Take LSAT now or after 1 year break? Forum

[lawyeah]

I am a senior and I registered for the october lsat. I'm beginning to seriously doubt that I can score as high as I want. Should I wait after graduating college to spend ample time to prepare for this monstrous test and apply for next year's cycle? What negative effects might there be if I choose to do so? If there is a 1 year gap between college and law school, will adcomms look heavily on my work experience, travel, etc. more so than my ugpa and acadmic LORs?

[thegor1987]

You have to consider the opportunity cost of taking an extra year off. It means you will receive your 160k salary for graduating law school one year later. That's 160k lost if you wait a year

[lawyeah]

That's assuming if I score high enough to get into a top tier law school and receive a position at a biglaw firm in nyc/d.c./la/chicago. The issue is whether or not I can pull off scoring high on the lsat...

[St.Remy]

I am a senior and I registered for the october lsat. I'm beginning to seriously doubt that I can score as high as I want. Should I wait after graduating college to spend ample time to prepare for this monstrous test and apply for next year's cycle? What negative effects might there be if I choose to do so? If there is a 1 year gap between college and law school, will adcomms look heavily on my work experience, travel, etc. more so than my ugpa and acadmic LORs?

I think adcomms will probably weigh your gpa and LORs about the same after 1 year out of school as they would someone coming straight from undergrad. But I think they will also definitely want to see that you've done something for a year, even if it's just boring office work. Having a one year gap thus hurts you if you do nothing for a year, in most other cases doesn't matter, but could help you if you do something outstanding for that one year. A WE boost usually only occurs after 2+ years of work.

[hefox]

take a yr off. itll will give you some experiences that could be applicable to your PS, and you have a much longer time to devote to studying to the LSAT. and you dont have to worry about slacking on studying for other things since you will be out of school. also, general consensus is that ppl that come right out of UG have a disadvantage in LS, since they haven't been out in the 'real world'. taking a year off could give you a greater appreciation for getting a legal education, thus giving you more drive to do better in school. thanks just my 2 cents, ill stop now