Deciding to Attend or Not Forum

[gaflaher]

I'm a junior in the Honors College at Ole Miss. I currently have a 3.97 GPA and am pursuing a B.A. in Economics and Philosophy and a B.S. in Mathematics. For a long time, I've wanted to practice law, but recently, I've become interested in finance and consulting work. I'll only attend law school if I get into a T14 because of the job market. I want to keep my options open, though. If I go to law school, will it hurt or help me if I later want to work in finance? I'd consider working for a few years after undergrad in finance to explore my preferences, but honestly, coming from Ole Miss, I don't think I could get a job. In some ways, I feel like if I do decide I want to work in finance, a law degree from a top school is the only way to prove that I'm smart enough to employers. I've considered taking the CFA Level 1, but even then, it seems like a gamble. I think I'd be happy working in law, but I want to be absolutely sure before I take on massive debt. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

[guano]

You might be the rare person for whom a JD/MBA makes sense

[deadpanic]

Hotty Toddy.

Do you want to work in finance or law? With your GPA, you could crush the LSAT and have T14 options with a manageable amount of debt. I would probably try to get a job in finance and see how you like it while you study for the LSAT. After seeing how you like finance and what your LSAT score is, then re-assess the situation.

[twenty]

DO NOT take on massive debt if you're not sure you want to even practice law.

I would seriously consider taking the business school road. Take the GMAT super seriously, try and pick up a finance job somewhere along the line over the next year or two, gun for M7.

Or come back when you're pretty sure you might want to practice law.

But dear God, do not go to law school thinking you might want to do something else.

[Dr. Dre]

2-5 years WE —> Take GMAT —> HBS/SBS/Wharton—> McKinsey & Co. —> Profit

[dixiecupdrinking]

My understanding is that a law degree is very, very unlikely to give you finance job opportunities. T14 --> biglaw corporate practice --> in-house at a bank is quite feasible, but you'd be working for a financial business in a legal capacity.

Law school really does not open doors for you except for the door to being a lawyer. It closes a lot of others. There are a couple of minor exceptions, like management consulting, which does recruit some from the T14, but even that is something only a very small number of people can do. Don't go to law school if you want to do entry level work in another field.

I'd encourage you to see what's out there for a couple of years after college. Law school will be there if you decide you want to go later, and it will be a better informed choice.

[BarbellDreams]

My understanding is that a law degree is very, very unlikely to give you finance job opportunities. T14 --> biglaw corporate practice --> in-house at a bank is quite feasible, but you'd be working for a financial business in a legal capacity.

Law school really does not open doors for you except for the door to being a lawyer. It closes a lot of others. There are a couple of minor exceptions, like management consulting, which does recruit some from the T14, but even that is something only a very small number of people can do. Don't go to law school if you want to do entry level work in another field.

I'd encourage you to see what's out there for a couple of years after college. Law school will be there if you decide you want to go later, and it will be a better informed choice.

As someone who recently graduated I cannot stress how true the bolded statement is. I would take the LSAT and see if you could land a gigantic scholly to UVA or something but otherwise you may wanna just GMAT it and gun for a top of the line MBA.

[timbs4339]

My understanding is that a law degree is very, very unlikely to give you finance job opportunities. T14 --> biglaw corporate practice --> in-house at a bank is quite feasible, but you'd be working for a financial business in a legal capacity.

Law school really does not open doors for you except for the door to being a lawyer. It closes a lot of others. There are a couple of minor exceptions, like management consulting, which does recruit some from the T14, but even that is something only a very small number of people can do. Don't go to law school if you want to do entry level work in another field.

I'd encourage you to see what's out there for a couple of years after college. Law school will be there if you decide you want to go later, and it will be a better informed choice.

As someone who recently graduated I cannot stress how true the bolded statement is. I would take the LSAT and see if you could land a gigantic scholly to UVA or something but otherwise you may wanna just GMAT it and gun for a top of the line MBA.

Also note that management consulting firms may recruit at T14s, but their interview programs are much much harder than law firm programs and they place a huge emphasis on work experience and leadership experience- that's because you're coming in as an associate not an analyst. Don't try to use law school as a backdoor into finance or consulting, it's not going to work. Get some work experience then do an MBA.

[radar714]

My understanding is that a law degree is very, very unlikely to give you finance job opportunities. T14 --> biglaw corporate practice --> in-house at a bank is quite feasible, but you'd be working for a financial business in a legal capacity.

Law school really does not open doors for you except for the door to being a lawyer. It closes a lot of others. There are a couple of minor exceptions, like management consulting, which does recruit some from the T14, but even that is something only a very small number of people can do. Don't go to law school if you want to do entry level work in another field.

I'd encourage you to see what's out there for a couple of years after college. Law school will be there if you decide you want to go later, and it will be a better informed choice.

As someone who recently graduated I cannot stress how true the bolded statement is. I would take the LSAT and see if you could land a gigantic scholly to UVA or something but otherwise you may wanna just GMAT it and gun for a top of the line MBA.

Also note that management consulting firms may recruit at T14s, but their interview programs are much much harder than law firm programs and they place a huge emphasis on work experience and leadership experience- that's because you're coming in as an associate not an analyst. Don't try to use law school as a backdoor into finance or consulting, it's not going to work. Get some work experience then do an MBA.

yea, to expand on this the interview process is absolutely brutal compared to law school. MBB only cares about grades insofar as its an indicator of your work ethic, but they have virtually no bearing on your ability to get past round1/hired. People prep for weeks for case study interviews and thats time you'd have to take away from studying/journal/MC/other commitments. I agree with most people above, if you want finance/management consulting law school is not the right move. Have you considered accounting? USC has a Masters in accounting that has like a ~85% offer rate, and if you have a econ/math background you can probably finagle your way into finance. It's only 1 year too.

I get the ole miss hesitation, but don't undersell yourself. You might be hardpressed to get into bulge bracket finance but mid-market could still happen if you hustle/network, your grades are truly excellent, and if you can get a job for 2-5 years I think M7 MBA is 100% the way to go

edit: spelling