Old newbie making introductions and inviting counsel

[wellpreserved]

Hello all. I thought an introduction to be in order.

Considering my OCD and general “control freakishness” chances are excellent that I’ll be here regularly over the next 18 months as I prepare for LS.

Sooooo…I’ve scanned many of the posts here and I’m slowly working my way through Liz’s awesome sticky. If any of you grand pubas of LSD have any advice I welcome it!

My stats: ummm. Perennial underachiever with delusions of relevancy; full ride undergrad almost ten years ago that I royally screwed up by trying to be cute; now I’m considered a “non traditional” student at a small, private college where actual monks roam free on the grounds; was a poli. sci. major in a former life now I’m an econ major and phil minor; currently holding tight at a 4.0 but with a year to go prefer to assume I’ll eff up somewhere along the way; just took my first LSAT practice exam and scored a 150; figured I’d use it as my diagnostic control since I’d never looked at a Logic Game or any other such nonsense all the days of my life.

I’m taking one of those free Kaplan LSAT tests this weekend and am hocking my innocence debit card for books. I excelled at RC and the Logical Reasoning, not so much the Logic Games. I’ve focused on them for the past week now and I’m getting better…on the simple  ones. The more complex (two, three elements and how many diff combos can you make type) I’m straight guessing my way through with a 40% success rate. I figure that beats the 30% success rate I get when I actually try  to do them!

I’m realistic. I’m not looking to go T1 though I’m sure as hell applying to Yale. All they can say is no. Beyond that my major factor, being a bit older with some work experience, is cost. As such I’m sticking in state or with schools most likely to offer me FA. I know no one is gonna hire a 34 YO af-am female with the bad habit of not much caring about people’s egos to work in Big Law and I’m too accustomed to weekends to do it anyway.

My interest is Labor/Employment Law, Mediation, ADR, and Union negotiations. I’m aiming for an EEOC internship or something similar and want to leave the door open to go into consulting or policy center-type work later on.  I’m delusional in thinking I can help or do something that matters one day.

My specific questions?

- Am I crazy? Old and going to law school?! Don’t answer that.

- With a 150 start what are my real chances for a ten-point leap with careful preparation? How would you map out my study plan?

- What would you tell yourself, were you me, at the beginning of this journey?

[BearlyLegal]

Hello all. I thought an introduction to be in order.

Considering my OCD and general “control freakishness” chances are excellent that I’ll be here regularly over the next 18 months as I prepare for LS.

Sooooo…I’ve scanned many of the posts here and I’m slowly working my way through Liz’s awesome sticky. If any of you grand pubas of LSD have any advice I welcome it!

My stats: ummm. Perennial underachiever with delusions of relevancy; full ride undergrad almost ten years ago that I royally screwed up by trying to be cute; now I’m considered a “non traditional” student at a small, private college where actual monks roam free on the grounds; was a poli. sci. major in a former life now I’m an econ major and phil minor; currently holding tight at a 4.0 but with a year to go prefer to assume I’ll eff up somewhere along the way; just took my first LSAT practice exam and scored a 150; figured I’d use it as my diagnostic control since I’d never looked at a Logic Game or any other such nonsense all the days of my life.

I’m taking one of those free Kaplan LSAT tests this weekend and am hocking my innocence debit card for books. I excelled at RC and the Logical Reasoning, not so much the Logic Games. I’ve focused on them for the past week now and I’m getting better…on the simple  ones. The more complex (two, three elements and how many diff combos can you make type) I’m straight guessing my way through with a 40% success rate. I figure that beats the 30% success rate I get when I actually try  to do them!

I’m realistic. I’m not looking to go T1 though I’m sure as hell applying to Yale. All they can say is no. Beyond that my major factor, being a bit older with some work experience, is cost. As such I’m sticking in state or with schools most likely to offer me FA. I know no one is gonna hire a 34 YO af-am female with the bad habit of not much caring about people’s egos to work in Big Law and I’m too accustomed to weekends to do it anyway.

My interest is Labor/Employment Law, Mediation, ADR, and Union negotiations. I’m aiming for an EEOC internship or something similar and want to leave the door open to go into consulting or policy center-type work later on.  I’m delusional in thinking I can help or do something that matters one day.

My specific questions?

- Am I crazy? Old and going to law school?! Don’t answer that.

- With a 150 start what are my real chances for a ten-point leap with careful preparation? How would you map out my study plan?

- What would you tell yourself, were you me, at the beginning of this journey?

My blind score was a 152. Look at my sig to see what you can do. And I consider myself an underachiever by the way. I know I have the capacity for 170+.

No, you are not too old. I work at a V10 firm and I know people who started at your age.

Finally...Is there really hunny in you? If so, please come closer...

[wellpreserved]

Thanks Bearly...Bears! Honey! Yeah! LOL

[BearlyLegal]

Thanks Bearly...Bears! Honey! Yeah! LOL

Mmmmm... More sweet, encouraging advice for you if you please just step into this here jar....

Mmmmmmmmmm....

[Refused Party Program]

I'm sure you will here this a million times over, but stay away from the Kaplan prep courses. I know a lot of people that took them and they didn't improve very much at all (they were in the 140s). Go with the Powerscore books, which I guess you are doing? I'm probablly as old as you are and I'm starting this fall, so no you aren't too old. If you have never seen a game before and you didn't do well, this is easiest section to improve with practice so that is good news. Once you work through both of the PS books, and with practice you ought to see an improvement in your score.

[wellpreserved]

I'm sure you will here this a million times over, but stay away from the Kaplan prep courses. I know a lot of people that took them and they didn't improve very much at all (they were in the 140s). Go with the Powerscore books, which I guess you are doing? I'm probablly as old as you are and I'm starting this fall, so no you aren't too old. If you have never seen a game before and you didn't do well, this is easiest section to improve with practice so that is good news. Once you work through both of the PS books, and with practice you ought to see an improvement in your score.

Thanks! It's great hearing from people in my age group. It makes me feel less odd. I'm afraid that I don't have many people around me with advance degrees and surely no one who has ever attempted a "second life" like I'm going for. So it helps me feel less out of sorts.

I have read here that PS is the way to go and thanks to craig's list I found someone local willing to do a trade. I'll get those this weekend.

I figured the free LSAT under test conditions with Kaplan couldn't hurt but since I don't have the money to waste I was never in too much danger of buying their class. But I have wondered if there are some proven logic game strategies that would be worth paying to learn.

[LizPendens™]

you're just a baby. settle in a grab a can of starbucks double shot.

[LaneSwerver]

Advice for law school from an old 3L:

1. Take lots of vitamins. That way your veins will be nice and sturdy and stand out. This is important for

2. Find a methamphetamine dealer. Don't smoke it or snort it; that's for the sorry saps on "Cops" that live in a Florida trailer park. Nope, inject it right on in.

3. Prepare your liver. You wanna hang with the big-time (or small-time) lawyers? You gotta drink. Don't try and have a cosmo, either. You'd better get used to martinis with the vermouth kicked in the side with an iron boot.

4. Check your glasses/contact prescription. You're going to need to be able to read extremely fine print on the cheat sheets you'll hide in your clothing during finals.

5. Stop going to church. Morals are for the uninitiated.

6. Like espresso. And no, not a skinny-uspide-down-extra-whip-frappacino...straight espresso. When you aren't mainlining dope, you're gonna need something to keep you awake.

After that, it's all pretty easy. Best of luck!

[EarlCat]

I was at the Berkeley admitted students weekend.  Their Dean of Students (I think that's what she was) didn't start law school until 42. 

[LaneSwerver]

Advice for law school from an old 3L:

1. Take lots of vitamins. That way your veins will be nice and sturdy and stand out. This is important for

2. Find a methamphetamine dealer. Don't smoke it or snort it; that's for the sorry saps on "Cops" that live in a Florida trailer park. Nope, inject it right on in.

3. Prepare your liver. You wanna hang with the big-time (or small-time) lawyers? You gotta drink. Don't try and have a cosmo, either. You'd better get used to martinis with the vermouth kicked in the side with an iron boot.

4. Check your glasses/contact prescription. You're going to need to be able to read extremely fine print on the cheat sheets you'll hide in your clothing during finals.

5. Stop going to church. Morals are for the uninitiated.

6. Like espresso. And no, not a skinny-uspide-down-extra-whip-frappacino...straight espresso. When you aren't mainlining dope, you're gonna need something to keep you awake.

After that, it's all pretty easy. Best of luck!

Still on step one?  You do know there are twelve right?

I forgot the other ones. My brain hurts.