Can an applicant too young to be disadvantaged? Forum

[jwalche]

In a hypothetical situation, how much age-related hardship a 15 years old applicant will experience with top law school admission, assuming that she has 4.0 GPA from a local university majoring Fine Arts with 165 points on LSAT?

[BearsintheRafters]

Please don't go to law school. You are too young to make use of this opportunity. I'm not saying that you won't get in, or even that you won't get good grades. However, you will be going through incredibly important developmental stages at a time when other, older people are taking full advantage of the opportunities that come in law school. I know someone who went to HLS when she was 18. She did not succeed AFTER law school, not because she wasn't intellectually gifted, but because she was incredibly emotionally stunted.

You can't approach life as a race. Please don't do this.

[KMart]

I'd imagine during OCI interviews you'd raise a lot of maturity questions resulting from your age. Why not experience life/work for a few years? You're young and the WE will help you later in interviews and applications to law schools.

[LawsRUs]

Please no. Life is so enjoyable--let her live it.

[runinthefront]

you know that whole "omg she/he's so young and talented!! that's such a plus!"

that doesn't really apply at all for OCI

assuming same law school grades, employers are going to take the 28 year old who worked for three years as a assistant manager at a retail company prior to law school over someone who still lists their high school student gov't position on their resume

[TheOnePercent]

Please don't go to law school. You are too young to make use of this opportunity. I'm not saying that you won't get in, or even that you won't get good grades. However, you will be going through incredibly important developmental stages at a time when other, older people are taking full advantage of the opportunities that come in law school. I know someone who went to HLS when she was 18. She did not succeed AFTER law school, not because she wasn't intellectually gifted, but because she was incredibly emotionally stunted.

You can't approach life as a race. Please don't do this.

HLS seems to have cornered the market on precocious law students.

[DELG]

To in part echo what others are saying, The Value of Law School isn't the instruction or the degree so much as it's the networking opportunity law school presents, and no 15 year old is in a position to use that well enough to justify the time and money. Don't get law school confused with other academic programs, where learning actually is the primary objective.

[TheOnePercent]

Don't get law school confused with other academic programs, where learning actually is the primary objective.

Yup: it's a mere credentialing process - a barrier to entry to a target job.

All else equal, if you were a hiring partner, would you trust client work to an 18 year old? Or a 26 year old w/ work or clerkship experience?

[Desert Fox]

lol at jailbait getting a job at a firm.

[jwalche]

Just for fun of it, let's continue this purely hypothetical situation;

1. What if this imaginary kid has been a full time sculptural art student since 11 and is used to having older friends anyway. And if she wouldn't start law school at 15, then she will start MFA program at the age. What can a 15yo student with ug degree do but going to a graduate school right away? Work?

2. What if she doesn't want to work for a law firm and wants to continue her art while solo practicing with help of mentors and doing volunteer works?

3. What if she chooses a school with heavy scholarship? - Would her age a problem getting scholarship if she had good GPA and LSAT?

4. There is a precedence for something similar, at least for age, and she - Kathleen Holtz - got a job and worked fine for a few years. Didn't it work out?

[Hikikomorist]

You'd also likely be passing up some extra points on the LSAT that would almost certainly be gifted to you simply as a result of aging.

[DELG]

Just for fun of it, let's continue this purely hypothetical situation;

1. What if this imaginary kid has been a full time sculptural art student since 11 and is used to having older friends anyway.

law students are hard enough to be friends with when you're exactly like them.

And if she wouldn't start law school at 15, then she will start MFA program at the age. What can a 15yo student with ug degree do but going to a graduate school right away? Work?

Not knowing what else to do isn't a reason unique to you and it's shitty no matter how old or experienced you are.

2. What if she doesn't want to work for a law firm and wants to continue her art while solo practicing with help of mentors and doing volunteer works?

What if she goes to law school, realizes sometime later she actually does want to work for a law firm/DOJ/whatever and spoiled her only shot at going to a good school and getting on the right path to make that career happen?

The other points were dumb so I won't address them

[TheOnePercent]

What if this imaginary kid has been a full time sculptural art student since 11?

Clay for an A! I rest my case.

(For a moment, thought we were talking about some aspie, intellectual savant - not a teenager getting her Patrick Swayze/Demi Moore on).

[BearsintheRafters]

.

[jwalche]

law students are hard enough to be friends with when you're exactly like them.

Let's imagine that ppl told her the same with quirky "art students," but there have been exceptions nonetheless.

What if she goes to law school, realizes sometime later she actually does want to work for a law firm/DOJ/whatever and spoiled her only shot at going to a good school and getting on the right path to make that career happen?

Would you approve it if she did get in to a good school even at a very young age?

[BearsintheRafters]

Sigh....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc

[DELG]

law students are hard enough to be friends with when you're exactly like them.

Let's imagine that ppl told her the same with quirky "art students," but there have been exceptions nonetheless.

What if she goes to law school, realizes sometime later she actually does want to work for a law firm/DOJ/whatever and spoiled her only shot at going to a good school and getting on the right path to make that career happen?

Would you approve it if she did get in to a good school even at a very young age?

being someone who gets along with quirky art students is already a huge disadvantage when it comes to making meaningful lifelong professional relationships in law school. this isn't about getting by of 3 years socially, it's about forming a professional network.

as to your next question, you almost certainly will not be successful getting onto and staying on the right "path" to maximize your potential due to your immaturity.

[Desert Fox]

you are coming off like a real retard for a supposed wunderkind.

[TheOnePercent]

Well look, nobody can stop this young Chinese prodigy from doing what she wants to do.

Insinuated by OP's poor syntax and tiger mom proclivities? Yeah, my latently racist mind went there as well.

[03152016]

don't do it
you could turn out like ronan farrow, a fate worse than death

[052220152]

90% of law school socializing involves drinking or binge drinking. you wouldnt really fit in.

[preamble]

How many reading and writing intensive courses are in this hypothetical fine arts program?

[03152016]

How many reading and writing intensive courses are in this hypothetical fine arts program?

why

[preamble]

How many reading and writing intensive courses are in this hypothetical fine arts program?

why

I was just wondering what a fine arts major is like; is it all painting/sculpting/artstuff or is it not that purely technical?

[rubberplant2020]

I think the TLS mods make random topics so they can keep getting traffic.