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Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some advice. I’m an international student, and I’ve been studying for the LSAT on and off for about two months. My diagnostic score was a 144. Since I haven’t been fully committed to studying yet, my score is still in the 140s, but my goal is to reach 170+ so that I can apply for Fall 2027.
My original plan was to study full-time until January. However, I recently received a full-time job offer from a friend, and I’m not sure whether I should accept it. The job is directly related to the human rights field I want to pursue in law school, so it would allow me to gain meaningful experience. But I’m worried that working full-time would interfere with my LSAT preparation and delay my timeline.
I’m really torn between the two options, and I would be grateful to hear your thoughts. Thank you!
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You can absolutely work full time and study for the LSAT. I am many others have done that.
I worked full time during my LSAT prep. It's definitely demanding but I told myself that it is what I wanted no matter what. It works for some people and it doesn't for others. You have to really ask yourself if you it's something that you can handle.
I had a full time job and was trying to study. It did not work well for me. I ended up quitting to focus on the LSAT within in a month I saw improvements in my score. I study 6 hours a day at least.. It became my full time job. I talked with several people before making this decision. Everyone had something different to say but they did have one thing in common. They told me if you do not have the score the experience you gained does not matter because they will not look at you. Ive been told it goes LSAT, GPA, extracurriculars (job, volunteer work, ect.) With the internships ive taken and the references I am able to get from that it allowed me to feel comfortable making that decision. Whatever you think you can handle and will help you stay happy and excited through this process is what you should do. Good luck!
Any law school admissions person will tell you that they hate seeing an applicant who has no work history but took a gap year solely to study for the LSAT. They will value the fact you have experience! Try to let your job know that you are studying (since its in the legal field, they'll understand) just so they can be aware and maybe even accommodate you.
TLDR- You can definitely do both! You'll just have to be very intentional with your time. What's more important? Going all out to maximize your score this cycle, or possibly needing to take more time to study to have this meaningful work experience?
Full time working and LSAT studying is very doable. I work full time and do 1hr of studying M-F and then a PT Sat and BR Sunday, which easily gets me to 10hrs a week.
Realistically, how many more hours a week would you be studying if you did not have a job? It could seem like a lot- Being truthful with myself, I know it would not be much higher, but thats just me.
I was able to get my 148 diagnostic to a 172 PT by studying 11hrs a week (average) over the course of 6 months. Funny enough, I also started a new job at the beginning of those 6 months too. It was stressful to try and learn both things at once, but I'm glad I did it.
On my real LSAT I got a 166 - I'm still studying though, because I want to break 170 on the real test!
Good luck on your LSAT journey!
Take the job. It will strengthen your law school resume and your actual resume--very important when you apply for positions post-law-school graduation. Be prepared to sacrifice parts of your weekend and weeknights. It also puts you in a stronger financial position to say yes to more law schools regardless of scholarship as not every school is generous.