Studying "Full Time"

elle_sat

Would it be extremely unattractive for admissions committees to see somewhat of a gap on your resume between undergrad and applying, due to studying for the LSAT full time? Or would the numbers speak for themselves?

Alex

@elle_sat said:
Would it be extremely unattractive for admissions committees to see somewhat of a gap on your resume between undergrad and applying, due to studying for the LSAT full time? Or would the numbers speak for themselves?

The numbers will speak for themselves, so to speak.

Something important to note about admissions is that when it comes to numbers, they almost always trump any soft factors like work experience.

AllezAllez21

Except for HYS, no, probably not.

elle_sat

@"Alex Divine" said:

@elle_sat said:
Would it be extremely unattractive for admissions committees to see somewhat of a gap on your resume between undergrad and applying, due to studying for the LSAT full time? Or would the numbers speak for themselves?

The numbers will speak for themselves, so to speak.

Something important to note about admissions is that when it comes to numbers, they almost always trump any soft factors like work experience.

Thanks A! That's been my general understanding. Would you agree with @AllezAllez21 's comment about HYS?

sillllyxo

No. As said above numbers trump all

Alex

@elle_sat said:

@"Alex Divine" said:

@elle_sat said:
Would it be extremely unattractive for admissions committees to see somewhat of a gap on your resume between undergrad and applying, due to studying for the LSAT full time? Or would the numbers speak for themselves?

The numbers will speak for themselves, so to speak.

Something important to note about admissions is that when it comes to numbers, they almost always trump any soft factors like work experience.

Thanks A! That's been my general understanding. Would you agree with @AllezAllez21 's comment about HYS?

No problem

There's no reason to believe it would be any different for HYS. First and foremost law school is a numbers game. People think HYS, particularly Y, value work experience more. That's true but numbers are still what matter most.

As an aside, those who gain acceptance into Yale, on average, have at least a few years work experience/additional degrees. Something to note is that often the work experience isn't at your typical post-grad job, but at very impressive positions. So it's not just any work experience...

My point here is that if you're going to just apply as a K-JD with a small gap to study, I don't think it's going to make you an "extremely unattractive" applicant, whereas having a higher LSAT score certainly will help make you a more attractive applicant.

FWIW, my old friend/tutor Sage @"allison.gill.sanford" was accepted into HLS in 2016 after taking off time to study full-time.

AllezAllez21

I spoke to an HYS former admissions officer and they said it would raise concern if there was a noticeable gap on the resume right before applying. So there's one point of data. But maybe you could find a way to explain that you were being productive during those days by studying really hard. I think they're just concerned you weren't doing much with your time.

That being said, it certainly wouldn't eliminate you. If anything, the higher score you could end up with could/would outweigh that. Also, if it was only for like 2-4 months, I think that would be okay.

It's a personal choice. Maybe there is a part-time volunteer position you could do during that time?

Positive

Like everyone above already said, I think, in general, numbers will speak for themselves. Even for YHS, I have seen many acceptance cases where recent graduates did not have any full-time work before they applied b/c they were studying LSAT on full time basis. Of course, keep in mind that these people had excellent gpa/lsat and some interesting intern/ec experience during their UG years. In short, If you just graduated this year, having no work exprience before you apply won't hurt you much.

allison.gill.sanford

Yup I did this, took off about 6 months to study full time. I don't think it matters much, you just have to be able to account for what you were doing with your time - and deciding to study full time is not some kind of indicator that you are an inferior applicant! I think, to the contrary, it demonstrates to elite schools that you are a hard worker and can handle law school.
I would say taking the LSAT 3 times reflects more poorly on your study habits than taking time off from work and studying full time to reach your goal score.
If you had a year or two with nothing on your resume, you might get questions about what you were doing. I believe that is a screening process to make sure you are a motivated individual.

shanedrider

@"allison.gill.sanford" said:
Yup I did this, took off about 6 months to study full time. I don't think it matters much, you just have to be able to account for what you were doing with your time - and deciding to study full time is not some kind of indicator that you are an inferior applicant! I think, to the contrary, it demonstrates to elite schools that you are a hard worker and can handle law school.
I would say taking the LSAT 3 times reflects more poorly on your study habits than taking time off from work and studying full time to reach your goal score.
If you had a year or two with nothing on your resume, you might get questions about what you were doing. I believe that is a screening process to make sure you are a motivated individual.

Did you write an addendum to address the time off? I've been studying full time and was wondering whether addressing the gap is worth an addendum or it's assumed.

btownsquee

I talked to a law school admissions consultant about this and they were pretty against taking time off to study. My personal experience: I took about 4 months off to study and I got too stressed out because of the pressure I put on myself. I would advocate studying while working a not too stressful job for the LSAT--especially if you are prone to psyching yourself out! And take the test when you feel like you can get the score you need. Good luck!!!

allison.gill.sanford

@shanedrider no, I don't think it's necessary to account for that gap in your resume. You might be asked during an interview though what you did during that time.