I know the waiting feels endless, but just think about all of the people taking the bar exam who have to wait three months to find out IF, after making it through law school,they will be able to actually practice law. I do expect scores to come out by email in the next 12-36 hours and I want to keep you all nice, calm, occupied, and feeling productive in the meantime. Here are some things to do in the next day or two:
1. Articulate the reasons why you want to be a lawyer. Not why you want to go to law school, but why you want to be a lawyer. Write them down and keep it in your wallet and look at it every time you spend money. I know no one will really do this, but I think it’s a GREAT idea. If you don’t want to be a lawyer but want to go to law school for some other reason, write down those reasons and spend the next day doing research on other ways to get to your goal without going to law school.
2. Go see Hangover 2 or Bridesmaids. I really want to see both of these films. I don’t have time (just moved houses and am trying to finish up my book to help you decide whether to go to law school) so please see these films, laugh a lot, and let me know how they are. One of my favorite traditions when I was in law school was going to see a movie on Friday afternoons. It was a great escape, and I haven’t had time to see movies since, so let me live vicariously through you….
3. Work on your resume. It doesn’t take much time to feel like you’ve made a lot of progress on this particular project. An hour can make a big difference. You can download the audio version of Chapter 6 “Building Your Resume” of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert and get a ton of good information (do’s and don’t and how-tos) in a mere 20 minutes, then spend the next 40 minutes putting the suggestions to use on your own resume. You’ll feel like you’ve crossed something important off your to-do list, or at least made serious headway.
4. Look up people on Wikipedia who have the jobs you want to have one day. See how they got those jobs, what career trajectory they took to get there. Want to be Commissioner of the NBA? President of the ACLU? Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights? A Wills and Trusts attorney in Kansas City, MO? Surfing the web for lawyers and reading their bios is a much better use of your time than trolling law school discussion forums. Again, few of you will take me up on this idea, but I promise it’s a very worthwhile exercise.
5. Read this old post of mine (from 2007!) about 4 Things To Do While Waiting for Your LSAT Score.
Mostly, remember not to panic. Your LSAT score is not grading you on how you’re living your life, how you’re loving the people who matter to you, how you’re making the world a better place, or how rewarding a career you’re going to have one day. It’s just a major factor in how law schools are going to judge you. That’s it. And we can talk more about that later. Have a great day!
