gap year - tell me about your experiences Forum

[tralala]

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[Connor Benz]

Hi guys,

For those of you who took gap years/time off before law school - what did you do? Did you save money? Was it ultimately helpful to your legal career?

Thanks!

I interned for a firm. (This was helpful for my career)
I was a Ford Model. (This helped me save money) (and the free clothes enhanced my wardrobe)

[Sinatra]

Hi guys,

For those of you who took gap years/time off before law school - what did you do? Did you save money? Was it ultimately helpful to your legal career?

Thanks!

I was a Ford Model

Sup?

[withoutapaddle]

I worked for Wells Fargo for a year as a consultant. I did a lot of philanthropy work, and currently the treasurer of a 501 (c).

Hoping this will help with admissions, or OCI.

[Noodlebrain]

Peace Corps - though less of a 'gap year' and more of a life decision. Peace Corps isn't something you do just because.

[AlanShore]

took 3 years off. worked at a big financial services/insurances co. 1L so no OCI yet but i've been told having work experience will help.

[withoutapaddle]

Heard Peace Corps looks amazing on business applications

[Noodlebrain]

Heard Peace Corps looks amazing on business applications

I sure hope so. Living in poverty is not easy and thinking that it'll pay off later on down the road helps keep many volunteers going. PC volunteers definitely develop some skills and perspectives that can be pretty tough to acquire in the States, especially relating to international work.

[UnicornHunter]

Spent a year living in the Middle East, then I came back, took the LSAT and then joined the Army.

[Redamon1]

Worked for a think tank for 5 years. Best idea ever. Makes you appreciate law school all the more. You are ready to study again. You know how to take advantage of a professional school. You know what you like and don't like. You are appealing to schools. You take on less debt. And perhaps most importantly, employers really value that experience. It has given me a major boost in employment applications so far. But I doubt having worked for 1-2 years gives you that kind of boost. Bottom line: Think big and get some experience for 3-5 years before applying.

[gaud]

Drank a ton of booze and napped.

Saved money.

Had me wanting to get back to work by 1L

[AlanShore]

Worked for a think tank for 5 years. Best idea ever. Makes you appreciate law school all the more. You are ready to study again. You know how to take advantage of a professional school. You know what you like and don't like. You are appealing to schools. You take on less debt. And perhaps most importantly, employers really value that experience. It has given me a major boost in employment applications so far. But I doubt having worked for 1-2 years gives you that kind of boost. Bottom line: Think big and get some experience for 3-5 years before applying.

question! In what way have you seen the boost? Do you get more interviews compared to similarly ranked peers, etc?

[Redamon1]

Worked for a think tank for 5 years. Best idea ever. Makes you appreciate law school all the more. You are ready to study again. You know how to take advantage of a professional school. You know what you like and don't like. You are appealing to schools. You take on less debt. And perhaps most importantly, employers really value that experience. It has given me a major boost in employment applications so far. But I doubt having worked for 1-2 years gives you that kind of boost. Bottom line: Think big and get some experience for 3-5 years before applying.

question! In what way have you seen the boost? Do you get more interviews compared to similarly ranked peers, etc?

Yes. I outperformed my grades at OCI. Part of it is that employers like people with meaningful professional experience. You'll have great stories to share to demonstrate management skills, fund-raising, research ability, teamwork, work ethic, attention to detail and all the other qualities legal employers look for. Part of it is also that you become a better interviewer since chances are you'll have interviewed and hired people yourself. HTH.

[Robbin Blue]

I haven't started law school yet as I am in the middle of my gap year right now with AmeriCorps, but I am really enjoying the time off. It's not helping me save money at all, unfortunately. However, it gave me an opportunity to actually study for the LSAT, rather than just dicking around with it like I had been in college, and I am excited to be back in the classroom. I think if I had tried to go straight through, I would be suffering from some serious burn-out already.

[Young Marino]

In the midst of a gap year now. Did some interning in my local government for about 8 months but the internship ended so now working a 15 hr a week retail job and going out/drinking almost every night. Wondering if I should intern else where until August but man I'm just having too much fun right now lol

[PalmBay]

In a gap year now.
I didn't get the LSAT score I wanted last year so I took time off. Bumped my LSAT up 5 points and am already admitted to several schools I had no chance getting into last year. I am pleased.

I'm not doing anything special. Got a minimum wage job and saving money. My dad is overseas and my mom works nights so I help around the house and drive my sister (who is in highschool) to and from places.

Honestly the break from academia has done a lot to clear my mind. I'm really glad I took the year off.

[AlanShore]

In a gap year now.
I didn't get the LSAT score I wanted last year so I took time off. Bumped my LSAT up 5 points and am already admitted to several schools I had no chance getting into last year. I am pleased.

I'm not doing anything special. Got a minimum wage job and saving money. My dad is overseas and my mom works nights so I help around the house and drive my sister (who is in highschool) to and from places.

Honestly the break from academia has done a lot to clear my mind. I'm really glad I took the year off.

aww. this is nice. good for you! best of luck.

[tigersaresexy]

Currently in my gap year, took it to focus on studying for the LSAT and apply to law school (Never got anything done in UG...too much drinking apparently)

Now that my LSAT is done and my apps are in, I sleep at 5am and wake up at 1pm. I've caught up on every TV show currently airing that's even a little bit good. I got a puppy and I've been training/loving on her. I've replayed all the Zeldas and I'm currently replaying L.A Noire. I've learnt how to cook quite a bit, made my own ravioli yesterday and it was great. I'm working on getting in shape, trying to become one of those short-short/sports bra wearing cute gym girls...so far I'm at 4 times a week with minimal sexiness. I've been playing lots of Neopets and smoking moderate amounts of weed. I go out drinking quite a bit.

Other than that, I have some solid plans to while away time until August. I'm going to China for a month or so in late December to visit my brother, I have an internship at a litigation firm in February, I plan on going to Thailand for the full moon party in March and I'm hopefully eurotripping in May/June.

All in all, I knew going in that the year was going to be long and boring but I didn't realize to what extent. Living with your parents as an adult blows, not being near your friends blows, feeling stagnant blows. But that being said, I have been able to read a lot, relax a lot, revamp my wardrobe and change my lifestyle mostly for the better. I was able to get a great LSAT score and put in quality time into my applications, which I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. Also, by the end of undergrad I was throughly burnt out, so some down time has been good for my mental health. So all in all, I'm glad I took the year off as opposed to jumping right in to law school, but I wish I had a more solid plan of action at the start, and that I hadn't tried to save money/effort by moving back home. In retrospect, I'd gladly get a job and pay rent in a more vibrant place.

[Connor Benz]

Hi guys,

For those of you who took gap years/time off before law school - what did you do? Did you save money? Was it ultimately helpful to your legal career?

Thanks!

I was a Ford Model

Sup?

Yes? lol

[RCO2012]

I don't know if I would really consider mine a "gap year(s)," as I'm finishing out a masters program, but it was definitely beneficial for me to take time between UG and LS. I work full time in regulatory/compliance law, and I think that coupled with my MBA will be helpful with OCI. Granted still being in school and working full time did not leave me with a ton of time to study for the LSAT, but that's all about time management.

[ManoftheHour]

You can try other careers. I am taking two gap years. My first gap year, I worked at a marketing firm. It was TTT so I quit and found an office job at a media company. It's okay. It pays the bills, it's chill, kind of fun, but I could not see it as a career.

This gap year, I applied to the local police department. Got through all the stages and I got offered on Monday. After I pass my psychiatric and medical physical exam, I might just ditch law school altogether if my December LSAT score is TTT.

Even if I don't take the offer or I get an awesome LSAT score and decide to go to law school after all, exploring other avenues is really fun and mind enriching. Now's your time to just explore other avenues. It can be worthwhile for the life experiences alone.

Seriously, in what other part of your life can you just work different kinds of jobs for fun? Did a lot of traveling too. Enjoy your gap years dude (while studying for the LSAT of course).

[ayl]

I'm not really taking a gap year, but rather taking some previously unwanted time between undergrad and grad. I worked my butt off as a psychology major in undergrad and applied to 12 Clinical Psych PhD programs (which was a major pain). Despite having a great CV (for someone still not out of school), graduating near top of my class, PBK, what-have-you, I received 12 lovely rejections over the course of a few months In that time, I accepted a job as a medical coordinator for an NGO in Cape Town (yes, South Africa), and worked there from January to May of 2012 (December 2011 grad).

That job was my turning point. I made absolutely no money, worked in a township, yet had the time of my life. It made me realize where my natural abilities and passions aligned, and motivated me to rethink my career goals. I accepted a position coordinating federally-funded grants at a medical school in my hometown, started there June of last year, and eventually came around to realizing law was what I should've been focusing on this whole time.

Was it hard to come around to all this? Definitely. Do I regret the time it took? Nope. I'm not sure yet how this work experience/time off will help with my applications, but I do know that I value what I learned, and I am confident it will make me a far better student than I would have been straight out of undergrad.

[PalmBay]

Has anyone took a gap year and regretted it? You don't seem to hear a lot of people say "darn, I wish I went straight from UG to LS."
Turned out 2013 was the last year for my childhood dog. I was enjoying this gap year but I'm especially glad now that I got to spend the last few months being gleefully greeted at the door every time I got home instead of finding out at law school as I was preparing for finals that my dog had died.

[john1990]

Has anyone took a gap year and regretted it? You don't seem to hear a lot of people say "darn, I wish I went straight from UG to LS."
Turned out 2013 was the last year for my childhood dog. I was enjoying this gap year but I'm especially glad now that I got to spend the last few months being gleefully greeted at the door every time I got home instead of finding out at law school as I was preparing for finals that my dog had died.

Personally I ended up regretting time off. I could not find meaningful employment. This might have been because I wasliving in a small town

[jerbee02]

Hi guys,

For those of you who took gap years/time off before law school - what did you do? Did you save money? Was it ultimately helpful to your legal career?

Thanks!

I worked as the store operations manager for Kohls's Department Stores for 6 months, then at Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a Regional Account Executive II for almost 5 years. Both were eye-openers... I gained an entirely new perspective of the way a corporation (and the corporate hierarchy) works. It's completely different than business management classes in undergrad would have you believe... In that way, it's definitely contributed to my future career and understanding of how to approach that environment.