Question about law school and the LSAT's

[Anonymous]

Ok, so I am 33 and recently completed my coursework to obtain a bachelors degree. It took me many years since I was going to school part time, working full time, and then raising a family. I have two kids (15 months and 4yrs). Is it crazy for me to try and attend law school? Will I be the oldest woman in the class, or is there a good balance of all ages? My friend has recommended I take a prep course before I take the LSAT's. She recommends Kaplan. Should I take a prep course, and if so, is Kaplan the right one? One last question, since it is not feasible to move out of state, I want to apply to all local schools. Is UDC school of law a decent law school? I have of course, heard of AU, CU, and George Mason, but do not know much about UDC. Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

In my opinion, you will have a hard time getting a job if you go to UDC -- sorry, just being honest. Drives me crazy that some schools charge $75,000 plus when they know their graduates will not be very well respected. You really need to think about this and talk to UDC graduates and get their opinion.

[Anonymous]

Lots of different questions. As for the prep course, it depends on how motivated you are to study/ do practice tests on your own. I had a bad experience with an SAT prep course (my score actually went DOWN), and I had no money when I was applying to law school...so it was a no brainer for me. I still did fine and got into UVA. That said, I did have a friend who had done Kaplan a couple years earlier, and she gave me her old practice tests.

Different schools have different demographics. UVA was very young-- I felt old and I was only 24 when I started. But a lot of the local programs--especially if you go part time--have a much more broad age range.

I'm going to be brutally honest-- I didn't even know UDC had a law school--and I used to be a legal recruiter. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad; I was a recruiter a good 10 years ago and a lot can change in that time. I know, for example, Mason's program improved by leaps and bounds in just a few years.

When you ask if it is feasible to do law school at this point in your life...how do you plan to do it? Are you still planning to work full time and do school part time? I think that would be REALLY tough. But, you just finished doing that, so you would know better than I. At minimum, you would need a great support network, and be prepared to miss a lot of time with your kids and a lot of sleep. My DH did a course while working full time, and to say the least-- we were both VERY happy when it was done. And that was one course. But...he did it, so it can be done.

[Anonymous]

You won't be the oldest student in class esp if you attend a school with an evening program. Older folks with families work during the day and go to class at night. There are others who become full time students later in life. A prep course is a good idea since a good LSAT score can only help you. Make sure this is really what you want to do and you have support from your family because getting a law degree is challenging, expensive and time consuming. Agree w/ PP about UDC.

[Anonymous]

I can't speak to the school-life balance since I went right out of college, but hopefully can give you some feedback on law school and the process.

1. Taking an LSAT class could help you....or not. As a PP already mentioned, do you have the self discipline to prepare on your own? Also, are you naturally a good standardized test taker? if the answer to both is no, maybe a class is for you. But if yes, save the money for law school tuition and spend plenty of time at the kitchen table with practice tests.

2. You most definitely won't be the oldest person there. I was 21 my first year at Georgetown Law. Youngest in my class was 19. Oldest were two folks in their 40s. And that was the full-time day program. Evening/Parttime program is definitely skewed toward older students, you'd fit right in age-wise.

3. You didn't mention what you want to do after law school. If you are looking for a big-name legal practice, or basically practicing anywhere in MD or VA, don't bother with UDC. There are so many good schools in this area (GULC, GW, AU, GeoMason, Catholic, UMD), that unless you're looking to go to law school just for something to do (i.e. education for education's sake), I wouldn't count on being employable coming out of UDC. Unfortunately, it's just not a strong school.

[Anonymous]

I'd caution you to think long and hard before going down the law school path. It is super expensive. Unless you have parents or a spouse who can easily foot the bill, you will be stuck with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans (add up the tuition and tack on nearly $1000 per semester for books, study guides, etc.). Do you already own a home? If not, your potential student loan repayment may put that on hold. Many people think a law degree will magically set you up for a six figure salary -- and that simply is not the case. You would need to get a job at a medium to big firm -- which means you need to go to a great school and finish near the top of your class (ie: average students don't tend to get these jobs) -- and once you get the job you will essentially dedicate all your waking hours to billing. Of course, there are less stressful law-related jobs out there (federal government, nonprofits, etc.) -- but they don't pay nearly as well. So you need to decide why you want to go to law school, how you will pay for it, what kind of job you want, and if it's all worth it. So many folks with JDs end up leaving the practice of law, so I think folks are wise to thoroughly evaluate all options before taking a leap.

FWIW, I never took an LSAT prep class -- I reviewed the sample materials that came with the LSAT registration packet the day before the exam. I guess I left it up to fate. I did well and got into both state schools in my area. I graduated with relatively low student loan debt -- around $20 or 30k -- which I paid off in one year (thanks to the fact that I got married after my first year of law school and my husband paid for my tuition from that point on). I do policy-based advocacy and do not make a six figure salary Most of my friends owed anywhere from $50-100k thanks to undergrad and law school loans -- and it has taken some of them a while to dig themselves out (the exception: the ones who worked at big firms or married men with big salaries). Friends who went to big firms feel stuck -- they need the big money to pay off loans and maintain the lifestyle they've become accustom to (big houses and $$$ cars) but they hate the long hours and time away from their kids.

[Anonymous]

if you went to say, George Mason, in-state, and knew which type of law you wanted to go into, and then got a govt. job afterwards, it might be worth it. The govt. doesn't really care what law school you went to, for the most part, it's more that you have the degree. It'd be very hard to get a law firm job though from a 2 tier or the 4th tier law schools (UDC) that you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

one other suggestion- look into being a paralegal. They are in high demand and make a pretty decent salary (not obviously as much as an Arnold & Porter partner, but decent.)

Even legal secretaries, law librarians, and law marketing folks make pretty good coin, relative to other industries.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the idea of going to George Mason - a good enough school to get a government job (far better than UDC) and your loans wouldn't be that bad.

Disagree about the paralegal route. Yes, you could make close to 100K at a big firm eventually, but your hours would be crazy and with little ones at home I doubt you'd want that.

[Anonymous]

Have to speak up for GMU - if you do well there, you can certainly get a big firm job, if that's what you want. The instate tuition is a steal and even out of state is a relative bargain.

[Anonymous]

Just want to second what 09:02 is saying about examining why you want to go to law school and what are your work/life and economic expectations once you get out. Maybe you are very familiar with the legal world and job prospects and know what you're getting into - but if you're not, you should look into those issues before entering school and piling on debt, especially with two little kids at home. I know way too many lawyers who are bitter about having paid so much to attend law school and then having such mediocre job and earning prospects.

[Anonymous]

Re: prep classes--what kind of a test taker are you? Some people do well on standardized tests and others need to learn it as a skill, especially if you get test anxiety.

You may want to call Kaplan and see if you can just take a practice test there to see if you think the class can benefit you. Let them try to sell you on their course. My husband took their class before law school and it did help him, but he's a test-anxiety guy and really needed it. I took the LSAT just for the heck of it during the first semester of my MPA program (was thinking of doing a joint program) and scored in the 93rd percentile without studying.

Keep in mind that when the economy is not doing so well, people go back to school and the competition for admission for professional programs gets a lot tougher. My husband graduated from GMU in 2003 and has had great job success, but today he probably wouldn't get in there.

My BIL went to a 4th tier law school and isn't doing well--although that's probably more him than the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the idea of going to George Mason - a good enough school to get a government job (far better than UDC) and your loans wouldn't be that bad.

Disagree about the paralegal route. Yes, you could make close to 100K at a big firm eventually, but your hours would be crazy and with little ones at home I doubt you'd want that.

1) Just want to note that salaries at big firms are in excess of 100k even for first-year associates - most places in dc are in the 140k to 160k range. Of course, you can't get that kind of job coming out of UDC or even coming out of the middle to lower portions of your class in other area schools.

2) Re: LSAT prep - take a practice test now to determine what your score would be without further practice. Then consider the undergrad GPA and if applicable, prestige, that you are bringing to your application. E.g., my LSAT score was low-average, but because I had a very high undergrad GPA from a well-respected (but by no means Ivy) school, I got in everywhere I applied.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend being a paralegal for a year and seeing if you like the law firm atmosphere before investing in law school. It would have saved me three years and a ton of money -- yet another ex-lawyer

[Anonymous]

My mother went to law school when she was 46 -- she's a pistol! Graduated number two in her class.