

And again, if you want to take a practice exam, no one will stop you. But unless Saturday is your only opportunity to take an exam this last week, I’d caution against it. There’s not much that can be gained from a practice exam this late in the game, since you won’t have much time to review the exam or practice the question types that gave you trouble. It’s more beneficial for most to do untimed work instead, reinforcing good habits and building confidence.

Sunday

No studying.

That’s right. Sunday should be a day of rest and contemplation for you, weary studier. You’ve studied diligently for months before the test; trust that you built all the important skills during that time. Anything you could possibly do on Sunday won’t add much to those hard-won skills. It’s better to use the day to let your overtaxed brain relax and recharge.

So relax on Sunday. Eat at least one nutritious meal, and try to get some exercise (the benefits of which are scientifically demonstrated). If you have to do something LSAT-related, get your test-day materials together. Put your pencils, eraser, analog wristwatch, ID, and admissions ticket in a clear Ziploc bag. Purchase a water (that comes in a plastic or juice box container, and doesn’t exceed 20 oz.) and a snack to bring to the test center. If you can, do a dry run to your test center, to scope out where to park and check-in and all of that.

Monday

Wake up at a time that feels normal for you (as long as this time is before the 12:30 pm check-in time). Eat a salubrious breakfast. Go to the test center.

Especially for afternoon tests like June, it’s a good idea to get a little bit of untimed practice the morning of the test. Do no more than ten LR questions and one logic game. The LR questions should be incredibly easy, and the game should be a very straightforward 1-to-1 ordering game (since that’s a game that you will almost certainly get on your test). You’re doing this to just warm up your brain and boost your confidence — you’re not challenging yourself.

Most of all, try to stay in a good headspace. If you’re nervous, that’s totally normal! Remind yourself how much you learned over the last few months, and how much progress you made. Remind yourself that, over the course of your studies, you’ll have seen some version of every question . That there won’t be anything new or unfamiliar on the June test. Treat it like any other test you’ve taken, trust the skills you’ve built over the course of your studies, and you’ll do great.

————

So that’s the day-by-day schedule we recommend. As you probably noticed, we’re not telling you to do all that much. It’s not the last-minute cramming of your college years. But that’s, of course, because the LSAT’s a different kind of test. You built a bunch skill to prepare for this test. It took a lot of time to do that — you’re not going to be able to drastically improve those skills over the course of one weekend. So use this weekend instead to reinforce those skills with some light practice, and make sure you’re well-rested and confident before test day.

Here’s to a confidence-boosting and restorative weekend. Good luck on Monday, everyone.