I’m just barely wrapping my head around the fact that it’s August already. Remember when your last finals came and went and you could finally breath a sigh of relief? Feels like yesterday.

But now the school year is starting up again. The first few days back are always deceptively awesome: meeting up with friends and having no real assignments. Then the homework kicks in and you remember why you love the dog days of summer so much.

Besides the four classes that I’ll be taking, I have to make time for my LSAT studies. Surprisingly, I have had a hard time sticking to a strict schedule during the summer, but I blame the windy city’s hot and humid weather for my laziness.

However, once the school year kicks in, I’ll need to figure out some prioritization. Research papers and the like may have to take center stage over my LSAT homework, but I can’t let my LSAT studies get in the way of my regular course load either. Besides a great LSAT score, I’ll need a good GPA to match.

And it certainly doesn’t help that studying for the LSAT is quite different from how I regularly study for exams. Usually, I perform pretty well on tests for my classes. Thorough note taking and a few nights of hardcore studying always seem to do the trick. With the LSAT though, my tried and true method isn’t enough. Memorizing methods won’t cut it. I have to understand why logical reasoning answers are right and how reading comprehension passages are structured.

To truly learn and understand, I need to constantly review. That’s why I love Blueprint’s lesson podcasts so much. Every couple days while riding on Chicago’s notorious elevated train (the el) to my internship downtown, I listen to either Trent or Matt instead of my usual commute playlist. I don’t always have my lesson book in front of me. But that doesn’t matter. Just reviewing the concepts in my head really has helped to concretely establish them.

As I move along from lesson to lesson, I always try to review the lesson or two before it to make sure I grasped everything. Every so often, I like to go way back to one of the beginning lessons as a refresher as well.

The school year can get pretty hectic. Late nights at the library and trying to have somewhat of a social life can be difficult. Throw in the stresses of LSAT prep and, well, there you go.

The October LSAT is probably going to fall right around my midterms. Time management is going to be key. I may have to sacrifice a few coffee dates and late nights with friends in order to keep up the pace, but this is the LSAT we’re talking about here. It’s time to get serious.