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Please leave Ashley some encouragement and advice below in the comments!
Ashley's LSAT Diary:
Hey there. Ashley here. 24-year-old female. Nerdy, funny, nice. Likes long walks on the beach. Ok, seriously, I am a senior at Seattle Pacific University. All my life I wanted to be a doctor. More specifically, a pediatric neurologist specializing in epilepsy and translational research. Yea, seriously. Love to learn, and, in fact, I'm the kid everyone was jealous of: school comes easy to me. Very easy. Yet, even while school was easy, it was hard as well. I was diagnosed with epilepsy in my junior year of high school, which turned my focus to neurology (as opposed to medicine in general).
After getting through a whirlwind two years (three AP classes each year plus epilepsy and medicine issues!) I graduated high school with high honors and was accepted to and attended The George Washington University. While there, my health worsened, compounded by lack of sleep, and stress from a loan that took forever to go through. In all, the error of the bank led to a series of events that culminated in my losing my scholarships; all $50,000 a year of it. So, I returned home, unhealthy, dejected, in debt from emergency room visits, with poor grades, and owing thousands of dollars to GWU. I originally intended to try to resolve the issue with GW and the bank, and so I decided to enroll at my local community college in the meantime. But, I ended up with an AA degree during all of that "waiting." I then transferred to Seattle Pacific University, a much healthier me.
While at SPU, I decided to pick up a second major (I was already a psychology major). I liked the one philosophy course I took at my community college, and never got to take another, so I decided to take logic. I instantly fell in love with it, as I love math as well. It came easily, and so I decided to attend the weekly Philosophy meetings with professors and student majors. One professor, who later became my mentor, took a shine to me, and encouraged me to pursue the major. So I did. I love it!
So how did I decide on a career in law? I had always wanted to be a doctor, but I didn't see all of the signs that should have pointed me in the direction of law: my obsession with logical arguments, or the fact that I have the Constitution, Articles of Confederation, and Declaration of Independence on parchment on my bedroom walls (yes, seriously. I can even recite the preamble. I need to read a friggin magazine or something). Or that I absolutely, positively, love to argue. And win. Or that I have a distinct love of truth and its pursuit. And very competitive streak. So, in my second quarter at SPU, I began to entertain the idea of attending law school. My professors all wondered why I hadn't decided this earlier. One professor even said (and I quote) "I already knew that. I was waiting on you to figure it out".
And so, this brings me to my present preparations for the LSAT. Mine is a double whammy, as I want to get into a dual degree program (PhD in philosophy, and JD). But, I must be admitted to each school separately and then apply for the dual degree program. So I must take the GRE and the LSAT. Yay me (that was sarcastic, by the way). But, life is hard for me and my family, and I have encountered much difficulty (extreme insomnia for which there is no explanation, epilepsy exacerbated by that insomnia, bipolar disorder, home foreclosure, and the whole financial mess with GWU and ER bills from that time). Recent events have made it almost impossible to prep, especially since I have no money for a prep class, and I could barely afford the 40 bucks it took me to get two LSAT PrepTest books and a GRE prep book. Heck, just trying to earn and hold onto my book money for fall is extremely difficult because times are so bad.
But my mentor believes in me. He tells me every time he speaks with me that I will be just fine, and that I will be able to accomplish all of the things I want to do. Most times it is hard to believe him. But I'm beginning to believe him more and more. After all, he's lived longer than I have.
So here is my LSAT Diary. It will encounter the emotional turmoil surrounding my study, my study habits, the creative ways in which I study, obstacles I have encountered (some funny, some serious), and even what goes through my mind as I read some questions (because believe me, even as I love to learn, there have been questions where I said to myself "Who the frig cares what the answer is?!"). My doubtful moments, my confident moments, my cocky moments, and even my scared moments. So, next time, I'll fill you in on how the LSAT practice test goes. Tomorrow is especially important: it's D-day, Do-or-Die Day. How I do determines whether I take the Oct. LSAT. Cross my fingers!
Photo by kjd
So you haven't taken a practice test yet? And you're debating on taking it next week?
ReplyDeleteRight.
Let's assume, for the sake of argument (you don't mind that, do you?), that your inherent sharp-ness is credible and that you're probably going to have a good base score (say 160+). You need to find schools that would fit what you want for your dual-degree and make a decision.
Look up the schools that might work for you and figure out what their 75th percentile LSAT score is (to be safe). If it's in the 160 ballpark and you just want acceptance, then go ahead- get 'er done and get your application in early.
If, however, you want a more competitive law school (which in these days you should) and want to boost your score up in the 170+ range, it's going to take some time. Push it till December (and let's be honest- you're probably not going to have all the application shit done anyway by November. You sound like a procrastinator).
What I would do, in your shoes, is marry the two ideas. Take a practice test every day until next Friday (take the day before the test off of studying), and BUST ASS going over every question you miss and WHY. In your free time, scour the internet for great sites (like this one) that can help identify patterns and strategies for scoring high on the test.
Then take it next week.
If you're not happy with your score, do it again in December. If you score a shit-ton higher in December and are worried that a school would ask why, just have some sort of "I was busy dealing with my serious medical condition" excuse ready and they'll more genuinely accept your second score.
"Yeah, Caleb, but it costs MONEY to take it again! Money that, as you've read, I DON'T HAVE!"
True. That, milady, is your motivation this next week to really study and get a good score.
Let me emphasize to you that time spent studying does not correlate to increase in test score. Quality of time spent studying does. It's better to spend 10 minutes picking apart a single argument example or logic game than to plow through many examples without learning anything with each error.
That being said, how about another alternative? Just do law, and do it proper. As you spend time with the LSAT you'll start to realize that you CAN score 175-180, IF you just devote enough time and mental energy to it. With a score like that, you can get into any school you want and make a career as a distinguished and well-compensated attorney. With six-figures rolling in every year, your prior troubles with med bills and school debt will seem laughable.
Or, you know, like help poor people or the public or some shit. (lame).
There- my comment is now almost as long as your original post. Hope you're happy.
Good luck!
Caleb
"So you haven't taken a practice test yet? And you're debating on taking it next week?
ReplyDeleteRight."
titcr
I don't know what titcr means. Sounds dirty though.
ReplyDeleteAshley, I wouldn't underestimate how a high LSAT score (170+) combined with your personal history could gain you admission to a very respectable law school with a nice scholarship.
ReplyDeleteI realize you are struggling financially at the moment, but don't forget the law school tuition is expensive. Even in-state tuition at UW is close to $20,000 a year.
Make sure you are ready to do the best you can do on the LSAT and hold off if you aren't ready. You might consider waiting to take the test until next year and working for a year before beginning law school.
What ever your decision is, I wish you the best of luck and much success in achieving your goals.
Ashley:
ReplyDeleteIt is not about "your mentor beleiving in you", but you beleiving in yourself, in your goals in life that matters. BELEIVE IN YOURSELF AND EVERY THING WILL FALL IN ITS RIGHT PLACE. Best of luck!
Don't listen to all that caps lock, hippie BS. Try not-studying and "believing in yourself" and tell me how far that goes.
ReplyDeleteScroll up, read my comment, and do as it prescribes.
I have taken practce tests. MY highest score on a bad day unprepped was 169. After some prep, I went down to 159, but then after a bit more I climbed to 172. I stayed within the 168-174 range. If I can get a real class I know I will be able to pull a 176. Plus to decided to take a year off. My health still isn't where it needs to be.
ReplyDelete