<p>I'm a graduating UCLA student (undergrad), an international student, and a bit older.. When I moved to the States I had the plan of going to law school (always wanted to become a lawyer) and after my first 2 years had a great GPA (3.9)..now after almost 4 years, my GPA fell a little bit, but my LSAT score was terrible!</p>
<p>I took the LSAT's while taking a lot of classes, so didn't have much time to prepare and applied to law schools anyway. I have a lot of pressure of going straight to law school (age, parents, it was my plan, etc). I didn't get into top schools.. UC Irvine waitlist, Chapman: 40% scholarship, New York Law School: almost full-ride, LMU accepted but haven't got package yet so not sure if I got a scholarship...</p>
<p>So question is: Should I attend law school (with these choices) and if so, which would make most sense? Money is an issue I'm considering, but I also want to know opinions on whether it makes sense to attend one of these if I'm not SURE if I want to practice.</p>
<p>Are you a US citizen or do you have a means of obtaining US citizenship? If not, you probably won’t be able to find employment as a US lawyer and so you shouldn’t go to law school. What is your GPA/LSAT?</p>
<p>I’m not a citizen, but can legally work for a year after graduation and can also get a company to sponsor a work visa for me, so that’s not really an issue. Current GPA 3.9 from the first two years (I transferred to UCLA) and currently 3.2-3.3, not sure how they calculate the final GPA, I heard they take all courses from the 4 years. LSAT 154 (terrible I know).</p>
<p>Actually, it just may be an issue because the legal market is flooded with new law school grads who cannot get jobs. </p>
<p>In order for someone to sponsor and hire you, not only will it cost a lot of money, they essentially will have to say that the job that they have a job that no one who is a US citizen/permanent resident will be able to do (highly unlikely).</p>
<p>Thanks for taking that into consideration, but I’d prefer advice on the actual question (the law school options and whether it makes sense if I don’t want to practice). I have contacts with companies/people from my country here in the States, so I have a pretty good chance of getting a job for a year or getting sponsored… So advice on the original question would be appreciated :)</p>
<p>If I’m reading your post correctly, you have a guaranteed job upon graduation. If that’s correct, attend the law school which will cost the least(or preferably free).None of the schools you have listed is particularly highly ranked, so pick the one which will cost the least-because you’ve got a job upon graduation. Very very few prospective law students can say that.</p>
<p>@crankyoldman It’s not 100% guaranteed, but once I get the degree it’s a pretty good chance. Thanks for the advice. My issue is also that I’m not sure if I want to be an attorney, but I’ve always had the “desire” to become a lawyer and until recently thought I’d like to practice. I don’t know if it’s smart to get the JD to “fall back on” if my company that I’m in the process of starting does not do well.</p>
<p>Actually, you probably can’t. To get a work visa authorized the employer has to show an extraordinary need that a citizen cannot fill. This works fine in fields like Computer Science, where there aren’t enough coders to go around. Not so in law, where every year graduates outnumber jobs 2:1. If you don’t already have citizenship or have a path to get it, in all likelihood you’ll graduate law school only to have to leave for another country where that law degree will likely be useless. If you have EU citizenship maybe you can get into the UK. Firms there hire US-trained lawyers in their capital markets divisions. Otherwise law school probably isn’t worth it.</p>
<p>With a 3.6 (averaging your 3.9 and 3.3) and 154, the only worthwhile next step is to retake the LSAT. You need a score at the very least in the mid 160s. If you haven’t graduated and can still avoid doing so, now would be a good time to not graduate and go take some fluff courses to boost that GPA.Of the schools on your list, Irvine might be worth considering if they throw enough money at you. With your numbers however, that’s unlikely. Retake and reapply and that can change.</p>
<p>I think pretty much all would agree if you can go for free-or really cheap-that’s a big consideration. But let me ask-if you’re starting a company, aren’t there more practical degrees for you to consider-maybe an MBA-rather than “fall back” on a JD if you’re not sure you want to practice law?
I’d argue that you shouldn’t go to law school unless you want to practice law-and if you’re going to be in business, then maybe a business degree would be best.</p>
<p>how do you plan to pay for LS? As an international, i assume that you are ineligible for federal loans, which is how nearly all US students pay for LS. Even with free tuition, you still needs room and board and books, which in NYC, is mighty expensive.</p>
<p>Echo the others – the chance of finding a US company willing to sponsor an international JD, just becos, are really low. There are thousands of American citizens who earn a JD every year that cannot find a legal job – approximately half of the grads. It makes little sense for a company to pay extra for visa fees when there are plenty of JDs available who don’t need visas, and many of those are from much better schools than you have a choice of.</p>
<p>An MBA is a much better ‘fall back’ option.</p>