Top Law Schools

Hi TLS,

I am a prospective Law school applicant with a 4.0+ from a top flagship state university. I was wondering if you anyone with a full-time job during the LSAT process could give me some advice. I am deciding between going home and holing myself up for five months to study for the LSAT (in October) full-time, or to accept a job (at a prestigious government organization) that consistently goes from 9-6. I am scared I will have inadequate time to study for the LSAT and am aiming for a 175+. Does anyone have similar experiences to mine or can shed some wisdom? Thank you so much for any help in advance!!

First, take a timed practice test. That will give you an idea of the level of prep you'll need to meet your target score. If you need a 20 point increase, then 5 months with a full time job may be asking a bit much. If you're looking to add 5-10 points, it's totally doable. I have a full time job and have been prepping for June since January. I've found that I've needed to extend my timeline compared to some of the standard schedules out there. I'm in the "add 5-10 points" group, and 5 months of appx 10 hrs a week seems adequate so far. I've not sat for the actual test yet, so take that with a grain of salt.

I would strongly urge you to take the job. Not only does it sound like a great opportunity, but having some solid work experience will give you a boost in LS admissions. A Resume gap of 5 months could also be a red flag to some of the top schools that you are shooting for. It is certainly possible to sufficiently study for the LSAT while working a full time job.

It's important to budget your time wisely, do some studying in the morning, do some studying at lunch, study after work, study while commuting on public transportation, and above all else - take advantage of your weekends by taking practice tests. There are many good study guides on here that can help you reach your goal score, it may not be done within 5 months, but more work experience won't hurt you. My point is, taking this job will only help you in achieving your law school goals; and if you remain diligent and budget time correctly, you can succeed on the LSAT and at work.

I worked full time while studying and I think that actually helped me. With a full time job, you will have time away from the test built into your schedule which I think can only help. I studied over 5 months as well and thought that was a good timeline for me, but you may need more or less. It will be entirely dependent on you! The guides on here are excellent though and would be a great place to start.

I agree with the above posters regarding taking a diagnostic and seeing where you come up. Where you score means nothing (there's tons of stories here of below 150 going to 170+) but it will give you angod idea of how far you have to go.

Happy to share any other advice via PM. Good luck OP!

I'd take the job, its good to have some work experience (not just for school admission but also for job/ internship hunt) plus build up some savings for school and connections. I worked an 8-6 and studied almost every night from 7-10/11ish. Then do practice tests on the weekends. Usually gave myself a weeknight and one weekend day off. But its not too hard to be able to put in 15+ hours a week. If you are still struggling after a few months you can always quit your job. That being said, I didn't have the option of not working full time.

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Work experience can be as valuable as a couple of LSAT points. Take the job and study at night.

Take the job. I was working 80 hour weeks while studying for the LSAT and aced it. No job will stop you from putting in a few hours a night, which is all it takes to maximize your potential. Start early, take as many PTs as you can (you should be able to chug through all of them in five months), and treat studying for the LSAT as the stupidly important thing it is. Also, the W/E, especially if it is actually prestigious, will help you out in admissions. A long break will raise eyebrows.

Thank you so much for posting OP! I'm in the same boat, so I found this advice to be extremely helpful.

I studied for a couple hours a day with weekly practice tests for a little under two months. It was easy to work around my job and I think I would have been burnt out had I tried to study more. I did pretty well.

My point is that it's probably not necessary to shut down your life just for the LSAT.

I worked anywhere from 50-70 stressful hours a week at a biglaw firm while studying and I did alright. I think that having a less stressful job or working less would've helped me do better, though. Either way, take the job. Even after those 5 months of studying are up, you'll need to find another job and you're not likely to find one as easily in October when you'll only be there a few more months.

I held a full time+ job at a firm (60+ hours per week) and raised my score >10 points. I opted for a longer class schedule (one class a week with review sessions on Fridays and seminars on some Wednesdays), and studied 3-4 days per week in the mornings. I was vigilant with this schedule. It's completely possible/ doable and feel free to PM me with any questions.

Take the job.