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Balancing the LSAT and a Busy Life

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A Blueprint LSAT blog reader writes:

‘It would be helpful to have some tips and guidance in balancing the course workload with full time work. It is not easy keeping up with the homework while working and attending class.’

I’ve had a few thousand other students find themselves in similar situations. It really isn’t easy to balance life and LSAT prep, but here are some tips to help you along.

Tip 1 For Busy LSAT Students: Do a bit of everything.

If you can’t do all of your LSAT prep homework, try to do a bit from each section and at each difficulty. Don’t skip an entire section – that means do your Reading Comp homework!

At least for Blueprint students, homework questions are ordered by increasing difficulty. So make sure you do a few questions from the beginning, middle, and end of your practice set.

Tip 2 For Busy LSAT Students: Do a little whenever you can.

It should take you anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes to do the average Logical Reasoning question. The average logic game should take about 9 minutes. And the average Reading Comp passage will take about the same amount of time.

So, if you’re really pressed for time, try to squeeze a question or two in when you can. Waiting for your eggs to fry? Do a Logical Reasoning question. Riding the subway to work? Do a logic game. Frying an egg on the subway? You’ve got bigger problems than time management.

If you can’t focus enough in your mini-down times to do new LSAT questions, then grab a stack of questions you’ve already done to refresh yourself on their finer points.

Tip 3 For Busy LSAT Students: Consider extending your study time.

The September LSAT isn’t your last chance to get a score in time for the current application cycle. You can just as easily change your test date to December and get all of your applications out on time. So don’t feel like you have to get to your ideal LSAT score within the next month and a half.

Don’t worry about applying early. It’s better to apply with a high score late in the application cycle than with a low score early.

Tip 4 For Busy LSAT Students: Let everyone around you know how big of a deal the LSAT is and get some help.

Most of your friends and family have no idea how important the LSAT is. So tell them. Once people find out that you’re getting ready to take a 4-hour test to determine the rest of your life, they’ll be more likely to help you out.

Let your friends know that you won’t be able to hang out much until after you take the test. If you live with family members, you can try to get them to take over some of your household responsibilities. If your boss is a saint, you might even be able to get a smaller workload.

If any readers have additional tips they think might be useful, please post them in the comments. Good luck!