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Related Discussions
Delaying Law School
Hello 7sagers,
I wanted to talk about this reoccurring issue I have been having about delaying law school. So let me first start off by stating that I believe that I can go to law school for free if I score well on the LSAT. My UGPA is a 3.4 ( not amazing but hope to be a splitter). I graduated from college in 2017. I went right into TFA and hated it, and now I am at a job I love. My boss understands that I would love to go to law school in 2020, so we agreed I will most likely keep this job until next year.
However, that would place me on a deadline to take the LSAT this summer ( I want to have my applications in by late September). I have been researching and studying the lsat for a while now maybe years, and I think i finally got the right approach down. However, I am not sure I will be able to get the score i want by the summer.
So I am considering delaying as long as it takes to get that score. However, not only do i have constant fear and anxiety while studying, but now i have a fear that I am pushing back major events in my life since I am now 24 years old. Can someone who has delayed law school help me calm the F down? lol
Comments
Take the time you need to get the score you want / are capable of, whether that is one month, one year, or more. The test is definitely learn-able and it rewards dogged persistence. It sounds like you have a very supportive boss / employment situation. Take advantage of that and appreciate it.
FWIW, you could wait two full decades and still not be as old as one first time law school applicant commenting on this thread. Don't worry about your age.
This age is a great place to be and it's good that you're getting some work experience before starting law school. Enjoy this time and don't worry. Your application timeline sounds really good. And I agree with @LSAT_Wrecker.
Hi 👋🏻 I'm 34 years old and here to tell you: you have so. much. time. Seriously. Do I wish I had gone to law school in my twenties? Yes, sometimes I do. But, I have had an interesting and fulfilling career and learned a lot of life lessons that will serve me very well in law school and during the job hunt afterward.
The average age of incoming law students is around 24 years old. Some schools skew a little older though - I believe Northwestern's average age is 26. A lot of people don't go straight into law school from undergrad and many law schools even prefer you to have work experience before you attend. The time you are spending now in an enjoyable career will only set you up for even greater success in law school. Plus, it never hurts to have extra time to either save money or do some traveling, since that will be limited once you go back to school for an intense 3 year program.
Enjoy your twenties - it's a fun age to be. Pushing school back a year or two will just give you a more interesting resume and better foundation for tackling law school.
36 here. I will be spending my 40th in Law school at this rate. You have to ask yourself: in 3-5 years, do you still want to be where you are now, or do you want to be finished with law school? You have your whole life ahead of you yet, even if it doesn't feel that way.
I’m 28 and I felt like I was too old to go to law school. I told my lawyer friends that and they laughed openly in my face. So. You know.
Thanks so much everyone! I guess I'm a bit naïve still. lol I thought this would throw off my plan to have kids, marriage, financial stability, etc. so I was panicking. I really appreciate the advice.
I'm 29 and I was having the same thoughts. But, it is not too late and ultimately getting into a better school or ending up in a more affordable situation outweigh the age you will be. I keep looking at employment statistics of the schools I could get into now and the schools I believe I am capable of getting into with more time to reaffirm this decision. You can do it and you are not too old! Good move reaching out to get some feedback on how you are feeling. I kept this feeling bottled up and it festered for a long time. Talking about it helps!
Best of Luck!!
Well, I'm 34 and don't have any of those things anyway without law school. Lol. ::insert existential crisis here::
I delayed law school. The thing is, anyone who tells you that you're not pushing back major events in your life in your 20s is wrong. Of course you're going to be missing out on things that you would otherwise be able to enjoy if you dedicate yourself to law school. The question you have to ask yourself is: Is it worth it?
Taking time off to study for the LSAT is tough. It'll be hard for you to date, it'll be hard for you to spend time with friends, etc. But it's not as if you're going to be losing out on all that. You'll be losing out on maybe one year, two year tops. But you'll be able to do all the things you want to do in your 20s while in law school, and afterwards. You'll also have, hopefully, a 180k+ salary to boot.
You have to think about the next ten, next twenty years. Is hitting the clubs in your 20s really so worth it that you're willing to not be a lawyer? What it really boils down to is how badly you want it. No success comes without sacrifice. You just have to ask yourself if being a lawyer is the version of success you envision for yourself, and how much you're willing to give up to achieve it.
@redshift thank you so much! I feel so sill for thinking I will not be married etc because I am taking time off, but you put this into perspective. I appreciate it.i have to understand what's important to me.
I used to worry about this too. Turns out, we can’t really control when we get married and/or have kids. Sometimes, our best laid plans go to hell in a handbasket.
I took the lsat and scored pretty well (165) fresh out of grad school. My husband proposed to me in the parking lot of my Testmasters class. Then, the Marine Corps sent him on recruiting duty and it felt impossible to do law school when I had no idea where we would be living. I put it on hold, spent time exploring careers, and then we were finally able to have kids. Now, at 35, I’m finally ready to make my law school dream happen. My kids will be 6 and 3 when I start in 2020.
My best advice to you is to just enjoy what you are doing now, because life is never going to be easier than it is right now lol! It’s hard to feel that when you’re in it, so easy to see it looking back.
Take your time to kick the LSAT’s ass, and go when you’re ready. There is NO correct timeline for a life well-lived.
Also, please read “Most Law School Advice is Bullsh*t”. It’s free on Kindle unlimited.
I agree with the above comments but I think you should aim to take the LSAT within the next year instead of already planning on delaying another year. There’s nothing wrong with delaying and you should certainly do so if necessary but you shouldn’t do so just bc you’re nervous to take the exam. You can’t be sure of when you’ll reach your target score but if you’ve been studying for years then you should push yourself a little bit and aim for a certain date this year and if your target score isn’t there within a couple months then keep pushing it back until you get there. I don’t think it’s healthy for people to spend consecutive years regularly studying for the lsat.
You also don’t need to get your apps in by September, that’s a huge amount of pressure and taking away potentially months of additional studying. It’d be better to reach your target score and apply in like November or even December than to apply that early.
Thanks @oshun1 and @"chelsea.stipek" ! I really don't want to delay my timeline to another year. I am just trying my best to keep the anxiety down. Working a full time job and only being able to do one section a day feels like im never going to reach my target score.
Even if you delay a year, there is always two year law school. Which means you would be exactly where you would be if you matriculated this cycle. Deep breaths, all is well.
Unless you work 80 hours a week, you should be able to get in more than 1 section a day. There’s also your lunch break and before work. Sometimes the best thing for anxiety is to have a deadline to work toward. A 6month-9 month deadline isn’t that bad and once you get to like the 3-4 month mark you’ll start feeling relieved that it’s almost over. If you have actual anxiety (as opposed to regular test stress that everyone experiences) you should seek medical help ie a therapist.