Just busy comparing myself to other people...

samantha.ashley92

So I have been having this problem lately where I keep telling myself that if I can't get a certain score I shouldn't even go to law school. My mom went to Penn, and all of my friends who went to law school went to T14 schools. I'm studying about 25 hours a week, but I always feel like I'm not doing enough. Anyway, has anyone else been in a situation where your score just doesn't feel good enough?

Alex

@"samantha.ashley92" said:
So I have been having this problem lately where I keep telling myself that if I can't get a certain score I shouldn't even go to law school. My mom went to Penn, and all of my friends who went to law school went to T14 schools. I'm studying about 25 hours a week, but I always feel like I'm not doing enough. Anyway, has anyone else been in a situation where your score just doesn't feel good enough?

When I first began and only gave myself 3 months to study, I used to think there was little to no chance I'd get the score that would give me a shot at a great school. My diagnostic was 15 points from my goal and I felt hopeless. A lot of the people I work with have ivy league MBAs and JDs and I felt like if I couldn't match their success, that at the very least, I should forgo law school in lieu of something else.

After about a month of studying, I found the 7Sage community and was sold on the concept of waiting to take the test until I was ready. It was truly a come-to-Jesus moment for me. I knew the score I needed to be competitive and I promised myself I wouldn't stop until I got it. I understand that everyone may not have that option. To them I say: Do whatever it takes to make it an option. I always implore people to ask themselves if they would rather give up on their dreams of attending a top school, or sit out a cycle and get the score they need to get into the school of their dreams?

But yeah, my score never felt good enough either. The cure, at least for me, was to stop focusing only on scores and focus more on continual improvement. I also realized that if I wasn't close enough to my target score that there wasn't much of a point in PT'ing. Where I needed work was obvious and taking a PT would only be demoralizing and uncover weaknesses that I already knew I had. So I put my energy into completing the CC, drilling, and fool proofing games.

Also, 25 hours a week seems like a good amount of time to devote to your studies. Especially if you have other obligations.

tl;dr if you're just starting out, don't get too down on yourself. Improvement will come if you keep working hard.