<p>Hey guys!</p>
<p>So I'm a student at UT Austin and I've studied abroad in Spain and Mexico already for 1 month periods each. Obviously, I didn't have the sufficient exposure to the Spanish language that I've desired because of the time restraints, so I'm considering doing a year abroad in Latin America. Money isn't a factor because my university covers most of the costs through financial aid and scholarships, but I may have to incur some of the costs through loans which isn't a big deal since I've only taken out 3k in my entire undergrad. My only worries are graduating a year late and having my english regress. English is obviously my native language, but I'm planning to take the LSAT when I come back and I'm scared that learning portuguese and spanish at the same time might force my english to become worse. I also am worrying about how law schools might perceive my application if it says that I've graduated a year late.</p>
<p>Thanks for all opinions</p>
<p>LSAT is good for 5 years so it’s ok to take it before you leave. I don’t think the year abroad will count against you. Your experience might be seen as a plus.</p>
<p>I studied abroad for a year in Spain my sophomore year of high school and my english did not get worse so don’t worry about that. Just focus on spanish and make the most out of it. :)</p>
<p>I found my English was affected, or I felt it was, during 5 months tefl in China. I was teaching English and had other English speakers around socially and the students’ English was good. I was learning Mandarin in my free time but my friends who weren’t studying also found the same thing. You don’t realise how much of a language you’re exposed to during an average day until its no longer there…</p>
<p>I agree that taking the test before you go would be the best option, just in case and gives you plenty of time if you want to retake it before you need it for applications. </p>
<p>My best friend’s German. She came to the UK for college and after perhaps 4-5 years she found she was regularly having difficulty remembering normal words in general conversation as she now thought in English, too. If you don’t use it, you WILL lose it.</p>
<p>I agree that you can always take the LSAT before you leave, if you are concerned about it. But if you want to take it when you come back, it should be fine as long as you have the time to adjust back to thinking, speaking, and writing in English before you take it. If you study for it after you come back or perhaps take a prep course, your English will likely come back very quickly, especially if it’s your native language.</p>
<p>Law schools likely won’t care if you graduated a year late. Many students do for a variety of reasons, and from my limited knowledge of law schools, they seem to care primarily about GPA and LSAT scores. I don’t think it will matter how long it took you to graduate, especially if you have a particular reason to graduate a year late (study abroad). Demonstrating fluency in foreign languages by living abroad may even aid your application (and it’s certainly very helpful regardless!). College is often the best time to live or study abroad. I say take advantage of the opportunity! It may not come around again.</p>