Advice!

Comments

• midwest.transplant Member

  October 2020 edited October 2020 6 karma

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• midwest.transplant Member

  October 2020 6 karma

  I'm taking November, and I can completely relate. I work well over 40hrs a wk as a reporter, often irregular hours, so I can completely sympathize with burn out. Hell, I felt burnt out before I got back into LSAT studying lol. That said, I feel like I've made a lot more progress now that I've let myself take a breather now and then. That burnout can really make your studying less effective. The balance of rest/study is a hard one to strike and definitely very personal, but I found that I really needed more rest than I had been giving myself. I'm still struggling with the schedule, but god willing I'll be free in a few months, so fingers crossed.
• amgaine Member

  October 2020 28 karma

  I would suggest waking up early and studying before you go to work. You need energy to do your best with studying and taking your PTs but you probably don't need that same energy for going to work. You'd rather be tired at work than be tired while taking a PT/studying. Just a suggesting. Hope this was helpful!
• Chris Nguyen Alum Member Administrator Sage ⭐ 7Sage Tutor

  October 2020 4598 karma

  When I was working full time, taking two PTs a week was practically impossible. It was hard to even take one PT a week and fully review. Give yourself time to absorb as much information as you can out of every PT you take. Sometimes, it would take me 2 weeks to take one PT.

  I agree with @amgaine, try studying in the morning! I was always tired after work. There was no way I was going to study. The mornings were always the best time for me to have uninterrupted study time.
• 2 Likes

  VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  October 2020 2054 karma

  Do not stress if you can only do 1 PT a week. Just do something LSAT related most days of the week even if it is not a PT. Lots of us are working and prepping for the LSAT, so you are definitely not alone. Just do not beat yourself up too much.
• 2 Likes

  cpeaks13 Core Member

  October 2020 496 karma

  Im in the exact same boat, with work and test dates! and 2 kids as well. People usually comment to get up early and study then but my work starts at 6am so I am also so lost how to study effectively as I'm exhausted after work
• cdchampi1919 Core Member

  October 2020 39 karma

  @cpeaks13 Yes! I literally have to be up at 6 and at work by 7, so I feel your pain...I don't want to put a ton of unnecessary pressure on myself, but I am the type of person who wants to put 110% effort into everything I do, so finding a balance is difficult. I guess just taking things at a reasonable pace is the way to go!
• 1 Like

  FindingSage Alum Member ⭐

  October 2020 2042 karma

  When I worked full time out of the house there was no way I could have done two PT a week. What I did was during my commute I would listen to a podcast related to LSAT so I would pick up some tips and advice. I also took one PT a week and took often multiple days to review it.
  There is a lot of value in doing a timed section or two as well as finding a study busy with a similar schedule to review with. I made significantly more progress working with others in less time than I did when I was trying to take more tests and work full time.
• 7 Likes

  lilpingling Member ⭐

  October 2020 638 karma

  First off- I love this thread. I work 40 hours a week, starting at 7:30 a.m., I also have: A spouse, a mortgage, 2 cats cats that I'm sadly obsessed with, and a 15 year old who is dealing with some very significant physical and mental health issues that require 4 to 5 appointments a week.

  I know we all have different expectations, but something that's helped me a lot lately is to gain a little perspective on my own situation. As much as I'd love to get into a top school, it's neither necessary nor practical at this point. I started this journey to build on my existing current career. It wasn't until I started looking at message boards and forums that I started feeling like I'd be a terrible person if I went to an average law school (audible gasp). The bottom line is that my scores are well above what I need to both gain acceptance and likely earn a scholarship to my school of choice. Would I love to score higher? Yes, of course, but in my situation there's a cap on how much my score can improve my odds. Once it gets past a certain point, it doesn't make a huge difference in outcome for me. Is the amount of work and stress worth it for points that ultimately won't change much? I'm not sure. Economy of effort can be a powerful life tool.

  Ultimately, I just don't think I can make 2 PT per week work right now and that's okay. When I've tried it in the past, my scores have reflected it (in the form of a10 point drop in the second PT). That's just wasting good materials. I completely agree with @FindingSage in the value of random timed sections here and there. I've improved my scores quite a bit that way. And January is a long way off. You can get a LOT done between now and then even if it's done 20 minutes at a time. Maybe it's like an investment account: It's better to put in $80 a month for 20 years than $200 a month for 10 years. You'll end up investing less and having a higher balance in the end.
• 1 Like

  Chris Nguyen Alum Member Administrator Sage ⭐ 7Sage Tutor

  October 2020 4598 karma

  @lilpingling I just want to say that I think you’re awesome and that you’re killing it!
• 1 Like

  FindingSage Alum Member ⭐

  October 2020 2042 karma

  @lilpingling - Wow our lives sounds so similar. I work full time, as well as part time for a family business. I am a single Mom to a 5 year old, and being as I also own my house it seems there is always something to do around here. I have multiple dogs, a horse and as it seems always too much to do and not enough time in the day. I also had a major issue with comparing myself to others when I started this journey. I felt bad that I didn't study more, questioned if I was just lazy or what was wrong with me that I couldn't keep up. Gradually my perspective has changed. One thing I would add to others with children or working full time is that your LSAT journey might be a little slower than others. You may need to take the LSAT multiple times because perhaps your child ends up ill the night before your test or you feel pressure from your employer with the time you have been taking off. If I could do this whole journey over again, the biggest thing I would change would have been my perspective.
• 1 Like

  VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  October 2020 2054 karma

  @lilpingling and @FindingSage You guys are both amazing and always have great input and insight. I definitely agree with them. Do what you can and PTs are, unfortunately, awkward to fit into a busy schedule. I used to do a section at work and another 2 at home. I did not take them under identical test conditions most of the time. I do not have kids but it still was not realistic juggling full time work and a partner. If you need to do your PTs like that do them. You can make sure you have a few with test like conditions when you can fit them in. For me I mostly did not worry about it until two weeks before the test.

  Also, I want to echo that not everyone can or should aim for HYS on a full ride. If you are not interested in BigLaw or another competitive field sometimes a lower ranked school is simply better. It is even true that sometimes scoring too high does not even help since they may want to yield protect. I know that, if you want to work in North Carolina for example, you are probably better off with a degree from #27 UNC (and they fluctuate from the mid 20's to the 40's some years) than T14 Duke even though it is literally a few miles away from UNC. All the top judges and many politicians and firm partners in the state go to UNC. If you want to do something like BigLaw or practice outside of NC or work in a specific field that UNC is not well invested in international law, you are better off at Duke, but if you just want a job and career connections in NC go to UNC.

  Some people on this site want to go to the highest ranked school they can because they are very competitive or want the prestige. Others pursue it for a specific reason whether that is a career in NY or DC or, in my case, because the field I am interested in is just much better funded and supported at higher ranked schools. It is very possibly true that your career goals would be better served not chasing T14 and there are a lot of excellent schools with great career prospects outside the top 25 or 30. This year Washington and Lee, George Mason, Iowa, UNC, Georgia, Florida, American, Case Western, and William and Mary to name a few are all outside or even well outside the top 25 and excellent programs with great career prospects. You could have a similar or even better future career at one of those schools than at a Top 20 institution and would probably graduate with a lot less debt. Working towards one of those schools or a similar one does not make you dumb or inferior, it is often the wiser, more prudent decision. That of course still depends on your goals, but the point is do not judge yourself against others harshly just because they have loftier goals. Many of us will not reach them and it is a pointless exercise anyway because achieving your goals is what should make you happiest.
• lilpingling Member ⭐

  October 2020 638 karma

  @Christopherr @VerdantZephyr @FindingSage You are all too kind. I'm very old, ergo I am wise. JK, I'm not. Not even a little. I'm also not especially mature.

  I don't know about any of you, but I'm very fortunate in having the kind of job that allows for some downtime. I've been operating under a schedule that goes something like this: 2 work task, 2 logic games. 2 work tasks, 2 RC passages. 2 work tasks, 1 LR section. It's frustrating because I get interrupted on a regular basis, but it's also good for focus. It forces me to switch back and forth. At first it was impossible, but after a while, I got pretty good at it. If you can do something like that, I highly recommend it.