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Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:06 pm
by NoSpecialSymbolsPlz
I'm currently in med school and want to switch into law, preferably one of the top 3 (Harvard, Yale, or Stanford). My GPA is 3.97-3.98 (depends on rounding), and I took a diagnostic LSAT (2007 one) recently and scored a 165 without studying. I still have not started studying for the LSAT and I'm planning on writing the Sept one and applying this cycle. I also have not started on the application itself.
My question is whether or not this is feasible to accomplish in about 2 months to make it in time to study for the LSAT and apply competitively. I would only drop out of med if I get into one of the top 3 schools--otherwise I would try again next year. With this in mind, should I wait until next year to apply, or just go for it this year? Keep in mind that I already have secured all my referees and have all of my activities and accomplishments documented and compiled, as I needed them when applying to med. Also, bonus points to whoever can recommend a solid 1-1.5 month LSAT study plan.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:11 pm
by Big Dog
what was your undergrad GPA? (That;s the only GPA that counts.)
Yes, moving up to a 17x from 165 is doable with 2 months of prep work. But you'll need a little luck too, since every question counts at that level.
Of course the real question, is why change? (I'm guessing you are an international based on the phrase, 'writing the test'?)
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:12 pm
by DJ JD
What's the loss in taking the test, besides potential harm to your med school grades?
I think the real question here is why do you want to go to law school in the first place, and why would you only settle for the top 3 schools?
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:17 pm
by Mack.Hambleton
Why do you want to be a lawyer?
Do you really know what lawyers do, have specific goals etc, or are you just trying to appease Asian parents or something?
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:28 pm
by DJ JD
Mack.Hambleton wrote:Why do you want to be a lawyer?
Do you really know what lawyers do, have specific goals etc, or are you just trying to appease Asian parents or something?
I think they'd be more appeased if he finished med school... js
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:31 pm
by NoSpecialSymbolsPlz
Sorryy I have no idea how to reply to everyone separately or how to use this in general, so I'll just reply to all at once.
what was your undergrad GPA? (That;s the only GPA that counts.)
Yes, the one in the OP was my undergrad gpa.
Of course the real question, is why change?
I think the real question here is why do you want to go to law school in the first place, and why would you only settle for the top 3 schools?
I'm bored of med, it's not fulfilling anymore, and I want a challenge. I don't know much about the current law market but I have worked with some lawyers and on a bunch of health policy projects during undergrad, so I have some experience.
Do you really know what lawyers do, have specific goals etc, or are you just trying to appease Asian parents or something?
I don't really care about appeasing my parents--I'm bored with med and want something more intellectually challenging (I'm assuming law will provide this challenge but I also acknowledge that my knowledge is limited about the field, so I could be completely wrong).
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 6:34 pm
by NoSpecialSymbolsPlz
Do you really know what lawyers do, have specific goals etc
Kind of but not really. Do you have any suggestions on resources I can use to learn more about the field in general? IDK what my specific goals are, would be fine with going into politics or corporate law.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:24 pm
by Cogburn87
NoSpecialSymbolsPlz wrote:I'm bored with med and want something more intellectually challenging
The practice of law is not very intellectually challenging and it would be incredibly dumb to enter the profession for this reason.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:26 pm
by chuckbass
Cogburn87 wrote:NoSpecialSymbolsPlz wrote:I'm bored with med and want something more intellectually challenging
The practice of law is not very intellectually challenging and it would be incredibly dumb to enter the profession for this reason.
Law school itself is also not intellectually challenging. OP you should probs just stick with med school.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:32 pm
by NoSpecialSymbolsPlz
The practice of law is not very intellectually challenging
Law school itself is also not intellectually challenging
How so?
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:36 pm
by Mack.Hambleton
I agree with above maybe try and find a specialty that intetests you/is intellectually stimulating or something you could do with that MD like health consulting, business side of hospitals, MD/PHD stuff etc.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:51 pm
by rnoodles
I think it's important to also consider where you go to med school and whether you should be giving that up to apply to HYS (or law school in general). The costs are fairly high in that you could be giving up a spot at a great med school (you haven't said where, but I'm assuming a 3.98 is nothing to joke about) and could be risking giving off the impression that you're pretty flaky to adcomms just because you get bored with something.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 8:12 pm
by 03152016
law school can certainly be intellectually challenging/stimulating
it's just that you're not graded on the intellectual stuff. most of your finals will be racehorse issue spotters.
you could 100% glide by, skim the readings, read some case briefs, grab an old outline and probably do fine. lots of ppl do. maybe most
but if you want to have a more academic experience, that's available too
i think law is interesting. don't mind reading cases, like learning new ways of thinking about problems. developed relationships w some insanely smart profs. became much better at writing and even had an article published
i'm prob in the minority to have this view of ls on tls, but i kno some others feel the same
just kno that this stuff doesn't necessarily translate into performing well in law school
and not useful in the real world
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 11:14 am
by starry eyed
Mack.Hambleton wrote:I agree with above maybe try and find a specialty that intetests you/is intellectually stimulating or something you could do with that MD like health consulting, business side of hospitals, MD/PHD stuff etc.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 11:20 am
by Cogburn87
NoSpecialSymbolsPlz wrote: The practice of law is not very intellectually challenging
Law school itself is also not intellectually challenging
How so?
[A]ccording to Kafka, the study of law had the intellectual excitement of chewing sawdust that "had been pre-chewed by thousands of other mouths."
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 12:02 pm
by doublehoohopeful
starry eyed wrote:Mack.Hambleton wrote:I agree with above maybe try and find a specialty that intetests you/is intellectually stimulating or something you could do with that MD like health consulting, business side of hospitals, MD/PHD stuff etc.
Seriously. Get an MBA or a degree in healthcare administration if you want to go into consulting.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 12:04 pm
by thesealocust
Make sure you read everything you can about the legal industry, placement into legal jobs, and long term prospects of those jobs. It can be a great choice, and you've got strong stats to start with.
Also, there's not really a good reason to only consider Yale, Stanford and Harvard. Yes, they're the best, but for most career paths many other T14 schools still set you up well. If you want to work at a corporate firm in New York, for example, Columbia and NYU really aren't going to lag far behind those three, if they lag at all. You also might well wind up in the same career with less debt if you crush the LSAT and keep your options open.
The bitter people on this forum will probably continue pouncing all over you because it doesn't look like you've done much research, but everyone starts somewhere. Search old threads here, check out abovethelaw.com and lawschooltransparency.com and read books like law school confidential. The more research you can do before you begin studying for the LSAT, the better.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 12:10 pm
by juzam_djinn
Everyone bashing on the level of intellectual excitement in law school clearly has no idea about the grind that is med school. In comparison, law school is a nice walk in the park with some interesting normative questions and idealistic concepts to think about.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 12:14 pm
by Cogburn87
juzam_djinn wrote:Everyone bashing on the level of intellectual excitement in law school clearly has no idea about the grind that is med school. In comparison, law school is a nice walk in the park with some interesting normative questions and idealistic concepts to think about.
Weird strawman.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 1:06 pm
by Hutz_and_Goodman
juzam_djinn wrote:Everyone bashing on the level of intellectual excitement in law school clearly has no idea about the grind that is med school. In comparison, law school is a nice walk in the park with some interesting normative questions and idealistic concepts to think about.
I have a lot of friends who are doctors and they all say practicing medicine is not intellectually challenging. 98% of the time you are seeing the same garden variety problems. It's not "House." And the people you are dealing with are largely unhappy/stressed because they sick and loved ones are worried.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 1:08 pm
by A. Nony Mouse
Hutz_and_Goodman wrote:juzam_djinn wrote:Everyone bashing on the level of intellectual excitement in law school clearly has no idea about the grind that is med school. In comparison, law school is a nice walk in the park with some interesting normative questions and idealistic concepts to think about.
I have a lot of friends who are doctors and they all say practicing medicine is not intellectually challenging. 98% of the time you are seeing the same garden variety problems. It's not "House." And the people you are dealing with are largely unhappy/stressed because they sick and loved ones are worried.
Not sure that's significantly different from law, though. Legal clients are usually pretty unhappy/stressed, too.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:56 pm
by PoopyPants
Hutz_and_Goodman wrote:juzam_djinn wrote:Everyone bashing on the level of intellectual excitement in law school clearly has no idea about the grind that is med school. In comparison, law school is a nice walk in the park with some interesting normative questions and idealistic concepts to think about.
I have a lot of friends who are doctors and they all say practicing medicine is not intellectually challenging. 98% of the time you are seeing the same garden variety problems. It's not "House." And the people you are dealing with are largely unhappy/stressed because they sick and loved ones are worried.
What specialties? I was an OR nurse for almost a decade. Many procedures are pretty garden variety, but the neurosurgeons who did oncology, the gyn-onc guys, and some of the other stuff was pretty intellectual (from my perspective and theirs).
My wife is a pediatric heme/onc nurse. The docs she works with love the intellectual side of it. One of the docs specializes in neuro and conducts some really interesting research in that area.
Definitely areas in medicine that provide intellectual stimulation. Being bored in medical school doesn't mean you should jump ship. What year are you?
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:06 pm
by NoSpecialSymbolsPlz
What specialties? I was an OR nurse for almost a decade. Many procedures are pretty garden variety, but the neurosurgeons who did oncology, the gyn-onc guys, and some of the other stuff was pretty intellectual (from my perspective and theirs).
My wife is a pediatric heme/onc nurse. The docs she works with love the intellectual side of it. One of the docs specializes in neuro and conducts some really interesting research in that area.
Definitely areas in medicine that provide intellectual stimulation. Being bored in medical school doesn't mean you should jump ship. What year are you?
If you are really specialized (e.g. neuro, oncology, etc), you tend to just get the same case-mix, which makes the job repetitive and boring from my perspective; however, if you are not that specialized (i.e. family physician, trauma/ER) you never know what you will get which can help to make it more interesting. The field of medicine in general though is more hands on, and I would rather just sit back and think about stuff. I just finished first year and I hated it--it was exactly like studying for the MCAT--a ton of content and memorization--but without any need to critically think or engage higher reasoning skills.
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:08 pm
by NoSpecialSymbolsPlz
Make sure you read everything you can about the legal industry, placement into legal jobs, and long term prospects of those jobs. It can be a great choice, and you've got strong stats to start with.
Also, there's not really a good reason to only consider Yale, Stanford and Harvard. Yes, they're the best, but for most career paths many other T14 schools still set you up well. If you want to work at a corporate firm in New York, for example, Columbia and NYU really aren't going to lag far behind those three, if they lag at all. You also might well wind up in the same career with less debt if you crush the LSAT and keep your options open.
The bitter people on this forum will probably continue pouncing all over you because it doesn't look like you've done much research, but everyone starts somewhere. Search old threads here, check out abovethelaw.com and lawschooltransparency.com and read books like law school confidential. The more research you can do before you begin studying for the LSAT, the better.
Thanks for the support! I admit I don't know much about it, and I haven't done much research, so your recommendations will go a long way
Re: Current med student, want to switch to law
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:11 pm
by NoSpecialSymbolsPlz
Seriously. Get an MBA or a degree in healthcare administration if you want to go into consulting.
I am planning on getting an MBA if I stay in med and using it to work in a non-clinical business setting.