JD or MPA Forum

[ladyteeks]

I have a BA in Political Science from John Jay College. I have always wanted to work in the public affairs field and also have a great interest in immigration. Ever since I was young, I have always wanted to become a lawyer but due to the cost of law school and projected employment I have been having a second thought about going to law school now instead I was thinking of pursuing a Masters in Public Administration. I was looking at CUNY Baruch college for the MPA Program. My goal is to attend one of the top 50 law schools if I decide to pursue a JD with a specialization in Immigration. Some people think pursuing MPA then JD is a waste of time while others think it's good for employment security. I also intend to work with Department of Homeland Security (USCIS) in the future.

I know that some schools have a joint JD/MPA but I will prefer one at a time.

Please I need honest opinions and advice.
Thanks

[Rigo]

0L here, but I was/am in the same position as you. I did my undergrad in Public Policy & Administration at a Top 20 university.
I always loved politics and wanted to work in government, so I decided to go to school for Public Admin instead of Political Science. I viewed and still view PA as way more practical than PS for someone who is really interested in government.
Graduated with a 3.9+ GPA, but I really grew disenchanted with my major and the career it was setting me up for. I would likely be a paper pusher in a government bureaucracy and spend decades working my way up to have any real say in anything, or switch and get more involved in politics and campaigns (which an MPA wouldn't help with). I entered undergrad with lofty goals of making a big difference right out the gate only to realize the way the world works. I knew I didn't want to go onto a MPA.
I realized that I am way less interested in policy than politics. I would much rather work with political messaging than with budgets, statistics, and doing all the legwork for higher ups.

The real crux of what I want to say is that Political Science is not like Public Administration. Politics is way more glamorous, at least in my mind, and they're actually pretty different fields.

From working and school, I realized that lawyers can play a more active role in our society than public administrators do. And this distinction, which is solely based on my experiences, is why I want to go to law school. For the chance to work in a dynamic field where I can make a tangible impact on people's lives. Please note that administrating is very important; helping people navigate bureaucracy and finding ways for government to be more efficient certainly can be rewarding. I just want something different.

You don't have to make decisions right now. How about you get a job or internship in government now and also put a solid effort into studying for the LSAT. After a couple of month, see where your practice test scores are at and then assess your options. Taking the LSAT doesn't mean you HAVE to then matriculate, so it doesn't hurt to at least start walking down that road and exploring more.
Law school is likely a very big mistake if you aren't 100% sure you want it, especially given the cost.

P.S. Immigration lawyers are very much needed, according to the news. If you really want to make a difference, then that's a good area. If I was interested in that area, then I would envision representing people for asylum or in back logged immigration courts much more fulfilling that working in administration. Maybe you could also look into nonprofit organizations dealing with immigrant issues and volunteer there once a week or so to help refine your goals and/or be inspired.

Good luck!

[twenty]

If you want to do "immigration law" I would wholeheartedly recommend studying for the LSAT and attending your local/regional school on a full ride scholarship. Immigration law generally relies far more on "gunning for it" than school ranking or even grades; Spanish, Tagalog, Mandarin, etc. language skills will be very valuable, as well as past work experience in immigration fields.

Don't do an MPA program for immigration policy unless it's Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, or maybe Berkeley. After that, you hit diminishing returns pretty quickly. Unless you have 3-4 years of solid full time work experience in immigration, a regional MPA basically won't help you at all.

[Lacoste]

I was definitely considering doing this dual degree option. I heard NYU's MPA program is nationally recognized (which is my dream school)