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Hey all. Please don't quote.

I recently found out that I have to get urgent medical care before I start law school, which may force me to miss an entire week of orientation and at least half a week of instruction. Moreover, I won't be at 100% health for the first few weeks, even if I do make it to orientation on time. Also, my doc said it'd be easier (though not necessary) to be at home for a few months afterward in order to work with him on the other aspects of recovery. Basically, the worst case scenario is that I miss the first 2 weeks and the best case is that I move in on time but not completely recovered -- assuming I decide to attend at all.

Since I'm an 0L I don't know what I should expect from missing the first 1-2 weeks and/or not operating at 100% for the first ~third of the semester. How feasible would it be to pull this off? Would it make more sense to defer? I don't want to wait another year to start school, but I also don't want to jeopardize my health or my school performance. I am going to a T14, and I will contact the Dean of Students to find out what I need to do on their end. I will also, of course, consult with my doctor and family. I'm curious to know what current students think about starting late.

Thanks for your help, and again, please don't quote this

I would see if you could defer. Do you have something you could do for hte next year if you don't go?

Sounds pretty serious, why not defer for a year and get your health issues in order? I would assume the school would be amenable to that.

I agree. Missing orientation is probably not a big deal, but the stress of 1L will not do you any favors in your recovery.

I would say defer. Your first semester will be stressful enough as it is and 1L grades matter too much. Don't risk your grades or your health by pushing yourself to start school before you're in top health.

(Disclaimer: fellow 0L speaking here)

Well in hindsight the first week doesn't really matter that much at all especially orientation for the exam. Teachers purposely go slow, and most of what you learn that week will not be on the exam. Will you be strong enough to put in 8 hour days for the first few weeks? If so, I do not believe that you will have a problem. Later in the semester you will have to be able to turn up to 12 hour days, but that is not until almost the very end.

8 hour days, ha

if you can be good by mid to late september, and have the wherewithal to book it, no reason that you need to defer, and that's doing absolutely nothing until then.

if you can put in a few hours a day, class doesn't matter AT ALL, something it took me a couple of months of 1l to figure out

You can certainly survive but it's not worth it, especially because you don't even know if this will just be a two week thing.

mephistopheles wrote:8 hour days, ha

if you can be good by mid to late september, and have the wherewithal to book it, no reason that you need to defer, and that's doing absolutely nothing until then.

if you can put in a few hours a day, class doesn't matter AT ALL, something it took me a couple of months of 1l to figure out

I agree with you I was counting class in that 8 hour a day calculus. Maybe four hours of class then reading for 3-4 hours at night through. Yeah I think OP should be good until October depending upon what OP's work style is.