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advice/motivation?
Hi guys!
Sorry this may be a long post but I am in need of MOTIVATION for studying for the LSAT. My story basically starts with me idiotically investing a TON of money to study for the LSAT through Kaplan. Long story short, I did not do my research on the course and although I'm sure it works fabulous for some people, I personally did not make ANY gains throughout the course. Being totally honest, I feel like a lot of their strategies confused me more. Fast forward to late October right before the LSAT, I was BURNT. Not only do I not feel like I learned a lot, the sessions were at a minimum one hour long and I felt drained. In the worst timing possible, I felt like I couldn't retain anything and was not making gains! I got a 147 on the LSAT and am now planning on applying for next years cycle because I don't think I have the energy needed to make significant enough gains by January to be accepted by my ideal schools nevertheless get scholarship money from them. I feel like I need motivation to start studying again (would love some success stories from possibly previous Kaplan students or other courses or 140ers?) as well as easing my fear that it's too late! I'm 24 and would have been starting law school at 25 and for some reason (I'm sure idiot) but starting that late seems daunting to me. Any other experiences with this?
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help!
Comments
Yeah, I paid for Toastmasters AND Blueprint so my wallet feels your pain. Same age too and I feel that I'm old. Not to mention, I am having a hard time thinking about anything to write for my personal statement etc and the scores I am seeing from others is just making me more anxious. Yeah, I feel it all. As for motivation, I would start from scratch; I was blindly taking exam after exam and not bothering to go over every question. I would do that first and see how it goes before thinking of forking over any more money.
I personally wouldn't advise private tutoring if you are scoring below 160. I just think if you are below 160, there are some fundamental things you can figure out yourself. If you pay for a tutor at that score range, you may be paying too much for someone to explain something you can figure out by reading a prep book or online solutions. But that's just my personal opinion.
suffering exists mostly in imagn. seneca. perception. your mind is lens of camera. you get what you focus on. if we fcs on our probs we get more of them, if we fcs on good.
jocko, peterson, arnold schwarz, chipsa motivn. daily stoic. powerful people. -- youtube.
all you ctrl is thoughts and axns. ideas and actions. that and a journal, is how i organize.
i am good even v good for lr and rc, but... not for lg. panic attacks. mostly ive lost most fears.
fears hold us back. what will parents say? friends think? what will she say? who cares.
life is too short. we need to be aware of our own mortality. momento mori. amor fati as well.
ceize every moment.
working on 3-5 books. trading. lsat. nearly dead a few yrs ago.
motivation above.
also*: forgot to say, your purpose in life changes - yr to yr, like oh undergrad, masters, law, whatever... then articling. it's all j a game. be red and blue pilled but never caged. they're just matrices/boxes, like religions/theories/philosophies (I realize these aren't terms with equiv. defns).
meaningful work and study, utilizing your time space circumstances to best of your abilities and accepting failures and wins both with indifference is the way to approach tests and life at large. i like it. anyways good luck. hopefully makes sence. good day. we all leave life one day, ensure that your integrity and values/ virtues are intact, like justice, wisdom, courage, temperance/moderation (The Meditations - Marcus Aurelius).
Panic and hysteria is everywhere, but being rational, one doesn't need to partake in it. I understand anxiety and the feat of running late/ behind in life. ADHD, and illness, various reasons why, but these things tho very painful and very overwhelming mostly made me stronger. No one leaves life completely unscarred, the damage is there but fades away. Everyday, realize the clock is ticking, and we sacrifice/ lose either way. Choose your sacrifice, make sure you own it, stay humble, take ownership of your world and everything in it, one day parents/ other successes are seen as peers, thereby you can be sure, you're functioning fine. some have 20 mn dollars at 20, some have zero at 40, it doesn't matter, as long as you do the right thing. And also, stay in the present, with relentless optimism that you have control over your choices, not over the outcomes, situations, but over what you input.
There's a dichotomy of control (Epictitus). Only work on what you can control. Ignore the rest. When lost in schoolwork/studying for the lsat, reach out.
Motivation is just a feeling. IT is fleeting. YOU need discipline.
Logic when emotions tell you you can't do this anymore. Emotions when logically you know you should give up. Take this approach to everything in life, discipline = freedom (Jocko, navy seal commander).
-note lots of stoic people referenced above, also some others, but many of these lessons are really thousands of years old.
-Life moves in circles, pattern recognition matters a lot.
The worst most severe challenges in life... well motivation isn't enough. It won't be there. you can't count on it. you can at times. YOU won't be able to rely on it in life's most challenging times. For instance, an example could be through severe depression, panic attacks, or illness, or lost of a loved one... etc. Aim for MASTERY. Of sections/whole tests, and more importantly, your way of thinking... your way of being. Aim for self-mastery.
-1/100 1/40 who knows / 100k screwed by a syndrome. Who recovd or nearly did. again but less severe and quite different, earlier on. (medications screwed me).
-lost 100lb at 16. 40% bf to like 7now. -- near death exps.
-death threats internationally etc.
-several if not way more tradgedies.
-i simply do not care. neither should you. it's just a fing test.
“Fate leads the willing and drags along the reluctant.”
― Seneca
25 is old?! I'm 36 and currently studying to take the LSAT-Flex in April 2020 with a view to submitting applications in September 2021 for September 2022 intake (if successful). I'll be real old by then
25 is not even remotely old lol incoming students averaged at = UCLA 27 years old .
I took blue print 3x and I took Kaplan . None of them want to tell you the real work/gains come from drilling on ur own time. They just give over views about curriculum .
Also, too old for what ? What’s the cut off age? Gotta keep moving no matter what artificial rules ppl make about too old/ Too this too that. This is a life long career choice ...
Hey im in the exact same boat. lets work together and get this done!
@"melanie.stewart84" I’m on your app timeline and 43! @mia12345 everything has its time (cliche but true). Be patient with your self, take the time you need to explore, write a killer personal statement, get some real world experience, study at a pace that feels sustainable, and you will find success in this. Good luck and take deep breaths!
I turn 42 on Tuesday. I have to be honest, whenever I hear someone much younger than me worry about being too old for law school, it can be pretty discouraging. That said, I think there are some distinct advantages to being a little older and more mature than your peers (although I'm sure the average age of a law student is in the 27-29 range, depending on the school). Maturity and experience are good things to have when faced with adversity. You may find that a few years of life experience are to your benefit. I certainly feel you on the discouragement- but you will get there with plenty of time for a great career.
I used to think the same. But having watched people going from -10 to -3 on RC after 5 hours of tutoring changed my mind. I wish I had a tutor in the beginning so I would save at least a few months.
just kp in mind never too old. my mom still learns stuff. i've known phd's and random entrepreneurs to go to medschool at 40-50.
im in the same boat, also 24, struggling with the LSAT and the thought of finishing law school and not even starting my career until im like 28/29 really freaks me out. but then i think.... i'll be doing this for literally the rest of my life. we can spend a few extra years in our 20s preparing for something that we will be doing for the NEXT 20 years! you can also take the extra year to travel, too. i know it may feel like all our friends/former classmates are living it up right now and finding their footing but law school is nothing to joke about or rush into. good luck!
On the note of mature students, since there are a couple in this thread I wanted to ask something I was pondering which was giving me some concern. Basically, do we think that because of the pandemic and economic insecurity it has created there are a lot more mature people applying due to job loss or lack of job security in their current roles?
I know I shouldn't worry about these things so much but I do. Being a mature student can sometimes work to one's advantage in terms of diversity (not enough to delay for this reason though), but I worry I am less diverse due to more mature applicants?
@"melanie.stewart84" exact same boat as you! and also wondering the same, although trying hard not to!
Being "older" is a STRENGTH, not a weakness. I'm 25 and was really hoping to apply this cycle to attend fall 2021 but I'm seriously struggling with the LSAT and will likely need to apply the next cycle. It sucks and it's really disappointing but I keep reminding myself WHY I want to go to law school and the fucking LSAT is not going to stop me!
I wont comment about kaplan because i dont know anything about it. But dont worry about starting law school late in your life. I personally have 3 people whom i am close who have gone to law school very late in their lives. Two of them went after a full 25 years in law enforcement. The third, started law school when he was 30 years old. All three are above average lawyers. It may be upsetting to not start as soon as you like. But getting in to a reputable law school, by waiting to get a better LSAT score, may pay off in the end rather than being impatient by starting at a not very good school because you scored poorly on the LSAT.
Just to chime in about being older and applying, 24 or 25 is a great age to apply, and though it probably does not qualify as non-traditional. Schools definitely prefer applicants that have at least a couple years of work experience and you are not appreciably disadvantaged starting law a couple years older than those direct from undergrad. You might graduate at 28 instead of 25-26 but you still come out with well over 30 working years left ahead of you.
Many of us are much older and can count on additional interest from law schools because of our experience. Regarding more non-traditional students than usual this year because of Covid-19 I do not think it will matter much for those of us well into careers. Many schools may give us a small diversity bump, sure. I think the bigger bump though is experience and maturity, which is true irrespective of the number of people applying in their 30's or older. Nor does it disadvantage us if there are more of us this year. We still come to law school with valuable experience and perspective. @"melanie.stewart84"