So im thinking of taking the LSAT

[Mday]

looking at stuff on amazon in terms of books already.

graduated college little over 2 years ago, been working at the same company for a hair over 2 years. I'm well liked @ the company, and supposedly have a future. But the job just does not wow me...

=

not sure of going to lawschool is a great idea, but ya know, the job may dead end. thinking of going for an IP concentration (copyright\patent), and maybe an LLM after the JD.

 

[Corporate Thug]

ummm, forget about books. if you are really serious about law school you need a prep class.

I took testmasters. The year after i took it, my professor quit and started his own company called the blueprint. Both have excellent prep.

 

[PrinceofWands]

I think the lsat is about the funnest test you're ever likely to take, but that's because I love logic games. I had a friend who took a very well regarded prep class and threw herself into it 100%. She spent $1300 and raised her final score a whopping 2 points. Save your money, there is NOTHING that a class does for you that you can't get out of books.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
I think the lsat is about the funnest test you're ever likely to take, but that's because I love logic games. I had a friend who took a very well regarded prep class and threw herself into it 100%. She spent $1300 and raised her final score a whopping 2 points. Save your money, there is NOTHING that a class does for you that you can't get out of books.

i think it depends on the person.

i went up 15 points from my first diag to my actual test.

BTW, OP, what was your undergrad major?

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: Mday

not sure of going to lawschool is a great idea, but ya know, the job may dead end. thinking of going for an IP concentration (copyright\patent), and maybe an LLM after the JD.

what was your degree in? only certain fields can sit for the patent bar.

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
I think the lsat is about the funnest test you're ever likely to take, but that's because I love logic games. I had a friend who took a very well regarded prep class and threw herself into it 100%. She spent $1300 and raised her final score a whopping 2 points. Save your money, there is NOTHING that a class does for you that you can't get out of books.

Good thing there's no writing section in it.

 

[CptObvious]

There is a writing section actually. It's unscored, but goes to the admissions committee of whatever school you're applying to.

 

[Wreckem]

Originally posted by: Syringer

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
I think the lsat is about the funnest test you're ever likely to take, but that's because I love logic games. I had a friend who took a very well regarded prep class and threw herself into it 100%. She spent $1300 and raised her final score a whopping 2 points. Save your money, there is NOTHING that a class does for you that you can't get out of books.

Good thing there's no writing section in it.

Uh, there is a writing section. However it is ungraded.

 

[Wreckem]

Originally posted by: CptObvious
There is a writing section actually. It's unscored, but goes to the admissions committee of whatever school you're applying to.

Most writing samples are never looked at.

 

[Beattie]

I took the test without looking at a book, sample exam, or taking a class and I got a 152. That's not great, but it's enough to get into law school.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
ummm, forget about books. if you are really serious about law school you need a prep class.

I took testmasters. The year after i took it, my professor quit and started his own company called the blueprint. Both have excellent prep.

all i did was a book and i scored 170. best practice score was 172, under timed conditions. the untimed pre-course test was about a 155, iirc. but i wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that under timed conditions without the book.





anyway, don't be a lawyer.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Beattie
I took the test without looking at a book, sample exam, or taking a class and I got a 152. That's not great, but it's enough to get into law school.

you would have likely done better with prep

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
ummm, forget about books. if you are really serious about law school you need a prep class.

I took testmasters. The year after i took it, my professor quit and started his own company called the blueprint. Both have excellent prep.

all i did was a book and i scored 170. best practice score was 172, under timed conditions. the untimed pre-course test was about a 155, iirc. but i wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that under timed conditions without the book.





anyway, don't be a lawyer.

like i said, it depends on the person. I know people who have benefitted a lot from classes and others who have not.

Basically, when people ask me if its worth taking a class, i say it depends on the diag. I recommend people trying it on their own for a month, if they see little or no improvement, go with the course. the course worked well for me because in many ways, it FORCED my to prep, to do timed exercises, and diag over and over again. I dont think the techniques were what improved my score but the sheer repetition.

The way I look at it is that the $1300 is a rather small investment considering Law School will cost upwards of 100k

 

[everman]

It's just all about learning how to take the test. You start to like it after a while, in a sick sort of way You need to take a lot of practice exams in the most strictly timed conditions possible. Also make sure you know every question type out there and how to attack it. Many things just get easier with more practice until it becomes natural. I think the one thing that taking a class does it make you study. If you can't keep yourself on a strict schedule on your own, then get into a class. If however you are very disciplined and have no problem understanding anything, getting a good selection of books and practice exams will be fine. It's all about having discipline and self control.

 

[Wreckem]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
ummm, forget about books. if you are really serious about law school you need a prep class.

I took testmasters. The year after i took it, my professor quit and started his own company called the blueprint. Both have excellent prep.

all i did was a book and i scored 170. best practice score was 172, under timed conditions. the untimed pre-course test was about a 155, iirc. but i wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that under timed conditions without the book.





anyway, don't be a lawyer.

To comment on don't be a lawyer, OP unless you are sure you want to give up three years of your life for law school, don't do it. Law school will consume your life. And after law school, work will consume your life atleast for the first several years. Another thing is debt, you will have atleast $60k of it. Law school is a serious undertaking, mentally, physically, and financially so be 100% sure it is what you want to do.

 

[acemcmac]

I'm in the same boat. I'm signing up for the december LSAT's. I don't know a single systems or network engineer (that has no programming roles) making over 70k on the east coast, regardless of experience or skill. I'm underemployed and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I want more from my career than this.

I graduated in 30 months with my BS (CompSci/Econ minor) while working full time. I'm going to try the same thing for law school and then look for applications where my technical background will be able to give me an advanage over regular lawyers (forensics? identity theft tort?).

 

[Wreckem]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
I'm in the same boat. I'm signing up for the december LSAT's. I don't know a single systems or network engineer (that has no programming roles) making over 70k on the east coast, regardless of experience or skill. I'm underemployed and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I want more from my career than this.

I graduated in 30 months with my BS (CompSci/Econ minor) while working full time. I'm going to try the same thing for law school and then look for applications where my technical background will be able to give me an advanage over regular lawyers (forensics? identity theft tort?).

With a degree in Comp Sci you would be able to go into the area of Patent Law if you wanted to. There is a big market for it, and not everyone can go into Patent Law. Although if someone were to have a combined 40 hrs in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, they are eligible for the Patent Bar. Or if you were a sadist, 24 hrs of physics.

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: Wreckem

Originally posted by: acemcmac
I'm in the same boat. I'm signing up for the december LSAT's. I don't know a single systems or network engineer (that has no programming roles) making over 70k on the east coast, regardless of experience or skill. I'm underemployed and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I want more from my career than this.

I graduated in 30 months with my BS (CompSci/Econ minor) while working full time. I'm going to try the same thing for law school and then look for applications where my technical background will be able to give me an advanage over regular lawyers (forensics? identity theft tort?).

With a degree in Comp Sci you would be able to go into the area of Patent Law if you wanted to. There is a big market for it, and not everyone can go into Patent Law. Although if someone were to have a combined 40 hrs in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, they are eligible for the Patent Bar. Or if you were a sadist, 24 hrs of physics.

I'm a little leary of patent law since it has always struck me as a "flavor of the month" career like nursing or pharmacutical sales that will soon be swamped with overqualified, underexperienced gold diggers who are just looking to make a bigger buck. Would you mind enlightening me as to why it should be taken seriously?

 

[RKS]

I think Patent Law is more than "flavor of the month" just because not all lawyer are eligible to practice Patent Law.

I have "heard" from those that have started in that field that it is extremely boring and somewhat repetitive.

As far as "flavor of the month"; I would think with the aging populace that has brought us the need for more nursing will bring about a demand for more lawyers with experience in Estate Planning/Wills & Trusts.

Usually most solo practitioners cover all area then concentrate in an area that they like or one that is the most profitable.

My undergrad was M.I.S. with an original goal of working in the cyberlaw/online crime field but I'm not gonna be a tool for the RIAA. I currently work for an international corporation that ALL lawyers and law student have heard of or used.


edit: I think if you have the self-control, the best thing to do is take a lot of timed tests and try to improve your weak areas.
I took a Princeton Review course when there were very few options. I believe my score went up maybe 4 or so points. I didn't do great on the LSAT (I think it was 166 or 168) but it was enough for my school.

 

[Mday]

i have 2 bachelors degrees (math and ee - abet accredited). I can do logic games in my sleep =p. The sample questions I've seen are extremely simple. The real issue would be time.

 

[CptObvious]

For doing patent prosecution, you really need a background in a "hot" area (bachelor's or master's in electrical, chemical, or mechanical engineering). For bio or chem, the field is so saturated that you need a doctorate level in those fields to be competitive.

 

[acemcmac]

Registered for December and I have my study book.

To infinity and beyond!!