Considering Dropping Out Forum

[coulduseadvice]

I'm currently a student at a lower T14. I was satisfied with my grades last semester, but I am fairly certain they will be much lower this semester. law school was a mistake, and I have never been so miserable. If I cut my losses now, I will have about 25k in student loan debt. I have four concerns -

One year of law school will be a scarlet letter on my resume (shitty social science degree not a lot of WE).

My family will be upset/disappointed.

I will be unable to obtain health insurance (chronic illness).

If I keep this with me through the summer, to give myself time to find a job before committing to anything, my loan will disburse for next fall/the school/bank whoever will find some way to screw me.

Has anyone been through/thought about this? Any advice?

Thanks.

[pastapplicant]

I think you should go with your gut and not be afraid to drop out. It is a terrible idea to go through with something as consuming as law school if you are already this unhappy with it. 25K in debt is not a lot in the long run, and you should always look out for your own happiness. Your family will understand in time, and I think it would be unwise to go through with law school just for the health insurance.

[bowser]

how can you be fairly certain your grades will suck

[coulduseadvice]

Was considerably less motivated this semester. I don't know why I even mentioned it. Good grades wouldn't change the analysis for me, really.

[Nelson]

Why'd you go to law school in the first place?

[pinkcamellia]

Been there man.

1) Just leave it off your resume. The job I got after dropping out didn't even ask about my resume gap. Of all my interviews, not a single person asked about it. Relax

2) If your family loves you and you have a good relationship with them, they will support you. My parents were disappointed at first, but very supportive after I laid out the reasons why I made my decision. Now we're on great terms.

3) You can get health insurance through working. Also, chronic illness doesn't keep you from getting insurance anymore. I have chronic serious asthma and I am insured through work.

4) Withdraw ASAP before you take finals this semester. Defer your debt a little while until you can get on your feet - repayment doesn't start right away anyway. This way IF you ever want to go back, you go back with good grades on your transcript.

You can PM me for more details. I'm kind of the drop out specialist around here

[bananapeanutbutter]

1.) Law school always sucks. Real life isn't as bad, most notably because your performance isn't a "guess" and is much about real life as writing to a single person's interest(s).

2.) Many people are less motivated + you're naturally better at law school exams.

3.) You're already invested with a good chance at OGI. Just try, and see if you get OGI.

4.) Making >100k will suck regardless. There's a reason why we get paid more for not being special compared to anyone but other law students.

[coulduseadvice]

Thanks all. Sorry, OP was unclear - by #4 I meant applying to non-law jobs over the summer to see if I have anywhere to land before stepping off the drop-out cliff.

[09042014]

Go take a leave tomorrow, don't take finals half assed. If you hate it and don't want to continue, don't.

[bowser]

What about it do you hate so much? If you simply like, hate Torts and Contracts and CivPro, then I think that's not enough to give up at this point. If you've really considered the situation--school, the grind, the lifestyle, your ability to be happy doing this--maybe you should drop it.

[RodneyRuxin]

Finish the year out. Everyone hates 1L

[hephaestus]

How much are you paying per year? 25k is not too much that leaving would be unmanageable. Thats around what I have from UG and I recall it being around 300 a month.

[cinephile]

I love telling people to drop out, but now is seriously not the time. You aren't going to get any money back from your school if you withdraw at this point, so that doesn't make a lot of sense. And taking a leave doesn't make sense either because that implies that you might one day return -- which is the real question, do you not want to do this or are you just worried about grades? Why not try your best and see what your grades turn out to be this semester and then assess your situation?

[MinEMorris]

I think it would help if you shared a little bit about why you don't like law school. I'm not afraid to encourage someone who isn't enjoying law school to drop out, but I think what the person doesn't enjoy matters. If you hate the environment--people constantly freaking out, hyper competition, obssession with money and prestige, inflated egos, etc.--much of it gets better in the later years of law school, and you can pursue areas of the law that have far fewer traces of those things than others. Honestly, having interacted with students at many different ranks of law schools, I've found hanging out with students at higher ranked law schools (like yours) to be at times uninspiring. Most people are in biglaw-or-bust mode, and even the few people involved with things like public interest tend to be quite ambitious (e.g. they want to become ACLU fellows). Sometimes hanging out with people that came to law school with a simple but honest purpose, like helping represent the struggling labor unions in their home towns or doing immigration work for a certain population, can be reinvigorating and renew a sense of meaningfulness in the study of law, especially for certain personalities. People are different, but the point is that not fitting in with your peers or the law school environment isn't a reliable indicator that you aren't a good fit for law at large.

On the other hand, if what you hate is the substantive material or the prospect of spending much of your life reading and writing, for example, dropping out could make a lot of sense. Again, I think it would help everyone here if you elaborated a little.

[Myself]

.

[keg411]

Also, if you're under 26 (?) you can still get on your parent's insurance. If you hate it, you hate it. So you shouldn't stay in law school for the insurance -- or for the fact that your family may be disappointed. I'm sure they love you and want the best for you.

Conversely, you can give your 1L summer job a go and look for something non-legal while you do that, but then you're basically committing yourself to OCI/at least another few months at your school/not half-assing your finals

[Big Dog]

If I keep this with me through the summer, to give myself time to find a job before committing to anything, my loan will disburse for next fall/the school/bank whoever will find some way to screw me.

Negative. If you do not return for 2L, the school will return the fall 2L semester funds to the lender, and you will not have to pay anything on that disbursement/return.

[northwood]

As long as you stay registered for 12 credit hours over the summer, you are still considered to be enrolled at the school. Finish the year, and use the summer away from law school to reassess and re evaluate. While you are doing this apply for non law jobs. If you don't get a job by the end of the summer, and still don't want to return, then drop out. That way you can extend your grace period a few more weeks.

But you should decide whether to take leave of absence or finish the semester soon.

and talk to your family about this. People that truly love and care for you want you be mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy. Keep them informed!

[deebs]

It's not like it gets better after 1L, especially if you strike out.