Alright LSAT prep studiers, so don’t freak out just yet. We definitely have more than seven days till the December 2014 LSAT. But, seeing as we are only 11 days away, I’d like you to be prepared so that when you cross off that eighth day before the LSAT Test, you don’t have a monumental freak out that there is only one week left.
Alright, we know that we are trying to take as many LSAT practice exams as often as we can. However, when those last seven days before the exam come, you need to change up your LSAT prep. First of all, if you aren’t already getting at least seven hours of sleep EACH night, then you must start the week before the test. Why, pray tell? Because your level of exhaustion is not necessarily based on how much sleep you got the previous night. Your lack of sleep catches up with you. Therefore, once day seven comes rolling around, you need to start getting AT LEAST seven hours of sleep; I’d even go so far as saying try for eight.
Now, the very last full-length practice exam you should take is three days before the exam. So assuming you are taking the December exam on a Saturday, that means that Wednesday should be the last day you take a full-length practice LSAT. As you know, once in a while, you’ll get a fluke exam that will inaccurately reflect your score, whether it’s due to an off-day or some unconscious distraction. Therefore, you don’t want to accidentally take that “off-exam” on the day before your LSAT right? Of course not! You’ll freak yourself out! Take your last practice exam on Wednesday, grade it, go over it and then Thursday just do individual sections under time pressure.
Now, we come to my next point. In the beginning of your studying you want to try and focus heavily on your weakest sections. But, as the test date approaches you want to focus on your strengths. As you know, it takes longer to hone your weaknesses than to hone your strengths. At some point you will gain more from focusing on your best section than focusing on your worst section. By the time the last seven days roll around, you really want to be spending a large amount of your time tweaking the details of your best section.
As with the sleep, you need to be eating immaculately over the last seven days, since a small glitch one day can catch up with you a few days later. So, don’t go out to restaurants that might get you sick. If there is anyone around you who so much as sneezes, it’s not the time to be polite, either leave or ask them to. You’ve worked too hard to get sick on the last few days and compromise points for something you could have avoided.
Lastly, and this might be the most important and the hardest for you to actually do. On the last day before the exam, DO NOT STUDY! Yes, you read correctly. Do NOT study. You know as well as I that one extra day of studying will not change anything. But one extra day of relaxation before the exam can help you clear your mind and nerves before test day.
I know you need some time to process this, which is why I’ve told you in advance so you can prepare yourself. It’s very, very important to be well-rested and relaxed! Alright, we still have a little less than two weeks to study, so go take that practice LSAT! Best of luck!
Happy Studying!