Is it too late!!!

[solate]

Yes, I decided to go to law school just in the last week, long story.  A little background: I'm 51, graduated from med school in '84, practiced until '93 when I decided to stay home with the kids.  Going through a divorce and see this as a great time to get a fresh start on life. Don't want to practice medicine, but rather do advocacy work.  Kaplan starts a course on 11/8, and I still have time for late registration for the Dec LSAT. Since I'm not working, can devote lots of time to study.  Kids will graduate from college may 2010.

thanks for any feedback

[steubenville]

In deciding on whether to go to law school, keep in mind that employers might see your age as a negative, though perhaps some might view it in a positive light.

Whether or not you should take the LSAT in December depends on what you want out of law school. What is your undergraduate GPA? Your grades in medical school will not be computed into the GPA that law schools will see; only your undergrad grades are relevant. That being said, your medical degree could help your application, though not as much as a great undergraduate GPA would.

If you simply want a degree, then you can register for the December LSAT, study hard for one month (assuming you have a decent GPA of ~3.0 or better), and score in the 150-155 range. You will most likely be able to get into some law school. But if you want an excellent law school, then I would recommend preparing long and hard for this test, as most of us need at least several months of preparation to get a good score (~160 or better).

[solate]

Thank you for your replies.

gpa was 3.87

I will take the test tomorrow (timed) and go from there.  I don't understand the option of taking the test, then cancelling the scoring.  Do LS look at the lsat differently than med schools look at the mcat?  I didn't do a prep course for the mcats (all those years ago), but did take it twice and the schools just looked at your higher score.  Not looking at the top most schools as I am not looking for THE job, my kids are just about out of the house and I won't have a family to support.

[solate]

Yes, aiming for 2010 start date, but haven't decided on full or part-time.

[EarlCat]

Yes, aiming for 2010 start date, but haven't decided on full or part-time.

If you wanted a 2010 start date, your application ideally should have been in by now.  Consider 2011, especially if you need some time to work on your LSAT score.

[solate]

Took timed practice test today, scored 151, biggest problem was the logical reasoning.  Is there a downside to applying to a LS, getting turned down, then applying the next year?

Appreciate the input, just looking at the options.  Not applying to T14 schools.

[Changed Name]

Took timed practice test today, scored 151, biggest problem was the logical reasoning.  Is there a downside to applying to a LS, getting turned down, then applying the next year?

Appreciate the input, just looking at the options.  Not applying to T14 schools.

There's nothing technically wrong with applying now and re-applying next year, but I want to just provide some words of caution.

Firstly, this seems like a very rushed decision.  Some of the best decisions in life are made on a whim but still, you may want to think more about this.  Law school is long, grueling and a huge investment (you may not have to worry about the money).  Make sure you really want to go to law school, you might not even need it.  If you really want to advocacy work, I don't know if a J.D. is required.

Secondly, if you apply this year after taking the LSAT, you can get into law school.  There are a lot of terrible law schools out there.  With a really good GPA and definitely interesting background story, you'll get into *A* school.  Because you'll probably get into a school this year, you're going to feel more inclined to just go rather than wait.  This may or may not be a good thing.  If you take some time and study for the LSAT and apply next year, you can get into a great school, but you may lose out on the opportunity because you have an acceptance in your hand and won't give taking the LSAT a second time any thought.

These are just some considerations...

[simonsays]

Took timed practice test today, scored 151, biggest problem was the logical reasoning.  Is there a downside to applying to a LS, getting turned down, then applying the next year?

Appreciate the input, just looking at the options.  Not applying to T14 schools.

I do believe your MD will open many opportunities in employment, but do have some concern on the type of school you might come out of based on that LSAT score, and 'what could be'. 

The reason is the logical reasoning section is the easiest to improve dramatically because it is highly learnable and it accounts for 50% of the questions.  In other words, small improvements make a more discernible difference compared to games or reading comprehension.

If the 151 gets you into the school you're satisfied with, than go for it.  Check out Powerscores Logical Reasoning bible.  The trick to 85% of the questions is not understanding the stimulus/problem, but in understanding the one sentence question ("What is an assumption.. what would allow the conclusion to be properly drawn, etc").  This is what makes the LSAT different (and thus easier) than other knowledge based exams.

If you opt to defer, consider something other than kaplan.

[solate]

Thank you all so much for your input...I am processing it all, so feel free to continue with your comments.

I think with some practice on the games (just to improve my speed, as accuracy was pretty good, thank you suduko) and a lot of studing on the logical reasoning (I have the time, if I can stay focused) I believe I can really pull up my score.  I had done no prep for the practice test, except for the sample questions on the LSAC site, so I am pretty optimistic. If I can't get it from a book, am considering hiring a tutor. Would really like to stay in town for LS, as this is where my kids are and the school's rep locally is good.

Going out to get the LR Bible today.  What is a good suggestion for the RC?  I think a lot of my trouble there was not getting a good feel for the wording of the questions.

Again, thanks, your words of wisdom are so appreciated.

[steubenville]

Reading comprehension is the most difficult section to improve on. Some of us are just not good readers. What worked for me on test day was that I started with the most difficult section (usually the science passage) and moved to the easier sections. I found that I was always slow in understanding the first reading passage, so I might as well take the most time on the most difficult passage. I got 23/27 correct on the June 2009 reading section (which is considered good) by practicing a lot of reading sections and using my method. But reading can be a crapshoot, as well.