<p>Hi everyone, </p>
<p>I'm tyring to map out my course. It looks like I'll be attending George Washington University this fall as a junior. I will be studying Interenational Relations (unsure of the concentration) at the Elliot School of International Affairs. I'd like to apply to a top law school for my graduate degree but I'm not sure about the advantages and disadvantages of the M.S.L and the J.D. I'm not sure if I actually want to go into practice as an attorney but I do want a good legal base because I'll probably go into business dealing with government/international matters. Should I just do an M.S.L degree (one year) or go all the way for a J.D. and get even more education? At what point would I reach a point of diminishing return? </p>
<p>How important is it to finish the J.D. in order to pass the bar (if I ever wanted to in the future just in case I changed my mind)? </p>
<p>I know of at least a few schools that if you are in the M.S.L. program then you can't change your mind later on and go with the J.D. instead so I'd like to start planning now. </p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>