Seeking Advice Forum

[andymayne]

I'm a 3rd year undergraduate student in my second semester. I previously planned on taking the LSAT this June. However, I can't keep up with both the schoolwork and the LSAT studying. I have a near perfect GPA as an Economics major and I'm very set on maintaining it. I'm set on getting into a T14 school or else I'm not going at all.
I'm now considering taking a gap year after I graduate from college. During the gap year I would maximize my LSAT year, read some business/law books, and get my body in shape. I also think it'd be very refreshing to take some time off before continuing with my education since I've been in school my whole life nonstop. I live with my parents so I don't need money. Does this sound like a good idea, or will law schools hate to see this on my application?

TLDR: Should I take a year off after college graduation to get the highest possible LSAT score I can, read books, and lift weights? Or will that gap year screw me during admissions?

[t-14orbust]

I highly recommend taking a year off(but working during that time. full-time work experience can be valuable.). Take this summer to work part time and study for the LSAT. I was in a similar boat and I took my junior-senior year summer to work part time and take testmasters. I took the october lsat and retook december. With my lsat score in hand i just maintained my gpa through the rest of my senior year and secured employment + letters of rec. By the time app cycle opened up the following september while I was working, I already had everything pretty much set. ended up at hls. bless up

[arose928]

I definitely think you should do it, I think more people or everyone should do it, and no I don't think it will have any impact on admissions, if you can say you're doing *some*thing.

[maracuya]

.

[Bearlyalive]

I did exactly what you're talking about, and it was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made. Only difference is that I decided to take the LSAT between junior and senior year just to see how well I would do and to get used to the testing environment (which made me feel much more comfortable sitting down on the actual test day, but if you're worried about schools averaging your scores, which for the most part doesn't happen anymore, you may not want to do that). If I hadn't taken my gap year, there's a fair chance that I wouldn't have even gotten into some schools that have now offered me full-tuition scholarship offers.

That said, if you're really not doing anything else, I don't think you'll need more than just the Summer to study. Chances are that if you are doing your studying correctly right from the get go, 3-4 months should be plenty (it was for me). You can always take the test again if things don't go well, but I would not go into your gap year planning on spending the entire time studying; you will either burn out, run out of practice tests, or hit a ceiling.

Also, in the same vein, while taking a gap year is a fantastic idea and not at all looked down upon by schools, doing absolutely nothing for a year may raise some concerns. Plan on getting a job once the LSAT is out of the way, or travel if you can afford it, or volunteer, or do something productive so when someone, whether an adcomm or a future employer, asks what you did with your time, you'll have something interesting to talk about.

ETA: forgot to mention: DONT spend your time reading law books. If you really like reading legal philosophy or something and your friend sends you an article, that's fine, but there will be plenty of time to learn about law once you're actually in law school. If you really want to learn about the law, go down to your local DA office and ask if they need any student volunteers; then you'll at least have an extra bullet point for your resume, and you might get some cool experiences.

[andymayne]

Excellent responses - thank you all!
I was leaning heavily towards taking the gap year, and now I feel reassured. I'll make sure to make it a productive gap year so I have something to talk about during the admissions interviews. So it seems I'll be taking the LSAT September of 2017, retake if necessary on December of 2017, meanwhile securing recommendations + personal statement, and start law school the fall of 2018. Does this sound like the correct timeline?

[kepfd24]

Excellent responses - thank you all!
I was leaning heavily towards taking the gap year, and now I feel reassured. I'll make sure to make it a productive gap year so I have something to talk about during the admissions interviews. So it seems I'll be taking the LSAT September of 2017, retake if necessary on December of 2017, meanwhile securing recommendations + personal statement, and start law school the fall of 2018. Does this sound like the correct timeline?

Yup I think so

[frasier]

Excellent responses - thank you all!
I was leaning heavily towards taking the gap year, and now I feel reassured. I'll make sure to make it a productive gap year so I have something to talk about during the admissions interviews. So it seems I'll be taking the LSAT September of 2017, retake if necessary on December of 2017, meanwhile securing recommendations + personal statement, and start law school the fall of 2018. Does this sound like the correct timeline?

My recommendation is to get the recommendations ASAP. Not that you need to rush, but doing it while it's fresh in the prof's minds is only helpful.

I waited for two years after graduation...