This isn’t the kind of test where you can be walking through campus one day and see a sign on a building saying, “LSAT. TODAY AT NOON,” and then say, “why not?” and take it. For one thing, LSAC doesn’t let you do this (you have to register in advance), and second, you would get an absolutely horrible score way below what you are capable of. Everyone needs some study to do well on the LSAT, but how long should you study for the lsat?
How Long Should I Study for the LSAT?
There is probably no perfect answer for everyone when it comes to how long to study for lsat. The ideal length of study for you depends on individual circumstances. These factors include whether you have a job & how long you can maintain focus.
To master the LSAT, you have to learn how to do stuff that isn’t easy for your brain. The goal is to learn techniques that help you do these problems quickly and accurately. If that got you all the way there, this would be easy. However, you have to go beyond that. Not only do you have to learn how to attack LSAT problems, but you also have to practice these techniques until they become automatic. It takes time and repetition to establish these habits.
Almost without exception, every LSAT prep student should read prep books AND work through hundreds of published LSAT questions. Instead of reading prep books on your own, you may take a course that will provide you with study materials. In any case, you still want to do as many real LSAT problems as you can.
How Many Months Should I Study for the LSAT?
How long does it take to refine these techniques until they become habits? You could obviously study for the LSAT forever. However, preparing for the LSAT slowly over a long period of time is not the best approach. The major prep companies and I agree on this: more concentrated prep is better than very long drawn out prep. 3 months is about the optimal amount of time to study for the LSAT.
If you are looking for a detailed LSAT prep schedule containing everything you need to do, we have premium study schedules available for serious, motivated self-studiers. They are modeled on what I did to succeed on the LSAT, further informed by working with and advising hundreds of LSAT prep students. Find them here: LSAT Study Schedules.
These intense schedules are the only detailed schedules available to use the top-rated LSAT prep books, the Powerscore Bibles. Attack with this schedule, and you will significantly boost your score.
I did a 12-week schedule nearly identical to this while working a full-time job. However, my job was flexible and seldom required OT. If you work a full-time job, you might have to extend your study schedule to five or six months. An extended schedule allows you to cover the same amount of material, without devoting too many hours every day to LSAT prep.
What is the minimum amount of time to study for the LSAT?
Someone with no job and nothing to do besides study could conceivably get through all this in eight weeks. However, don’t try this unless you have a stellar attention span. Trust me; a three-month schedule is intense enough as it is.
My strong recommendation is that you should wait until you can devote 3 months to prep. I don’t think the brain can make all the connections it needs in anything under an 8-week schedule.
How Many Hours a Day Should You Study for the LSAT?
So, how many hours should you study for the LSAT every day? How many hours a week should you study? The answer to these questions depends on how many months you are preparing for the test.
In order to maximize your LSAT score, you should plan on studying for a total of 250-350 hours.
In order to fit 250 to 350 hours of LSAT prep into a 3 month period, you’ll need to spend between 20 and 30 hours a week studying. If you study 5 days a week, that means you’ll need to study for the LSAT for approximately 4 to 6 hours a day.
On a 4-month schedule, your aim would be to study for between 15 and 22 hours every week, which comes out to between 3 and 4.5 hours per day, if you study 5 days each week.
If take 5 months to study for the LSAT, you’d need to spend between 12 to 18 hours every week, on average. This means you’d need to spend between 2.5 and 3.5 hours a day studying, 5 days a week.
If you are on an extended 6-month schedule, you only need to study a manageable 10 to 15 hours per week. Spending 2 to 3 hours a day on LSAT prep, 5 days a week, would be enough time to be fully prepared by the end of six months.
28 Comments
If I have 18-weeks to prepare, which schedule would you recommend I purchase?
I’m a sophomore in college and am planning on taking the LSAT next year while attending Loyola University Chicago. I am about to purchase all 9 LSAT prep books in hopes of being able to get a head start on studying for this exam since my spring semester of classes seem to be a bit on the easy side compared to my fall semester. My cousin mentioned the LSAT prep course and advised me to sign up for a class (which I might over the summer.)
(MY QUESTION) Am I prepping for the LSAT “too” early? I’m freaking out about this exam and want to be able to get accepted into law school right away. I am sort of an introverted bookworm so prepping early and reading tons excites me! But I am also involved in the my school’s honors program and Psych club so I’m getting some extracurricular activities in as well. I’m not sure if there even is such a thing as prepping too early but I wanted to hear it from you guys. Thanks and happy holidays!
Hey guys! I have read a lot of your prep suggestions on your website, and I recently purchased your 16 week prep schedule, but I have a few questions. Outside of my studying 5 hours a day five days a week with the prep schedule, do I need to put in more personal study hours afterward? The reason I ask if I need to study outside of the schedule is because I don’t want to run out of material. I also wanted to ask if 25 hours a week is enough studying time for the first 3 months, I plan to study 40 hours a week the last month before the test. And lastly, is it okay to study Monday through Friday and not on the weekends? I did not know if a two day break was okay or if you did not suggest it. Thanks guys!
Hey guys-
I got a 165 on this past LSAT and my GPA is a 4.0. It was the second time I took the test and I was wondering if I should take it again in December? I studied for about three months before the September one and I was averaging 168-169 on the prep tests with a couple reaching 171 and 172. If I do take it again, what material should I study? I exhausted all the prep tests and study books so I do not know where to start.
Thanks!
I am studying for the LSAT so that I can complement it with my CPA certificate. So, anyone who says that the Job market is not great for lawyers isn’t an entirely true statement. There are many Attorneys without a CPA license and vice versa but there are a few CPA’s with a JD degree so for me studying for the LSAT is a powerful motivation to go to Law School and receive a JD degree. And I think job prospects will look good for me or I may decide just to go out on my own which is still a big plus.
Hi everyone,
It seems that 3.5 months to do every single LSAT question is low if someone is starting from a very low diagnostic (as I am). Taking ample time to review questions is extremely important, and I just don’t feel like I can go over all the questions and review thoroughly (in order to learn) in a timespan of 3.5 months.
My question to Evan, Josh, and anyone else from the community is: do you think that significantly longer than 3.5 months is ok- if I am actually reviewing questions that I got wrong, redoing old games that gave me trouble, etc (aka really learning)?
Seeing alot of people going from low diagnostics to mid-160s in 3 months is a little discouraging. For the record, I started in the 140s about 5 months ago and my last PT was 159. But I still fell like I can go higher, based on thoroughly reviewing that PT (in other words there were things in that PT that I feel I can get better at).
So can I apply in September if I don’t plan on going until the following August?
Of course, you can always take the exam earlier… but waiting to take it later might delay your applications and hurt your admission chances
Law schools start accepting applications in mid-september. In order to maximize your chances of getting into the school of your choice, it is truly important to apply early… early application has a huge impact on acceptance rates! So taking the LSAT in June means that you’ll be able to get your applications in before too many seats are already filled!
That’s about what I had planned thank you. Your tips are very insightful and appreciated.
If you’re planning on going straight through undergrad, you should probably take the LSAT in June between your junior and senior year.
How long before planing to enter law school should you take your LSAT?
It all depends on how dedicated you are an how many hours you can put into your studies
Possible: Yes. Easy: No.