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Work, or take work off?

mitchell-5mitchell-5 Member
in General 100 karma

Unsure of what people generally do when studying for the lsat, work or take work off and study full time?

It seems like a lot of people want to appear noble and work full time while studying on the side, and that may work for normal college classes, but i know the lsat is much different. It seems taking work off completely allows you to maintain low stress levels to achieve the best results.

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  • cthulhu14cthulhu14 Member
    35 karma

    If you can afford to take off work, I would do so.

  • Brigitte-1Brigitte-1 Free Trial Member Admissions Consultant
    31 karma

    Having worked in the admissions office of a T-10 school (and now in consulting with 7sage), I think being employed is generally a positive thing in admissions processes.... but, as is often the case, the devil is in the details. If you are just graduating from college and you take the summer off to study for the LSAT and then start a job in September, that seems totally fine to me. Sane and rational. But, to leave a full-time job to study for the exam and then end up with a one year or more gap on your resume "just" to study for the LSAT seems a bit extreme. You'll probably have to explain the gap in an addendum and it could end up putting even more pressure on your score.... you mean, you took 8 months off to study and still only got a 162 [or 152 or 172]? Huh..... The right answer will also depend on the kind of job you have, the hours, the stress level, your other commitments and needs. No easy answers.

  • WouldRatherBeEatingWouldRatherBeEating Alum Member
    edited February 2021 456 karma

    I personally had to work while studying but if you can go without, it’s not a bad idea. There may be a sweet spot of only working part time or doing a more relaxed internship if possible while studying

  • VerdantZephyrVerdantZephyr Member ⭐
    2054 karma

    I definitely think it is less about nobility and more about necessity. If I don't work I don't feed myself and my family. To be blunt, we definitely don't work full time and study until late at night 6 days a week because we want to look noble online to strangers.

    I also think part time/no work depends on the person. Some people just function a lot better with routine. As much as extra hours of study/down time would have been nice, if I had had the choice to work part time or not at all I would have chosen the structure and income of part time work over full time studying. Most people, even without work, don't study the LSAT 8 hours a day every day. I also don't think, as an educator, that you are going to get nearly as much productivity out of the last 2-3 hours. Brains need rest and also to switch up the task you are doing to learn best. 4 hours of work and 4 hours of LSAT though, that seems like a good way to keep your mind fresh and some income coming in if you can afford to do it.

    @trytoremaincalm 's point, as one would expect given their qualifications, is something that is going to be important not just for law school applications but later on too. You took 14 months off to study for the LSAT = 14 months less of work experience when applying for that job and raises red flags. Any employment gap of more than a few months is troublesome and the longer it is the more troublesome it will be.

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