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OT: Going for my LSAT in just over a month from now

Rhavicc

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Hey ladies and gents, going for my LSAT in June, and I figured that we have some people on this board who have gone through this thing before. Anybody got any tips for a guy who is just over a month out from the test? Any kind of study habits, tips, or anything that may have kept you relaxed going through the process?

Also, for other people who have been through the whole law school application process, I had some other questions if this post gets any kind of attention.

Thanks in advance!
 
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If I can get in law school anybody can. Cut your losses and pick another career path. Once you get to law school treat it like a job. Put in your 9 to 5 from the get go. 1st year is miserable and it is a cakewalk from there.
 
If I can get in law school anybody can. Cut your losses and pick another career path. Once you get to law school treat it like a job. Put in your 9 to 5 from the get go. 1st year is miserable and it is a cakewalk from there.

I keep hearing how miserable 1L is (and I have a complete expectation that I'm going to hate my life for that year) but how is it so bad compared to the 2L and 3L years?
 
After 1st year you have the process figured out. You can do twice as much in half the time. Also they are not trying to cull students. Teachers have a lot more respect for students after you get through the first year. They spend half their time playing hide the ball the first year.
 
If I can get in law school anybody can. Cut your losses and pick another career path. Once you get to law school treat it like a job. Put in your 9 to 5 from the get go. 1st year is miserable and it is a cakewalk from there.
Pretty much this. My sister is an attorney at a major firm in Louisville, her first two years were utterly miserable, once she got on with a solid firm things took off, now she’s making very good money. She handles malpractice suits, so things get difficult. Litigation is tough. Good luck!
 
After 1st year you have the process figured out. You can do twice as much in half the time. Also they are not trying to cull students. Teachers have a lot more respect for students after you get through the first year. They spend half their time playing hide the ball the first year.

Good to know! I wondered about how the 2nd and 3rd years compared to the 1st, so at least I have that to look forward to.

Pretty much this. My sister is an attorney at a major firm in Louisville, her first two years were utterly miserable, once she got on with a solid firm things took off, now she’s making very good money. She handles malpractice suits, so things get difficult. Litigation is tough. Good luck!

Nice to know that there's some light at the end of the tunnel haha. Unfortunately, I haven't even gone into the tunnel yet, so I'm nowhere near that. Glad things worked out well for your family, and I appreciate the kind words!
 
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Hey ladies and gents, going for my LSAT in July, and I figured that we have some people on this board who have gone through this thing before. Anybody got any tips for a guy who is just over a month out from the test? Any kind of study habits, tips, or anything that may have kept you relaxed going through the process?

Also, for other people who have been through the whole law school application process, I had some other questions if this post gets any kind of attention.

Thanks in advance!
What materials have you been using? Powerscore? Manhattan? Trainer?

Been PiTng? & blind reviewing? Those are the most important aspects to see your score improve IMO. I sit for the June test and have been studying since late January. Cold diagnostic was a 151 but I’ve since been in the 159-165 range. Drilling sections a day & doing a PT every week is what has really made me improve.
 
Tips

1. Score 160+
2. Don't go more than 80K in debt for law school.
 
What materials have you been using? Powerscore? Manhattan? Trainer?

Been PiTng? & blind reviewing? Those are the most important aspects to see your score improve IMO. I sit for the June test and have been studying since late January. Cold diagnostic was a 151 but I’ve since been in the 159-165 range. Drilling sections a day & doing a PT every week is what has really made me improve.

I have the PowerScore bible collection, but I'm doing some beta test for Khan Academy LSAT prep right now too (just started that today, so I'm not sure how well it's going to work, but it looks promising so far). I have the LSAC book that has the last 10 exams administered, and I've been doing one test per week for the past month and a half or so. Right now I'm sitting in the 155 - 161 range, but I would really like to be consistently above 160. All good tips from you though, I'll take notes. Thanks, and good luck on your test!

Tips

1. Score 160+
2. Don't go more than 80K in debt for law school.

I almost fear that #2 is going to be more difficult than #1
 
Actually study a bunch. I didn’t put in nearly the prep I should have for the LSAT and still regret that. I would turn on the lecture and then probably come on this forum.

Law school isn’t that hard if you take good notes and actually read the material. You don’t even have to do 9-5, but need to definitely put in the work. There were plenty of days where I barely did any work and there were plenty of days where I got up at 7am and studied until 2am. Just find a balance. Go to the gym, go out a couple times a week, skip class occasionally.
 
Put in time for all aspects of the LSAT, not just the area that always gives you problems. I remember focusing purely on logic games for the final month before the LSAT because I was always so bad at them and routinely did well on the other sections. That strategy backfired when I aced the logic games section and did weaker than anticipated on the other two sections. To this day, I have chalked that up to narrowing my study focus too much in the weeks leading up to test day. Long story short, work on everything, including the areas you already do well.

As for law school, here's my advice:

(1) Don't just go to any law school you get into. Plenty of terrible schools enrolling students just to generate revenue. Will really hurt you in the end in terms of passing the bar exam and getting a decent job. Not to mention, you'll have a massive amount of debt for an essentially worthless degree.

(2) Go to law school in the area you believe you want to live going forward. While the Uniform Bar Exam is finally making things easier for attorneys to have nationwide options without the hassle of taking multiple bar exams, there is still a regional bias with pretty much every law school outside the T14.

(3) Bust your butt your first year of law school, no matter how difficult it may seem. You'll thank yourself later when you've anchored your GPA in a strong range. While your grades should go up your final two years of law school, it's extremely difficult to prop up a terrible first year GPA, even with stellar grades the remaining two years.

(4) Take real core classes over elective courses during your last two years of school whenever possible. While Business Associations may not seem so interesting when compared to a course like Environmental Law, you'll thank yourself when studying for the bar exam. I know at least two people from my graduating class who finished with bloated GPAs because they avoided every core course they were not required to take and have failed the bar exams at least three times each.

(4) Lastly, studying for the bar exam is going to be the worst summer of your life. No way around it, and I'd bet you would not be able to find someone to tell you differently. Start preparing yourself for that reality now. No matter how strong of a student you are, it's going to be a draining and stressful process where you constantly believe you did not learn enough to pass. That said, the euphoria when its over and when you found out you passed are immeasurable. Will also lead to two of the drunkest nights of your life that you will never remember.
 
Talked to an attorney about a new LLC, estate planning and a few other things this week.

Hope this helps, OP.
 
you don't want to be a lawyer kid; it truly is a miserable profession. Make another career choice before its too late. If you choose to go down that rabbit hole, don't say you weren't warned
 
you don't want to be a lawyer kid; it truly is a miserable profession. Make another career choice before its too late. If you choose to go down that rabbit hole, don't say you weren't warned
Agreed. If I had the chance to do it over again, I would have (1) gone into finance and not lost those three years of earning potential or (2) gone to business school and become a lot better at golf.
 
Another thing to consider: do you really want to go to work every morning knowing that you are going to have to account for every 6-minute increment of your day, with the end goal being 2,400 billed hours (at a minimum) by the end of the year?
 
Agreed. If I had the chance to do it over again, I would have (1) gone into finance and not lost those three years of earning potential or (2) gone to business school and become a lot better at golf.
Go into business school & then what? I just feel like that's so broad I wouldn't know where to begin.
 
Go into business school & then what? I just feel like that's so broad I wouldn't know where to begin.
Good question, and one I don't have an answer for right now. That said, business school worked for my brother and just about all of my former classmates from Duke.
 
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Good question, and one I don't have an answer for right now. That said, business school worked for my brother and just about all of my former classmates from Duke.
At least with law school I feel as if I have some discernible path to navigate. We'll see what happens.
 
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At least with law school I feel as if I have some discernible path to navigate. We'll see what happens.
I thought I did as well. Started out as a 1L angling to do criminal defense. Switched focus to healthcare litigation by the end of law school. Now doing labor and employment law. Definitely an odd career progression and one dictated by the best opportunity the market presented.
 
I thought I did as well. Started out as a 1L angling to do criminal defense. Switched focus to healthcare litigation by the end of law school. Now doing labor and employment law. Definitely an odd career progression and one dictated by the best opportunity the market presented.
IF I get in, I'm hoping to either do M&A, Crypto, or Energy. But was also looking at Sports & Entertainment.
 
IF I get in, I'm hoping to either do M&A, Crypto, or Energy. But was also looking at Sports & Entertainment.
M&A would be quite lucrative. Crypto would probably be pretty interesting as it is an emerging market and a way for you to create a niche specialty for yourself that would keep your services in demand. If you want to make sure you always have a job and get paid well, look into federal tax law. You'll want to claw your eyes out from boredom, but you'll make a pretty penny and always be needed if you know your stuff.
 
Put in time for all aspects of the LSAT, not just the area that always gives you problems. I remember focusing purely on logic games for the final month before the LSAT because I was always so bad at them and routinely did well on the other sections. That strategy backfired when I aced the logic games section and did weaker than anticipated on the other two sections. To this day, I have chalked that up to narrowing my study focus too much in the weeks leading up to test day. Long story short, work on everything, including the areas you already do well.

As for law school, here's my advice:

(1) Don't just go to any law school you get into. Plenty of terrible schools enrolling students just to generate revenue. Will really hurt you in the end in terms of passing the bar exam and getting a decent job. Not to mention, you'll have a massive amount of debt for an essentially worthless degree.

(2) Go to law school in the area you believe you want to live going forward. While the Uniform Bar Exam is finally making things easier for attorneys to have nationwide options without the hassle of taking multiple bar exams, there is still a regional bias with pretty much every law school outside the T14.

(3) Bust your butt your first year of law school, no matter how difficult it may seem. You'll thank yourself later when you've anchored your GPA in a strong range. While your grades should go up your final two years of law school, it's extremely difficult to prop up a terrible first year GPA, even with stellar grades the remaining two years.

(4) Take real core classes over elective courses during your last two years of school whenever possible. While Business Associations may not seem so interesting when compared to a course like Environmental Law, you'll thank yourself when studying for the bar exam. I know at least two people from my graduating class who finished with bloated GPAs because they avoided every core course they were not required to take and have failed the bar exams at least three times each.

(4) Lastly, studying for the bar exam is going to be the worst summer of your life. No way around it, and I'd bet you would not be able to find someone to tell you differently. Start preparing yourself for that reality now. No matter how strong of a student you are, it's going to be a draining and stressful process where you constantly believe you did not learn enough to pass. That said, the euphoria when its over and when you found out you passed are immeasurable. Will also lead to two of the drunkest nights of your life that you will never remember.

Pretty sound advice. Interestingly enough (to me), a lot of people felt that law school itself didn't help them with their Bar Exam. Completely subjective though, I'm sure some felt differently, but maybe not. Perhaps their particular situations were due to them avoiding core classes.

As far as the Bar Exam goes, Kentucky actually does not use the Uniform Bar Exam as of yet. That could change, but for right now, I believe I would be sitting for the MBE at the end of law school.


you don't want to be a lawyer kid; it truly is a miserable profession. Make another career choice before its too late. If you choose to go down that rabbit hole, don't say you weren't warned

I've always been told that I'm a glutton for punishment.

I thought I did as well. Started out as a 1L angling to do criminal defense. Switched focus to healthcare litigation by the end of law school. Now doing labor and employment law. Definitely an odd career progression and one dictated by the best opportunity the market presented.

Helluva change, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if this were my life in 25 years.


IF I get in, I'm hoping to either do M&A, Crypto, or Energy. But was also looking at Sports & Entertainment.

Would be interesting to try crypto law, but I think the next 3-5 years will be very telling for me personally on whether or not I would ever be really interested in getting into that particular type of law.
 
Hey ladies and gents, going for my LSAT in July, and I figured that we have some people on this board who have gone through this thing before. Anybody got any tips for a guy who is just over a month out from the test? Any kind of study habits, tips, or anything that may have kept you relaxed going through the process?

Also, for other people who have been through the whole law school application process, I had some other questions if this post gets any kind of attention.

Thanks in advance!
rest well and stay away from carbs and alcohol. Not for the LSAT but you need to bring it all.
 
6G2WGnL.gif


Best decision I ever made was dropping out of law school. I absolutely hated everything about it (except for the gorgeous women in Baton Rouge).
 
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I think this thread has helped me out a ton. I've established a pretty good life schedule to go by based on these responses.

June 2018: Sit for LSAT
July 2018: Receive scores
September 2018: Apply to law schools
August 2019: Begin law school
November: 2020: Start chain smoking
2022: Graduate law school
2029: Develop alcohol dependency
2032: Apply for position in law firm working for new robot overlords
2034: Be fired by new robot overlords, be run out of business due to an over-saturation of robot attorneys.
2035: Default on my mortgage, get evicted, sell all of my worldly possessions at an attempt to salvage the crumbled remains of my life and have a home, but fail.
2036: Live in a box on a Lexington street corner, but I break hobo etiquette, get beat down by other hobos, lose my box.
Winter of 2036: Freeze to death
 
On a serious note, I appreciate the insight folks.
 
I think this thread has helped me out a ton. I've established a pretty good life schedule to go by based on these responses.

June 2018: Sit for LSAT
July 2018: Receive scores
September 2018: Apply to law schools
August 2019: Begin law school
November: 2020: Start chain smoking
2022: Graduate law school
2029: Develop alcohol dependency
2032: Apply for position in law firm working for new robot overlords
2034: Be fired by new robot overlords, be run out of business due to an over-saturation of robot attorneys.
2035: Default on my mortgage, get evicted, sell all of my worldly possessions at an attempt to salvage the crumbled remains of my life and have a home, but fail.
2036: Live in a box on a Lexington street corner, but I break hobo etiquette, get beat down by other hobos, lose my box.
Winter of 2036: Freeze to death
Like a Rolling Stone
 
Another thing to consider: do you really want to go to work every morning knowing that you are going to have to account for every 6-minute increment of your day, with the end goal being 2,400 billed hours (at a minimum) by the end of the year?


Or you can be on my side of the ledger and only get paid if you win. The plus to my side of things is I never have to bill, but the downside is I can go into valleys where I don't get paid for a while.
 
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Only advice I can give from the LSAT I took in 1993 is to make sure you pay for parking. The tests are long, I got two parking tickets when I took mine. That's all I remember, hope it's helpful.
 
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