do people age 25+ feel out of place at law school? Forum

[snodell]

most people go to law school right out of college or take a year off and then go. does anyone on this board have experience with what its like to be older and in law school? do you feel old compared to the majority of your peers?

[Adjudicator]

I visited a couple of schools and talked to admissions officials and everywhere that I went, they told me their average age for incoming students is 25-26ish.

[dextermorgan]

I will be 25 when I start. From what I have seen older students (late 20s and up) tend to create their own social scene, and tend to spend more time with their family (since they are much more likely to actually have one).

[rayiner]

Not at NU!

[reverendt]

I started at 36. Most of my classmates were about 23 - 30.
I've never felt out of place. It's a professional situation....I belong there as much as anyone else.
Socially it hasn't been a problem either. I'm 38 now...my friends at school range from 25-33 or so. We all do the same stuff.
It might help that I don't "act" 38.

[20160810]

I am a 2L. The majority of my 2L friends are 25+, as am I. So, no.

[2ofspades]

This thread pales in comparison to the seemingly defunct 25+ = old fart thread

[kalvano]

I'm 30, and while I notice some differences, it's not really a big deal. Most of the people are pretty cool.

[yellowjacket2012]

I'm 27 as a 2L and I definitely didn't feel out of place at Northwestern, and I don't feel out of place at Berkeley.

I think I'm too old to care about that kind of thing now, plus I have a lot of animals.

[IAFG]

Not at NU!

[revolution724]

I'm 34 and just starting 2L (first day of class tomorrow).

I'd say there are differences. I'm not as hysterical as a lot of my classmates, both dispositionally and as having lived and worked a few more years and thus having a different perspective on life. It's a little harder to stay up all night and work all day. I'm less interested in hanging out in bars with other law students, although I do it some and my ambivalence towards it is also partly because of personality rather than age. I roll my eyes when people complain about how they're ancient because they're turning a quarter-century old. I glare at my gray hairs in the mirror sometimes. I'm more accustomed to and tolerant of ambiguity and of the right answer not being clear.

However, first, I don't actually find that most of my classmates are under 25. Most -are- 25 or so. Most of them are shocked when I tell them I'm as much older than they are as I am. I still participate in similar activities, hang out in the library and study, go to social events, make friends.

It might be more different if I had a home, partner, and/or kids. I lack those trappings of a settled person in their thirties, which would probably tend to set one further apart from younger and less established classmates.

YMMV.

[skoobily doobily]

I'm barely 21, I kinda feel out of place at the opposite end of the spectrum. I feel like the law school age bell curve is definitely tailed to the older end.

[manbearwig]

I'm barely 21, I kinda feel out of place at the opposite end of the spectrum. I feel like the law school age bell curve is definitely tailed to the older end.

+1

I just turned 22, and I definitely feel "young." I feel like most of the people I've met have been out of school for at least a year, and many have been out more. I'm friends with a few people who are 25+, and the age difference doesn't seem to matter on the individual level. I agree with one of the above posters that the older students seem far less stressed (they at least act that way) than the younger students.

[keg411]

I'm barely 21, I kinda feel out of place at the opposite end of the spectrum. I feel like the law school age bell curve is definitely tailed to the older end.

+1

I just turned 22, and I definitely feel "young." I feel like most of the people I've met have been out of school for at least a year, and many have been out more. I'm friends with a few people who are 25+, and the age difference doesn't seem to matter on the individual level. I agree with one of the above posters that the older students seem far less stressed (they at least act that way) than the younger students.

We just seem that way .

I'm 28 and a 1L and while I feel a little bit older, not incredibly much so. I think it depends on the school/class. Some end up skewing older, others younger (mbw, a friend of mine is at your school and she says that it's a definite older skew and was surprised by it). I'd say my school skews younger (I'd guess most people here are 24-ish), but it's not that way across the board, and I certainly don't feel "old" by any stretch.

One of my profs is like in his mid-30's though, and makes me feel old because he seems more like a peer than like a prof (just from his mannerism, etc.).

[revolution724]

One of my profs is like in his mid-30's though, and makes me feel old because he seems more like a peer than like a prof (just from his mannerism, etc.).

I've found this happening in my internships. My supervisor this summer was three-ish years older than me and my current supervisor is only two years older. We definitely feel more like colleagues than supervisor and student.

[rdcws000]

It seems like a very common myth that the majority of law school students enter at 22.

I think it's actually settled that the average age of entering students is at least 25, maybe even 26.

I think it's fair to say 25 year olds entering law school are not old at all, in fact, 22 year olds are young.

[2807]

You are never too old to learn or too young to teach.

There is a place for everyone. Even us oldies. (38 for me.)

[mpasi]

This thread pales in comparison to the seemingly defunct 25+ = old fart thread

This. It's amazing to me that anyone can associate being 25 and over with being "older". We're in the same fucking generation as the under 25 set, ffs.

[bizjunkie4]

This thread pales in comparison to the seemingly defunct 25+ = old fart thread

This. It's amazing to me that anyone can associate being 25 and over with being "older". We're in the same fucking generation as the under 25 set, ffs.

Agreed. I'm a 34-year-old 2L at Louisville, and I actually think it's an advantage to be an older student with more life experience. Many of the people at the top of our class are 30-plus. They include a college professor, a former CEO, several Army veterans, journalists (including myself), and others. We even had a guy who was 80+ as a 1L last year. He returned to law school after dropping out during the Korean War. How's that for inspiration?

Alex Davis, Louisville
http://uofllawschool.blogspot.com/

[clintonius]

I'm 25, just started 1L, and I find it just as easy to get along with fresh-from-undergrad classmates (some of whom are just barely 21) as with people my age or older. I suppose some of us "oldies" tend to gravitate toward each other a bit more, but it's not a stark difference. There will also be plenty of people in the mid- to late-20s and early-30s age group.

[Haribo]

Not gonna lie, it's a bit mind-boggling that I'm taking classes with people who were in middle school when 9-11 happened, kindergarten during the OJ trials, and not even born when the Berlin Wall fell, but there are certainly enough people older than say, 25 or so that I don't feel out of place.

It is a strange feeling that several of my professors (in their early to mid-thirties) would basically be my peers if I met them at a dinner party.

[MC Southstar]

I don't know how old anyone is, nor do I care.

[ResolutePear]

After 23, people are just supposed to even out more or less.

[Thirteen]

I'm 27, and I don't feel out of place.

[goosey]

I'm 27, and I don't feel out of place.

+1. I dont feel out of place, but I do feel like not dorming causes more of the "out of place" feeling than age. I talk to people in class but havent really developed any actual friendships because Im a commuter. I also dont drink or go to bars, so I doubt it would have been much different even if I did dorm, but atleast Id get time to connect with people outside or class.

I also feel like drinking takes up the majority of social activities in law school..and I dont know if that changes with age haha