Thinking of Dropping Out Forum

[sun1925]

I'm at a school ranked 30-40. 1L was miserable for me. I didn't really like my professors or the material. I know it's kind of boring for everyone, but the reading seemed to take me twice as long as everyone else because it just didn't make sense.

Grade-wise, I am currently just below median. Haven't gotten my grades yet for second semester. I have a scholarship and would only graduate with $50-60k or so of debt. Ideally, I'd work for DOJ, or a similar agency, but I'm worried with my low grades it won't happen. I don't know what I would do if I dropped out; I worked odd jobs before law school.

I thought law school would be a good fit. But I ended up feeling awful this year. The thought of going back in the fall seems bleak right now. I don't want to quit, but I also can't shake this feeling that I made a huge mistake in coming to law school in the first place. Should I drop out?

[ymmv]

I'm at a school ranked 30-40. 1L was miserable for me. I didn't really like my professors or the material. I know it's kind of boring for everyone, but the reading seemed to take me twice as long as everyone else because it just didn't make sense.

Grade-wise, I am currently just below median. Haven't gotten my grades yet for second semester. I have a scholarship and would only graduate with $50-60k or so of debt. Ideally, I'd work for DOJ, or a similar agency, but I'm worried with my low grades it won't happen. I don't know what I would do if I dropped out; I worked odd jobs before law school.

I thought law school would be a good fit. But I ended up feeling awful this year. The thought of going back in the fall seems bleak right now. I don't want to quit, but I also can't shake this feeling that I made a huge mistake in coming to law school in the first place. Should I drop out?

Wait for your grades. If you had a stellar spring you might pull yourself from just below median to above. Does your school have good local/regional placement? Do you want to work in that region? Do you have undergraduate debt? Do you have a fallback career you could turn to, or is your bachelor's in something like Comp Lit? Do you have connections that could get you a job in another field, or will you be approaching the job market with no creds, no skills, and no connections?

I'm sorry you're in such a rough situation. Consider all your options carefully before making this decision, but at the same time try not to fall into the sunk-cost fallacy.

[sun1925]

I'm at a school ranked 30-40. 1L was miserable for me. I didn't really like my professors or the material. I know it's kind of boring for everyone, but the reading seemed to take me twice as long as everyone else because it just didn't make sense.

Grade-wise, I am currently just below median. Haven't gotten my grades yet for second semester. I have a scholarship and would only graduate with $50-60k or so of debt. Ideally, I'd work for DOJ, or a similar agency, but I'm worried with my low grades it won't happen. I don't know what I would do if I dropped out; I worked odd jobs before law school.

I thought law school would be a good fit. But I ended up feeling awful this year. The thought of going back in the fall seems bleak right now. I don't want to quit, but I also can't shake this feeling that I made a huge mistake in coming to law school in the first place. Should I drop out?

Wait for your grades. If you had a stellar spring you might pull yourself from just below median to above. Does your school have good local/regional placement? Do you want to work in that region? Do you have undergraduate debt? Do you have a fallback career you could turn to, or is your bachelor's in something like Comp Lit? Do you have connections that could get you a job in another field, or will you be approaching the job market with no creds, no skills, and no connections?

I'm sorry you're in such a rough situation. Consider all your options carefully before making this decision, but at the same time try not to fall into the sunk-cost fallacy.

Thanks for your response. My school has good regional placement but I don't want to work in the region. I have no undergraduate debt. I could probably have a fall back career in marketing, but I don't have a whole lot of experience. I have some decent connections from undergrad/family/friends that could probably help me find a job.

[moralsentiments]

Why did you go to a regional school in a region you don't want to work? Or did you discover that you don't want to work in your region while attending law school?

[DELG]

Start applying to nonlaw work. I think if you get some momentum you'll know what to do.

[sun1925]

Why did you go to a regional school in a region you don't want to work? Or did you discover that you don't want to work in your region while attending law school?

I thought I wanted to work in the region when I started, but this whole experience has made me really realize I don't want to end up here long term. It's just not for me.

[moralsentiments]

Why did you go to a regional school in a region you don't want to work? Or did you discover that you don't want to work in your region while attending law school?

I thought I wanted to work in the region when I started, but this whole experience has made me really realize I don't want to end up here long term. It's just not for me.

Ah that's a bummer. I would imagine it would be tough to do well overall in law school if you have doubts about the profession and location. Sorry to hear your situation. Good luck with your decision!

[Jchance]

Read this the other day, u may find it helpful

http://thepeoplestherapist.com/2011/05/ ... a-quitter/

[It's A Lion]

I'm at a school ranked 30-40. 1L was miserable for me. I didn't really like my professors or the material. I know it's kind of boring for everyone, but the reading seemed to take me twice as long as everyone else because it just didn't make sense.

Grade-wise, I am currently just below median. Haven't gotten my grades yet for second semester. I have a scholarship and would only graduate with $50-60k or so of debt. Ideally, I'd work for DOJ, or a similar agency, but I'm worried with my low grades it won't happen. I don't know what I would do if I dropped out; I worked odd jobs before law school.

I thought law school would be a good fit. But I ended up feeling awful this year. The thought of going back in the fall seems bleak right now. I don't want to quit, but I also can't shake this feeling that I made a huge mistake in coming to law school in the first place. Should I drop out?

Do you have a internship/clerkship lined up this summer?

[sun1925]

I'm at a school ranked 30-40. 1L was miserable for me. I didn't really like my professors or the material. I know it's kind of boring for everyone, but the reading seemed to take me twice as long as everyone else because it just didn't make sense.

Grade-wise, I am currently just below median. Haven't gotten my grades yet for second semester. I have a scholarship and would only graduate with $50-60k or so of debt. Ideally, I'd work for DOJ, or a similar agency, but I'm worried with my low grades it won't happen. I don't know what I would do if I dropped out; I worked odd jobs before law school.

I thought law school would be a good fit. But I ended up feeling awful this year. The thought of going back in the fall seems bleak right now. I don't want to quit, but I also can't shake this feeling that I made a huge mistake in coming to law school in the first place. Should I drop out?

Do you have a internship/clerkship lined up this summer?

I do have a pretty good internship. It's paid (though not a lot), and I'm legitimately excited about it. I had my eye on clerking after law school, but coming from my school, I'd guess you need to be in the top 10-15 percent of the class to be successful there.

[sd5289]

I'm at a school ranked 30-40. 1L was miserable for me. I didn't really like my professors or the material. I know it's kind of boring for everyone, but the reading seemed to take me twice as long as everyone else because it just didn't make sense.

Grade-wise, I am currently just below median. Haven't gotten my grades yet for second semester. I have a scholarship and would only graduate with $50-60k or so of debt. Ideally, I'd work for DOJ, or a similar agency, but I'm worried with my low grades it won't happen. I don't know what I would do if I dropped out; I worked odd jobs before law school.

I thought law school would be a good fit. But I ended up feeling awful this year. The thought of going back in the fall seems bleak right now. I don't want to quit, but I also can't shake this feeling that I made a huge mistake in coming to law school in the first place. Should I drop out?

Do you have a internship/clerkship lined up this summer?

I do have a pretty good internship. It's paid (though not a lot), and I'm legitimately excited about it. I had my eye on clerking after law school, but coming from my school, I'd guess you need to be in the top 10-15 percent of the class to be successful there.

a) Wait for your spring semester grades to come out before you do anything. I bounced from just above median to top 15% thanks to a stellar spring semester my 1L year. I don't think fall semester 1L grades are that great of a predictor of overall success. I saw a lot of people do amazing fall semester and crash and burn spring semester, and vice versa.

b) If your spring semester helps you bounce back, work the summer job and see how you like working (there's nothing to lose because it's not $$$ out of your pocket going down the drain). I know plenty of people who don't like law school, but really liked working. Moreover, it'll help you confirm whether you really don't want to work as a lawyer, and you'll have plenty of time to drop out before the fall semester bill is due.

[dood]

what are you going to do instead?

[cslouisck]

I do have a pretty good internship. It's paid (though not a lot), and I'm legitimately excited about it. I had my eye on clerking after law school, but coming from my school, I'd guess you need to be in the top 10-15 percent of the class to be successful there.

If that's how you feel about the internship at least, seems like you ought wait to make a decision until you get some sense of how much you'll enjoy real legal work outside the hide-the-ball games and competitiveness of the classroom.

[sun1925]

what are you going to do instead?

Honestly, I don't know. I had some marketing internships during and after college, so I could always do that.

[BigRob]

Half of all law students have a GPA that's below median. You're at a better school than most. I'd advise you to stick it out.

[spleenworship]

Go to counseling. Talk it out. Then decide.


GL OP

[S. Goodman]

.

[cinephile]

Do not let spring grades convince you one way or another. Just listen to your heart -- do you want to be a lawyer? It the answer is no, drop out regardless of whether you get straight As this semester or not.This is your life you're talking about. No reason to make yourself miserable. Life is too short.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

Do not let spring grades convince you one way or another. Just listen to your heart -- do you want to be a lawyer? It the answer is no, drop out regardless of whether you get straight As this semester or not.This is your life you're talking about. No reason to make yourself miserable. Life is too short.

This. Don't waste the time or money on it if you don't WANT to be a lawyer.

[worldtraveler]

I see no reason to make a decision now. You have a couple months of paid work ahead of you. See how you like that before you make any decisions.

It seems like you don't know what you want though, and frankly, DOJ is not likely to happen even with great grades. Start seriously thinking about what you want to do over the summer.

[sd5289]

Do not let spring grades convince you one way or another. Just listen to your heart -- do you want to be a lawyer? It the answer is no, drop out regardless of whether you get straight As this semester or not.This is your life you're talking about. No reason to make yourself miserable. Life is too short.

I'd agree with this if OP were about to start their 2L year and their summer job didn't sway them one way or the other about wanting to work as an attorney. There's no reason for OP to chuck the summer job out the window because it doesn't cost him/her anything to go ahead and work. A lot of people figure out during the summer whether or not this is something they actually want to do. I waited and worked quite a while before coming to law school, and was 95% sure this was right for me when I started. After my 1L summer job that turned into 100%.

[spleenworship]

Yeah, the above seems credited. I knew someone who wanted to drop out after one year, but after working that summer they had such a good time that they decided to be a lawyer. You never want to throw away something until you've actually experienced it in my opinion.

[Ohiobumpkin]

Yeah, the above seems credited. I knew someone who wanted to drop out after one year, but after working that summer they had such a good time that they decided to be a lawyer. You never want to throw away something until you've actually experienced it in my opinion.

Credited. Basically sums up what happened to me after 1L.

To OP: I recommend you stick out the summer internship. It pays, and it will give you time to decide whether to continue on with law school. 1L sucks for everybody, and it makes the best of us question whether we want to go through with it. Working this summer (depending on the job) will give you a taste of what being an attorney is like. If you like the experience and your spring grades aren't bad (note, don't have to be great), then I recommend sticking it out. What kind of job is it btw?

I think the greatest factor (in my mind, at least) favoring dropping out at this point is that you don't want to work in the region the law school feeds into. How removed is your law school in terms of feeding into your desired region? Are we talking USC and you want northern California type situation, or are we talking about attending University of Alabama and you want N.Y.C. type of deal? If latter, I think dropping out is not a bad option.

[NotMyRealName09]

I'll second the notion that law school IS NOT ANYTHING LIKE legal practice. It's its own thing. Sure, it teaches you the basics of legal research and elementary litigation - but that's it. I'll be honest and say I loved law school just so you know where I'm coming from, but if you're sole reason for dropping out is because law school sucks - try and get some practical experience. It's way different in real life. And here's a dirty secret - the most successful lawyers might not even be the "best" or the most intelligent. Plenty of people coast through law school then kick ass in practice. So just adding this food for thought.

[cinephile]

That's fair - letting your summer job influence you.

My advice will always be colored by my own experience -- doing very well in my second semester of 1L year and choosing to stay because of GPA. But I hated law school. I also hated my 1L summer internship and I got my ideal summer job. That should've told me something...