Advice on whether or not to take a gap year! thanks! Forum

[davesong2]

hey guys,

this is my first or second post on these forums...but I guess that is acceptable in that i am relatively new. i was hoping to grab your advice on my application process.

i just received my LSAT score and got a 164. i maxed out on PTs after 1.5 months of studying at 163 so i am somewhat satisfied with my score.

my main problem is my GPA. i guess you could say that my case is "unique" as everyone else's undoubtedly is. i entered undergrad at a top 35 school as a biology major. after 1.5 years, or 3 semesters, i realized that medical school was not for me. however, at this point, my gpa had dipped quite low. after switching to political science, my gpa skyrocketed. i have finished my junior year of undergrad and my cumulative GPA sits at 3.06. if you were to take away the first 1.5 years, my GPA would be 3.67. I was originally planning to apply to law school this fall during my senior year, but i have now begun to think that i should wait a year so that i can replicate what i did junior year during my senior year to boost my GPA. then i can apply to law schools the fall following my graduation.

my ultimate goal is a top 35 law school. any input would be great, guys. thanks in advance.

[dingbat]

your gpa is low and your LSAT is nothing special. Take a year out. As you said, next year your GPA should be higher and work experience is a plus. A break between studies can refresh your energy and motivation and you could be invigorated by it. Or, you get really lucky and fall into a career that you really enjoy.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a year out. Go, have fun, and enjoy the real world.

[cinephile]

Agreed that you can never go wrong with getting some work experience. Whether or not you go to law school, it's good to figure out what you do and don't like about various work environments, not to mention the possibility of gaining some skills while you're working.

[thelawyler]

I took time off, improved my LSAT, and I am sooo glad I did.

Take a year off.

[davesong2]

i appreciate your responses. im actually at a summer internship abroad at a law firm right now. the work experience is proving to be valuable, and has really inspired me to work harder, which is the reason i considered taking a year off to improve things in the first place.

do you have any ideas as to what i might be able to do during the year off, or when i should maybe try to retake the LSAT? i feel as if a solid three months of studying can do me well, as just over a month of studying seems to have been insufficient. thanks again.

[IAFG]

I know it's just a term, but I hate it when people refer to working for a year after college as a "gap year." A gap year is when I participated in a structured study abroad program between high school and college. Taking time off after college is called getting a job. When people call that a "gap year" I think they must just be too afraid of leaving school to call a spade a spade. (Unrelated, it's funny how no one ever says they left their Poli Sci program for engineering/hard science and their GPA shot up, but I've heard the reverse story like 50 times.)

Anyway, yes you should get a job and re-take the LSAT. You should get a job and work at it like you're going to be there forever. Give it a good-faith shot at being something that you could live with. Don't assume you're going to leave after just one year; play it by ear. It will make you a more rounded adult.

[Samara]

I know it's just a term, but I hate it when people refer to working for a year after college as a "gap year." A gap year is when I participated in a structured study abroad program between high school and college. Taking time off after college is called getting a job. When people call that a "gap year" I think they must just be too afraid of leaving school to call a spade a spade. (Unrelated, it's funny how no one ever says they left their Poli Sci program for engineering/hard science and their GPA shot up, but I've heard the reverse story like 50 times.)

Anyway, yes you should get a job and re-take the LSAT. You should get a job and work at it like you're going to be there forever. Give it a good-faith shot at being something that you could live with. Don't assume you're going to leave after just one year; play it by ear. It will make you a more rounded adult.

All of this. Well said.

[romothesavior]

Go get a jerb and retake. Law school can wait.

[$peppercorn]

I second what all the people above say about taking a year off school and working. I did so and I am very happy that I did