Although this is the  way the  question is usually asked, there are  really two questions:

First, how long should you prepare?

Second, during what period of time should you prepare?

I have  already written a post about  when to take the LSAT (June with October as the second best choice.)

Therefore, this post  will  focus on the  length of time to prepare without knowing  whether you will have to take  the LSAT more than once.

Different people  have different ideas  about this,  but …

Your goal  is to both be prepared for the LSAT and feel that you are prepared for  the LSAT.

At the beginning of your LSAT prep (at least this is  how the people in my LSAT prep courses experience it) you will  find LSAT questions to be interesting, fun and exciting.  Let’s give  some credit  to  Law Services. They do a great  job of  constructing an interesting test.

During that initial  period where you find LSAT  prep interesting and exciting you will read the questions  with more interest and make  fewer reading and reasoning mistakes. (Remember that the LSAT is a test of “reading and reasoning” in context.) Sooner or later that period of interest and excitement will “wear off” and LSAT will become tedious. At the point that  it becomes tedious, you will make more  reading  mistakes, etc.

Hence, I am not a fan of presuming long periods of LSAT preparation.  You can always add time to your LSAT prep, but you can never subtract.

Conclusion: Start with a period of six to 12 weeks. You can always add time if necessary. In addition, you should try to do your LSAT prep when you are not  in school. Remember, your job is to get the best grades that you can.

John Richardson

http://www.prep.com

Three Principles:

1. Applying  to law school and LSAT preparation is lots of work.  You must not let  the process of applying to law school interfere with study time that is necessary for high grades.

2. The application deadlines for law school are generally in the fall.

3. May law schools  use a process  of “rolling admissions”. This means that you will evaluate  applications prior  to the law school application deadline date.

The LSAT is administered four times a year in: June, October, December and February.

You should take the LSAT in June. Furthermore, you should  take the LSAT the first June that is convenient for you. There is no reason (and it may not be advisable) to delay until the June before  your law school application deadline.

The pros and cons of each LSAT administration:

June LSAT – This is your best option for  three reasons:

First, you will be  finished  with school and will be able to focus on LSAT prep during the month of May.

Second, you are  still in “exam mode” and have the academic stamina to  continue.

Third, if you need to take the LSAT again you will have the October LSAT.

October LSAT – This is your second best option.

It is early in the semester and should not cut into your “school  time” too  much. But, if you need to do a retake, you are  left with December  which can be a bit  late (you will have missed  some offers for early admissions). Furthermore, to take  the LSAT the first Saturday in December  will certainly cut into  your “study time”.

December LSAT – This  is not great. You  have  missed  “early admission” for some schools. But,  the bigger  problem is that the December LSAT is  in early December. You have other things to do (”study time”). Furthermore,  the only time for a retake is the February LSAT (see below).

February LSAT – Worst option if you want to start law  school  the following September.

Some  schools  will  accept a February LSAT score. Many people  have been admitted  to law  school. But, if you want to use the February LSAT as an “early bird” start then it is okay. In my current Toronto LSAT course, half of the people  in the class  are using the February LSAT as an “early bird” start. This  can work quite  nicely.

John Richardson

One strategy that I’m increasingly recommending is for students to plan to take a real LSAT and to immediately cancel the score in order to gain test-day experience. What are the pros and cons of this approach?

Pros

• Understand the test day process. Since you likely took your practice tests in a quiet, comfortable and familiar spot, you may not be prepared for the carnival-esque atmosphere of hundreds of nervous type-A’s registering and then waiting, often for a long time
• Reveal your test anxiety. Students often are surprised by their own level of nerves while taking the exam. A practice run gives you a better understanding of how you’ll react. If nerves impact your performance
• There’s no admissions downside. Canceled scores really have no impact on your admissions process at all

Cons

• You’re out $132. However, this is an extremely small price to pay for even a point or two on the test. See here and here for why effective LSAT prep is an amazing financial investment. If you’re worried about the cost, just think of it as a fraction of a percent of the cost of your legal education. (Scary.)
• You’ll need to extend your LSAT prep. It’s not worth sitting for a real LSAT if you haven’t done any prep, so to use this strategy you need to be studying 1-2 months before your practice LSAT. This strategy works a bit better, therefore, for December and February takers who have a test application just a few months beforehand. This would work least well for June takers, who would have to start prepping in January.

All in all I think this is a very good way to get some real-world practice. This method is certainly better than getting a sub-optimal score and having to retake. If you’re at all concerned about test anxiety or you are taking the test in December or February, I’d recommend considering this strategy.

John Rood is the Academic Director at Next Step Test Preparation, which provides one-on-one tutoring services for the LSAT. Contact John here.

Have a look at a more comprehensive article about what is called: L-sat India.

http://www.lawschoolbound.ca/blog/_archives/2009/3/22/4129977.html

Is the LSAT viable in the long run?

They vary tremendously in style, tone, level of difficulty and overall effectiveness.

A good LSAT book is one that helps you. It’s that simple.

If you have a book that you would like added, please email at:

lsatstudygroup [at} gmail dot com

or post a comment on this page.

In order to help you get started I would recommend:

- LSAT information material from LSAT at: http://www.lsac.org/LSAT/preparing-for-lsat.asp

- Richardson LSAT Prep Primer at: http://www.prep.com/law/lsatprimer.html

- About the LSAT at: http://aboutthelsat.wordpress.com