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Since people start applying in late September/early October, does that mean schools don't consider senior year grades? So in the case of someone graduating a year early, they'll only receive two years of grades right? I believe I'll have around 85 graded credits when I apply (thanks to cc classes during high school), but will applying this early hurt my chances much? Thanks, just trying to figure the process out.

I applied last year with 85 credits and was in almost the same position you are now. I only had two full years of grades, counting summers. My cycle played out the same as everyone else with my numbers. I wound up not attending law school this year to get work experience and to retake the LSAT and am pretty happy with my decision in retrospect. Good luck!

Don't go to law school early. I did it and regret it all the time.

eandy wrote:Don't go to law school early. I did it and regret it all the time.

Eh, this depends on the person. Pros and cons both ways

Eandy, why not?

Maturity issues, you're cutting out some of the best years of your life, and some real work experience would have been nice.

heywatchitbuddy wrote:Since people start applying in late September/early October, does that mean schools don't consider senior year grades? So in the case of someone graduating a year early, they'll only receive two years of grades right? I believe I'll have around 85 graded credits when I apply (thanks to cc classes during high school), but will applying this early hurt my chances much? Thanks, just trying to figure the process out.

I believe this is TCR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTN5NHfwlQ

If that video didn't convince you, hear me out. Don't trade your senior year of college for the misery of law school. Your senior year of college will be awesome. Go out with your friends 3-4 times a week, day-drink, make bad decisions -- anything but go to law school. Think how you will feel next year when you see pictures of your friends partying all the time on facebook, while you're cooped up in the library reading/outlining/panicking. Law school can wait a year. You're in college. Senior year. Enjoy it. 1L will be the worst of year of your life. Don't rush into it. And anyway, an extra year of human experience will help you perform better on exams and at OCI.

The worst thing you can do is to graduate, find a job and study for the LSAT while you work. I did this and it was a mistake. I am 26 and my goal was always to go K-JD. All you are doing by delaying your entry into law school is costing yourself money. What you should do is graduate, study for LSAT full time, find a job for a year and then return to law school.

Watermelon Man wrote:Don't trade your senior year of college for the misery of law school. Your senior year of college will be awesome. Go out with your friends 3-4 times a week, day-drink, make bad decisions -- anything but go to law school. Think how you will feel next year when you see pictures of your friends partying all the time on facebook, while you're cooped up in the library reading/outlining/panicking. Law school can wait a year. You're in college. Senior year. Enjoy it.

I think this how a lot of people feel but it's not how I felt. This completely depends on the person. If you're not a big partier you won't care at all about seeing pictures of people partying; I sure as hell didn't.

Watermelon Man wrote:1L will be the worst of year of your life. Don't rush into it. And anyway, an extra year of human experience will help you perform better on exams and at OCI.

I don't agree with this either. I actually like law school and, for most law students, the majority of the semester is basically like undergrad anyway: you keep up with the readings during the week and go out with friends on the weekends. Pressure and stress aside, 1L wasn't the worst year of my life at all. Plus an extra year of "human experience" - in the sense of a senior year of college - doesn't do anything for you. Graduating and getting real work experience will probably help at OCI but an extra year of college does nothing. And nobody has ever been able to convince me that waiting to enter law school will "help you perform better on exams."

eandy wrote:Maturity issues, you're cutting out some of the best years of your life, and some real work experience would have been nice.

I second all of this. I'm going to feel a lot better entering law school with professional work experience ITE. Not to mention saving money for school and being able generally to enjoy life (travel, bars with friends, etc.) for a few years before the grind of law school and legal work. I also figured I'd have some more experiences from which to draw during interviews.

Everyone should work before law school. Not that anyone ever listens to me. Or can imagine that, at 22, they might not be mature enough to pick of their forever career.

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I recommended that OP not miss senior year of college to start law school early. I suggested that, if OP goes to law school a year early, he will miss out on day-drinking and partying 3-4x/week. Quiver, you disagree because you aren't a big partier. You missed the point. 1L will cut into whatever OP likes to do -- playing guitar, watching movies, reading for fun. This is inarguable. It doesn't depend on the person.

Quiver, you also disagree that 1L will be the worst year of OP's life, because you actually like law school and because law school is "basically" like undergrad. Well, I guess it's fair that you like law school. But law school is "basically" like undergrad? Really? That's hilarious. Stop trying to dupe OP. Law school is way more work than undergrad, it costs a lot more money, it puts a lot more pressure on you to get good grades -- remember, your 1L grades set the tone for the rest of your legal career. An undergrad approach to 1L is unreliable if you want to ace exams, make law review, work for a big firm, etc.

Quiver, you seem to believe anything less than "real work experience" will not help OP succeed in law school. That's too simple. If OP waits a year (even if it's only an extra year of college) OP will enter law school more mature, he might have a good internship experience, he'll know better why he wants to be lawyer, and he'll be ready to hit the ground running after a relaxing and fun senior year.

As for exams, waiting a year won't hurt and will almost certainly help OP. Exams reward people who write well, who are intelligent, mature, have good common sense, strong work ethic, etc. Life experience helps you develop these traits.

Quiver, if you PM me, I'm more than happy to share with you some additional ways you might improve your exam-taking skills.

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gobrue wrote:Ok, for those staying I should stay in school:
1. I'm not rich; it is very hard to justify spending tens of thousands of dollars on classes that I literally have no use for and housing/food etc. whilst making no money myself. If I had that much money to burn I'd just go live on the beach somewhere.
2. I'm not a huge partier, and I've transferred undergrads, so I don't think I would be missing out on much. Plus my personality is such that if I'm not doing something productive I feel very unfulfilled, especially if it would be for a whole year.

It's not that you even have to stay in school for your senior year. From my own experience, I just think that someone who rushed through undergrad in three years would benefit from getting some work and life experience before law school. The vibe I get on TLS is that, ITE, you want to be able to distinguish yourself in whatever way possible, and WE is a good way of doing so. Law school will always be there, and I've come to realize that I would have missed out on a lot had I gone K-JD.

Watermelon Man wrote:I recommended that OP not miss senior year of college to start law school early. I suggested that, if OP goes to law school a year early, he will miss out on day-drinking and partying 3-4x/week. Quiver, you disagree because you aren't a big partier. You missed the point. 1L will cut into whatever OP likes to do -- playing guitar, watching movies, reading for fun. This is inarguable. It doesn't depend on the person.

I didn't disagree, I said it depends on the person. I didn't care about missing that stuff and not everyone will. 1L may cut into leisure activities a bit, but any successful law student will tell you that it is actually good to maintain your hobbies while in law school. It keeps you sane. I also said that law school was like undergrad "for the majority of the semester." Finals time is obviously different (not really with my study method, but it is for most people).

Watermelon Man wrote:Quiver, you also disagree that 1L will be the worst year of OP's life, because you actually like law school and because law school is "basically" like undergrad. Well, I guess it's fair that you like law school. But law school is "basically" like undergrad? Really? That's hilarious. Stop trying to dupe OP. Law school is way more work than undergrad, it costs a lot more money, it puts a lot more pressure on you to get good grades -- remember, your 1L grades set the tone for the rest of your legal career. An undergrad approach to 1L is unreliable if you want to ace exams, make law review, work for a big firm, etc.

I said it was akin to undergrad for the majority of the semester, in the sense that you just have to stay on top of your work. People usually crack down about a month before finals. Almost everyone I know maintained a pretty healthy social life before that point. And obviously the validity of this point will depend on your individual undergrad experience. Sure law school is a lot more work but what the hell does the cost have to do with anything here? If you recall my post, I also said "pressure and stress aside, 1L wasn't the worst year of my life at all." Obviously that adds another dimension but lots of pressure doesn't magically transform it into the worst year of your life. And if that's the case then maybe the legal profession isn't for you. I was not advocating an undergrad approach to 1L at all. I just said they were similar for most students for the majority of the semester, in that you just have to stay on top of your work. Obviously law school is more work though.

Watermelon Man wrote:Quiver, you seem to believe anything less than "real work experience" will not help OP succeed in law school. That's too simple. If OP waits a year (even if it's only an extra year of college) OP will enter law school more mature, he might have a good internship experience, he'll know better why he wants to be lawyer, and he'll be ready to hit the ground running after a relaxing and fun senior year.

This is really dumb. Since when does an extra year of college automatically make someone more mature? And OP will magically gain knowledge about why s/he wants to be a lawyer too? Where does that come from? And I'm glad you can also vouch for some fantastic internship that OP may or may not get or even have interest in doing. Also not sure why OP needs another year in college so that s/he can "hit the ground running after a relaxing and fun senior year." If undergrad is really how you say it is then didn't OP just have 3 years of that? Not to mention there's an entire summer before law school to relax and have fun.

Watermelon Man wrote:As for exams, waiting a year won't hurt and will almost certainly help OP. Exams reward people who write well, who are intelligent, mature, have good common sense, strong work ethic, etc. Life experience helps you develop these traits.

I agree waiting a year won't hurt, but I don't see how it will help. Maybe you're not familiar with law school exams but they reward one type of person: good law school exam takers. I feel confident in saying that almost nobody, whether they're 21 or 26, has experienced anything like a law school exam before. How does being older exactly help you on an exam (aka the onnly thing you're graded on)? Everyone in OP's class will be intelligent and most will have a good work ethic and have common sense. OP is graded against all these people. Not entirely sure how maturity has any impact on exams whatsoever. And even if you were right about the things that law school exams reward, which you're not, I still fail to see how an extra year of OP "day-drinking and partying 3-4x/week" will develop the life experience and maturity you value so highly.

Watermelon Man wrote:Quiver, if you PM me, I'm more than happy to share with you some additional ways you might improve your exam-taking skills.

This part actually gave me a good laugh, thanks.

I have the option to graduate early next year and I am still on the fence with what to do. I feel that both sides have decent points. I am currently considering the peace Corp barring I get some kind of decent job. Since most people lean towards getting work experience can we get some advice on how to? I currently have a crappy liberal arts degree with limited career prospects? What are my options?

Sorry for the shitty writing....I am on my iPad

toothbrush wrote:What sort of WE do you think a 21 year old with a (generally) bullshit bachelors can obtain for a year+ that is worth it?

I ask because I'm in the same boat as OP and am applying for this cycle. Toying with the idea of deferring for some WE / experience. However, I have no clue WHAT I would do except work in an office or food service for a year.

I don't understand what you mean by "worth it." What do you think you're trying to get out of this job?

o

toothbrush wrote:

IAFG wrote:

toothbrush wrote:What sort of WE do you think a 21 year old with a (generally) bullshit bachelors can obtain for a year+ that is worth it?

I ask because I'm in the same boat as OP and am applying for this cycle. Toying with the idea of deferring for some WE / experience. However, I have no clue WHAT I would do except work in an office or food service for a year.

I don't understand what you mean by "worth it." What do you think you're trying to get out of this job?

Well it seems like the job is supposed to either a) mature you or b) give you WE that makes you interesting.

If A., wouldn't any job suffice ? Or if B., what sort of job is that, that a bachelors qualifies for. Peace corp, teach for america?

Eh, that's not really the whole of it. Part of it is experiencing "the grind." Having those experiences NOT during your SA or during your first legal job. Learning, about yourself, what it would take from a job to make you not want to kill yourself when working all day every day is your reality.

o