LSAT as a Freshman in College (due to prep time availability Forum

[senslogine]

Hi, I know this will likely make me seem like a gunner/insane person, but I would like to explain my situation. I'll be a freshman in college this fall. I already have significant college course experience (several basic courses and several upper-level courses with dense reading loads) and know I want to take the LSAT. I had originally intended to study and then take it in my Sophomore or Junior year because I am also planning to take the GRE. However, I was unable to find a full time job this summer (after several promised jobs that fell through) and find myself with a summer full of very little to keep me occupied during the day (I'll be working nights). Is it unwise to study my ass off this summer, determine my score range on practice tests and take the LSAT in October if I feel I'm ready? I want to do this not because I'm anxious about the LSAT, but because I know I have the time to study now, and am not sure I will have the to study later. I want to get the best score I possibly can on the LSAT.

[Moxie]

The idea sounds good, but there are a few reasons why I recommend you don't take it as a freshmen:
1) The transition to college is hard enough, and studying for the LSAT is a huge time commitment. ENJOY COLLEGE instead.
2) You'll develop critical thinking, logical and reading skills over your time in college. I'm sure you think you're very intelligent now, but you're only going to get more prepared for the LSAT through years of college coursework.
3) Most college kids switch their majors during college, never mind their career plans...

Seriously, don't stress about the LSAT before you've even gotten in college, career plans change and you become more intelligent throughout college. I can't emphasize enough that this is definitely not the time to be worrying about the LSAT.

[Mr. Matlock]

Freshman in college??????????

I took mine as a sophomore in high school. Way to fuck up your future kid.

[stintez]

The idea sounds good, but there are a few reasons why I recommend you don't take it as a freshmen:
1) The transition to college is hard enough, and studying for the LSAT is a huge time commitment. ENJOY COLLEGE instead.
2) You'll develop critical thinking, logical and reading skills over your time in college. I'm sure you think you're very intelligent now, but you're only going to get more prepared for the LSAT through years of college coursework.
3) Most college kids switch their majors during college, never mind their career plans...

Seriously, don't stress about the LSAT before you've even gotten in college, career plans change and you become more intelligent throughout college. I can't emphasize enough that this is definitely not the time to be worrying about the LSAT.

+1000000000 I want to be in COLLEGE AGAIN!!!

[NU_Jet55]

I'm sure you think you're very intelligent now, but you're only going to get more prepared for the LSAT through years of college coursework.

TITCR

[rayiner]

Take it now so you realize you can't get more than 153 and avoid getting a useless prelawish degree.

[birD]

I took the LSAT for the first time my sophmore year in college so if you have the time I don't think it's that bad of an idea. I would say don't take it unless you are scoring in the 170 range though because 1 or 2 extra years of college will make you smarter if that makes sense. But also things change a lot in college and you usually go in wanting to do one thing and come out doing another, I entered college as a graphic design major... plus I don't know if law schools will look at that you took the LSAT freshman year and think negatively. bottom line do it if you can somehow score in the 170s, if you can't I would wait a few years, but I don't think starting to look at prep materials will hurt you at all

[JasonR]

I can't wait until someone invents a device for stabbing people in the face over the internet.

[voice of reason]

You're pretty young to be preparing for law school. It would be perfectly reasonable to forget about this for 2 or even 3 years and then reconsider whether you really want to go to the trouble. Who knows if you'll end up wanting to be a lawyer?

LSAT scores are reportable for 5 years. I believe most schools will accept scores as long as LSAC will report them. Temple is the only one I know of that won't; they require an LSAT within the past 3 years. So long as you plan to go promptly from UG to law school, you should be able to use a score you get during your freshman year.

It's possible that you will get better at reading comprehension and logical reasoning in college, and thus would get a better score if you wait, but this really depends where you are right now and what your college curriculum is like.

[Mr. Matlock]

What's the over/under on which year in college the OP's dream job will switch to feeding fish to Shamu?

[09042014]

Take it now so you realize you can't get more than 153 and avoid getting a useless prelawish degree.

Very good point.

[NU_Jet55]

What's the over/under on which year in college the OP's dream job will switch to feeding fish to Shamu?

October 2010

[senslogine]

The idea sounds good, but there are a few reasons why I recommend you don't take it as a freshmen:
1) The transition to college is hard enough, and studying for the LSAT is a huge time commitment. ENJOY COLLEGE instead.
2) You'll develop critical thinking, logical and reading skills over your time in college. I'm sure you think you're very intelligent now, but you're only going to get more prepared for the LSAT through years of college coursework.
3) Most college kids switch their majors during college, never mind their career plans...

Seriously, don't stress about the LSAT before you've even gotten in college, career plans change and you become more intelligent throughout college. I can't emphasize enough that this is definitely not the time to be worrying about the LSAT.

Thank you for your response.

1) I would do most of my heavy studying during the summer, not during the time I was in school.
2) Would it be beneficial for me to learn the test now and then wait to take it after several years of college?
3) I know I'm not sure about what I want to do - I'm not saying that I for sure want to be a lawyer. I want to take the LSAT because I want to have that option- doing poorly on the LSAT would probably cause such a change of mind.

While I realize that now is likely not the proper time for me to worry, I honestly don't have anything else to do this summer and want to do something productive. I spend most of my time on a college campus with college kids because my only in-person classes were at my University. This means that the only people I would socialize with in the summer will be gone.

[senslogine]

Take it now so you realize you can't get more than 153 and avoid getting a useless prelawish degree.

I'll be a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies. Pre-Law is lame.

[senslogine]

I took the LSAT for the first time my sophmore year in college so if you have the time I don't think it's that bad of an idea. I would say don't take it unless you are scoring in the 170 range though because 1 or 2 extra years of college will make you smarter if that makes sense. But also things change a lot in college and you usually go in wanting to do one thing and come out doing another, I entered college as a graphic design major... plus I don't know if law schools will look at that you took the LSAT freshman year and think negatively. bottom line do it if you can somehow score in the 170s, if you can't I would wait a few years, but I don't think starting to look at prep materials will hurt you at all

That makes sense, thank you.

[09042014]

The idea sounds good, but there are a few reasons why I recommend you don't take it as a freshmen:
1) The transition to college is hard enough, and studying for the LSAT is a huge time commitment. ENJOY COLLEGE instead.
2) You'll develop critical thinking, logical and reading skills over your time in college. I'm sure you think you're very intelligent now, but you're only going to get more prepared for the LSAT through years of college coursework.
3) Most college kids switch their majors during college, never mind their career plans...

Seriously, don't stress about the LSAT before you've even gotten in college, career plans change and you become more intelligent throughout college. I can't emphasize enough that this is definitely not the time to be worrying about the LSAT.

Thank you for your response.

1) I would do most of my heavy studying during the summer, not during the time I was in school.
2) Would it be beneficial for me to learn the test now and then wait to take it after several years of college?
3) I know I'm not sure about what I want to do - I'm not saying that I for sure want to be a lawyer. I want to take the LSAT because I want to have that option- doing poorly on the LSAT would probably cause such a change of mind.

While I realize that now is likely not the proper time for me to worry, I honestly don't have anything else to do this summer and want to do something productive. I spend most of my time on a college campus with college kids because my only in-person classes were at my University. This means that the only people I would socialize with in the summer will be gone.

1)Yea, it doesn't matter, and Gen Eds are easy. Don't let your grades slip because of it and you'll be fine.
2)No, you only get less intelligent with age, and the logic on the LSAT is stupidly easy.
3)moxie, has a point but so do you and Ray. If you suck at the LSAT you can know not to go to law school, while you have plenty of time to switch.

What was your SAT?

[Paratiel]

At the risk of branding myself as a gunner, I will tell you that I did something akin to this. I earned an Associate's degree while in high school and took the LSAT the Oct. that I started at the university. It worked out well (going to UVA in the fall), but I would caution you on a few things. First, my writing and reasoning skills developed a great deal during my first year at the university, and I could have used that greater understanding to boost my score a bit. Second, since I had two years of college already under my belt, I was not quite the typical "freshman." If your "high-level" classes are just AP, then wait. AP classes are bloated and don't really mirror college work that much, so do not assume intellectual readiness. However, if they are year or more of actual college courses, be it community college or university, you should be fine.

PM me if you want clarifications.

[09042014]

Take it now so you realize you can't get more than 153 and avoid getting a useless prelawish degree.

I'll be a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies. Pre-Law is lame.

These are exactly the sort of degree's Ray was talking about. Not much demand for them.

[berkeleykel06]

Take it now so you realize you can't get more than 153 and avoid getting a useless prelawish degree.

I'll be a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies. Pre-Law is lame.

lol. And those degrees aren't useless?

[Mr. Matlock]

Take it now so you realize you can't get more than 153 and avoid getting a useless prelawish degree.

I'll be a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies. Pre-Law is lame.

[senslogine]

You're pretty young to be preparing for law school. It would be perfectly reasonable to forget about this for 2 or even 3 years and then reconsider whether you really want to go to the trouble. Who knows if you'll end up wanting to be a lawyer?

LSAT scores are reportable for 5 years. I believe most schools will accept scores as long as LSAC will report them. Temple is the only one I know of that won't; they require an LSAT within the past 3 years. So long as you plan to go promptly from UG to law school, you should be able to use a score you get during your freshman year.

It's possible that you will get better at reading comprehension and logical reasoning in college, and thus would get a better score if you wait, but this really depends where you are right now and what your college curriculum is like.

Thank you. I'm actually not sure I want to be a lawyer; I want to take the LSAT because it will help me make that decision. I realize it's a lot of work to prep for a test, but whether or not I become a lawyer depends largely on where I can go to school, which I know depends upon my LSAT score and GPA.

[senslogine]

Take it now so you realize you can't get more than 153 and avoid getting a useless prelawish degree.

I'll be a double major in Philosophy and Religious Studies. Pre-Law is lame.

These are exactly the sort of degree's Ray was talking about. Not much demand for them.

Ah, my mistake. I have seen a lot of criticism of the actual 'Pre-Law' major, which I was putting down. I already know there is little demand for my degrees.

[Moxie]

Thank you for your response.

1) I would do most of my heavy studying during the summer, not during the time I was in school.
2) Would it be beneficial for me to learn the test now and then wait to take it after several years of college?
3) I know I'm not sure about what I want to do - I'm not saying that I for sure want to be a lawyer. I want to take the LSAT because I want to have that option- doing poorly on the LSAT would probably cause such a change of mind.

While I realize that now is likely not the proper time for me to worry, I honestly don't have anything else to do this summer and want to do something productive. I spend most of my time on a college campus with college kids because my only in-person classes were at my University. This means that the only people I would socialize with in the summer will be gone.

Make money, read some good books, get ready for college - those are all things to do the summer before college. I understand your desire to be productive this summer, how about taking a summer class?
And while I'm sure you could get a great score on the LSAT, why waste time taking a test if there's a chance you don't end up going to law school? Plus, you could get a bad score and then be dissuaded from law school, even though this probably wouldn't reflect your true potential.

My advice - buy a few prep books, and do some basic studying/build your logic and reading comprehension skills. I wouldn't recommend taking the LSAT this early, but getting a head start on the LSAT studying wouldn't be a terrible idea.

Also - heed the advice about LSAT scores only being good for 5 years. If you want to take a year off after college, it would invalidate your score if you took it this fall, rendering all your studying and hard work moot.

[senslogine]

The idea sounds good, but there are a few reasons why I recommend you don't take it as a freshmen:
1) The transition to college is hard enough, and studying for the LSAT is a huge time commitment. ENJOY COLLEGE instead.
2) You'll develop critical thinking, logical and reading skills over your time in college. I'm sure you think you're very intelligent now, but you're only going to get more prepared for the LSAT through years of college coursework.
3) Most college kids switch their majors during college, never mind their career plans...

Seriously, don't stress about the LSAT before you've even gotten in college, career plans change and you become more intelligent throughout college. I can't emphasize enough that this is definitely not the time to be worrying about the LSAT.

Thank you for your response.

1) I would do most of my heavy studying during the summer, not during the time I was in school.
2) Would it be beneficial for me to learn the test now and then wait to take it after several years of college?
3) I know I'm not sure about what I want to do - I'm not saying that I for sure want to be a lawyer. I want to take the LSAT because I want to have that option- doing poorly on the LSAT would probably cause such a change of mind.

While I realize that now is likely not the proper time for me to worry, I honestly don't have anything else to do this summer and want to do something productive. I spend most of my time on a college campus with college kids because my only in-person classes were at my University. This means that the only people I would socialize with in the summer will be gone.

1)Yea, it doesn't matter, and Gen Eds are easy. Don't let your grades slip because of it and you'll be fine.
2)No, you only get less intelligent with age, and the logic on the LSAT is stupidly easy.
3)moxie, has a point but so do you and Ray. If you suck at the LSAT you can know not to go to law school, while you have plenty of time to switch.

What was your SAT?

3) My thinking exactly- if I know I can't go to law school because of the LSAT I have time to make the necessary changes.

I got a 32 on the ACT which I didn't actually study for and I can't for the life of me remember my SAT score, but the ACT conversion to SAT was a better number, so I applied with my ACT scores. I'm a National Merit Finalist, if that's relevant.

[smartin]

I went on a tour of a T3 this spring. In my group there was a high school freshman (dressed in a full suit) -- he wanted to know what he needed to do to be able to get into law school. He hadn't even taken the SATs yet.

So, in comparison, I don't find your preparation crazy.

I will echo the sentiments that, even though you're probably a smart kid, you will advance your reading comprehension and logical reasoning skills through the next few years of studies.