Long term Planning

lipe.casey

Hello, I'm currently active duty in the Military and I'm not depressing until 2021. I plan on applying for the fall semester of 2021 and taking my LSAT in 2020. Aside from studying for the test, is there anything suggested for me to study/read in the meantime to prepare for law school?

Thanks!

Alex

I think the general advice is there's not much one can do for pre-law prep, especially that far out. One thing that undoubtably helped me with the LSAT was philosophy classes in undergrad. I would recommend reading and learning some logic.

Introduction to Logic by Gensler is a great read. It will put you in a really good position when you begin studying for the LSAT.

Good luck!

nessa.k13.0

If you read the news, try to read more dense publications instead of lighter easier to skim things like CNN/WSJ/NYT. Try to more technical publications like the Economist, Scientific American, Foreign Policy, etc (academic journals are great too). If you want to know about something check out academic papers rather than just Wikipedia. When I had questions about the best things to eat before cardio or the best types of exercise for a specific goal, I'd take it a step further than a health magazine and check out the studies in NIH journals. I got much more comfortable with the dense science passages by browsing those journals--I also learned some pretty cool things that aren't widely addressed. If you can get better at synthesizing and summarizing the main points of each paragraph and passage that will help you build RC skills.

It's awesome that you are planning ahead like this. Just some things to think about regarding studying and test timing-- I'd get a good study curriculum and start learning the fundamentals of the lsat (logic, arguments, grammar etc) at least a year out from when you plan on taking the test. That way you'll have plenty of time to absorb the information and then test your proficiency.
Regarding test date, I wish in the beginning that I aimed to take the June test. I say that because aiming to take your first test in December can get you stuck if you need to take the lsat again and unless you want to take February (which is undisclosed) it's a while till June and you could more easily lose momentum. I would aim to take June and so if I need to retake the test it's not that bad to keep up momentum for September and if needed you could take December. It's tricky because people aim for December test and (things happen and people don't reach their goals and then) have a disadvantage in the application cycle because the February LSAT is too late. All the best with your tour!

cam

Depending on what the OPTEMPO is like for your command, I would plan ahead for the LSAT. If your goal is to take it in 2020, I'd be ready to take it by the December 2019 test, just in case 2020 is a high enough OPTEMPO to prevent you from taking it that year. Taking it December 2019, if your OPTEMPO is not insanely high, would also allow you to retake in 2020 as needed. For myself, I sat the Feb 2017 test, and I'm going to retake either December 2017 or Feb 2018 (I wasn't happy with my score) to apply Fall 2018 to start school in Fall 2019.

From the writing, I'm guessing you just reupped, whether it is your first hitch or your last. The next tidbit is only relevant if you're in the US Military. If you're GI Bill eligible, I'd verify whether or not the schools you are most interested in participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program. If you paid into the Montgomery GI Bill (the one where we paid $100/month for the first 12 months of our contracts), I'd verify whether that is the best option or not. Personally, I paid into Montgomery, but I'm switching to Post 9/11 since it is a far better value (you get E5 w/dependents BAH based off of the zip code of your school). Post 9/11 GI Bill at a state school = full tuition. Post 9/11 + YRP = full or nearly full tuition at a private school.

General reading wise, I'd read Ann Levine's Law School Decision Game and Law School Admission game. Another is Montauk's How to Get Into The Top Law Schools. Those books gave me a better idea of what to expect from the process.

LSATman1

I recommend reading a broad range of subjects on a regular basis to help prepare for the RC and LR sections. When you are doing tough RC passages and questions (especially natural science for many LSAT students), it helps to have experience with these subjects so you aren't intimidated by the subject matter.

Sarah889

@"lipe.casey" Thank you for your service.

Sprinkles

@"nessa.k13.0" said:
If you read the news, try to read more dense publications instead of lighter easier to skim things like CNN/WSJ/NYT. Try to more technical publications like the Economist, Scientific American, Foreign Policy, etc (academic journals are great too). If you want to know about something check out academic papers rather than just Wikipedia. When I had questions about the best things to eat before cardio or the best types of exercise for a specific goal, I'd take it a step further than a health magazine and check out the studies in NIH journals. I got much more comfortable with the dense science passages by browsing those journals--I also learned some pretty cool things that aren't widely addressed. If you can get better at synthesizing and summarizing the main points of each paragraph and passage that will help you build RC skills.

It's awesome that you are planning ahead like this. Just some things to think about regarding studying and test timing-- I'd get a good study curriculum and start learning the fundamentals of the lsat (logic, arguments, grammar etc) at least a year out from when you plan on taking the test. That way you'll have plenty of time to absorb the information and then test your proficiency.
Regarding test date, I wish in the beginning that I aimed to take the June test. I say that because aiming to take your first test in December can get you stuck if you need to take the lsat again and unless you want to take February (which is undisclosed) it's a while till June and you could more easily lose momentum. I would aim to take June and so if I need to retake the test it's not that bad to keep up momentum for September and if needed you could take December. It's tricky because people aim for December test and have a disadvantage in the application cycle because February is too late. All the best with your tour!

Love this!

lipe.casey

Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions!

Rigid Designator

@"Alex Divine" said:
I think the general advice is there's not much one can do for pre-law prep, especially that far out. One thing that undoubtably helped me with the LSAT was philosophy classes in undergrad. I would recommend reading and learning some logic.

Introduction to Logic by Gensler is a great read. It will put you in a really good position when you begin studying for the LSAT.

Good luck!

I can 100% vouch for Philosophy classes as great LSAT prep. Undergraduate Logic classes will be fantastic and you shouldn't need anything more advanced than that (like classes on mathematical logic or set theory). On top of that any other Philosophy class that isn't very heavy on textual interpretation (like a class on Nietzsche for example) will expose you to enough rigorous logical reasoning to be worthwhile. These non-Logic classes will expose you to complex argumentative prose as well so it helps immeasurably with LR and RC.