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Taking a year off
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 2:50 pm
by Aquila
Heavily considering taking a year off.
Background: 159/3.9 KJD from a Philly area school with degrees in psychology and criminal justice. Admitted with full scholly at a T2 with no stipulation.
Here are the options I see:
1.) take a year off to explore other options (sales, criminal justice field, psych field)
2.) take a year off to explore other options and retake LSAT
3.) go to law school for a year and see what happens grade wise then possible take time off (my mother's idea, i don't think its a good one and I'm sure it will be crushed)
My concerns:
Not really committed to the legal field. When asked "why do you want to go to LS" i don't have a good answer besides the thought of money popping in my head.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:07 pm
by twenty
2.) take a year off to explore other options and retake LSAT
This, in and of itself, is not only a viable reason, it's an objectively good one.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:16 pm
by ndirish2010
It would be a crime to waste a 3.9 on a T2.
Also, if you don't know if you want to be a lawyer, going to law school is not the greatest decision.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:23 pm
by Aquila
ndirish2010 wrote:It would be a crime to waste a 3.9 on a T2.
Also, if you don't know if you want to be a lawyer, going to law school is not the greatest decision.
Thats my biggest issue "do i wanna be a lawyer" and work crazy hrs.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:45 pm
by Young Marino
PA337 wrote:Not really committed to the legal field. When asked "why do you want to go to LS" i don't have a good answer besides the thought of money popping in my head.
More than anything, take a year off to intern at a firm, PD office or DA's Office. You need to know for sure if you can envision yourself as a lawyer before going to law school. The last thing you want to do is go simply because you think there's no opportunities for you to utilize your UG degree.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:47 pm
by CanadianWolf
OP: You know the right answer is #2.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:48 pm
by lavarman84
Take a year off. Try to work at a law office to get a better understanding of
what being a lawyer is like and whether you want to do it. Also, retake the LSAT. If you work hard and bump it to the 168-170 range, you'll be getting money in the t14.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:55 pm
by Aquila
lawman84 wrote:Take a year off. Try to work at a law office to get a better understanding of what being a lawyer is like and whether you want to do it. Also, retake the LSAT. If you work hard and bump it to the 168-170 range, you'll be getting money in the t14.
I have interned in a crim def office and am currently doing quasi private investigation work for them. Im not in love with it. My internship wasnt great and i like the pi stuff just because I get to get out of the office.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 12:22 am
by Aquila
overwhelmingly number 2 haha
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 12:25 am
by rinkrat19
Every time someone wastes a 3.9 on a T2, a puppy gets hit by a car.
2. Obviously.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 12:27 am
by Aquila
I know number 2 is def the best option. I am heavily leaning towards it. My big issue is do I want to be a lawyer. I am looking at alternate career choices to explore within the next year assuming i don't go right into law school
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 12:32 am
by shump92
2 years because you should probably be doing both your 1 and 2 options for gap years. A lot of potential KJDs, myself included, have a year off when they are very sure they are going to law school because they want to have a break from school stress/ have flexibility to retake LSAT/ have some exposure to real world while working on applications. But you also said you are not sure of your commitment to the legal field. So I feel like the first year off should be spent on either seeing why law appeals to you or why some compelling alternative is more appealing to you. Nothing says you couldn't take even more than 2 years off and be fine but I think after a year out of UG, you would have a good reassessment of whether you want to be in law school and then you could work on bumping up your LSAT at least a few points.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 1:07 am
by twenty
PA337 wrote:I know number 2 is def the best option. I am heavily leaning towards it. My big issue is do I want to be a lawyer. I am looking at alternate career choices to explore within the next year assuming i don't go right into law school
The good news is, studying for the LSAT is free or almost free. So if you study for the LSAT, end up with a great score and decide at that point that you don't want to go, all the better.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 2:21 am
by shump92
twenty wrote:PA337 wrote:I know number 2 is def the best option. I am heavily leaning towards it. My big issue is do I want to be a lawyer. I am looking at alternate career choices to explore within the next year assuming i don't go right into law school
The good news is, studying for the LSAT is free or almost free. So if you study for the LSAT, end up with a great score and decide at that point that you don't want to go, all the better.
Not to be too contradictory, but this isn't true for everyone. The "almost free" might mean a few hundred dollars on the prep materials and that can be daunting for people who are focusing on having enough income to deal with law school. No idea what OP's situation is, but I can say from my experience that the cost of the LSAT is why I elected to not go for a retake even though i left a bit on the table.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 2:23 am
by rinkrat19
shump92 wrote:twenty wrote:PA337 wrote:I know number 2 is def the best option. I am heavily leaning towards it. My big issue is do I want to be a lawyer. I am looking at alternate career choices to explore within the next year assuming i don't go right into law school
The good news is, studying for the LSAT is free or almost free. So if you study for the LSAT, end up with a great score and decide at that point that you don't want to go, all the better.
Not to be too contradictory, but this isn't true for everyone. The "almost free" might mean a few hundred dollars on the prep materials and that can be daunting for people who are focusing on having enough income to deal with law school. No idea what OP's situation is, but I can say from my experience that the cost of the LSAT is why I elected to not go for a retake even though i left a bit on the table.
You can get the books cheap used on ebay or from another student, or check them out of the library. You can spend less than $100. Compared to the literally THOUSANDS of dollars that bar prep costs, the LSAT is indeed almost free.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 2:29 am
by shump92
rinkrat19 wrote:shump92 wrote:twenty wrote:PA337 wrote:I know number 2 is def the best option. I am heavily leaning towards it. My big issue is do I want to be a lawyer. I am looking at alternate career choices to explore within the next year assuming i don't go right into law school
The good news is, studying for the LSAT is free or almost free. So if you study for the LSAT, end up with a great score and decide at that point that you don't want to go, all the better.
Not to be too contradictory, but this isn't true for everyone. The "almost free" might mean a few hundred dollars on the prep materials and that can be daunting for people who are focusing on having enough income to deal with law school. No idea what OP's situation is, but I can say from my experience that the cost of the LSAT is why I elected to not go for a retake even though i left a bit on the table.
You can get the books cheap used on ebay or from another student, or check them out of the library. You can spend less than $100. Compared to the literally THOUSANDS of dollars that bar prep costs, the LSAT is indeed almost free.
Fair enough. I completely agree that in the relative sense, the prep is not terrible. My point was more that if you aren't getting any waiver from the $170 exam fee and you are not completely sure that doing well on the LSAT would help you (i.e. already have a good score or might not go to law school), then that $ is enough to where it could be used better elsewhere. I had no idea bar prep was THAT expensive. I'll have to keep that in mind for the future.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 2:34 am
by rinkrat19
shump92 wrote:rinkrat19 wrote:shump92 wrote:twenty wrote:PA337 wrote:I know number 2 is def the best option. I am heavily leaning towards it. My big issue is do I want to be a lawyer. I am looking at alternate career choices to explore within the next year assuming i don't go right into law school
The good news is, studying for the LSAT is free or almost free. So if you study for the LSAT, end up with a great score and decide at that point that you don't want to go, all the better.
Not to be too contradictory, but this isn't true for everyone. The "almost free" might mean a few hundred dollars on the prep materials and that can be daunting for people who are focusing on having enough income to deal with law school. No idea what OP's situation is, but I can say from my experience that the cost of the LSAT is why I elected to not go for a retake even though i left a bit on the table.
You can get the books cheap used on ebay or from another student, or check them out of the library. You can spend less than $100. Compared to the literally THOUSANDS of dollars that bar prep costs, the LSAT is indeed almost free.
Fair enough. I completely agree that in the relative sense, the prep is not terrible. My point was more that if you aren't getting any waiver from the $170 exam fee and you are not completely sure that doing well on the LSAT would help you (i.e. already have a good score or might not go to law school), then that $ is enough to where it could be used better elsewhere. I had no idea bar prep was THAT expensive. I'll have to keep that in mind for the future.
Plus applying to take the bar exam costs in the $500-1000 range in most states. And $140 or something to take it on your own laptop instead of hand-writing.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 8:49 am
by Aquila
I would self study for cheap. I already spent a lot of money with a private tutor. It helped but not to the point that I want/Need.
Like someone said, i think i may need to explore other options than come back to law/LSAT in a year or so. I am just not as committed as I think I should be towards the legal profession.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:22 am
by OhBoyOhBortles
rinkrat19 wrote:Every time someone wastes a 3.9 on a T2, a puppy gets hit by a car.
2. Obviously.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:40 pm
by White Dwarf
I spent a year and a half as an LSAT tutor. We're not worth it.
If you don't have the motivation/work-ethic to self-study, you don't have the motivation/work-ethic to get your money's-worth from a tutor.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 6:59 pm
by gnomgnomuch
White Dwarf wrote:I spent a year and a half as an LSAT tutor. We're not worth it.
If you don't have the motivation/work-ethic to self-study, you don't have the motivation/work-ethic to get your money's-worth from a tutor.
THIS.
I tutor the SAT reading comp. section and a lot of the students I tutor (private tutoring) are being forced to by their parents. They just basically throw their money away.... the HW I assign rarely gets done, the tips/tricks to getting easy questions right are rarely used consistently and the lesson itself is me basically prodding a student to learn.
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 10:37 pm
by Aquila
If I decided to retake, I would definitely be doing only self study
Re: Taking a year off
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 10:53 am
by Lawskoolnurd
Do not waste your awesome GPA on a shitty 159.
Also, always tell people to take off more than a year. I think 3-4 years is the sweet spot. I took off 5 and sort of wish I had gone back earlier. One year isn't enough time to develop life skills that will help you so much in law school.
You also will be much more desirable at OCI.