Taking 2 years off before law school Forum

[kpuc]

I graduated from college in May, and I just took the LSAT this October. I always planned to take a year off before law school, which is why I was in no rush to take the LSAT while I was still in school.

But recent circumstances have me thinking about whether taking 2 years off is an even better idea. My parents recently moved to Korea, and I thought that taking the year off would be a nice opportunity for me to become fluent in Korean (I'm at an adequate, but basic level). However, I also wanted to live in Europe for a little bit on a working holiday visa (I'm a Canadian citizen). I just arrived in Korea after remaining on campus to study for the LSATs, and it seems that I can't do both - become fluent in Korean and live in Europe - in the time between now and next fall.

I just got an interview for teaching English in Jeju Island, which is a large island at the very south of the Korean peninsula. It's a beautiful place that's a major tourist attraction. I've never really been outside of Seoul in Korea, and I think this would be a fantastic opportunity for me to see my ancestral country, make some money, and improve my Korean. However, if I take the job, I will probably not be able to do the Europe thing.

I'm now thinking of taking two years off, which I've thought about before. That way, I'll get to do everything I want with plenty of time to spare. I see no particular advantage of going into law school quickly: the job market sucks, and going into 1L without any regrets is probably extremely wise. Some of the downsides are that I'd be delaying the start of my career by a year, and I may be a bit rusty in terms of studying.

But the way I look at it, once I start law school, I won't have any more chances to simply enjoy myself and will have to be focused on my career. What's the rush? Why not take another year off?

What do you think? In my situation, would taking a couple of years off be worth it?

[s0ph1e2007]

I graduated from college in May, and I just took the LSAT this October. I always planned to take a year off before law school, which is why I was in no rush to take the LSAT while I was still in school.

But recent circumstances have me thinking about whether taking 2 years off is an even better idea. My parents recently moved to Korea, and I thought that taking the year off would be a nice opportunity for me to become fluent in Korean (I'm at an adequate, but basic level). However, I also wanted to live in Europe for a little bit on a working holiday visa (I'm a Canadian citizen). I just arrived in Korea after remaining on campus to study for the LSATs, and it seems that I can't do both - become fluent in Korean and live in Europe - in the time between now and next fall.

I just got an interview for teaching English in Jeju Island, which is a large island at the very south of the Korean peninsula. It's a beautiful place that's a major tourist attraction. I've never really been outside of Seoul in Korea, and I think this would be a fantastic opportunity for me to see my ancestral country, make some money, and improve my Korean. However, if I take the job, I will probably not be able to do the Europe thing.

I'm now thinking of taking two years off, which I've thought about before. That way, I'll get to do everything I want with plenty of time to spare. I see no particular advantage of going into law school quickly: the job market sucks, and going into 1L without any regrets is probably extremely wise. Some of the downsides are that I'd be delaying the start of my career by a year, and I may be a bit rusty in terms of studying.

But the way I look at it, once I start law school, I won't have any more chances to simply enjoy myself and will have to be focused on my career. What's the rush? Why not take another year off?

What do you think? In my situation, would taking a couple of years off be worth it?

1. it seems like you've already decided
2. most law schools will grant 2 (but not 3) year deferrals
3. do it, why not? you probably won't ever be able to do it again, so if you want to do it at all, now is the time

[gdane]

You definitely know what you want. Seems like you want us to tell you that youre not crazy.

Youre not crazy. This is a great idea. Take the time off and reapply when youre ready. Law school will still be here and the job market will be much better in 2 or 3 years. Youre better off waiting.

Good luck!

[vanwinkle]

Time off between undergrad and law school allows you to build real-world experiences that set you apart from applicants going straight from undergrad into law school. If it also helps you develop a foreign language, especially a language of a nation we do significant business with, all the better. That might come in handy someday.

[mpasi]

If you want to learn Korean, stay in Korea and teach. I have friends who have taught abroad, and traveled during their time off. You could take a trip to some European country during a school break, I'm sure. It doesn't make any sense to move to Europe with the intention of learning Korean.

[Wannabelawyer101]

Do it. Your advantages greatly outweigh your disadvantages.

[joeshmo39]

We only live once. Law school is going to be there in a few years, the other stuff never will.

[trudat15]

The only drawback is that it will be hard to become fluent in Jeju. They use a crazy form of Korean there. When I lived in Korea a few years back, not one person I knew (including native Koreans) could tell what the hell the Jeju people were saying when they spoke. When they show Jeju people on TV, they always use subtitles. In order to become fluent (at least when I was there), esp since you are teaching English and still using that the majority of the time, is the really throw yourself into the culture. Might be hard when Jeju is not really representative of Korea.

But anyways, take the time off. Gain some life experience, interesting perspectives, etc. Like the posters above mentioned, LS will be here when you are ready, and we'll probably be in a better economic condition than we are now.

[Eugenie Danglars]

The only drawback is that it will be hard to become fluent in Jeju.

+1

You will not learn standard Korean in Jejudo unless you take classes. I took Korean for three years in college, and my professor always said that Jeju people aren't "real Koreans." I've also heard the difference compared to Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese...

Anyhow, sounds like a great plan, just take the dialect issue into advisement. There are plenty of other places to get great teaching jobs where you can learn standard Korean.

[cinephile]

You may also want to look into programs for English teaching assistants in Europe.