Taking a year off before LS. OK or insane? Forum

[lisjjen]

I really want to go to law school either to work in Capital Venture or Policy, but I really want to travel the world too. On a scale of 1 to bat-s**t crazy, how insane would it be to go teach English in China for a year and then come back?

Part of the reason I'm pondering taking a year off is to decide if my career goals would be better served by doing an MBA or a MPP instead of a JD. The bat-s**t crazy part comes into it when I look at how well my cycle is going. Would I risk everything by turning all of these wonderful offers down to go to Guangzhou or Shanghai? (Or maybe Seoul or Tokyo).

P.S. The upwards grade trend I sold myself on in my original application ended in the fall semester of my Senior Year.

[Haribo]

On the scale of crazy, taking a year off is about a -1. Do it.

[eaglemuncher]

On the scale of crazy, taking a year off is about a -1. Do it.

I agree, even if you were 100% certain about going to LS i would still stay its not crazy at all. You should def do it.

[sarahh]

So you have already applied and gotten acceptances? If your GPA dropped, you may not get the same acceptances if you apply again in a year or two, but it is not a good idea to go to law school if you are not sure if that is what you want to do.

[dddhhh]

Take a year off, that's not crazy at all. If you've gotten accepted to your dream school ask to defer for a year.

[cinephile]

Do it! You'll have the opportunity to go to law school next year, but if you don't do it now, when will you be to travel the world for a long period?

I've been teaching abroad for 2 years and I highly recommend it. Helps you find yourself, as corny as that may sound.

[lisjjen]

Do it! You'll have the opportunity to go to law school next year, but if you don't do it now, when will you be to travel the world for a long period?

I've been teaching abroad for 2 years and I highly recommend it. Helps you find yourself, as corny as that may sound.

That doesn't sound corny at all. I was kind of thinking along those lines anyways.

What does sound corny is I had the Louis Vutton ad playing in the back of my head when you said it would help me find myself.

[txadv11]

I took a year off and haven't found a decent job or done anything productive (damn you TLS) for ME, it wasn't a great choice, for others I know it can make the difference between a successful 1L and burnout.

[magicman554]

What are your numbers?

[veragood]

Best decision I ever made.

It's like the best possible thing you can do for your mental health

[bhan87]

I really want to go to law school either to work in Capital Venture or Policy, but I really want to travel the world too. On a scale of 1 to bat-s**t crazy, how insane would it be to go teach English in China for a year and then come back?

Part of the reason I'm pondering taking a year off is to decide if my career goals would be better served by doing an MBA or a MPP instead of a JD. The bat-s**t crazy part comes into it when I look at how well my cycle is going. Would I risk everything by turning all of these wonderful offers down to go to Guangzhou or Shanghai? (Or maybe Seoul or Tokyo).

P.S. The upwards grade trend I sold myself on in my original application ended in the fall semester of my Senior Year.

It's crazy NOT TO TAKE A YEAR OFF

Go have some fun and travel Asia while you can!

[JakeDelhomme]

What's the rush? We're all going to be working until we're 70 anyways. I took a few years off to travel, work and live a little. I'll still be a 20-something-year-old with a JD. Once we start our legal careers, it'll be a lot harder - if not impossible - to take a year "off."

[lisjjen]

Now I'm just trying to decide rather to be responsible and go to China because I can save more and learn some Chinese for business purposes, or just take a year long vacation by going to Costa Rica.

[paulinaporizkova]

Now I'm just trying to decide rather to be responsible and go to China because I can save more and learn some Chinese for business purposes, or just take a year long vacation by going to Costa Rica.

Costa Rican vacation. Enjoy your time off before this becomes your whole life for the rest of your life.

[dakatz]

Abso-freakin-lutely take a year off to travel if its something you want to do. Law school isn't going anywhere. But time to travel and enjoy yourself? That goes away and doesn't look it it comes back once you start this whole law school thing. I took a month-long roadtrip around the US the summer before law school and it was the perfect way to do something rewarding, clear my head, see something crazy and new, etc. Def do it.