Burned-out Engineer asks: Can I get in, and is it worth it?

Graduate School Law School
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<p>I'm an engineering student at a top school who probably shouldn't have majored in engineering. I persevered in it because I believe in its importance to society, not because I am actually any good at it. It is to the point that I can't see myself subjecting myself to further struggles after graduation. So now I'm thinking about law, an area in which I can still be in contact with technology through such lenses of environmental, internet, patent, or contract law. I am reasonably confident that I would be good at law, and enjoy law.</p>

<p>The question is: can I get in, and is it worth it?</p>

<p>Another way of looking at it: can I get in a school that is worth it?</p>

<p>First, to give you the necessary data for the "can I get in" half... My GPA is <em>just</em> under 3.0 but probably won't rise at this point. That's a result of A's aplenty in my liberal arts courses, but relatively bad grades in technical courses. (Sigh... that really should have told me something, shouldn't it?) I have scored above 170 on LSAT practice tests, so I'm confident there. I haven't taken any courses that would be directly applicable to law school, except perhaps two ethics courses that I did well in. There's not room in my schedule for anything more. Any recommendations for law schools that would take me, that also offer technology-related tracks?</p>

<p>I've heard law schools only care about LSAT/GPA. What if one's good and one's bad? I haven't been lazy, only unlucky medically and not particularly gifted in my chosen field -- hence the wide variation in my grades between liberal arts (where I rock the house) and engineering (where the house rocks me).</p>

<p>As for whether or not it is worth it (and I mean financially, not in terms of effort)... I'm not in a position to spend anything on law school without loans. I know that many people happily take on the expense because the top schools they intend to attend are a good investment and the loans will be repaid quickly. While I know I can get into some law school somewhere, it's just not the same as graduating from a top 10 in terms of how quickly it will be possible to repay loans. I strongly believe in avoiding long-standing debt. I worry that law school right out of college for me will mean long-standing debt, and that I'd be more successful taking some other path. What do you think?</p>

<p>For instance, despite my lack of success in undergrad, I could probably subject myself to a masters' in my field of engineering and work for a couple of years... then apply to a top law school with accomplishments to distract from my "abysmal" undergrad GPA and a little more on-the-job knowledge of contracts, etc. Applying in three to five years, I would be in a better financial situation and I'd be a more competitive applicant. But I'm so very burned out on engineering...</p>

<p>Sorry about the "epic," I hope some of you made it to the end and have encouraging words or sage advice... I could really use it.</p>

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<p>Well, Ariesathena is the person for you to talk to. But I would say your plan to work for a few years and then apply makes sense, based on everything I've learned about law school admissions. Not sure why you would need to work in engineering, though. Since you are at a top school now, why not explore various job options you might enjoy more? Companies in some fields -- consulting, for example, which involves creative problem-solving that you might find appealing -- will pay for a couple of years of professional school. I'd visit career services or peruse their website and get some ideas. Good luck.</p>

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<p>I had similar stats to yours - low engin. grades, good liberal arts grades, and a host of medical problems. Admissions is NOT fun, let me tell you. Generally, you'll have very varied results - into some good schools, rejected at mediocre schools. There was a thread a while back about law school admissions & USNews rankings; basically, law schools have a lot of incentive to reject otherwise qualified people because they don't have the "stats" and it could affect the rankings. Generally, you might have more luck at Top 25 schools than second-tier schools - just something I saw from experience and have heard from other people. They are looking to round out their class and have enough students with good stats so that taking an engineer or two won't hurt them. </p>

<p>Don't worry about specific liberal arts courses for law school - all you need is a bachelor's degree.</p>

<p>You could work in other fields (as AParent5 suggested) for a few years prior to law school. A paralegal position is the traditional pre-law school job, but there are others.</p>

<p>What about taking night classes in something besides engineering? If your liberal arts course grades are good (and your courses are close to a major), then you could take more courses in those and maybe do that masters, which would also make your application look better. </p>

<p>I wish I had done this: calculate your liberal arts GPA and list that somewhere on your application. I really think that some law schools look at a low GPA and assume that you can't do the work or you aren't motivated... so calculate the liberal arts GPA so that you can easily be compared to 99% of the other law school applicants - who don't have engineering degrees. </p>

<p>Consider law school at night. You could work during the day and avoid taking on so much debt. Generally, night school is a bit easier to get into, and law schools don't have to report the GPAs of their part-time students for the rankings. It's four years instead of three. If I remember correctly, American has slots on its Law Review for night school candidates. </p>

<p>More musings... I spent a year after graduation being an engineer, although I really did not want to be one. It was good because I had a ton of time to research and apply to law schools - tons of applications because of my split stats. I was also burned out on academia, and the year off really helped. Law school grades are extremely important, so make sure that you go into your first year well-rested and motivated. Don't do engineering if you hate it, though. I know someone who sent in law school applications after the deadline because he couldn't stand the thought of one more year of engineering. Happy law student, though.</p>

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<p>Thanks Aries. I'm still on the fence about being an engineer, but the increased focus on research in grad school seems more agreeable to me than just classes as in undergrad. And I'd be looking at a masters' anyway, most likely. (I have financial incentives to remain a full-time student for a fifth year.) I plan to apply for jobs, also, including some in consulting. Right now, I'm trying to keep all options open; it's hard to tell what I'm going to feel like doing at the end of this year. It goes through cycles... when I wrote that post I was feeling more down on engineering than usual.</p>

<p>Thanks also for the tip about the liberal arts GPA... great idea!</p>

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<p>Canyonfloor: most law students do not attend the top 10 law schools. If you think you know in what geographical area you want to practice, then check into the better local or regional schools in that area. With your LSAT and an OK GPA, which you have, you may be able to get admitted there. If you can graduate from one of those with a good class standing you may be able to get a good-paying position as an associate in a good local law firm, or even the local office of a good national firm.
No guarantees, but your chances will be better outside the top 10, or 30, law schools, and the education can still be excellent.</p>

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<p>That's one of my problems, I don't really have a local geographic area that I'm attached to, so it's hard to speculate. :-P The top schools set you up better to compete nationally... that's the main reason I'm concerned, not out of some obsession with prestige.</p>