Top Law Schools

I've been thinking about applying to law school for a while now. I grew up around lawyers (parents of close friend), and since before I went to college, I've been pushed toward law. I've never been opposed to it, and I think I could enjoy being a lawyer, but I recognize I neither have the experience in nor the enthusiasm for the profession to really say.

I had a devastating undergrad experience, for many reasons. My grades weren't terrible, but my GPA (around 3.5) is not competitive. I went to an elite college, which is among the top ten law schools, and I feel that besides my GPA, I would be an attractive candidate to many law schools. I have not taken the LSAT, or any practice tests. I won't try to predict what score I could get, as I've heard the LSAT is a unique test, but I do believe it will be far better than the average for the schools outside the T20 I'm looking at.

I have a bachelor's and master's and spent the last school year teaching at the secondary level. I've learned a lot as a teacher, and my confidence has dramatically improved. I am much better prepared now than I was six years ago for school, and I want to prove to myself that I can thrive in an academically demanding environment. At the same time, I don't want to put time and lots of money in something I am not extremely passionate about, but hope I will develop a passion for.

Given my questionable motivations, I want to know from people who've been through the whole thing if it's a worthwhile for me to even try. I'm 23, a URM, and plan to teach for at least a few more years before applying.

wirmpicdh wrote:I don't want to put time and lots of money in something I am not extremely passionate about, but hope I will develop a passion for.

And that's exactly why you shouldn't go.

I think I could enjoy being a lawyer, but I recognize I neither have the experience in nor the enthusiasm for the profession to really say.

This is a really good place to be, IMO. Most people try to force a square peg into a round hole, but you're already a few steps ahead of them by recognizing that you don't actually know whether or not you want to be a lawyer.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself. What kind of law would you like to practice? If you knew you would make $65k a year, would you still want to be a lawyer? Is your impression of lawyering shaped more by actual lawyers or by the cultural conception of a lawyer? Do you handle high stress environments well? Do you handle long hours well?

If you feel like law is something you want to try after ruminating on those questions, then maybe law is worth investigating. At the very least, it doesn't take too much time, money and effort to take the LSAT and see where you end up. I had a 3.45 GPA and had offers with scholarships to some of the lower T14, so your GPA isn't going to rule you out, especially with URM status.

I am much better prepared now than I was six years ago for school, and I want to prove to myself that I can thrive in an academically demanding environment.

This is a really bad reason to go to law school. If you want to challenge yourself academically, find a cheaper, more broadly useful way to do so. The only reason to go to law school is because you need a law degree to sit for the bar exam. Going for other reasons is a waste of a ton of time, effort and money.

Give my questionable motivations, I want to know from people who've been through the whole thing if it's a worthwhile for me to even try.

Find some more (young) lawyers and befriend them. Ask them about what they do and how hard they work and whether they enjoy being a lawyer. After a while you'll get a picture of whether the benefits of being a lawyer are worth weathering the detriments of being a lawyer. Sometimes it's easy to pick out those people on TLS who shouldn't do law school, but it's not glaringly obvious to me that you should or shouldn't.

One word of caution. You already have two degrees. Most people with master's degrees who come to TLS asking about law school are either looking for a mid-life career change or are trying to delay the real world by spending another three years in school. You don't really fit into either of those categories, but make sure that you go to law school for the right reasons (e.g. you want to become a lawyer). There are scores of lawyers out there who regret the very thought of going to law school because they went for all the wrong reasons.

Thanks for the reply. You've given me a lot to think about.

I would be content making 65k if I was fulfilled by the work I was doing. I make less than that now, and I don't mind because I find the job truly rewarding.

I don't have great answers to the other questions, but I definitely won't make a hasty decision. I'm satisfied by what I do, and if in a few years I feel the same or better about it then I wouldn't give that up for a vague interest in the law and a hankering for a challenge.

But I can't ignore this persistent interest I have. It's growing and why I want to use the next few years to explore and ultimately decide whether or not to pursue it.