| There's an illness going around that most students will | | | | undergrad, so be careful not to let your GPA slip |
| catch at least once in their academic careers. No, I | | | | during this time. The best thing you can do for |
| don't mean that pesky H1N1 swine flu, I'm talking | | | | yourself is either give yourself adequate time to |
| about senioritis. It usually refers to high schoolers | | | | prepare for the LSAT and take it in October or |
| who slack off their senior year after they've been | | | | December of your senior year (take advantage of |
| accepted by a college, but it also happens to | | | | the summer to study!) or plan to take a year off |
| undergrads who have already found a job or been | | | | between undergrad and law school and take the |
| accepted to a grad school or law school. So, what | | | | LSAT in October or December following your |
| kind of impact will slacking off your senior year have | | | | graduation. I've found that jobs are a lot less of a |
| on your law school ambitions? | | | | distraction when trying to study for the LSAT than |
| There are really two answers to this question. If | | | | school work. This year off will also give you time to |
| you've already applied to a law school, your LSAC | | | | earn some extra money and prepare your finances |
| reported GPA has already been "locked-in" for their | | | | before spending $150,000 over 3 years. |
| purposes. That GPA is reported to them when you | | | | Timing is the critical issue when reporting your GPA |
| apply and it's the GPA they will use when they report | | | | to a law school. Yes, you can slack to an extent |
| their class statistics to the various school ranking | | | | after you've been accepted, but it's usually wise not |
| publications. This is important, because it not only | | | | to just in case you change your mind and decide to |
| means that a bad final semester likely won't hurt | | | | apply to a different law school or choose a different |
| you, but it also means that an exceptional final | | | | career path altogether. My advice is to plan ahead, |
| semester won't help you if you've already applied. | | | | study hard, apply early, and then give yourself a |
| If you have not applied to a law school yet, then | | | | break and take some classes you'll actually enjoy |
| your GPA is still in play. It won't be locked-in until you | | | | during your final semester to avoid succumbing to |
| apply, so keep studying hard. A lot of students get | | | | that dread senioritis. |
| distracted by the LSAT during their final semester of | | | | |