Late Bloomer 24 Pre-Law

<p>Hi CC’ers,</p>

<p>My brother is turning 24 this August and has never really been on the right track school wise. After high school he tried his hand at a community college and ended up dropping out. Now he’s older and says he’s serious about school and wants to be a lawyer.</p>

<p>He plans to start at either a community college or a local university (with low admission standards), then he aspires to transfer to the University of Illinois at Chicago (though he says UIC this may change) to major in political science.</p>

<p>I wanted to know:

  1. Will he have to take the SAT’s to transfer (he can’t remember if he ever took them in the first place)?</p>

<li>Any advice for someone who is embarking on their college career and intending to head to law school a little later in their life?</li>
</ol>

<ol>
<li><p>Even if he can't remember, he'll have to take them again because of the new SAT. Besides, huge assumption on my part, but I'd guess that SAT scores six years old won't be as competitive. ><"</p></li>
<li><p>I'll bet the parents forum will have some good advice.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>1) go to the school website of places he thinks he'll want to transfer to and see if they require SAT's from xfer students</p>

<p>2) Older students are often more focused and driven. A lot of kids go to college as the default option and waste a lot of time as they "discover themselves" and aren't fully appreciative of the opportunities college offers them. Taking a few years off can give someone the maturity they need. </p>

<p>I do suggest, though, that your brother make sure law is really right for him before going too far down the path. Often people don't have a realistic understanding of what a career will be like, including in areas like medicine, law, etc. He should take steps now to investigate a legal career such as searching this site for old posts (there was a great one a while back in the parents forum about the law), read books written for prospective lawyers about the career, meeting with lawyers informally for coffee or lunch to find out about their career, getting a job of any type in a law firm (typing, filing, etc) just so he can be around lawyers and see if he likes the job, working with the career center at his CC to find ways they can help him investigate law as a career.</p>

<p>Thank you! I'm trying to convince him to take the SAT's but I looked at UIC's website and they made no mention of SAT scores only GPA's for transfer students.</p>

<p>I told him it's possible to get through in 3 years, however I'm not sure if he should take his time and do internships over the summer (I'm also not sure if the internship hosts will favor students of the traditional age) or if he should do both, intern and take classes.</p>

<p>I've given him the Graduate School US News so he could read the articles on law school and look at the different schools and specialities.</p>

<p>I think once he gets back in school he'll really get a feel for if law is the right direction or not.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I think once he gets back in school he'll really get a feel for if law is the right direction or not.

[/quote]
This is just my opinion, but I think this is NOT often the case :( </p>

<p>Classroom work is very different than the career. There are plenty of kids out there who loved engineering classes but not the career, med school but not dealing with sick people, law school but not the practice of law. And the inverse is true, too; there are people for whom academics never clicked but who do fantastic out in the "real" world.</p>

<p>Hence my suggestion of getting as much real-world exposure, as early as possible, to find out if its the right path. </p>

<p>Try posting on the parents forum and get other adult takes, but I think many will agree with me.</p>

<p>Thanks mikemac! I think that can be all to true. I also posted on the parents forum along with the law school forum as well.</p>