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What Your February LSAT Study Week Should Look Like

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What your study week should look like.

The February 2011 LSAT is on Saturday.  Today is Monday.  No longer are we talking in terms of dates, but of days.  It’s almost here.  Just five more sunsets until the most exciting test you’ll ever take.  While this might make you want to just start jumping for joy in utter delight, contain yourself for a minute, because I’m here with some advice for the final week, which is basically to…

Study Less – You’ve been preparing for a long time.  You’ve learned a ton of material.  A few months ago you probably couldn’t tell a sufficient assumption for a fallacy of exclusivity, but those days are behind you.  You should now be something of a logic machine.  So the learning phase is over.

This week it’s going to be all about review and getting into your happy place for the test.  Unlike with probably any other test you’ve taken, you absolutely cannot cram for the LSAT.  If you study for 12 hours a day from now until Saturday, you’re going to feel terrible for the February LSAT on Saturday, and you’re going to get a terrible score.  You need to be taking the February 11 LSAT calm, rested, and confident, and the best way to get into that state of mind is to not kill yourself studying.  So I’ve laid out a study plan for this week that you can use to plan out what your final days are going to look like.

Monday (Today) – First of all, finish reading this article.  Then get some studying in.  Start with a couple complete sections from practice tests.  Take them with strict timing guidelines, and in a testing-like environment.  After that, review your misses.  For any areas that you’re feeling a bit shaky on, go back to the books and review that question type.  Once you’re done with that, relax and take the day off.  You’ll need to be relaxed for tomorrow, when you’ll…

Tuesday (Tomorrow) – Take a full test.  Make it as real as possible.  Take it around 9:15am (that’s roughly when you’ll start the February 2011 LSAT).  Be strict with the timing, including giving yourself just a 15 minute break.  Don’t eat or drink during the test, but make sure you get a good breakfast before you start.  Use your analog watch.  Use wooden pencils and an answer sheet.  This is what Saturday’s test is going to be like, so this is what your practice should be like.

After you take the test, review the whole thing.  This might take a while, but it’s a really necessary component.  With the ones you missed, try to figure out why liked the answer choice you did, but why you shouldn’t have.  Go back and review the pertinent lesson for question types that you missed a lot of.  Also, look for overarching themes.  Did you start the test poorly?  Maybe you need to do a bit more warm-up.  Do you end poorly?  Maybe you need a better snack for the break to keep you energized.

Wednesday (The Day After Tomorrow) – This should be a calmer day.  Force yourself to wake up early still (this is to keep a consistent sleep schedule for Saturday).  You can do some studying, but for just a few hours.  Complete sections are a great way to go, because you need to be getting used to working within 35 minute time constraints.  Don’t overdo it though.  When you’re done, take the rest of the day to do whatever it is that you love doing.  Then go to bed early, because the next day is going to be…

Thursday (The Day After the Day After Tomorrow) – Another full test.  Just like Tuesday.  Same time, same conditions.  Once you finish section five give yourself a pat on the back, because that’s the last LSAT practice you’ll have before the February 2011 test.  You can review the test, but that’s it.  Spend the rest of the day making sure that you have everything for Saturday (this shouldn’t take the whole day), and then enjoy your day.

Friday (The Day Before the February 2011 LSAT, Jesus!) – You’ll have to fight all your natural inclinations to study today.  That’s because you shouldn’t do any LSAT work whatsoever.  Seriously.  At this point, you know what you’re doing.  You know how to attack problems, you know how to take tests.  The best thing you can do for your February LSAT score is relax.  Ride a bike.  Go to the gym.  Watch a movie.  Eat spaghetti out of a bag.  Learn how to play the theremin.  But for Christ’s sake, don’t study for the LSAT.  You need to be using Friday to get yourself into your happy place for Saturday, because that’s when you take the…

Saturday – LSAT.