Hi!
I am currently using the LSAT interact course to study for the September LSAT. I have almost finished 2 out of the 12 sections. I'm a bit unsure of how to proceed, so I have the following questions:
1) How far in advance of the LSAT should I finish the LSAT Interact course?
-I'm concerned about learning strategies right before the test, so I assume I should finish the course with some time left before the test date.
2) What should I be doing in addition to the course?
-ex) should I be adding on drills?
3) How much should I study per week up until the September LSAT?
-Should I base my studying schedule off of hours per week, or should I base my schedule off of certain amounts of work that I should finish per week?
4) How long should it take me to complete each section of the LSAT Interact?
-I'm worried I have been slowing myself down too much by doing all of the helpful additions before moving on to the next session.
5) Should I focus more on weak sections?
-I'm pretty strong in LR, but very weak in logic games.
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- CourtneyH949
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Re: How long should I study using LSAT Interact?
Hi Courtney,
Apologies for our slow reply. A few questions on the forums slipped by us recently.
The general answer to "how long should I study" depends very heavily on what you are currently scoring on the test, and the amount that you need to increase your score in order to reach your goal. That's one reason why we assign a full practice test in the "Before Session 1" assignments. If you've already taken practice test or an actual LSAT before starting Interact, you can use that as your guide. Someone who wants to increase their score by five points or less might only need a bit of help. Someone who wants to increase their score by more than 10 points will probably need to work through the Interact lessons more intensely and do more practice on their own afterward. It helps to keep this in mind as you look at the answers below.
It's a good idea to finish at least two or three weeks before your test day. As you noted, it's not ideal to learn a lot of new strategies right before your test date. During the last two or three weeks before the test, you'll want to focus on reviewing, reinforcing, and cementing your existing processes and strategies instead of trying to learn a lot of new content.
The course itself contains a lot to keep you busy, so I'd just focus on that. If you have extra time and want to do additional work, spend time reviewing content that you find difficult. It can be helpful to redo Interact lessons and reread chapters in the Strategy Guides. Beyond that, spend time reviewing questions that you found difficult. Replay games that you found difficult. Reread RC passages that you found difficult. This kind of review is extremely valuable and often underrated.
The best strategy is to spend as much time as possible right now. If you spend as much time as possible now and feel like you're making more than enough progress, you can easily taper off later.
If you have nothing else to do but study for the LSAT and want to spend six hours a day doing that, great! On the other hand, if you have a full time job and a limited amount of time for LSAT prep, fit in as much as you can on days when you're working, even if it's only 30 minutes or an hour.
Always, always reserve at least one day each week where you do no LSAT prep at all. Do not study for the LSAT every day. If you want to take two days off per week, do that.
That varies greatly from person to person. But this connects to question #2 above. If you're wondering whether or not you should be doing the Helpful Additions, go ahead and do those before you worry about doing extra work outside of the Interact assignments.
Many people are seeing a lot of new and unfamiliar information when they first start preparing for the LSAT, and the going can definitely feel slow in the beginning. Keep at it, and you might find that things move more smoothly and a bit more quickly as you progress through the course.
I wouldn't cut back on stronger sections to focus on weaker ones, especially since you mentioned that you're near the beginning of the course. The initial lessons cover a lot of foundational concepts that we build on in later sections. However, if you have extra time to review and want to devote that time to weaker sections, that's a good idea.
Hope this helps!
Apologies for our slow reply. A few questions on the forums slipped by us recently.
The general answer to "how long should I study" depends very heavily on what you are currently scoring on the test, and the amount that you need to increase your score in order to reach your goal. That's one reason why we assign a full practice test in the "Before Session 1" assignments. If you've already taken practice test or an actual LSAT before starting Interact, you can use that as your guide. Someone who wants to increase their score by five points or less might only need a bit of help. Someone who wants to increase their score by more than 10 points will probably need to work through the Interact lessons more intensely and do more practice on their own afterward. It helps to keep this in mind as you look at the answers below.
1) How far in advance of the LSAT should I finish the LSAT Interact course?
It's a good idea to finish at least two or three weeks before your test day. As you noted, it's not ideal to learn a lot of new strategies right before your test date. During the last two or three weeks before the test, you'll want to focus on reviewing, reinforcing, and cementing your existing processes and strategies instead of trying to learn a lot of new content.
2) What should I be doing in addition to the course?
The course itself contains a lot to keep you busy, so I'd just focus on that. If you have extra time and want to do additional work, spend time reviewing content that you find difficult. It can be helpful to redo Interact lessons and reread chapters in the Strategy Guides. Beyond that, spend time reviewing questions that you found difficult. Replay games that you found difficult. Reread RC passages that you found difficult. This kind of review is extremely valuable and often underrated.
3) How much should I study per week up until the September LSAT?
The best strategy is to spend as much time as possible right now. If you spend as much time as possible now and feel like you're making more than enough progress, you can easily taper off later.
If you have nothing else to do but study for the LSAT and want to spend six hours a day doing that, great! On the other hand, if you have a full time job and a limited amount of time for LSAT prep, fit in as much as you can on days when you're working, even if it's only 30 minutes or an hour.
Always, always reserve at least one day each week where you do no LSAT prep at all. Do not study for the LSAT every day. If you want to take two days off per week, do that.
4) How long should it take me to complete each section of the LSAT Interact?
That varies greatly from person to person. But this connects to question #2 above. If you're wondering whether or not you should be doing the Helpful Additions, go ahead and do those before you worry about doing extra work outside of the Interact assignments.
Many people are seeing a lot of new and unfamiliar information when they first start preparing for the LSAT, and the going can definitely feel slow in the beginning. Keep at it, and you might find that things move more smoothly and a bit more quickly as you progress through the course.
5) Should I focus more on weak sections?
I wouldn't cut back on stronger sections to focus on weaker ones, especially since you mentioned that you're near the beginning of the course. The initial lessons cover a lot of foundational concepts that we build on in later sections. However, if you have extra time to review and want to devote that time to weaker sections, that's a good idea.
Hope this helps!
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- Sima S949
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Vinny Gambini
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Re: How long should I study using LSAT Interact?
Most experts and LSAT review courses recommend between 150 and 300 hours of study over the course of three to six months. This is the optimal length of time, because you can study intensively without feeling rushed.
Most in-person LSAT classes or live virtual classes will last 7-8 weeks. This gives enough time at the end for practice tests and extra review. It is also important to note that a valuable resource to determine test readiness is a proctored practice test. This will give you real insight into how you would do on the actual day of the exam and let you decide if you are averaging the right score.
Check out the top LSAT review courses to see which ones have the most realistic practice tests — some programs include official content from past exams.
Most in-person LSAT classes or live virtual classes will last 7-8 weeks. This gives enough time at the end for practice tests and extra review. It is also important to note that a valuable resource to determine test readiness is a proctored practice test. This will give you real insight into how you would do on the actual day of the exam and let you decide if you are averaging the right score.
Check out the top LSAT review courses to see which ones have the most realistic practice tests — some programs include official content from past exams.
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