What, like it’s hard to navigate the path of applying to law school as an undergraduate student?
Frankly, it was a lot easier to tell someone, “I want to go to law school,” in freshman year.
Sophomore year, it became a little more real – as in, I wrote “start studying for the LSAT” in red ink in my planner… for August of junior year.
And now, I’m a second-semester junior. I flipped right by the page that said “start studying for the LSAT,” and August of junior year became September, then October, then February?
So when I tell someone I want to go to law school, it’s a lot more challenging as a junior than it ever was as a freshman. Even with this, though, I know it’s not impossible.
If and when I go to law school, I will be a first-generation law student. This means that my parents did not go to law school, and I do not have a connection to the profession in my immediate family. Thankfully, I do have extended family members who have gone to law school and my parents both have professional degrees, so I do have a little leg up there. I think it can be important to recognize these privileges and gaps right from the start, so that you are well-equipped for your next steps.
Here’s another thing I’ve learned. I am going to be absolutely OK if I don’t take the April LSAT, which was my original plan. Because I didn’t know much about the LSAT before I jumped into prep, I thought it was similar to the ACT, which is just… not true.
I didn’t take an ACT prep class; I had an ACT prep book that I flipped through before bed for thirty minutes. The LSAT is not something where I can flip through a book for thirty minutes before bed. Hence, procrastination.
And here’s the secret to my procrastination: the scariest part is starting.
Finally, in January, I bought a subscription to 7Sage, an LSAT prep course. After spending over $200 for a Law School Admissions Counsel (LSAC) subscription and the prep course, it feels a lot harder to procrastinate. And after I had made a week-by-week plan for myself and I had my diagnostic score, I started studying.
Boom, first step done.
I’ve got more to do, including signing up for the June LSAT (can someone write a how-to article?) and researching where I can go. However, I’ve started jogging towards the finish line, when for the last two years I’ve been walking.
I will make it to law school, and I’m going to start saying that with a little more confidence, but right now, I’m going to go study for the LSAT.