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Hi everyone,

If I take a gap year, do nothing but prepare for the LSAT only. Does that hurt for my application if my number is okay? Do I need to explain that in addendum? I am a splitter, so I want to work hard for lsat and get a good score to apply to some lower T14 schools.

Thanks for the help!

It's not detrimental, and it won't require an addendum, but you are leaving a potential admissions boost on the table. If you're a splitter, you should take every advantage you can get. Some schools stress WE more than others, and not having it can hurt you at those schools (like NU).

LSAT prep does not require a full-time commitment. Getting a full-time job will help your law school application and potentially make you a more attractive candidate at OCI.

Work on LSAT if you can afford it and don't mind restricting a year worth of your life to this exam. Remember that the life in law school and after it will be quite boring, so it might make sense to start practicing early. Seriously. Think about it. Law schools are in the business of selling law degrees. What does help their business the most? Position in the rankings. LSAT is the only asset (except your money) that you as an applicant can bring to the table (once your GPA is fixed). So this is the only one they really care about.

you shouldnt be studying for the LSAT eight hours a day, what are you going to do with the rest of your time? Might as well get a job

It will also look bad to employers. You don't need to study for the LSAT full time for a year, get a job.

d cooper wrote:It's not detrimental, and it won't require an addendum, but you are leaving a potential admissions boost on the table. If you're a splitter, you should take every advantage you can get. Some schools stress WE more than others, and not having it can hurt you at those schools (like NU).

LSAT prep does not require a full-time commitment. Getting a full-time job will help your law school application and potentially make you a more attractive candidate at OCI.

Thanks for the advice!

Moabit wrote:Work on LSAT if you can afford it and don't mind restricting a year worth of your life to this exam. Remember that the life in law school and after it will be quite boring, so it might make sense to start practicing early. Seriously. Think about it. Law schools are in the business of selling law degrees. What does help their business the most? Position in the rankings. LSAT is the only asset (except your money) that you as an applicant can bring to the table (once your GPA is fixed). So this is the only one they really care about.

I agree with you. Except for the T3, almost every law school is kinda desperate now. Most law schools themselves are competing against each other to attract brilliant and wealthy students to come.

james.bungles wrote:you shouldnt be studying for the LSAT eight hours a day, what are you going to do with the rest of your time? Might as well get a job

I will probably study it for like 5-6 hrs a day and spend 1.5 hrs working out, 2-3 hrs to do some other stuff. Studying 8 hrs straight is not that efficient.

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True, 5-6 hours a day if you are not a native speaker is reasonable. You'll worry about OCI once you have this problem. As international student you will always be able to say that you could not work because of visa issues. In any case if you ace LSAT and get into a top law school and perform decently there, you'll do fine even with a year off employment in your resume.

By the way, are you sure you are a "splitter"? For if you are foreign-educated your GPA will not matter. It won't be a liability for law schools, as they would not have to report it. Get a high LSAT and you are golden.

Have you applied for the OPT? You are supposed to be doing something related to your undergraduate major. My English is not perfect and I consider myself not too smart, but I somehow managed to do well on the LSAT. Maybe you'll benefit from studying for the TOEFL, especially the reading section. I don't want to sound harsh, but from reading your posts, it is clear that you need to work a little bit more on grammar and writing in general. I'll be more than happy to help if you need help studying for the LSAT. Good luck!