To Drop Out or to Stick with it. That is the question.... Forum

[Renzo]

Also, what do you all think of this nugget of advice:

Upon telling my best friend (who is not in law school but is applying this year) that I wanted to drop out, he said,

"you know what they give the guy who is last in his class right........?



[strike]a JD[/strike]an unemployment check"

I love my friend, but I feel like perhaps he just does not get it.

FTFYF*


*Fixed that for your friend

[Black-Blue]

I don't know what the OP means by "mid-tier" school. I assume he means tier 2. In that case, if you have a scholarship for 2/3 and still incur 30k debt, that means you'd incur around 60k each semester if you lose your scholarship. In that case, I'd quit. But since you've already started your semester, I guess you can try to raise your gpa to 3.0

I also agree with some previous comments that a JD doesn't open doors in the non-legal field, except maybe in very narrow circumstances such as elite consulting firms. A JD can close a lot of doors for you as well.

All of those JDs who went to other fields had their doors opened by other means.

[Renaixença]

Hey if you don't like what you're doing, don't do it. Might take a little courage to quit, but if you think you'll be happier in the long run, then go for it!

this is great relationship advice too.

[Cleareyes]

It sounds like you hate the law. in which case you should drop out. On the other hand, I will say that from everything I've seen and heard the practice of law is different from law school in some very important ways. For example if what you hate about law school is that you spend all your time soaking in knowledge and not enough time actually producing work, that will obviously change somewhat should you become a lawyer. Also if what you need is more feedback for what you're doing than measely grade at the end of the semester that can be different as a lawyer too, depending on the job. It might be worth it to figure out what it is you hate about law school. If it's grappling with decades old decisions and weird quirky doctrine, then yeah, that ain't changing.

If you've already paid your tuition for this semester it might be worthwhile to finish it out while you look for your next step. If that's the case I highly recommend joining some student practice organizations or volunteering somewhere during the semester. I think I would like law school a lot less if I hadn't had the experiences of going out into the community and trying to do some good. Every time I don't want to crack my Contracts book or fiddle around on Lexis trying to get a search that will give me some good caselaw, I think about the skills I am gaining, and the credential I will get at the end of this process, and what it will allow me to do. On Friday I was in an organization's office with a sectionmate and we were fielding calls and sending out information packets and I turned to him and said "Having fun?"
"Yeah," he said. "It feels good to be busy." I think implicit in that statement was "It feels good to be busy doing something positive and useful." You might find that too.

I think the vast majority of 1Ls go through moments of doubt and wanting to leave. Reports of depression are enormous. But most 1Ls also, in my experience, find things they like about law school and reasons to go on. It might be worthwhile to look a little harder to see if there are reasons you might like it too. If there aren't, then at least you will know that dropping out was the only choice that could make you happy.

[kurla88]

I vote Culinary School. Maybe try to get a job in the kitchen rather than serving if that's what you are more interested in?

[NotMyRealName09]

"I hate law school"

Thats it right there. If you hate it, you won't do well. Not to mention, well, you did terrible grades-wise. My opinion of this sort of thing is, some people have it, some don't. You don't have it. Sorry. Law School isn't for you.

[heyguys]

"I hate law school"

Thats it right there. If you hate it, you won't do well. Not to mention, well, you did terrible grades-wise. My opinion of this sort of thing is, some people have it, some don't. You don't have it. Sorry. Law School isn't for you.

You can not like law school and still do well. And being a lawyer=/=being a law student.

The grades are a more compelling factor.

[stoicjustice]

Have you considered pursuing a joint JD/MBA? If you are a culinary savant, perhaps one day you would want to open your own restaurant. Having a JD and an MBA would probably make things easier. Take the GMAT this summer (if that works for your schools joint JD/MBA deadline) - rock it - graduate in 3 years with a JD and an MBA.

[FrankReynolds]

did you grow up on the streets of philly before moving to belair?