Monday, October 05, 2009

I took the LSAT

I should also mention that not this weekend but the weekend before, I finally took the LSAT.

I suspect I did very okay.

I took LSAT classes off and on from February through late August. I didn't do much of the homework, though, because I kept being busy and had a hard time paying attention to it.

I thought about re-scheduling it again (which costs like $80), but decided I definitely wasn't going to have more time to study for the December test. Or the February or June tests. I'm not even really sure I want to do law school anymore. If I do, I suspect I'll want to re-take the LSAT sometime after I've finished my undergrad. When I'll actually have time to study and do all of the homework.

My test-taking experience was all right. The LSAT administration on the U of U campus is in the engineering building, which is actually pretty nice. My room didn't have the door open when everyone was supposed to be checking in, so a lot of people waited outside instead of just coming in, and our group got started later.

I was a little nervous because I usually use the timer on my cellphone to keep track of my time on each section. For the LSAT you are allowed to bring an analog watch, which I have, but the morning of the test I couldn't find it. I went just hoping that my room would have a clock. It did. And that was fine.

It was kind of interesting to see how people approached the test differently. You're allowed to bring a gallon bag with a few things in it: 3-4 pencils. Erasers. A highlighter. An analog watch. A juice box or drink in a bottle no more than 20oz. A snack, ONLY FOR THE BREAK. Your ID. Your wallet and keys. Medical items, for those who need them.

It was funny, though, because some people had like a dozen pencils. Seriously, though. Like, the bottom of their bag was full of pencils. I would love to watch someone take a test and actually use 12+ pencils. What, do you use each pencil for one answer bubble? And then there was this guy like, diagonal from me. He had ONE pencil with one of those bigger pink erasers that you can put on the end of a pencil. And that was about it. Most people had watches. A few other people didn't. Most people had gallon bags. This one guy had his stuff in like, a grocery bag. A few people didn't bring bags at all. I felt really weird not having my cellphone, but I think if it was OFF and in my pocket and I left it alone, nobody would have cared.

There was kind of a funny/awkward moment at the beginning. The girl who was administrating the test said: "It's hot in here. Are you guys hot in here?" And I never am, but a bunch of other people agreed with her. She adjusted the thermostat and then walked across the room and muttered, "Maybe I'm just having hot flashes. I haven't had my period in a few months." But like, she muttered it loud enough that the whole room (70-ish people) heard. And we all kind of looked around, like, did she just say that? And she had.

Also, she had a lisp. Which would not be such a big deal except that when we got to the writing Sample teSt aSSeSSment she kept having problems reading the instructions. She put her head down and was like, sorry guys, and told us she was just not with it today. Poor girl.

There were a lot of questions I didn't get to. I think that's partly because I hadn't studied recently. I'll get my results by e-mail about 3 weeks from my test date.

I'm hanging onto my test prep materials in case I decide to try again in a year or so, but it feels good to (kind of) be done.

6 comments:

MamaErin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MamaErin said...

I too have wondered why people bring tons of pencils to exams! I personally have never used more than one at a time- I hate standard pencils and usually bring two mechanical pencils with plenty of lead. They work just fine.

Looking forward to hearing good news about your test scores!

Unknown said...

I am impressed you survived! The LSAT is a beast. The good thing is that you have done it and can now go to law school if you have the desire, even if it is 3 or 4 years from now. Give me a call sometime so we can catch up.

Kristina P. said...

Congrats! Just reading this made me have a hot flash.

And I'm pretty sure if you buy a Snuggie, you will be highly cool.

Stay tuned for my dog Snuggie post.

Rob said...

Emily,
I hope you don't mind, I linked to your blog through lumberjocks.com. I also attend the U and was looking for woodworking classes. I was wondering where you went to your class and how you liked it, how much it costs etc. . . I would love if you emailed me at robdselle@gmail.com! Thanks!

Unknown said...

It was wonderful coming across this post. I am also preparing for the same and I have also joined a very good LSAT Prep course. My uncle is a very famous and successful lawyer and I wish to become like him or maybe better. I am putting a lot of efforts in my preparation in order to reap out good results.