Top Law Schools

How much, if at all, are you sacrificing socially in preparation for the exam?

I am curious to see how the community is.

Hard to explain, but sometimes it feels like I sacrifice a lot, and other times not much at all.

With working and studying it is quite hard to find time to go out and have a good time like I used to. Part of that is because I graduated recently, and while I was in college, I partied pretty much all the time. Then I graduated, most/all of my friends moved, but my girlfriend and I decided to stay in our college town. (We both found jobs). So now with most of my friends living far away, going out isn't much fun except when they come to visit.

It is also hard to tell whether or not work or the LSAT is what is really causing me to have to sacrifice socially. The answer is probably both to some degree.

The only time I really feel like I am sacrificing a lot is on weekends when my girlfriend goes out and does fun things and I decide not to. So tonight I'll feel like I'm sacrificing a bunch, but come Monday it will feel like a regular day.

I don't have friends, but my dog is fat now due to the lack of walks

I wasn't particularly social before I started studying for the test. I don't really need to "go out" to be happy. Just gotta exercise, and do the little things I enjoy to do (anime, video games). I've just had to readjust my time to be spent more so on the test than leisurely things. Ahh the benefits of being an introvert.
I have been lucky enough to not have to work while I built up my foundation of the methods I use, but I'm actually shifting gears and focusing on finding a job. Once I have that job, I'm still not going be sacrificing that much socially honestly.

Nada, don't really have a social life.

It has been reccomended to give up everything socially except sex with friends with benefits.

Before LSAT: Locked myself away in the library for an entire year. I work full time so I needed all the extra time to study.

I more than made up for the lost time after taking the exam

I've sacrificed quite a bit this summer as I was working full time and studying; However, I haven't been a recluse completely. I typically take a day off a week when I feel the need to go clear my mind... If you utilize your time effectively you don't need to become a "kermit" to be successful on the LSAT, but there is some degree of sacrifice..as there is with anything in life. Balance is key. It's different for every person and what your schedule looks like, but I reckon anyone has to adjust their priorities accordingly.

I don't have a social life, but that is partly because I moved home after college and started working full-time. After studying and working all week, I'm usually too tired to do anything, plus I don't have many good friends in town to begin with. This was a big transition from being in a fraternity in college that was hard to adjust to initially, but now I prefer it. Everything comes in cycles.

I was just diagnosed with Crohn's Disease (at least that's what they say it probably is) so I swore off alcohol. Haven't drank since January 16.

I miss listening to Steely Dan and jazz music retarded drunk but at my age (29) the hangovers get pretty debilitating so I don't miss that part too much.

So to answer your question I'm not sure how much I'm sacrificing because of the LSAT. I have quit smoking weed entirely for the LSAT, so I've turned down a couple of requests to do that. I've gone out to see bands play once or twice, I just smoked weed while my friends drank.

This close to December I'll probably be reclusive. And if I don't break 170 it's constant studying and not retaking until I do, or at least am sure I maximized my potential on this test.

Socially though it's not what it was when I was at a big university. I came back here to finish for tuition reasons and a lot of my friends from high school work in bigger cities. I've got a close buddy I play jazz guitar with, once I get this test down we're going to tackle Chelsea Bridge, so I've got that to look forward to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I4dLLA2lk8

Law school will be a social time. I'm sure the student life is diminished some but it will be more social than things are when you're working all the time.

So I guess it's taken a hit but not as much as someone like Elle Woods.

.

From May to July, I made myself take one day off every week and just stayed away from everything LSAT or law school related, doing anything from binge watching with TV shows or hanging out with friends. I think that, at months away from the actual test, it was helpful for me to stay motivated and not get burned out that way. Then I took a PT in early August and realized how far I was from my target score. I missed 21 questions on that PT--though still in the upper 160s--I guess it was a more harder test than usual. Still, I had barely taken a day off since.

It also helps that I have other friends applying to grad schools, prepping for tests and juggling life transitions. I have found it much easier to spend time when them, rather than the ones who aren't in similar situations.

peachyjade wrote:From May to July, I made myself take one day off every week and just stayed away from everything LSAT or law school related, doing anything from binge watching with TV shows or hanging out with friends. I think that, at months away from the actual test, it was helpful for me to stay motivated and not get burned out that way. Then I took a PT in early August and realized how far I was from my target score. I missed 21 questions on that PT--though still in the upper 160s--I guess it was a more harder test than usual. Still, I had barely taken a day off since.

It also helps that I have other friends applying to grad schools, prepping for tests and juggling life transitions. I have found it much easier to spend time when them, rather than the ones who aren't in similar situations.

It took me 4 months of studying just like you did to score above a 160. Took another 3 months after that to crack above 170.

RamTitan wrote:

peachyjade wrote:From May to July, I made myself take one day off every week and just stayed away from everything LSAT or law school related, doing anything from binge watching with TV shows or hanging out with friends. I think that, at months away from the actual test, it was helpful for me to stay motivated and not get burned out that way. Then I took a PT in early August and realized how far I was from my target score. I missed 21 questions on that PT--though still in the upper 160s--I guess it was a more harder test than usual. Still, I had barely taken a day off since.

It also helps that I have other friends applying to grad schools, prepping for tests and juggling life transitions. I have found it much easier to spend time when them, rather than the ones who aren't in similar situations.

It took me 4 months of studying just like you did to score above a 160. Took another 3 months after that to crack above 170.

I had my only 170 break so far a couple of weeks ago, then went back into the upper 160. When I first started studying, I read several guides that were like "175+ in 3 months." But after struggling in the upper 160 range forever I can see how ridiculously unrealistic that thought was.

Just out of curiosity--when you broke the 170, was it tough to stay in that range consistently? And were you able to break 175?

peachyjade wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

peachyjade wrote:From May to July, I made myself take one day off every week and just stayed away from everything LSAT or law school related, doing anything from binge watching with TV shows or hanging out with friends. I think that, at months away from the actual test, it was helpful for me to stay motivated and not get burned out that way. Then I took a PT in early August and realized how far I was from my target score. I missed 21 questions on that PT--though still in the upper 160s--I guess it was a more harder test than usual. Still, I had barely taken a day off since.

It also helps that I have other friends applying to grad schools, prepping for tests and juggling life transitions. I have found it much easier to spend time when them, rather than the ones who aren't in similar situations.

It took me 4 months of studying just like you did to score above a 160. Took another 3 months after that to crack above 170.

I had my only 170 break so far a couple of weeks ago, then went back into the upper 160. When I first started studying, I read several guides that were like "175+ in 3 months." But after struggling in the upper 160 range forever I can see how ridiculously unrealistic that thought was.

Just out of curiosity--when you broke the 170, was it tough to stay in that range consistently? And were you able to break 175?

I stayed in the 167-171 range for an unholy amount of time.....probably 6-7 months (I've been studying since May of 2015). And while I consistently score above 175 on PT retakes, I can't say that I have ever broken into that range with a fresh PT since I'm out of new materials.

If you can consistently score in the upper 160s, then you're in a good spot, and I wouldn't be worried about sitting for the test.

Edit - I read this once, and I think it's very true; to go from low 170s to high 170s, you essentially have to get twice as good (going from getting 10 wrong to 5 wrong essentially). And those questions you have to get right are substantially harder than the other ones you've mastered up to that point. This should not be discouraging, but rather seen as that you need to spend a lot of time working on the test if you're deadset on being a 175+ scorer.

Nothing. I was a loser before and I'll be a loser now. At least these books and tests can't bully me.

Nah, I'm just making people have study dates with me. I have discipline of steel which helps but at least I get to sit across the table from people I like and make faces at them/bitch about mauve dinosaurs/hi5 each other and get shit done. It helps that a lot of folks I know live freelancing/work from home lifestyles and my girlfriend is a fucking hustler/runs her own business on the side so there are many people excited to hang out while not hanging out. I highly recommend this strategy.

BenShapiro wrote:Nothing. I was a loser before and I'll be a loser now. At least these books and tests can't bully me.

I beg to differ about the test not bullying you part. The LSAT can be pretty mean. It made me break down and burnout more than once.

RamTitan wrote:

peachyjade wrote:

RamTitan wrote:

peachyjade wrote:From May to July, I made myself take one day off every week and just stayed away from everything LSAT or law school related, doing anything from binge watching with TV shows or hanging out with friends. I think that, at months away from the actual test, it was helpful for me to stay motivated and not get burned out that way. Then I took a PT in early August and realized how far I was from my target score. I missed 21 questions on that PT--though still in the upper 160s--I guess it was a more harder test than usual. Still, I had barely taken a day off since.

It also helps that I have other friends applying to grad schools, prepping for tests and juggling life transitions. I have found it much easier to spend time when them, rather than the ones who aren't in similar situations.

It took me 4 months of studying just like you did to score above a 160. Took another 3 months after that to crack above 170.

I had my only 170 break so far a couple of weeks ago, then went back into the upper 160. When I first started studying, I read several guides that were like "175+ in 3 months." But after struggling in the upper 160 range forever I can see how ridiculously unrealistic that thought was.

Just out of curiosity--when you broke the 170, was it tough to stay in that range consistently? And were you able to break 175?

I stayed in the 167-171 range for an unholy amount of time.....probably 6-7 months (I've been studying since May of 2015). And while I consistently score above 175 on PT retakes, I can't say that I have ever broken into that range with a fresh PT since I'm out of new materials.

If you can consistently score in the upper 160s, then you're in a good spot, and I wouldn't be worried about sitting for the test.

Edit - I read this once, and I think it's very true; to go from low 170s to high 170s, you essentially have to get twice as good (going from getting 10 wrong to 5 wrong essentially). And those questions you have to get right are substantially harder than the other ones you've mastered up to that point. This should not be discouraging, but rather seen as that you need to spend a lot of time working on the test if you're deadset on being a 175+ scorer.

The 167-171 range is hell. I gave up everything besides football on Sundays and women, and even then I often let the later go.