Too Old for Law School? Forum

[JG7773]

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[PoliticalJunkie]

Probably more opportunities if your current work is related to your future career.

[JG7773]

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[Richie Tenenbaum]

I'll be 25 when I start law school and I don't consider that old at all. For someone who is going to be 40+ after graduating law school I would think the investment of time and money on law school would become a bigger concern; for late 20s or early 30s, I think that concern, in regards to age, should be much less.

[PDaddy]

This is really a much discussed topic. No age is too old. If you are 50 and want to be a lawyer, go ahead and do it.

[superserial]

27 isn't that old; my group of friends ranges in age from 22 to 33. I think you'll have better job opportunities ITE than those of us who came straight out of UG without any meaningful work experience... you know how to interview and you have experience beyond working at a summer camp for minimum wage.

[englawyer]

Probably more opportunities if your current work is related to your future career.

Sadly, I am not in anything related to finance. I am in New Business Development for a technology company.

i bet that work experience would be very appreciated by law firms. business development is an essential skill in any field

[RickyRoe]

This is really a much discussed topic. No age is too old. If you are 50 and want to be a lawyer, go ahead and do it.

I'm not sure about that. going to law school at 50 would mean you will graduate when you are 53-55. Who is going to hire and train a 55 year old with no experience?

[jetlagz28]

Hello all,

I am currently in the process of finishing up my undergrad in Finance, while working full-time. I will be pushing 27 by the time I receive my undergrad (better late than never, right?). My desire has been to attend law school and ultimately practice securities and exchange law; however, considering I would be entering my 30's at the time of graduation from law school. With these facts, would the investment in time and money be a wise move? Would I still have ample job opportunities despite my elevated age compared to the competition?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
JG

You are not too old. Don't let being 2-4 years older than the average law student stop you from entering a career. Once you graduate, you'll be 30? So What? Does it matter that your not 27 when you graduate?

[holydonkey]

I'm 28 and will be 29 when I start in the Fall. It's a little scary entering school again with younger people, but I keep telling myself, if not now, when? Better now than 5 or 10 years from now. If law school is something you know you want to do, now's the time.

[Schrute Farms Beets]

This is really a much discussed topic. No age is too old. If you are 50 and want to be a lawyer, go ahead and do it.

I'm not sure about that. Going to law school at 50 would mean you will graduate when you are 53-55. Who is going to hire and train a 55 year old with no experience?

I think the point is that a 53-55 year old may not need as much training as they have been working for nearly 40 years. Theoretically we are talking about a 53-55 year old that has been a professional. I saw a thread on here with a man who is about 50, a medical doctor, triple board certified and has/had been accepted to most of the T10 (or maybe it was T14). Seems like schools aren't too worried about training him.

Anyway the OP is 27, that is far from 50. So any age issues that could be a concern with a 50 year old I doubt are even relevant with a 27 year old. FWIW I am around your age (completed graduate school and working for a few years). I worried about age at first but a few years makes no difference. I think your professional experience will be valuable in some way --though not directly related to the type of law you want to practice. I am not suggesting it will give you a huge advantage over other students, but it's valuable.

There will be older students in your class. When I took the LSAT there were about a handful of test takers that had to be 40+. Check out the median age at the schools to which you are applying/have applied. At a school like Northwestern which basically has a work experience requirement you're bound to have a significant number of students older than 23 entering. Also, ask ad-comms about non-traditional students. I think you will see your situation is far from being a rare case.

Good luck!

[heyguys]

27 isn't bad. Honestly, I think that 25 is probably the ideal age for law school entrants, so you're really just on the flip side of where I was at when I started (23)

[SBimmer]

OP: Chase your dream no matter your age. I'll be a lot older than you once you complete law school (and I don't look my age).

[yours]

If you think 27 year olds should not be earning advanced degrees, what do you think they should be doing?
I think you need to expand your perspective a little bit.
Some might say that 27 is too early to be mapping out the rest of your life. The windows of opportunity are closing for some things, but not law school.
You can even have kids in your thirties now.

[Miznitic]

I'm 34, graduated from FSU in '08, and will be starting this Fall. 27 is definitely not too old.

[Drake014]

Hello all,

I am currently in the process of finishing up my undergrad in Finance, while working full-time. I will be pushing 27 by the time I receive my undergrad (better late than never, right?). My desire has been to attend law school and ultimately practice securities and exchange law; however, considering I would be entering my 30's at the time of graduation from law school. With these facts, would the investment in time and money be a wise move? Would I still have ample job opportunities despite my elevated age compared to the competition?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
JG

I go to Berkeley Law. The average law student is 27. So if you're going by average, you're about average. However, if you're speaking of being too old in a philosophical sense, then I can't tell you the answer to that. I'm in my mid to late 20s and a 1L and I feel too old for this shit.

[r6_philly]

I am 33 and I am just graduating UG this year. I feel like I have a HUGE advantage over my younger classmates in just about everything. They are learning some lessons about life that I already had the pleasure of grasping. You will appreciate your age.

[vlsorbust]

I am 33 and I am just graduating UG this year. I feel like I have a HUGE advantage over my younger classmates in just about everything. They are learning some lessons about life that I already had the pleasure of grasping. You will appreciate your age.

+1 (except I'm 32)

[r6_philly]

I am 33 and I am just graduating UG this year. I feel like I have a HUGE advantage over my younger classmates in just about everything. They are learning some lessons about life that I already had the pleasure of grasping. You will appreciate your age.

+1 (except I'm 32)

I just turned I stopped caring the day I turned 30. I will revisit that decision when I turn 40.

It helps that I look young I must say. Feels good everytime I get carded.

[Bert]

You're not too old -- I am actually a couple years ahead of you (32 to be exact) and entering law school this fall. From what I can tell from the firm (V250) I am leaving, age isn't as important in the hiring scheme as people think. I definitely think that we have an advantage over some of our peers because of having been out in the "real world".

[notanumber]

I'll be in my 30s when I graduate from law school. I've already met a bunch of people my age at ASWs and such.

Yesterday I had a long conversation with a friend of mine who graduated from Yale law a couple of years ago. She didn't really enjoy her time there but told me that (and I'm paraphrasing) "the people who I think got the most out of it were the older students. They went in with an agenda and found the resources to move forward with that agenda. They also avoided most of the stupid drama and seemed to generally get fantastic jobs." She then told me that she wished that she'd spent a few more years "on the outside" before returning to law school.

[r6_philly]

I'll be in my 30s when I graduate from law school. I've already met a bunch of people my age at ASWs and such.

Yesterday I had a long conversation with a friend of mine who graduated from Yale law a couple of years ago. She didn't really enjoy her time there but told me that (and I'm paraphrasing) "the people who I think got the most out of it were the older students. They went in with an agenda and found the resources to move forward with that agenda. They also avoided most of the stupid drama and seemed to generally get fantastic jobs." She then told me that she wished that she'd spent a few more years "on the outside" before returning to law school.

I think I got more out of 1 semester of my UG than my classmates do their entire 4 years. She is right, older students are better at figuring out what they want and how to obtain it. There are so many resources at school that the younger students are just not utilizing. Older folks also spend less time socializing and dating, which increase efficiency and productivity.

I honestly think I would not have enjoyed school and benefit from it if I got a chance to go years earlier. I appreciate being older and everything that I have gained from my age.

[Bert]

"the people who I think got the most out of it were the older students. They went in with an agenda and found the resources to move forward with that agenda. They also avoided most of the stupid drama and seemed to generally get fantastic jobs."

Glad to hear this. Sometimes when I think that my soon-to-be peers will have certain advantages, I remind myself that I know exactly why I am in this and I feel that this gives me a leg up.

[JG7773]

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[kn6542]

I think the point is that a 53-55 year old may not need as much training as they have been working for nearly 40 years. Theoretically we are talking about a 53-55 year old that has been a professional. I saw a thread on here with a man who is about 50, a medical doctor, triple board certified and has/had been accepted to most of the T10 (or maybe it was T14). Seems like schools aren't too worried about training him.

Yeah, not really. The point regarding training isn't with respect to the SCHOOL, but the employer who will hire him. Law schools like to have a few older students to round out the class, but firms do not want to train a person with employment baggage who will be working under ppl who are far younger than him. In some legal tracks, that's less of a problem, but I really don't think firms are excited about older ppl. The OP, however, is not really in that position, and probably has just the right amount of experience to demonstrate that he can handle shit without bringing along the baggage.