<p>I have a few books from Kaplan that I have been using to study. How long should I study before taking it? (obviously the longer the better..i assume)</p>
<p>But the LSAT is not offered each month is it?</p>
<p>Four times/year. Check out lsac.org to find testing dates.</p>
<p>I’m preparing for it now, so don’t take my advice as gospel. I’ve been working since my Kaplan class started in March. (7 full length tests and lectures twice/week. Decent, but no substitute for individual preparation.) Admittedly, I didn’t do anything outside of class until about June, but I’ve been doing around six/seven hours per day since July and I’m seeing material improvements. Do you have the LG/LR/RC Kaplan Mastery Books? My regimen starting out was 15 pages of LR questions (mix of level and type) and a timed section, four games and a timed LG section, and one passage of each type and a RC section. I adjusted it up as I got more comfortable and now it’s two LR sections, three LG sections, 2 RC sections (as well as 10 pages of LR questions, eight RC passages, and seven games; all from the Mastery Books). I’m finding that I’m out of games and almost done with the other books as well, but make sure you exhaust ALL of the Kaplan material to get as comfortable as you can. Get old tests and do the games even if you’ve done them before, because even though you’ll recognize a lot, you’ll still have to set it up and make the deductions as if it’s a new game. Going through the motions mechanically is a great help in increasing your time and accuracy on the games.</p>
<p>The PowerScore Logic Games Bible is excellent and you should buy it as well as their Logical Reasoning Bible, though the former I found more helpful. Also, buy the last eight or so LSATs from LSAC to get a sense of where you stand in terms of newer tests, as I’ve found a lot of mapping games on older tests that are fun, but not likely to reappear. (I’m planning to use those as my practice tests and just gut the others for their individual sections.)</p>
<p>That being said, everyone’s different and you should take a diagnostic to get a sense of where you are versus where you want to be. I started at a 151 and am now consistently in the 170s, so just work the questions and don’t be daunted by a bad diagnostic! (I concede, plenty of students are where I am without substantial investment of time and studying, but it’s really about doing the best that YOU can possible do, and that can only be achieved with preparation unless you’re one of the handful who can get a 180 without preparation…like my LSAT instructor <em>palms face</em>)</p>
<p>I guess I would advocate a couple of months at the very least, but as I suggested, it doesn’t come that easily for me…</p>
<p>Good luck! Maybe see you in 2011? HLS or bust haha =)</p>
<p>Three or four months is probably ideal.</p>
<p>I do not think studying for more than that is a good idea. Eventually you hit a wall where you just start getting a bit lazy. I’ve been at it for 2.5 months and I’m pretty much dying for Oct 9 to get here so I can take it already. </p>
<p>Wayward Trojan- I personally cannot fathom working 6-7 hours a day at prep. That is insane.</p>
<p>Oh, it’s not that bad. I mean, it’s really more like five hours most days. I break it up into sections.</p>
<p>Hey whatever works for you. If you have the discipline and desire to do that, then that is impressive. Good luck.</p>