How hard is life as a part time law student? Forum

[gopats]

How hard is life as a part time law student?,Is it really worth it to go part time? how much debt is the average part time student able to take off? and full time vs part time pros and cons???? A big thanks to anybody that can help!

[blsingindisguise]

How hard is life as a part time law student?,Is it really worth it to go part time? how much debt is the average part time student able to take off? and full time vs part time pros and cons???? A big thanks to anybody that can help!

These questions are way too broad and vague to be answered. How "hard" life is will depend on your situation outside of law school (work, family etc.) and how hard you choose to study. Your debt will depend on scholarship, cost of the school you choose, how much you can contribute from work and savings, etc. Whether it's "worth it" is a very individual choice.

[LS-boundNYC]

I do it, and it works for me. I'm single, work a full-time job that is not extremely demanding, have very flexible with hours, and make an entry-level salary. It's not paying for school by any stretch, but it's allowing me to attend a good school in my target market. My debt level will be ~75-80k less, since I'm not taking loans for living expenses.

It's not easy by any stretch. You have to be extremely committed to a study schedule if you want to make top grades and do a journal. I've had to cut out a ton of my social (and dating) life in the last 2 years, but I definitely am still able to make time for my friends and family, especially on the weekends. I basically cram all my studying in on Saturday and sometimes on Sunday afternoon. You become more efficient as time goes on, but you don't want to skimp. Ever. Too much is at stake, especially since a lot of evening students have a reputation for laziness (which is total BS, IMHO).

My job is great because it allows me to get actual legal writing experience, so I'd recommend that if you go this route. So far, it's been a positive impression at OCI, and I spent part of a screener talking about the merits of a document I drafted last month.

[GULCsect7]

Evenings students have a reputation for laziness at your school?! Why? I've never asked any day students what they think of the PT students, but my impression is that the professors definitely do not think of us as lazy.

[TLSanders]

At many schools, the difference in the work load between full and part time is not very significant. For example, a full time student might be taking five classes and a part time student taking four. But, that part time student will typically be working a full time job at the same time. So, he's substituting a 40 hour per week job for a roughly 15 hour per week commitment to a single class.

Different schools may structure differently, but one I'm familiar with holds part time classes from 5:30 to 9:45 p.m. four nights a week. That means that the student with regular full time work hours must basically work 8-5, go straight to school without even a break for dinner and then get home after 10 pm and squeeze in homework before getting to bed.

A lot of people do it, but it's definitely a challenge; unless you're only working part-time, it's more demanding than going full time.

[raperez129]

Tough, but not impossible. Keep in mind it will be much more intense than an undergrad or grad program. I did it, working 45-50 hours a week, married, with kids. My spouse was basically a single parent for 3.5 years. There is very little if any social life. If you approach it with realistic expectations, it's not terrible. As a part-time student, it's important to stay on schedule, complete the reading, and keep up the outlines. Cramming and procrastination will set you up for failure.

[Clyde Frog]

The life of a part-time student is complex and full of peril.

[#NotACop]

I'm kind of piggybacking off this thread. I'm doing part-time as well and I'm working a set 40 hours a week. My job involves almost no stress and for the most part I can study 5 out of the 8 hours each work day (unless something strange comes up.) I live with a girlfriend but have no kids. My main question is how feasible is a journal and/or clinic during the part-time program, and working full time?

[TLSModBot]

Hi #NotACop - rising 3E at GULC here. A clinic is hard to do with a full-time job: I haven't done one so my experience on that front is limited. I have, however, managed to work in journal (staff work and writing my own article), moot court (competing and helping out with managing the budget/logistics of the team). I'm not 'full-time' anymore but work 20-30 hours at my regular job and 10-15 as a faculty research assistant (plus the countless hours of being a first-time dad this past year... not even sure how to quantify that). Journal, moot court, all the extra-curriculars are absolutely possible with a full time job because they demand relatively little time at a single point and the hours are flexible. You can't expect that same kind of flexibility for clinics.

[nagy1]

^this was super helpful. Did you change jobs recently or did you just cut down your hours at your original position?

[#NotACop]

Hi #NotACop - rising 3E at GULC here. A clinic is hard to do with a full-time job: I haven't done one so my experience on that front is limited. I have, however, managed to work in journal (staff work and writing my own article), moot court (competing and helping out with managing the budget/logistics of the team). I'm not 'full-time' anymore but work 20-30 hours at my regular job and 10-15 as a faculty research assistant (plus the countless hours of being a first-time dad this past year... not even sure how to quantify that). Journal, moot court, all the extra-curriculars are absolutely possible with a full time job because they demand relatively little time at a single point and the hours are flexible. You can't expect that same kind of flexibility for clinics.

This is incredibly helpful, thank you for the insight . Unfortunately, I think my school requires that every student does some clinical work, so I'm assuming they have a program for night students that makes it a little more feasible.