So...how screwed am I? Forum

[gogog0]

thanks for all the honest replies. for those recommending time off, how long would you recommend as the minimum? and any specific recs for what i should do during that time off?

edit: oh, and should i still take the LSAT this winter, or hold that off as well?

[FunkyJD]

a) Up to you to determine how much time to take. Do whatever you feel is productive in the interim -- find a job, volunteer, or do whatever other pursuit that strikes you as appropriate.

b) Take the LSAT whenever you feel ready for it, and feel confident of scoring your best. If that's this winter, take it then. [strike]I think[/strike] [strike]An LSAT score is valid for [strike]five[/strike]three years.[strike], but someone can correct me if I'm wrong[/strike].[/strike] (Check with your school of choice to verify the oldest LSAT score that they will accept.)

[dhg5004]

also, what is a clicker and what is a clicker quiz? Has college turned into jeopardy in the four years since I graduated?

this is hilarious and made me lol. Did gogo0 'go' to Penn State? I'm sure a ton of schools do this but I know Penn state did....basically each student is given a clicker remote type thing and questions appear on the overhead and each student uses their respective clickers and point it to the...for lack of a better word?...home clicker...(lol) and click on whichever corresponding letter matches with the correct answer.

This is mostly done in very large classes where it is just easier and more practical to quiz in this way. (and greener too!!!

[dhg5004]

LSAT is valid for three btw.

[Bert]

LSAT is valid for three btw.

I am pretty sure it is five years-ish. The LSAT score drops off in the month of June which follows the five-year anniversary of the test date for which the LSAT relates.

[blue5385]

More than getting into law school, this might hurt you on your C&F. Some states are ridiculously strict, so you might want to contact the bar association for the state in which you are planning on taking the bar and double-check that your chances of passing your C&F exam aren't going to be substantially hurt by your disciplinary record.

[BenJ]

thanks for all the responses, everything is constructive. I just really want to know if I should make alternative plans for my life. I've wanted to be a lawyer as long as I can remember, but I can't really blame anyone else but myself for the position I'm in. I'm retaking the class with the same prof that reported me to the honor council, and I've already talked to him and we're on good terms. I'm going to do everything I can to show him that it was a lapse of judgment and I think I might try and get an ancillary recommendation out of him. Do you guys think that would help?

Do NOT do this.

Your prof's recommendation, if it were to mean anything, would presumably be submitted confidentially. You would not know with any certainty what he or she would write. He or she could write, "Dood's more or less a smart kid, but he's completely amoral." Professors can and do give negative recommendations. Don't go there.

True. However, a professor won't lie straight to his face. He should ask the professor and be candid that the reason he's asking this particular professor is to show that the professor and he are now on good terms, and that he is forgiven. If the professor says, with complete honesty, that he's been forgiven and that the recommendation will be a strong one, I can't imagine the professor stabbing him in the back. Professors who write negative recommendations don't tell the student that the recommendation will be amazing--they just don't talk at all.

Anyway, if the professor does lie, the worst that will happen is that he gets shut out of law school. Then he takes five years off, gains some level of maturity, and reapplies.

I like the earlier poster's idea to sit out a cycle -- and possibly not apply until after you've graduated and had a year of job experience outside of college. Getting nailed with an honor violation this year was just a real bad call -- especially since you're trying to go to law school directly from undergrad: a situation in which schools already have concerns about applicant maturity. I honestly don't know if that's fixable in the short-term.

All good advice.

[T14_Scholly]

You should take enough time off that you get to the point that when you go on a hiking trip alone and meditate in the wilderness, achieving complete silence and peace, your inner voice tells you that you are now a decent and mature person. Then you can right about that in your PS.