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I quit my researching stint late February/early March to start prepping for the LSATs. I'm an '09 college graduate, so after realizing that I wanted to go to law school, I immediately started to prep for the LSAT.

My question: is it important to keep busy between now and application time, as in finding and maintaining a "real" job?

I mean, application time is nearly a year away and that's a long time to be unemployed....

I was initially planning on taking the LSAT in June and then, start the search for a new job. However, my improvement has been slow, so I think I should defer taking the test until October. (Too bad there isn't a test date between those two months...)

I was thinking of finding some part-time work nearby (specifically, at a cupcake bakery) to do while I study, but it wouldn't exactly be a job I could boast about on my app. I am fortunate enough to have parents who are willing to support me between now and law school. Would it be worth it? Or should I just spend my time studying and raising my score?

Apologies if this question was already posed on the forum or appears trivial.

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I guess this brings me to another question: how important are softs? I had pretty decent softs during college and my research job for 7 months is alright IMO. From my findings, on the other hand, I'd learned that law school admissions is more of a numbers game.

?

Yum cupcake.

greyblob wrote:I was thinking of finding some part-time work nearby (specifically, at a cupcake bakery) to do while I study, but it wouldn't exactly be a job I could boast about on my app. I am fortunate enough to have parents who are willing to support me between now and law school. Would it be worth it? Or should I just spend my time studying and raising my score?

As someone who has been unemployed the past year since graduating UG, I say it would be wise to get a job, ANY job. For no other sake than that of your sanity.

eudaimondaimon wrote:

greyblob wrote:I was thinking of finding some part-time work nearby (specifically, at a cupcake bakery) to do while I study, but it wouldn't exactly be a job I could boast about on my app. I am fortunate enough to have parents who are willing to support me between now and law school. Would it be worth it? Or should I just spend my time studying and raising my score?

As someone who has been unemployed the past year since graduating UG, I say it would be wise to get a job, ANY job. For no other sake than that of your sanity.

I agree. I've been in the same situation (with little luck finding decent employment) and the boredom has been driving me insane. I only had a few months of unemployment listed on my apps (graduated in May and sent all apps in by late October), and I don't think it hindered me at all admissions-wise. A year might be a different story, though.

On another note, working with cupcakes =

greyblob wrote:I am fortunate enough to have parents who are willing to support me between now and law school. Would it be worth it? Or should I just spend my time studying and raising my score?

I think you should focus all your efforts on the LSAT. If your parents are kind enough to support you, then take advantage of that wonderful opportunity. Remember than a very high LSAT score is worth much more than a mediocre one + a soft or two.

Good luck!

Imo, LSAT's not the kind of test you can study for more than few hours a day.

Thanks for the responses! I guess I should just focus on LSATs for now, and start worrying about the job situation (or the lack thereof) later down the road.

@eudaimondaimon and mytwocents:
If it makes you feel any better, I didn't have a "REAL" job. Not only did I work part-time, but I was an independent contractor. I had no benefits, NADA. I mostly quit because the research was eerily like studying for the LSATs--extremely time-consuming and with little return. x_x (It didn't help that I'm currently on medication that makes me fatigued all the time. Thank god I'm almost done with them. In the meantime, hello~ caffeine!)


J'aime les petits gâteaux!