A few questions about law school and my options?

Question

I am currently a freshman in college, and I am a Political Science major, minoring in Economics. I will be graduating in 2 years (May 2009) due to AP credits, and coursework I have/will be doing over winter/summer breaks. I will be 21 by the time I finish my bachelors degree, however this brings up a few questions as I have intentions on continuing to law school:

1. Will it effect my chances at getting accepted to a good law school if I decided to wait to enter/apply to law school and get a "real" job for a year or two?
2. What kinds of jobs could I possibly do with a degree such as that (political science, with a minor in economics)?
3. Am I making a mistake by graduating early? Should I just stay the full four years and possibly turn the economics minor into a major, or pick up another minor (such as french)?
4. Will my freshman year grades now be even more important in deciding my acceptance to law schools as I will only have three years of college?

5. As I will not be in college the full 4 years, does that now mean that I have to take the LSATs my "sophmore" year (next year) if I will be applying to law school the next year? OR if I wait, can I wait to take teh LSATs?

Oh, can anyone also suggest any good law schools in Pennsylvania (where I currently attend college) as I'm most likely going to be practicing in the state of PA.

Answer 1

1. My academic advisor in college recommended that I stay 4 years when I could have graduated in 3. I used the extra year to complete an additional minor (in addition to 2 majors) and write an honors thesis for one of the majors. I think this helped my law school application in a huge way, because I was able to add the extra credentials, show that I could handle a lot academically, and gave admissions committees 33% more of an academic record to evaluate. You're in no rush to graduate from college. You can practice law for 40 years, or stay an extra year in college and practice for 39 years. It's doesn't make a difference in the long run, so use the extra year to stay in school, improve your law school application and academic record, and get into a better law school (or get more scholarship money). It'll pay for itself.

2. I worked as a legal assistant during my year off between college and law school with similar academic credentials. It wasn't that exciting, but it made me happy to go back to school, knowing that I'd come out at the top of the totem pole instead of the bottom.

3. See my answer to #1 above. Yes, I think you should stay a fourth year.

4. Effectively, yes. Your freshman grades will make up 33% (approximately; assuming an even distribution of courses all three years) of your cumulative GPA. If you stay a fourth year, it'll be 25%. So if you had a slow freshman year, you can pretty much make up for it with an improved senior year. And admissions committees also look at trends in your grades, so if you can show improvement in your senior grades, that'll be valuable as well.

5. You can take the LSAT any time you want, but keep in mind that the score is only valid for 5 years after you take it. If you plan to take a year off after college, I would recommend the June LSAT right after your graduation. So if you want to start law school in fall 2010, you should take the June 2009 exam in preparation for applying in October 2009 (law schools operate on rolling admissions, so the earlier you apply, the more spots available in the incoming class, and therefore the better your chances of getting in). If you don't do well in June, you'll have plenty of time to retake the exam in October. Also by taking it in June, you'll take advantage of the fact that your mind is still in "school mode," and it'll be easier to study for and do well on the LSAT.

6. Obviously the highest ranked Pennsylvania law school is UPenn. Because it's an Ivy League school, it's difficult to get in, and tuition is expensive. These are all the ABA-accredited law schools in Pennsylvania:


* Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law
* Duquesne University School of Law
* University of Pennsylvania Law School
* University of Pittsburgh School of Law
* Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law
* Villanova School of Law

Keep in mind also that what you learn in law school is not state specific. You learn legal theory and principles in law school, and you learn state-specific laws while studying for the Bar exam and while practicing law. Depending on the ranking of schools you're considering, it might be preferable for you to go to a higher-ranked out-of-state law school than a lower-ranked in-state school. (But if the rankings are very close, the geographical preference will outweigh the rankings.)


Good luck with your educational career! It's great that you're already considering law school as a college freshman!

Answer 2

1. No, it shouldn't affect your chances of getting into a good Law School. Just don't get a job at McDonald's or some other job that really doesn't have a future. (Not that McDonald's is a bad job)

2. You can get jobs in Law Enforcement, Politics, and a host of other fields just because you have a degree. Your major and minor will only add to your marketability.

3. No, you are not making a mistake graduating early. It's not like high school where you will be missing a while bunch of school activities by not being there.

4. ALL your grades are important for Law School admissions.

5. You can take the LSATs whenever you want to. You just have to work with the admissions people at the school you want to go to, because they are the ones who access your results.

6. I don't know of any good law schools in Pennsylvania, but you can contact your State Bar Association for a listing of law schools in your State.