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This summer, while surfing the web and different forms of social media, I am constantly coming across students who are spending their time working an internship or job that is related to their major. Others are spending these few months vacationing in a location a bit more tropical than Ames, Iowa. There are also the lucky ones who get to do both at the same time. I am in none of these categories. However, I am managing a summer that is productive towards my future goals of attending law school in 2016. Here is what I have been doing:

1. Studying for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)

Like most people who have their sights set on law school, I signed up to take the June LSAT before the fall of which I will be filling out applications. Unlike most people, this is the second year I have taken it since I thought I would try to get a higher score. Taking the test the previous June did eliminate some of my study time for this year because I knew what to expect, but there was some relearning to be done. For me, I have used both a study book like from Princeton Review, and real LSATs that have been administered previously and are now available to be purchased from Amazon and other places.

2. Taking the LSAT

On June 8, I sat to take the dreaded test for the second time. The only comforting aspect when taking this almost five-hour test is that it was administered at Iowa State, in one of the Engineering buildings. Once finished I felt mentally and emotionally drained while also happy to be done, and then there was a three-week wait to see if I had done better or worse than the previous year.

3. Preparing to apply

For most schools, applications open in September for the next fall, but there are a few things I have been doing now to make sure I am ready to apply as soon as possible. First I signed up for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) through the LSAC. This is required for anyone trying to apply to law school and is very convenient since the CAS takes your LSAT scores, transcripts, and recommendation letters and sends them out to each school to which you apply. So I have started out by having my Iowa State transcript sent to the LSAC, and soon I will be asking professors and bosses to write letters of recommendation for me. The last thing I can do right now to prepare is research schools and decide which will be the ones that I choose, since it is suggested to only apply to 5-7 schools.

4. Making money

While I don’t have an internship or job that is related to my Psychology major or to the legal field, I am still working to save up enough money as possible before starting law school. Having a job at a restaurant in my hometown has been helping me add to my savings account, which will become useful when there is no longer time for a job outside of school.

So if you’re like me and feel envious of your friends who are doing something really cool for the summer and related to their field, know that you don’t have to be doing something picture-worthy to still be productive towards your goals. I believe these summers as young adults are great to be used in order to further ourselves and save some money for later, while also relaxing a bit and with some time to have fun.

Blog was written by: Carly Crist- Senior in Psychology Pre-Law
from Des Moines, IA.