A difficult decision regarding taking LSAT...then again? Forum

[DGriff0807]

Good day, friends. I have been laboring over whether or not to take the February 2012 LSAT, or simply forgo the year and redraw plans for 2013. It may sound far-fetched, but I enacted a plan to enter the 2012 class at OU all the way back in 2008, and set out instantly to do it. The timeline seemed quite safe and well thought out until two events happened: 1.) I was involuntarily recalled back to active duty by the Marine Corps and received orders to report to camp pendleton effective December 2008, forcing me to scrap an entire semester. I was eventually exempted from the recall a mere day or two before it was to take effect because I agreed to attend OCS and become an officer (which fell through because in the midst of training for OCS when I discovered I had a debilitating, service related back condition [VA claim stuck in backlog, 345 days old]). On to number 2.) I also work full-time at a blue-collar job at Tinker AFB which has at times required me to work a ridiculous 60+ (Yes, in the federal work force they can assign you mandatory overtime) hours a week (which cost me another semester and summer session, as well as tarnishing my transcript with two W's). Reducing my work responsibilities is unfortunately not an option, as I must support my wife and I in the midst of all this. As one might imagine, the loss of an academic year+ has been faaaairly detrimental to my overall timeline, and the casualty in all this was my LSAT preparations. It is been scarce at best, and I am honestly not sure where I will score except to say I am not confident I will even hit the 25% percentile for OU, and I cannot decide whether or not to test and write an addendum explaining the situation (albeit a great deal more concisely), and hoping that the addendum, the circumstances, veteran status, and a particularly fortunate recommendation letter would be enough to overcome the weakness. The obvious answer might be "2013, stupid", but if I felt so compelled...Any advice or insight? My undergrad GPA is 3.48 (about 3.8 in post Marine Corp Era), right at OU's median.

[HellOnHeels]

Have you taken a practice test under timed conditions? If you have, and you're not scoring where you want, then don't take the LSAT in Feb. If you're practicing at or above the score you're aiming for, then go for it.

[bp shinners]

I am honestly not sure where I will score except to say I am not confident I will even hit the 25% percentile for OU, and I cannot decide whether or not to test and write an addendum explaining the situation (albeit a great deal more concisely), and hoping that the addendum, the circumstances, veteran status, and a particularly fortunate recommendation letter would be enough to overcome the weakness.

If you're confident you won't hit OU's 25%, and that's where you want to go, don't take the Feb. LSAT. Applications are down, and we'll see more people admitted from February than usual (presumably, that's not definite), but if you're under their 25%, it's no guarantee. I would wait it out until 2013 and take the LSAT when you're ready.

2.) I also work full-time at a blue-collar job at Tinker AFB which has at times required me to work a ridiculous 60+ (Yes, in the federal work force they can assign you mandatory overtime) hours a week

If you think 60 hours is a ridiculous work week, you might want to reconsider law as a career. This isn't meant as a snarky comment - 60-80 hour weeks are common in the profession, and it's expected that you'll do it without complaint.

[Mr. Pancakes]

stuff.

It sounds like you haven't prepared very much, plus it's pretty late in the cycle for someone who sounds like they aren't prepared. I would withdraw from the test and start prepping for the LSAT in June. If you are not happy with your score in June then you will still have one more chance to take it in October.
With your GPA and military experience you could be looking at some scholly with a halfway decent lsat score.
Is the military going to pay your way? How do you plan on paying for school?
to me it sounds like your best is to sit out this cycle, shit, the cycle is almost over anyway.

[BuckinghamB]

.

[dietcoke0]

2.) I also work full-time at a blue-collar job at Tinker AFB which has at times required me to work a ridiculous 60+ (Yes, in the federal work force they can assign you mandatory overtime) hours a week

If you think 60 hours is a ridiculous work week, you might want to reconsider law as a career. This isn't meant as a snarky comment - 60-80 hour weeks are common in the profession, and it's expected that you'll do it without complaint.

60 hours a week doing Manual Labor is much different than 80 hours in an office. I worked 40-50 hour weeks growing up in a warehouse, and I got home sweaty, exhausted, sore and with band-aids all over my hands.

I've also worked 40 hour work weeks in offices, and I come home ready to go out, happy and well rested. There is a huge difference.

[dietcoke0]

But to the OP, take June. Feb you are going to have a terrible chance at finding a spot if you are below the median at a big university like Oklahoma. Get your app ready, submit in Sept or Oct, get a high LSAT score, over 75% (use the next 4 months to study), and you are going to get some money.

[Dream Machine]

I am honestly not sure where I will score except to say I am not confident I will even hit the 25% percentile for OU, and I cannot decide whether or not to test and write an addendum explaining the situation (albeit a great deal more concisely), and hoping that the addendum, the circumstances, veteran status, and a particularly fortunate recommendation letter would be enough to overcome the weakness.

If you're confident you won't hit OU's 25%, and that's where you want to go, don't take the Feb. LSAT. Applications are down, and we'll see more people admitted from February than usual (presumably, that's not definite), but if you're under their 25%, it's no guarantee. I would wait it out until 2013 and take the LSAT when you're ready.

2.) I also work full-time at a blue-collar job at Tinker AFB which has at times required me to work a ridiculous 60+ (Yes, in the federal work force they can assign you mandatory overtime) hours a week

If you think 60 hours is a ridiculous work week, you might want to reconsider law as a career. This isn't meant as a snarky comment - 60-80 hour weeks are common in the profession, and it's expected that you'll do it without complaint.

The OP is complaining about 60 hours coupled with preparing for the LSAT, I think. And it could be freaking manual labor for all we know. I use to work on a ranch undergrad on weekends for fun/money, and would come home totally beat. A bit different than working at a desk in an air-conditioned office.

To the OP, if I were in your shoes, I would wait and really buckle down preparing for the test. The Ws on your transcript won't affect your LSDAS GPA, and your extenuating circumstances should excuse the Ws. I myself had trouble preparing with 40 hours/week with a desk job. Regardless, myself and I am sure other people on this board appreciate what you have done.

[bp shinners]

I've also worked 40 hour work weeks in offices, and I come home ready to go out, happy and well rested. There is a huge difference.

There's also a huge difference between 40 hours a week in an office and 60 hours a week in an office.

I've worked manual labor jobs (roofing) and I've worked office jobs. It's a different kind of tired, but 60 hours at either is going to exhaust you.

I don't want to say the OP isn't going to be able to handle it - and in that, I think I made too strong of a statement in my original post. I was just trying to warn him that if the hours at his current job were a problem for him (because it resulted in not enough free time), then becoming a lawyer might also be something to reconsider. Just making sure he's aware of what he's getting into, not trying to discourage him from going into it.

[dietcoke0]

If 40 hours a week in warehouse = dead tired and 40 hours a week in the office = not even as close to being as tired, I'm guessing when you scale it up, then the Manual labor is going to still be tougher, by a higher margin, in the upper echelons of the ratio of the work week.

Yes, office jobs can be grueling on the mind and stagnate muscles do take a toll on the body, but if I'm going to get paid $12 an hour working in a warehouse or $25 an hour working in an office (my case), I'm going to be better off with the office job.

Plus there is the gratification of the job. I had I believe 92 co-workers doing the EXACT same thing as me in the warehouse, while my office job I'm using as an example, maybe 10, and we at least did the same thing, but different scenarios every day.

Although I had a chiseled body when I worked in the warehouse, so maybe it wasn't all bad.

[Mr. Pancakes]

what in the crap has this turned into?

[dietcoke0]

what in the crap has this turned into?

Sounds like someone has been working manual labor today

[DGriff0807]

I appreciate the wealth and variety of replies. I am most assuredly not concerned with 60hr weeks in an office, though I appreciate the general concern; I led a squad in Afghanistan for the Marines, and if I got 2 hours of sleep on any given night then it meant I'd overslept. No weekends; no let-up; 120+hrs a week. When my boys were in the rack I was busy creating weapons EDL's, planning patrol routes, making logistical arrangements, or attending briefings with my platoon commander. The rest of the time I was out in the dust climbing mountains and swapping recipes with the Aghan locals (maybe not that last one). Now, I refurbish KC-135 stratotankers, and the issue has quite literally been a lack of time. Work+full-time night courses has just murdered the available time to study; if days were 36hrs long, I'd be set. I feel I agree with the lot of you, although I'll likely delay until October so at least one drain (undergrad) will be eliminated from the fray. 1.5 days to fully decide. Going to take the October 2011 test tonight and see how I fair. Thanks, Gents.

[bp shinners]

Work+full-time night courses has just murdered the available time to study; if days were 36hrs long, I'd be set.

Ah, well then working as a lawyer should be a walk in the park.

Good luck!

[dietcoke0]

Thank you for your service and let us know how you did on the PT.

[sunynp]

Take the exam in June. You will do better with more time to study. And, also, thank you for your service. Please keep posting here, there is a lot of good advice to be found.

[JDizzle2015]

Take the exam in June. You will do better with more time to study. And, also, thank you for your service. Please keep posting here, there is a lot of good advice to be found.

+1. Wait until June. Thanks for serving.