Taking Time Off Forum

[soccerfreak]

Hey all,

I am in the process of applying to law schools this cycle, but have been thinking about taking 1/2 years off for Teach for America or overseas missions work. I know that once in law school, summers will be spent with internships and I figure this is my last chance to do something "different," before starting my legal career.

So I am wondering, has anyone here done this before? What did you do? Would you recommend it to others?

Is it hard getting back into the "school" mindset?

How does it work with applying to schools? Should I get continue the application process?

What exactly will schools grant deferrals for? Should I ask for a deferral, or just reapply in a year or two?

Will chances for admission be reduced? Improved? Unchanged?

How about scholarships?

[northwood]

it depends. a lot of people have taken time off from undergrad to law school. If you are going to go to law school right out of undergrad, then do it! it would make for an excellent topic for a personal statement.

As for your questions- if you know you arent going to go, why bother with the applications? They will be there when you get back
The rest, we need to know your scores and gpa to help you.

[soccerfreak]

it depends. a lot of people have taken time off from undergrad to law school. If you are going to go to law school right out of undergrad, then do it! it would make for an excellent topic for a personal statement.

As for your questions- if you know you arent going to go, why bother with the applications? They will be there when you get back
The rest, we need to know your scores and gpa to help you.

I'm currently a 3.8/167, planning on retaking the LSAT in December. Current top choice is Wash U in Saint Louis (where I'm from, where I'd like to live), and I'm also looking at Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. Willing to look at T14 if I get a higher score on the retake.

As for the second part, I'm not sure right now if I'm going to go, just strongly considering it. So basically I'm trying to decide how to proceed now without knowing for sure.