I need help with this decision... Forum

[firecracker10]

I'm 32 and I have an MBA. I was recently laid off from my job and I'm considering law school right now. I took a LSAT practice test and I scored 171 (under timed conditions). I'm also around $15,000 in debt and need to pay that off before attending school...do you think that I could get hired by a prep company once I take my LSAT and make decent enough money to clear off my debts? Or should I just bag law school and try a MBA related job. My UGPA was a 3.0 by the way. Also: is law school even worth it for someone like me at this point? Thanks.

[scammedhard]

I think you should take the real LSAT and see what you get.

Is law school worth it for you? Only if you'd like to practice law AND if you can indeed pull a 170+ on the REAL LSAT. In that case, you can go to a T14 (like NWU) and realistically expect to make about 100-120K upon graduation. Obviously, you also have to factor what you expect to make w/o the JD as an MBA.

Since you are a professional, I am sure you have some friends, or friends of friends who are practicing attorneys; I encourage you to talk to them and ask them these questions. I gather that there is A LOT of unhappiness in the legal world, and you should fully understand if those issues can also affect you negatively.

Good luck with your situation.

[TTH]

I'm 32 and I have an MBA. I was recently laid off from my job and I'm considering law school right now. I took a LSAT practice test and I scored 171 (under timed conditions). I'm also around $15,000 in debt and need to pay that off before attending school...do you think that I could get hired by a prep company once I take my LSAT and make decent enough money to clear off my debts? Or should I just bag law school and try a MBA related job. My UGPA was a 3.0 by the way. Also: is law school even worth it for someone like me at this point? Thanks.

The big question is do you want to be a lawyer? If you do, then maybe. It sounds like you don't. Keep in mind what you're giving up to go to law school. You're going to add to your debt, not subtract from it (assuming you don't get a full scholly and have savings for living expenses). And even if you don't add a dime of debt, you're losing three years worth of earnings. Even if you just bagged groceries, that's a $60k investment, given your educational background, I imagine that lost earnings figure would be higher.

If you kill the LSAT, you might consider a part-time evening program. There are great law schools that have evening programs. Then you're getting your JD, but you can still do something in the business world.

[firecracker10]

My plan is to go to a full-time, top-20 program somewhere. And yes, I do want to go to Law School...I always did and now that I'm unemployed, this is a good time for me.

Everyone has missed the major question here...Can I get hired by a prep company somewhere to clear up my current $15,000 in debt? I scored well on my practice test and plan to continue to work on my LSAT score for the real thing this fall.

[Kilpatrick]

If you get a 171 on the real thing you will be at the cutoff for every prep company. You will be on the low end for TestMasters so that might hurt you, but definitely high enough for Kaplan. I don't know how quickly you can pay off that debt with a test prep job though.

[cinephile]

Do you think that I could get hired by a prep company once I take my LSAT and make decent enough money to clear off my debts?

Yes, there are several prep companies who would hire you with a 171. Although, since you don't have a real score, they might make you take a practice test at their office. With regards to making enough money teaching/tutoring to pay off your debts and cover current living expenses, I'd say no unless you plan on having a second job. Teaching and tutoring is normally done in the evenings (save for summers). So you'd be pretty limited with how many hours you could work -- maybe 6-9pm on weeknights and a few hours on Saturday/Sunday mornings. It's great as a second job, but not enough on its own.

[scammedhard]

Everyone has missed the major question here...Can I get hired by a prep company somewhere to clear up my current $15,000 in debt? I scored well on my practice test and plan to continue to work on my LSAT score for the real thing this fall.

You are thinking of changing careers, "investing" 200K+ and 3 years in a law degree, and your "major question here" is about your 15K debt?

[firecracker10]

I'm not worried about the 3 years or the $200K in student loans...If I go to a top school, I will be able to pay that off in a reasonable amount of time. My big problem right now is my $15K of current debt...and that I need to find a way to make it go away.

[Kilpatrick]

I'm not worried about the 3 years or the $200K in student loans...If I go to a top school, I will be able to pay that off in a reasonable amount of time. My big problem right now is my $15K of current debt...and that I need to find a way to make it go away.

It doesn't really work like that. You're not going to HYS with a 3.0 GPA, so wherever you do end up there's a chance of winding up unemployed and buried in debt. Not saying the 15K isn't important, but it definitely shouldn't be the major question.

[Horsefeathers]

I agree with the above posters about the relatively insignificance of 15k. That said,
I'll try to tackle your question on your terms.

While you could get an LSAT teaching or tutoring job with a 170 + REAL TEST score, it's not likely that you'd be able to generate high earnings by tutoring alone.

While you could do well enough during test-taking season, test prep is not exactly a full time job with consistent and steady wages. Especially if you're talking about Kaplan, The Princeton Review, or anything else in that tier, which will stiff you by starting you at ~ $25 per hour.
Not exactly bringing home the bacon.

You can shoot for a testmasters job in a major market, and make around $50 per hour. Blueprint is good in the wage department too.

[firecracker10]

There is still a chance of going to a top-20 school with a UGPA of 3.0 and a Real LSAT over 170.

[rinkrat19]

There is still a chance of going to a top-20 school with a UGPA of 3.0 and a Real LSAT over 170.

Certainly. And there's also a chance of not getting a high-paying job coming out of almost any school (outside of HYS).

[emkay625]

I used to teach for Kaplan as a second job. I would make about $400 a month.

Hope that helps.

[firecracker10]

Thank you...an extra $400/month is better than nothing.

I used to teach for Kaplan as a second job. I would make about $400 a month.

Hope that helps.