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I dreamed of one day being able to make one of these posts...
In mid 2016, I quit my job, moved back home and began pursuing my path to getting into a Canadian law school. I had completed a 4 year honours BA in 2011 and an MA in 2013. Upon graduation, I began a job in the social services that was rewarding but very low paying and ultimately unfulfilling in regards to my broader goals pertaining to social justice. For two years I worked this job while struggling to make ends meet living alone in a big Canadian city. In the summer of 2016, I made the decision to leave my job and begin pursuing law school, which had been in the back of my mind since beginning undergrad.
I began studying for the December 2016 LSAT in late August of that year in my parents' basement. I took a part-time research job with a professor from my alma mater, which I only thought would last for a few months to a year at the most. Despite my best efforts and having read the PowerScore Logic Games and Logical Reasoning books cover to cover (huge waste of time), I still couldn't pull off a score higher than 145 by the time late October rolled around. Panic and anxiety clouded my judgment as I clumsily threw together many poorly written and unfocused personal statements mere days before the November 1 deadline for applying to law school. When the test date rolled around, I knew I was doomed but something compelled me to write it. I walked out of the test with my head pounding and knew I had failed. Why I didn't cancel my score, I have no idea, but it accurately reflected how I felt walking out of the test... 145. I realized how poor my approach was and the extent of my mistakes once I discovered the 7sage forums...
I discovered 7sage shortly after writing the Dec 2016 LSAT and began doing the core curriculum. I would spend the entirety of 2017 on 7sage and doing research for my part-time job remotely... all from my parents' basement. My girlfriend was living in another city with her parents and we had to commute to see each other this entire time. I kept thinking I was getting better at the test but would only improve in small increments. I kept booking new LSAT test dates and then cancelling them one or two months before the date. Eventually, I settled on a drop dead date of February 2018 to get in for September of that year. I had a mini breakthrough and began scoring in the mid 150s by December of last year. I eventually got a tutor from 7sage (shoutouts to Daniel). I spent all of January doing prep tests and thorough blind reviews. My triumph was hitting a 160 and my low point was scoring a 150 two weeks before the test date. I wrote the Feb 2018 LSAT and felt much better walking out of the testing room. My partner and I took a long planned three month vacation to travel throughout South East Asia two days after the test date. I remember reading my score in an airport in Laos... 156. I was elated. Even though I didn't hit a 160, I had told myself previously that I would settle for anything above 155 in hopes that my age, work and academic success would make up for it.
Between March and August of this year, I must have checked my application pages to the four law schools I applied to in excess of 2,000 times. I knew the LSAT scores were delivered late for the Feb 2018 test and wondered how this was going to impact my chances. Once May rolled around I learned I was waitlisted for U of Ottawa and this excited me. I was sure I was going to get in because the year before, the majority of those on the waitlist ended up getting accepted, according to lawstudents.ca. One week later, I was waitlisted for Windsor... I got this in the bag, or so I thought. My hopes were crushed significantly upon finding out my place on the waitlist in late June for Ottawa... 221/298. Devastating. I began dashing any hopes of going to law school and began thinking about career opportunities in my field of research.
I really hunkered down for the 2019 application cycle. I arranged for a second strong academic reference and the professor from my alma mater, whom I am still working with presently, wrote an exceptional letter of recommendation about the work we had done together since 2016. My personal statement was now clearly worded and well-focused. I submitted my applications but without high hopes after having such a negative experience in the previous cycle. The past two months were miserable, as I faced the prospect of unemployment in the near future as my research grants are coming to a close. I had essentially given up on the idea of becoming a lawyer and was certain that I would not get accepted this cycle, similarly to last. However, on Tuesday night I learned that I received admission to the University of Ottawa for next September. I was so elated that tears streamed down my cheeks.
My partner and I are moving to Ottawa in September and I will go to law school. Even though I felt like I was in a rut for the better part of two years, this all makes it worth it. So for anyone who is struggling, doing PTs, and feeling like they are going nowhere in their pursuit, I encourage you to keep going and don't give up. If I can do it, you can. This was long but brief in relation to how my life has been for the past two years so I encourage you to ask me any questions about LSAT prep or admissions that you may have and I'd be happy to share my experiences with you.
Thank you for reading
tl;dr - spent two years studying, writing LSATs, finally got a decent score this year, but ultimately was rejected last cycle, got depressed, applied one more time not thinking i would get in, got into law school this week
I'm gonna be 30