Taking the biggest test of my life tomorrow!

MPLunatic · September 25, 2009 10:53AM

Taking the lsat tomorrow, wish me luck, Post a coin that you worked really hard for!

ocon4008 · September 25, 2009 11:06AM

Good luck, I remember how difficult taking my three day licensing exam was. The stakes are no big deal, just the rest of your life. The exam was given in a basement conference room at a private mental hospital; when it was over I was ready to go upstairs and check in for the weekend.

illini420 · September 25, 2009 11:11AM

and just think... in a little under 4 years from now you'll be taking the bar exam

Best of luck!!!

secondrepublic · September 25, 2009 11:23AM

Best of luck!

I think you'll find, when it comes time to take the bar exam, that it's a whole lot more work than the LSAT. But hey, that's 3+ years from now

MPLunatic · September 25, 2009 11:32AM

yeah but if I dont do well on this test I won't even get a chance to do poorly on the bar

luckyman · September 25, 2009 11:42AM

My daughter is taking her LSAT in the spring.....good luck!

kaz · September 25, 2009 11:46AM

Best of luck! Love the SLQ in the op, too!

secondrepublic · September 25, 2009 11:49AM

<< yeah but if I dont do well on this test I won't even get a chance to do poorly on the bar

>>

Law's a tough profession. And I say this as someone who has done well at it. Unless you can get into a good law school... think carefully about whether it makes sense to go! There's a good website at www.abovethelaw.com that talks about "inside" law career stuff. Read some of the news on there before you apply.

touche · September 25, 2009 11:52AM

Don't do it. I once read a survey in the California Bar Journal that if lawyers could make the same money doing something else, they would quit being lawyers.

IGWT · September 25, 2009 11:58AM

Hey! I remember that exam. I took it after working 'til 4:00 a.m. putting the next day's newspaper to bed. Piece of cake.

I'm sure you'll do well.

Longacre · September 25, 2009 11:58AM

Good luck! I am still lousy at those logic problems, but I turned out pretty well.

IGWT · September 25, 2009 12:00PM

Longacre performed well on the essay questions.

IGWT · September 25, 2009 12:01PM

Asking them, that is.

MPLunatic · September 25, 2009 12:04PM

<< Hey! I remember that exam. I took it after working 'til 4:00 a.m. putting the next day's newspaper to bed. Piece of cake.

I'm sure you'll do well. >>

wow are you superman?

Longacre · September 25, 2009 12:04PM

<< Asking them, that is.

>>

Longacre enjoys the power of the pen.

Longacre · September 25, 2009 12:08PM

And BTW, the LSAT is not an indicator of how well you will do in law school. Mrs. Longacre blew me away on the LSATs, but she wasn't anywhere near me in class rank at the end of 3 years.

IGWT · September 25, 2009 12:08PM

wow are you superman?

Don't be silly.

MPLunatic · September 25, 2009 12:12PM

<< And BTW, the LSAT is not an indicator of how well you will do in law school. Mrs. Longacre blew me away on the LSATs, but she wasn't anywhere near me in class rank at the end of 3 years. >>

haha trying to get a jab in anyway you can lol, so two lawyers in the Longacre household, wouldnt want to get on your bad side!

tahoe98 · September 26, 2009 1:15AM

.......

erwindoc · September 26, 2009 1:21AM

Great...another lawyer! Good luck on your test.

lcoopie · September 26, 2009 1:44AM

<< Great...another lawyer! Good luck on your test. >>

another lunatic lawyer

best of luck,
but you know that luck pays no part in test taking,
it's preparation.

COALPORTER · September 26, 2009 2:05AM

<< Don't do it. I once read a survey in the California Bar Journal that if lawyers could make the same money doing something else, they would quit being lawyers. >>

That's exactly the problem with Californians. Everyone wants to find gold bricks on their front lawn while sitting firmly on their arse.

RWB · September 26, 2009 2:32AM

"And BTW, the LSAT is not an indicator of how well you will do in law school. Mrs. Longacre blew me away on the LSATs, but she wasn't anywhere near me in class rank at the end of 3 years. "

But, she certainly out ranks you now!

Here in Virginia one can apprentice at law, take the bar exam and you're in.

AUandAG · September 26, 2009 2:41AM

By the time you read this response, your test will have ended. It's been my experience in
taking State, Fed and International exams that whenever I didn't know how I did (no feeling
of acing) I did just fine. So, if you have no clue as to the outcome it's probably A-OK!
Have a drink, relax and the results will be just great! (oh, I forgot, this is the age of electronics
and you may already know the results)!
bob

LeeG · September 26, 2009 9:35AM

Hope it turns out well for you!

Justacommeman · September 26, 2009 10:22AM

My good luck coin. All the best! MJ

ocon4008 · September 26, 2009 2:06PM

MP, when you sober up in the morning don't forget to tell us how you did.

Longacre · September 27, 2009 1:57AM

How was the test, MP??

garsmith · September 27, 2009 2:11AM

So how do you think you did?

Do you get a "you suck?"

or a "you sucked?"

jmj3esq · September 27, 2009 2:59AM

Dont do it!!!!!!

Just kidding. I took it several times trying to do better. Its a terrible test.

You aint seen nothing yet. Wait until the Bar Exams rolls around. Then you will worry.

Good Luck!

Woozy · September 27, 2009 3:18AM

I took the LSAT yesterday as well. I felt that the difficulty of this particular form compared favorably (for the test taker) to those of years past I was practicing with.

We will find out in about three weeks whether my impression is accurate. Hope you get the score you were aiming for.

Longacre · September 27, 2009 10:53PM

Still no report from MP? Was the test that bad?

And for the record in response to a comment about the bar exam-- I took the New York bar exam and the Connecticut bar exam. I also took the CPA exam. In my opinion, the bar exams were a joke (with a capital J) compared to the CPA exam. And Longacre is bad at taking standardized tests, and I could not believe how easy the bar exams were.

Bayard1908 · September 28, 2009 1:06AM

<< 

<< yeah but if I dont do well on this test I won't even get a chance to do poorly on the bar

>>

Law's a tough profession. And I say this as someone who has done well at it. Unless you can get into a good law school... think carefully about whether it makes sense to go! There's a good website at www.abovethelaw.com that talks about "inside" law career stuff. Read some of the news on there before you apply. >>

In this economy, good law school means Yale, Harvard or Stanford. I wouldn't advise paying full price for anywhere else. If you can get a good scholarship, you could also go to Columbia, NYU, or Chicago. If you get a great scholarship, you could go to Penn, Michigan, UVA, Northwestern, Boalt, Duke, Cornell, or Georgetown.

Employment prospects will be severely limited from any other schools. If possible, keep taking the LSAT until you get a score with a 7 in the middle, and then only go to one of the above schools.

mozeppa · September 28, 2009 1:14AM

<< Taking the biggest test of my life tomorrow! >>

me too...was a urine test...still got blood in it.

so...hows your day?

ksteelheader · September 28, 2009 1:36AM

Life is a daily test.

lcoopie · September 28, 2009 2:17AM

did you finish the test yet?

MPLunatic · September 28, 2009 2:51AM

Sorry for the late response, just starting to sober up from the after test celebration

AUandAG I hope your right! I felt my performance on the test was ok, truly could go either way. But I am very happy to get it out of the way unless I have to retake in december!

jmj3esq · September 28, 2009 3:25AM

I could not believe how easy the bar exams were.

I agree. I never did very well on the LSAT. I easily passed the Indiana Bar Exam the first time I took it. Although that may be true, I was referring to all of the anticipation and worrying involved leading up to the Bar Exam...knowing that the only thing between you and your future is a silly Bar Exam result. With proper preparation one should pass with ease.

OregonCityGold · September 28, 2009 5:00AM

IMHO, motivated students do fine wherever they attend law school. I've also observed that the lawyers who earn the most money are usually street-smart people who graduate from third or fourth-tier schools, wear shoes with worn-out soles, and talk like Huck Finn.

yellowkid · September 28, 2009 5:10AM

Good luck on your exam, God knows we need more lawyers.

Ahrensdad · September 28, 2009 5:41AM

MP:
I hope the score comes back the way you want it to. My wife took it about 45 days ago. She scored about what she expected. Now the daunting task (for her) of applying to schools. I saw some of the questions...yikes...especially when you have such a short time to answer.

Bayard1908 · September 28, 2009 8:12AM

<< IMHO, motivated students do fine wherever they attend law school. I've also observed that the lawyers who earn the most money are usually street-smart people who graduate from third or fourth-tier schools, wear shoes with worn-out soles, and talk like Huck Finn. >>

This is terrible advice for a young person who may very likely go $150K to $200K into debt for law school. Working for a large law firm is the only way to earn enough money to pay off this kind of debt within a reasonable time frame. Large law firms only hire people from top schools or students at the very very top of the class from lesser schools.

Yes, a handful of graduates from regional law schools turn out to be very successful. That doesn't help the thousands of others who struggle along with low wages or no job at all. A young person can easily ruin his financial future by attending a low ranked law school. Student loan debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

jmj3esq · September 28, 2009 9:49AM

This is terrible advice

Not sure of that. In fact, not even close.

I do not fir into your profile above and I am doing just fine.

Bayard1908 · September 28, 2009 12:47PM

<< This is terrible advice

Not sure of that. In fact, not even close.

I do not fir into your profile above and I am doing just fine.

>>

A first year associate at a large law firm earns $160,000 a year base salary plus bonus, straight out of law school.

If you went to a no name law school, I'd bet it took you 5 to 10 years before you made comparable money. Even then, you'd be the lucky rare exception.

jmj3esq · September 28, 2009 1:16PM

I guess you may be right if you want to be a first year associate in a large law firm in a big city. If that was my only choice I would have never went to law school.

I'm just a small town Chief Public Defender from a no namer in eastern Ohio. What the hell do I know?

Good luck to the OP. Do what your heart tells you!

coinlieutenant · September 28, 2009 1:53PM

Good luck!

KentuckyJ · September 28, 2009 2:29PM

I took the RN exam many years ago, in Louisville, Ky. I experienced a sinking feeling on the ride home as those of us in the car remembered questions and I heard intelligent classmates saying they had answered differently from myself. I was in that I don't know how I did category but eventually found I had scored well. If you have doubts about your test results you may still end up doing OK.

After working for several years I started buying a few of these

OregonCityGold · September 28, 2009 2:29PM

There's a lot of information out there for the OP to consider about law school and careers after law school. Hopefully, he's not relying on the coin forum for serious advice. Anyway, we don't know about his circumstances. I agree that borrowing $160,000 to prepare for an uncertain career is a huge thing to consider, but what if he's like 99% of prospective law students who don't have a snowball's chance getting into an elite school? What if he's not so sure he wants to practice at biglaw, and gets a scholarship to a decent second-tier school? You never know, maybe in his situation, it makes sense to hedge his bet? What if he decided to avoid the "collective eminence" thing? (No offense, Longacre.

) He shouldn't feel discouraged if an elite school isn't in the cards for him. As with most things in life, hard work and integrity are the crucial ingredients for success as a lawyer.

KentuckyJ · September 28, 2009 2:34PM

> As with most things in life, hard work and integrity are the crucial ingredients for success as a lawyer.

I can't think of anything in life that doesn't go better when you're into hard work and integrity

Longacre · September 28, 2009 10:04PM

Going to a "better" law school certainly opens doors for you, but it is not determinative of how well you will practice law. Personally, I went to NYU Law School, which is one of the best in the country (I am not sure what its current rank is). I've dealt with lawyers from a lot of other schools, and it does not make a bit of difference (after you get your first job) where you went to school because you essentially don't learn anything in law school, anyway.

secondrepublic · September 28, 2009 10:20PM

Going to a good law law school (top 20) will obviously help you get a good job. Though in this economy there's absolutely no guarantee. Also, if you get a good scholarship offer from a decent school that's not top-20, you should seriously consider it. As long as you do well there, you'll also have good job prospects. And if even if things don't turn out, well at least you didn't get up to your eyeballs in debt.

Candidly, I don't recommend law school in most other circumstances. Especially if you have to borrow $50k a year to attend a second, third, or fourth tier law school. It's too expensive and frankly the payoff at that point is very speculative.

Since we're dropping names, I went to pretty good law school (Georgetown) and work in a big law firm in Chicago. So I have a little experience here

Taking the biggest test of my life tomorrow!

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