Going to law school at 30 or above can be a daunting decision for a myriad of reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019re not actually old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your brain is still capable of miracles. People who have entire regions of their brains removed will often later regain that lost functionality as their brains rewire to cope with the new reality. You are actually probably doing something wonderful <\/em>for the future health of your brain by challenging it to grapple with new ideas, new rules, new ways of thinking. Many studies suggest that one big way to reduce your risk of Alzheimer\u2019s later in life is to avoid falling into a mental rut. Continue to learn new languages, read challenging books, and develop new hobbies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The LSAT might be your golden ticket into law school. Because law schools take LSAT scores<\/a> to be very effective predictors of law school performance, you can potentially allay any fears that the admissions office (or you) might have about your ability to \u201ckeep up\u201d with law school by doing great on the LSAT. Also, since you\u2019ve been out of school longer than most law school attendees, studying for the LSAT will felicitously get you back into the rhythm of wearing a backpack, going to a coffee shop or library, and spending a couple of hours with your face in a book and your mind enthralled in the state of learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You are an \u201catypical\u201d law school candidate! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Law schools usually have rolling admissions, with the first round deadlines being in late Sept\/early October, the second round deadlines being in late Dec\/early Jan, and the third round deadlines being around March. The gist of these three different rounds is that 1st round gives you the best chance of getting in and getting financial aid, 2nd round gives you less chance to get financial aid but still a good chance to be admitted, and 3rd round is a very low probability of being accepted unless <\/em>you\u2019re an atypical candidate. At this point in the admissions cycle, the admissions board is taking a look at the diversity of its incoming students and using its 3rd round picks to flesh out its diversity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While ethnic diversity is one consideration, diversity of experience and point of view regardless of ethnicity is highly valued. By being born in a different era than most other incoming students, by having more real-world work experience, by having had more chance to travel, and potentially by having already entered the role of being a parent, you will be bringing a wiser and more practical perspective to your studying and thus helping younger students to consider things in ways that might not occur to them yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have kids, you\u2019ll set a great example for them, in terms of ambition and determination. Depending on your goals in the field of law, you might even inspire them to also try to make the world a better place. Yes, you will see them less (which to most of us parents is, at least initially, a blessing). You\u2019ll have some guilty moments when you miss out on being there for something because you\u2019re in class or studying. But you\u2019ll also be able to bond with them over the shared burden of doing homework. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At any age, deciding to go to law school is a calculated risk, since you incur a lot of debt and invest a lot of time, and there isn\u2019t any guarantee that you\u2019ll be able to make back that money or even necessarily enjoy the lawyerly career that awaits. But that complex calculus is for another article. Let\u2019s just focus on what Kaplan knows best: preparing for the LSAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t need to carve out large uninterrupted blocks of time. How fortunate, since parents of young children almost never have such a thing! 15 \u2013 30 minute spurts are great. That is enough to load a meal\u2019s worth of content into the brain, at which point we need to actually STOP studying the LSAT in order for our brains to digest and encode what we just worked on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to learning science, the best way to learn many things is through \u201cspaced repetition\u201d\u2013the act of seeing the same thing several times, at increasing intervals of time. So rather than trying a handful of challenging questions and then reading explanations and re-reading explanations, straining our brains to understand, we should instead try 10-15 minutes of material in the morning. Look at it again that night. Look at it again 3-7 days later. Maybe look at it again 1-2 weeks later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How are you going to keep track of which stuff is \u201cdue to redo\u201d? You should start a Redo Calendar<\/strong>. It\u2019s the most important organizing tool for studying standardized tests. When we try new problems, we\u2019re essentially auditioning them to see whether they\u2019re easy, a medium struggle, or a big struggle. The easy stuff will get filtered out and we won\u2019t bother redoing it, unless we\u2019re resolved to do it again faster. The medium and big struggles should all be redone, at least once but usually two or three times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you sit down and try 10 Logical Reasoning problems<\/a>, you will probably find at least five of them are lower-confidence answers for you. Unless you\u2019re feeling 90% or better confidence in the answer you\u2019re picking, you should \u201cflag\u201d a problem for review\/redo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have children, one of the most daunting aspects of going to law school in your 30s is the simple realization that you will have to find a lot of time to study, and that will almost certainly rob you of some of the time you\u2019d otherwise be spending with your kids. To combat that, let\u2019s get creative at ways to hang out with our kids while still deepening our prowess at the LSAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although there are certainly likely to be bigger challenges for older students, going to law school in your 30s is a bold, brave, but realistic idea. And in case you\u2019re feeling like you\u2019re \u201crunning late\u201d in terms of your legal career, just remember this \u2013 if you live as long as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, then you still have 50 years in front of you to practice law.<\/p>\n\n\nStudying for the LSAT in Your 30s: What You Need to Know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Study Calendar for Preparing for the LSAT in Your 30s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Phases of Review \/ Redo:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
How to Prepare for the LSAT and Be a Parent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Can You Involve Your Kids?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n