Felling very unprepared.

[cademarino]

Hello everyone.
The reason why I'm seeking for advice today is because I'm feeling so anxious and down about taking the October LSAT. Over the summer I signed myself into an online course, most of the people signed into that course were scheduled to take the June LSAT. This is how I got into the mentality that put me where I am right now, "I still have so much time!" ... I worked tons of hours during the summer at 2 different jobs so I did not prioritize the LSATs as much as I realized I should've. I missed about the second half of the online live lessons because I knew I had the recordings and I could go over them because I had "so much time", of course, this really didn't happen.
During the summer I also took a practice test, got a 143. I've been afraid of taking another one since. The summer for me was a lot of on-off studying and I felt that whatever I got in a practice test was not going to be good. Although I did study I felt like I'm missing A LOT. I only have 1 practice test under my wing, I've read in multiple forum posts that the wanted average is about 20!
I was very rushed about looking into the LSAT and law school and I'm really feeling the consequences now. With about less than a month for the LSATs my anxiety is going though the roof. As for now I still have the recording and the books. I'm re-wacthing all the lessons (today I'm in Lesson 3) and very committed to doing all the homework, drills and as much as I can fit before the exam. I'm planning to take a practice test on Sunday as well.
What also brings me anxiety is the though of what's going to happen after the LSATs. Before starting to study I thought this was going to be so easy and I would just decide what school I would apply too after I got a really good score. At this point I'm unsure if I should even apply for the upcoming fall semester. My original plan B was that if I didn't do well in the October administration I would take the December one and still make it into next year classes.
What I'm projecting at this point is that I should take the October LSATs even if I don't do as well as I would want to, this coming up weeks I'm really committed to working as much as I can. However, I think instead of taking the December as a back up I would take the June one. As far as to applying in the coming up weeks I'm torn on that as well. Should I even bother if I'm planning to take the June LSAT already? - I'm also still an undergrad (graduating in December) and working part-time hours, this is another variable that makes me think it would be a wise choice to wait for the June administration. My current GPA is a 3.5 and I do not want to lower it.
As you can see I'm very confused, and more than anything just disappointed at myself. I had so much time during the summer but I did not take advantage of it. I will take the October LSAT but I'm not sure about applying for the next year class.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Is there something I can do to maximize my studying time?
- I would love to still be able to make it by next year class.

[Robert Carroll]

cademarino,

It's understandable that you're feeling a bit overwhelmed. However, you haven't done anything that can't be corrected. Thus, the first thing to do is to channel your energy - instead of being disappointed in what you've done, come up with a concrete plan you can follow in the future.

It was very easy to think you had a lot of time and get behind on your studying. You won't do that in the future! Consider how much time you have before the October test and whether you can really catch up in that time. If it's not reasonable to think you can do that, then you're setting yourself up for another failure - don't do that! Give yourself enough time to read all the material; absorb what it's saying, practice it in drills, homework questions, problem sets, and practice tests; and then finally take the test ready for anything it will throw at you. You're understandably anxious to take the test and you might feel that putting the test off again will just give you an excuse to take time off studying. However, the solution to that isn't to rush yourself and try to cram months of studying into a few weeks. If you do decide to take a later test, don't let that be an excuse to put off studying to later - start studying now no matter what! Give yourself enough time to learn all the material. If Lesson 3 doesn't make sense now, take enough time with it that it does start to make sense. Then move on to the next. Find time every day to study - even for a little bit - and find a substantial amount of time every week to study.

Whatever test you take, though, you need to keep studying now - and keep at it all the way up to the test. It takes time and effort to master this test, but it can be done.

The key right now is to put the past behind you. You haven't done anything to ruin your chances, and you have time to get prepared for the test and get a good score. Start studying immediately. See how that goes - if it's going well, October may be the only test you need to take. If the studying seems slow and you're not grasping things, you just need to take more time - don't let that be an excuse. It just shows you need more time and should schedule a later administration. You'll keep studying up until the test and eventually what was challenging will become more manageable.

I hope this helped!