For those of you that took off a year or more before LS..... Forum

[ps494]

Was it hard to get back into "school mode"? After not writing a single essay in over a year, I'm worried that I'm going to be behind everyone that is fresh out of college.

[ps494]

bump

[Rasta10]

2nd Bump

[S de Garmeaux]

it depends what youre doing during that year off, i guess

i have a day job and write pretty often. Not like school, but then again i never got up before 12 in UG

i know this isnt really helpful, just felt bad seeing you near 100 views w/ no posts

[BruinsFan]

I had the same thought. I have a full time job that requires thought, but nearly on the level of academia, let alone law school.

This is part of the reason I applied to part time programs, figuring I could probably go full time as a 2L.

Anyone up for some Voltaire?

[Arosen12]

A good question. I am taking a yr (or two) off after I finish this coming semester UG before LS (High GPA Low LSAT, plan to retake 2nd time) so I guess we shall see. I'm guessing in a yr or two one can still get back into the intense study that is law school

[chadwick218]

I worked for 5 years b/w graduate school and law school ... I treated law school much like a job with scheduled study time and scheduled breaks. I found it very easy to get back into study mode. Indeed, I was very excited to do so!

[Renzo]

School is much, much easier than actual work. So, no, not really. I treat it like a job, in that I go to school/class, then spend my day getting all my work done, then go home and don't think about it.

[rbgrocio]

I graduated in Dec. and started school in August. I kept busy in between with two jobs, a wedding and some real estate purchase. It was not difficult to get back in studying mode....it was difficult to get back in the kind of study mode that is required in law school.

[Tangerine Gleam]

As I am still a 0L, I can't speak on law school preparedness with any authority, BUT I can't help but think that all of that LSAT studying and essay writing surely did something good to get me back into academic mode after many years of entirely non-scholastic endeavors.

[rbgrocio]

As I am still a 0L, I can't speak on law school preparedness with any authority, BUT I can't help but think that all of that LSAT studying and essay writing surely did something good to get me back into academic mode after many years of entirely non-scholastic endeavors.

I respectfully disagree. the LSAT is nothing compared to law school, or at least to my law school. We have one of the suckiest curves in the nation, so if you want an A you better work your ass off because in a section of 80, only four people get As. We do not get A+. Law school for me has been a physically and mentally exhausting experience. I see a huge difference between the two 1l sections. In my section people hide to study and cover their computer screens... some of them feel like they need to do all that to get ahead and to make sure no one knows what they are doing to get ahead. I am the kind of person who likes her work done, and with law school you are never done because when you finish reading the first 200 pages, you still have 2,000 more to go. It is mentally exhausting to know that I do the same thing every day, every hour....

While the above description of my law school experience may sound very horrible, I actually enjoy the classes and the readings... it is just tiring. Once you work out a routine it is not soo bad... You get used to it after two months or so.

[frost]

For me, it wasn't so much a matter of "getting back into school mode" because the work required in LS is sooo much more than any amount of school work I've ever done. I agree with above posters that it really depends on what kind of work you're doing. I also think it's what motivation you find during your time out of school. I really enjoyed my work but it was dead end and low pay, and it made me so much more driven to do well in LS than I would have been if I went to LS straight out of college. I also worked a shitty schedule, 6 days a week, 60+ hours a week, so in that sense LS has been liberating since I can plan my own schedule.

[Tangerine Gleam]

As I am still a 0L, I can't speak on law school preparedness with any authority, BUT I can't help but think that all of that LSAT studying and essay writing surely did something good to get me back into academic mode after many years of entirely non-scholastic endeavors.

I respectfully disagree.

Really? All I said was that LSAT studying and essay-writing did something to get me back into academic mode. After 5 years of a job where I didn't have to read or write a word, I'm pretty sure I'm right about this. I said nothing about being ready for law school...

[rbgrocio]

As I am still a 0L, I can't speak on law school preparedness with any authority, BUT I can't help but think that all of that LSAT studying and essay writing surely did something good to get me back into academic mode after many years of entirely non-scholastic endeavors.

I respectfully disagree.

Really? All I said was that LSAT studying and essay-writing did something to get me back into academic mode. After 5 years of a job where I didn't have to read or write a word, I'm pretty sure I'm right about this. I said nothing about being ready for law school...

I read your message as saying that u think that the LSAT preparation has helped you get in study mode for law school.... and that's what I was disagreeing with.

[big_blue79]

As someone that is very non-traditional (3 breaks of a year or more during UG - military), I can tell you it all depends on what you did when you had time off. Are you reading anything intellectually engaging (The Economist, some good non-fiction, etc...)? Are you a regular reader/contributor to any message boards? If you are, do you do the "kewl, lol" or more thoughtful stuff? Does your work regularly have you write/report? Troubleshoot complex systems? There are many ways to stay intellectually active when you're not in school that will help when you go back.

[SkiBumLawyer]

I'm also curious about this. I will be entering law school one year out of undergrad.

Reading the newspaper and some novels has kind of kept me sharp I guess. Maybe during summer I will step up the reading and maybe start contributing some insightful posts to a discussion board. That was a good idea of the last poster.

We also might have a little advantage. I know that I wont be browsing the internet aimlessly while the professor speaks. After six months of no classes I'm actually a little excited to get back in the lecture hall. Hopefully I can remain that interested all semester.

Some students coming straight from undergrad will be a little more burnt out. Any other ideas?

[rbgrocio]

I'm also curious about this. I will be entering law school one year out of undergrad.

Reading the newspaper and some novels has kind of kept me sharp I guess. Maybe during summer I will step up the reading and maybe start contributing some insightful posts to a discussion board. That was a good idea of the last poster.

We also might have a little advantage. I know that I wont be browsing the internet aimlessly while the professor speaks. After six months of no classes I'm actually a little excited to get back in the lecture hall. Hopefully I can remain that interested all semester.

Some students coming straight from undergrad will be a little more burnt out. Any other ideas?

Don't "step it up" during the summer.... lol It may sound silly, and when I was in your shoes it sounded silly to me too... but enjoy the summer. If you work, then work and take some time off to relax. i wished I had done this. Now I anxiously wait and mark days off the calendar waiting for the next day off.

[SkiBumLawyer]

Not really "step it up". just get a little more serious. I haven't written anything more than a facebook message in English for 5 months. Its the writing that is really a concern for me.

I'm pretty much going to go with the consensus on this board about not prepping before 1L.

[ps494]

Not really "step it up". just get a little more serious. I haven't written anything more than a facebook message in English for 5 months. Its the writing that is really a concern for me.

I'm pretty much going to go with the consensus on this board about not prepping before 1L.

EXACTLY. During my time off, I have no problem reading dense material (i.e. the economist) to keep that part of my brain fresh, but I would feel kind of silly writing essays randomly.


Edit: It may not be so bad, because, if we're only taking off a year, that's only 9 more months off than everyone else (including summer). Also, you have to factor in all these people who majored in subjects that require very little writing.

[rbgrocio]

Not really "step it up". just get a little more serious. I haven't written anything more than a facebook message in English for 5 months. Its the writing that is really a concern for me.

I'm pretty much going to go with the consensus on this board about not prepping before 1L.

Yeah... I didn't really prep either... just looked over some outlines, but i kept soooooo busy that by the time I started school I was already exhausted. I worked 10+ hours a day, I was fixing a new house and preparing a wedding. My honeymoon was the week before school started. I wish I had taken at least a month to just relax, read books for fun and enjoy late night movies. I haven't read a book for fun in more than a year. I tried to read one for Christmas but three days after my last final I was bombarded with hundreds of pages my professors "requested" we read over the break. With that, of course, came briefing, writing notes, etc...