So I have spent all year debating whether or not I want to take a year off. Then, last quarter (winter) I finally decided I needed to take some time off from school. At first I felt disappointed because I had always planned on continuing school immediately. Additionally, all of my friends had been accepted and were planning on attending grad school, which did not make me feel more confident about my decision. However, after thinking about it for weeks I realized that taking a year off was an opportunity for me to do anything. I was free to experiment with my life before committing myself to school again.

Despite this newfound opportunity, I still needed to search for a job. I knew this wouldn’t be an easy task, but I began my search early in December. Ideally, I wanted short term work because this would motivate me to complete my law school applications. Seeking short term commitments led me to Americorp, a U.S. government program offering opportunities to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national non-profit groups. I had been interested in Americorp programs mainly because most opportunities lasted for about a year and at the end of my service I would receive an education award of $4,725 that I could use for law school.

Through Career Services, I stumbled across an opportunity to work for City Year, an organization associated with Americorp that focused on working with children in low performing schools. I decided to apply, but the application process was not simply a resume and cover letter. The application required thought because it asked me to answer essay questions regarding social issues I was interested in and my reasons for applying to the organization. After working on the application for several weeks, I finally submitted it. A few days after submitting the application, I received a call to schedule a phone interview that would last approximately 15-20 minutes. The interview would be for the following week and I immediately turned to the resources at Career Services.

Working as a career peer advisor, I had constantly given advice to students preparing for interviews, but now I needed to prepare for my own. Since the interview would be conducted over the phone I prepared an outline that I could quickly refer to. Additionally, I researched the primary purpose and goals of City Year on their website. I used what I had found to formulate my outline, drawing from all of my experiences over the past four years. I wanted to create diversity in my responses, in an attempt to not repeat myself during the interview. After reviewing my outline and the City Year website I felt confident that I was well-prepared for my interview.

The next morning I woke up early, reviewed my materials, and relaxed. The interview took approximately fifteen minutes and I was certain I had represented myself well. Afterwards I sent a thank you email to my interviewer thanking her for taking the time to speak with me. The following day I received a phone call for a second interview and I was ecstatic, yet frightened because this would require more preparation.

The LSAT is like any other standardized test, meant to assess your ability to succeed at school. The LSAT in particular is a standard measure of acquired reading and verbal reasoning skills. So, if the LSAT is like any other test then why did I want to pull out my hair studying for it?

Well the LSAT tests reasoning in three sections: reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and logic games with a time constraint of only 35 minutes for each section. I decided that there was no way I would be able to conquer the LSAT without help, so I enrolled in a prep class over the summer in August. I quickly learned my way around the LSAT taking a full length test for the first time and finding myself disappointed at my initial score. I knew I had a long way ahead of me to achieve my desired score, but I was ready to work hard to get there. I was studying constantly and it helped that my friends were all studying for the GREs as well. It was difficult to stay constantly focused because it was summer and the nice weather outside was more appealing than staying indoors studying.

I had signed up to take the October exam, but as the date rapidly approached and school began, I found myself feeling less and less prepared, stressed, and overwhelmed. The week that I was scheduled to take the exam, I decided it was not the right time and I postponed till December. It was relieving to know I had more time to study, but also disappointing knowing that I would have to continue my study and preparation for an exam I really didn’t want to take, but needed in order to apply to any law school. Fortunately, the prep course I had signed up for had what they called a “higher score guarantee,” which allowed me to retake the course if I was not satisfied with my score or if I didn’t feel prepared after the course ended, which was applicable in my situation 

I was quick to jump on the opportunity and reregistered in another prep course that I would take concurrently with my regular fall classes. I knew it would be a challenge to balance school, work, and my prep course. To make matters even more complicated I landed an internship at a local law firm and decided it would be unwise for me to pass up the opportunity. Midway through fall quarter I found myself overworked and exhausted. I needed a break, but I wasn’t going to get one any time soon.

I continued to study and prepare for the test, but as the December date approached I found myself nervous and feeling unprepared once again. I took one final practice test the week prior to the exam and was incredibly disappointed to find that my score was still several points away from my desired score. My instructor for the prep course recommended that I postpone, but I was reluctant to do so because I had already done so in October. I put a lot of thought into deciding whether or not I should postpone once again and I found that the pros outweighed the cons. Postponing again would allow me to study more over winter break, hopefully helping me to achieve the score I wanted and needed to apply to my desired schools.

It was a difficult decision to make, but I changed my test date to February. I was disappointed, but even more determined to stay focused and study harder. I came back after winter break only to discover that I had two midterms the week I was scheduled to take the LSAT. I knew it was another hurdle to overcome, but I felt that I would be able to prepare myself for it. As the date in February approached I felt anxious and worried about whether or not I would be able to do well on the test. The week of the test I contemplated changing my test date again to June, but after thinking about it and talking it over with a friend we decided that there was always going to be some obstacle I needed to tackle. I was reluctant to take the test because I had heard that if you take the test several times law schools average your scores and I really just wanted to take the test once and never have to think about it again! I decided that it wasn’t worth waiting several more months to take it and if I needed to I would take the test again. When February 7 came around I woke up early, walked to the test site on campus, and took the test. It was finally over!