<p>I know this thread has already been spoken about several times but I still have some unanswered questions. I am interested in both law and banking.</p>
<p>I have been accepted to several schools already and my top choices are Bentley University, Fordham University, Stonehill College, Washington and Jefferson College, and Gettysburg College.</p>
<p>Which path is harder to take from a non-target school?</p>
<p>Does name recognition matter when applying to Law School?</p>
<p>What kind of work would you be doing?</p>
<p>What kind of hours on average do people work?</p>
<p>Is it smarter to come out of undergrad, get a well respected job and then try to get into a top MBA or Law School program? or, is it smarter to jump right into an MBA or Law School program so that you can curb your student loan payments for a little while?</p>
<p>I've also heard about a program where you can go to Law School for your 3 years, and then stay the extra year to get a joint MBA/JD.</p>
<p>What are your opinions?</p>
<p>If you have anything else to add I would greatly appreciate any advice.</p>
<p>You would be hard pressed to find anyone who would recommend going to law school over business school. My professors who jointly work in the politics department and law department advise AGAINST applying to law school. </p>
<p>In the current state of the economy, there are too many lawyers and not enough jobs. On top of that, law school can cost some $70,000+/yr. You can easily run over $100,000 worth of debt and NOT get a job when you graduate! Having a law degree does NOT mean financial success and well-being - that’s a myth! </p>
<p>Lawyers also work, on average, more hours than any other profession; yes, even more than doctors sometimes. </p>
<p>As far as getting into law school goes; have a high GPA, do very well on the LSAT. Where your undergraduate degree came from doesn’t matter much. </p>
<p>But, if you go to anywhere below the top 14 law schools, it’s highly unlikely you’ll get a job with a mega firm (in most instances, those lawyers who work in megafirms are the very well paid ones). But remember, these lawyers work somewhere between 60-80 hours per week; forget the 40 hour work week.</p>
<p>I understand that in this kind of an economy it is hard to find jobs. I am more business minded anyways, but I was thinking that having the power of law behind all of my future business decisions as well as myself in general would make me more credible.</p>
<p>The cost of being “more credible” (which a law degree may not even have that affect) can cost $77,000/yr (i.e. Columbia or NYU as well as many top law schools). Do you really think that getting a JD in addition to an MBA is potentially worth $231,000 plus the rate of inflation? (Also, add on the cost of your MBA)</p>
<p>If you REALLY want a JD, do a joint program with an MBA/JD. However, realize that the JD will not give you much more credibility in the business world. I would highly recommend against going for an MBA and JD separately because of the sheer cost.</p>
<p>Also, in general it is hard to find jobs in this economy yes. However, lawyers are predicted to have one of the lowest increases in employment rate in the near future - meaning they aren’t getting their jobs back at any substantial rate.</p>
<p>Despite all the evidence regarding the difficult current employment situation of newly minted lawyers, law remains the overwhelming favorite destination for colleges graduates at elite colleges. Obviously, they can’t all be stupid! At the same time, it is not a decision to take lightly in part because of the high cost of a legal education. I personally believe it is still a very interesting and potentially lucrative career, but you should choose it with your eyes open and not by default. </p>
<p>For the same reason that the vast majority of MBA applicants have typically several years of professional experience before they enroll in business school, an increasing number of law school applicants also have some professional experience before applying. There are really two major reasons for that:</p>
<p>First, by working in the field for a few years, you can better decide if law is right for you. It is very hard to tell what law is all about when you are still in college and there are many different types of legal careers from public service to corporate law in a law firm or in-house for a corporation. Your law school experience will also be more relevant if you have some understanding of the outside world and you will probably perform better. </p>
<p>Second, just as for MBAs working for consulting firms or IB, there is a need to acquire enough gravitas and experience to be able to interact with high level corporate executives (or argue a case in a courtroom). It is amazing how different a 28 year old with a few years experience may be perceived as compared to a 25 year old with no professional experience.</p>
<p>Unfortunately none of those schools are targets for Investment Banking so it will be tough to get into the field unless you transfer to a target.</p>
<p>Investment banking jobs aren’t going to be opening up to any of those colleges, 0% chance unless you are palpably smart and you network really well on top of it. Fordham is a good college if you get a scholarship. Transferring to a target might work out, but you need to get a really high GPA in college to transfer to a better one.</p>
<p>So the general consensus seems to be that becoming an investment banker from one of these schools would be very difficult. How would my path as a lawyer be from any of these schools? What would be the best choice?</p>