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LSAT Takers who are out of college for more than 5 years

thawzinaunggyithawzinaunggyi Core Member
in Off-topic 24 karma

Hey all, I graduated college 6 years ago, and looking to change my career by going to law school. To be frank, I am actually going to the career that I had always wanted to (i.e. to be a lawyer). But since finishing college (Brown), life has taken a different turn.

It would be great to meet other people like me. I disliked all sorts of standardized test when I was young, so it's still a challenge for me to study for the LSAT. haha! But I am excited.

I look forward to meeting you all.

Comments

  • zoomzoomzoomzoom Member
    462 karma

    Woot!! I'm also CO2015 so 6 years out of college. I'm just like you. Dabbled in another industry before now pursuing what I really wanted to do. Best of luck on your journey. Know you aren't alone. Lots of "older" people here trying to make their dreams come true :)

  • mariaye0604mariaye0604 Alum Member
    79 karma

    Hey same here! I graduated from college 7 years ago. Went into an industry that I could find jobs in due to immigration limitations. Always interested in law and now through my current career (with some exposure to compliance and legal work) I've confirmed that law is still what I want. I'm applying this year especially I think I'm finally seeing the light at the end of my tunnel called immigration.

  • 176 karma

    Oh hey, sup! 😎 I also am getting ready for the career I have wanted all along - congrats kiddos!!

    I’m from Anchorage/Girdwood, graduated high school in 2010, worked at a local brewery and as a ski coach/traveling ski bum mostly for about 8 years and eventually through college. Also worked summers as a commercial fisherman/deckhand in Prince William Sound, went to flight school for my PPL, traveled the world, and thennnnnn decided to go to college spring 2016. so I somehow cranked out a BA double major and graduated from Alaska Pacific University in 2018. Annnd then I played some more, traveled the world some more, and came home to Anchorage and said I’m ready.

    It’s cool to see how we all, so different from each other as well as the typical law student, were still able to check the same boxes and learn the necessary skills and put in the work to get here - all while on a different path but perfect timeline. You guys are going to crush it!

    and I guess it’s kinda cool? to be turning 30 on test day this coming August

  • BigJay20BigJay20 Member
    438 karma

    2015 gang. We HEA!!!

  • Ajahna94Ajahna94 Member
    223 karma

    2016 gang!!! We are all on our own paths but are working towards the same end result. Thanks for sharing, I was starting to feel like I was the only "oldie" out there hahah. Happy studies everyone! We will KILL it!

  • edited May 2021 183 karma

    I graduated from a service academy in 2016. I actually tossed my cap 5 years ago today, didn't realize it until started typing this comment. My active duty Army commitment is complete today, but I'm going to do a few more years to maximize my GI benefits. Been interesting studying for the LSAT; last time I studied for standardized tests was over 10 years ago. Now I'm in command of a unit in Italy, married, and our first is due in June, way different experience. I've been studying since January when I moved to Europe, so if you need any advice on studying during a full-time job and other craziness let me know, always glad to chat!

  • Austin.hutchinson1Austin.hutchinson1 Core Member
    104 karma

    Finished undergrad 11 years ago holla!

  • Cynthia-2Cynthia-2 Member
    498 karma

    I graduated HS in 2003 , I am 36 and now going to law school, better late than never haha. I am also a mom and work full time so this is not easy! But, facing what's intimidating and difficult is what life is about, you'll do fine on the LSAT. I also disn't like standardized tests but here we are, we got this !

  • andrew.rsnandrew.rsn Alum Member
    831 karma

    Whoa, I'm surprised I'm the first musician on this thread! I graduated with a BM in Cello Performance in 2015 - then went straight into my Masters in music after that which I finished in 2017. I guess I had this idealistic notion that with enough degrees comes success. I've been freelancing here and there with a focus on private cello teaching. But after the pandemic hit, I realized I was doing myself a disservice by keeping myself bound to the music profession. I've been studying here since December and taking my first test in June.

  • 240 karma

    Graduated college (Sarah Lawrence) 11 years ago! Y'all, we are like the old folks that show up to Hardee's at 5am every weekday. I've also always hated standardized testing, that's why I went to a school that didn't require them (plus grad school at McGill in Canada which didn't require the GRE). I've finally decided to stop running and do what I've been putting off for years, which is law school (and the LSAT). I've been studying while working full time for a couple years now and I'm finally ready to start testing in earnest to apply this fall. I'd love to start an organized study group with y'all!

  • 176 karma

    classic Hardee's - so are you saying we should sit on our front stoop with a newspaper and yell at kids that skateboard by, maybe throw em a "whippersnapper" and then lecture them about "back in my day" how everything we had to do, for some reason, required us to go up a hill both ways? I'm in.

  • 1050 karma

    @"andrew.rsn" I'm a musician, too! Where did you do your degrees? I graduated from Eastman in 2012, and then did my Masters and PD at SMU.

  • 176 karma

    on the real though with the whole test thing - I'm like a fish out of water.
    sooo I barely took the math/science classes required for high school so never even chemistry or any test-required class of the more difficult side. so ended year 12 without needing to have taken a single test -- (except the AP exams which were really not hard for psych and US history)

    so then when I was finally getting ready for undergrad, I needed Calc or whatever the next math level is, so I hired a tutor and tested out before even starting school. and thennnn because my major (BA double major Liberal Studies & Business Administration, Writing minor) and at a private/student-led school, I literally did not take one test in undergrad.

    and then add in the part that I'm old as heck now since I had years in between high school - college and college - law school, I have not taken any sort of test in like 5000 years. sooo when I saw the LSAT, I was like okay Reading Comp, I'm banking on you cause you're what I really know - all I do is read and write, like this is my jam. and ended up just pooping the bed on RC.
    even still, after studying since October, RC is the only thing keeping my score from moving above barelyyyyyy 165-170. I feel like I was actually able to figure out the test well-ish, and thus doing okay in LR now and been crushing LG. but RC is another story. And I'm assuming it's because it was the part of the test I knew well/did all the time. so I have these habits/reading style or whatever thought process and it's totally solid in my way of learning or whatever but it's not at all ideal for tests or especially this test and so it's killing me. honestly, I've been strugglingggg to even understand RC enough to think, okay this question is asking me to do blah blah and the right answer will look like blah blah. sooo I've been wondering if others have experiences similar and solutions/strategies that worked.

    does that kinda make sense to what I'm thinking? like maybe I'm missing a fundamental part of RC type tests/or tests in general for that matter, that could maybe click things into place. when I really got LR, it kinda felt like that. anyywayy, RC also has so many variants with subject matter too, I thought yous guys may have many different approaches. also just super interested in you peoples MO for the LSAT since having come from a wide horizon of disciplines/ways of knowing

  • andrew.rsnandrew.rsn Alum Member
    831 karma

    @"Burden.of.Floof" Nice! I went to DePaul for Undergrad, and did my Masters at the Hartt School.

  • andrew.rsnandrew.rsn Alum Member
    831 karma

    @carlyboyd1991

    Hey Carly, I totally empathize with your post. We're all there with you!

    I think what makes RC so difficult, especially for people who are big readers, is that it requires a completely different type of reading than what most everyone is used to. I just listened to the 7sage podcast episode where J.Y talks with Sami. and He said something that really resonated with me, maybe it will help you to.

    He equated an RC passage to going for a hike. When you go for a hike, you don't just keep walking without stopping until you reach the end of the trail, you walk a few steps, look behind you, maybe check out a side path, then come back to the main path, rinse and repeat. Always looking to see if there's something you missed, or a view you haven't seen yet.

    In RC, it's so easy for us to read until the end of the passage without stopping, but when we do that we're not giving ourselves time to really understand what's going on. I totally fall for this trap and end getting like 3-4 questions wrong in that passage. So, like in the hiking analogy, after every sentence, you want to make sense of it in your own words and connect it to what came before. One step forward, two steps back.

    I hope this way of thinking about it helps!

  • thawzinaunggyithawzinaunggyi Core Member
    24 karma

    Wow this is truly amazing. So many of "us" here!

    I am still figuring out how this discussion forum works. It seems I am not able to reply to each comment. Is there a way?

    Would love to know more about each of you, and expand the circle. It's gonna be an exciting journey!

  • larnlevittlarnlevitt Member
    64 karma

    Hi! Also graduated in 2015. Graduated from forestry grad school in 2017. Now looking to do environmental law after spending 4 seasons in Denali Park Alaska! Hey @carlyboyd1991 !

  • 176 karma

    oh hey @larnlevitt !! sounds unreal, I always wanted to do trail crew but idk if I could keep up haha

    anyway, @andrew.rsn
    that analogy is perfect, I haven't heard anything like that before but I'm going to try and keep that in mind! thank you!!

  • PROMISED LANDPROMISED LAND Member
    340 karma

    i'm late... but 2011 grad here!!! 10 year reunion coming up, and so it's fitting that now I'm jumping into what I said I wanted to do when I was younger...and what God's been leading me toward. Nice to see other "seasoned" folk on here. Old folks unite! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

  • mere_mortalmere_mortal Core Member
    91 karma

    @"Cynthia-2" said:
    I graduated HS in 2003 , I am 36 and now going to law school, better late than never haha. I am also a mom and work full time so this is not easy! But, facing what's intimidating and difficult is what life is about, you'll do fine on the LSAT. I also disn't like standardized tests but here we are, we got this !

    2002 HS Grad here! Go us!

  • Elle KoodsElle Koods Member
    134 karma

    I graduated from college in 2010 (yikes!), have lived and worked 4 different countries, 35 years old, (still) single, no kids, ready to roll the next scene of my life movie - law school! you are not alone, everyone has a different timeline, let's beat this LSAT beast down together :)

  • missrollerskates90missrollerskates90 Alum Member
    11 karma

    Hi everyone, I'm a 2012 college grad (can't believe it's been 9 years - I still feel like I'm in my early 20's sometimes) & I just started using 7sage about 5-6 weeks ago. I originally started studying last spring with the intent of taking the test in early 2021, but one thing led to another (I stopped studying for about 8 months) and now I will likely be taking the test in the fall/winter and applying next year shortly before my 32nd birthday. I'll see how my practice tests go after finishing the main curriculum.

    I actually had no interest in law when I was younger. I'm a first generation college student and had no professional role models to look up to, so I really didn't know what I wanted in a career. My only real love as a child/teen was for pop culture, so naturally I moved to LA after graduating from undergrad (Boston U) and spent about 8 years working in TV production and other entertainment related jobs.

    It wasn't until I was already in my mid-20s that I started to really learn about myself and the issues that I care about and what I want in a career. So now I'm on this journey!

    Good luck to us all, and here's to hoping that our ages are seen as a positive by our top choice schools.

  • Cynthia-2Cynthia-2 Member
    498 karma

    @mere_mortal said:

    @"Cynthia-2" said:
    I graduated HS in 2003 , I am 36 and now going to law school, better late than never haha. I am also a mom and work full time so this is not easy! But, facing what's intimidating and difficult is what life is about, you'll do fine on the LSAT. I also disn't like standardized tests but here we are, we got this !

    2002 HS Grad here! Go us!

    yess! We got this !

  • Coco_119Coco_119 Alum Member
    147 karma

    I was in your shoes two years ago. I was 6 years out of college when i was studying for my cpa exam. It was tough to be working full time and studying for the lsat, but now im at a t-14. Stick with it, take it one step at a time, be disciplined and you'll get there.

  • blueearthblueearth Member
    42 karma

    aw I love this thread! I'm 4 years out of college (going on 5) and it's daunting, but whatever, life happens. always down to study together!

  • 0111202001112020 Member
    31 karma

    @"Cynthia-2" said:

    @mere_mortal said:

    @"Cynthia-2" said:
    I graduated HS in 2003 , I am 36 and now going to law school, better late than never haha. I am also a mom and work full time so this is not easy! But, facing what's intimidating and difficult is what life is about, you'll do fine on the LSAT. I also disn't like standardized tests but here we are, we got this !

    2002 HS Grad here! Go us!

    yess! We got this !

    Another 2002 HS Grad here! Let's do this!

  • BreezyCosine285BreezyCosine285 Core Member
    2 karma

    Guess I am really an "old head" by trying to do this at the age of 50 (yes, I graduated HS before cell phones, air fryers and the internet as we now know it). I have ALWAYS wanted a law degree, but life got in the way. This credential will enhance my current career, so I would not be pivoting towards a new career path. Yes, this LSAT exam is not easy as my old brain "comprehends" very differently than how the LSAT wants me to "comprehend". Thank you for this thread and I do like the hiking analogy and will try using this during my practice sessions.

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