Need HELP choosing between 2 options!

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hi, I'm new to this forum, but it seems like the best place to ask this question. If someone could help me with this decision between two alternatives I'd greatly appreciate it.</p>

<p>Background: I'm currently finishing up my junior year at Rutgers majoring in philosophy and minoring in economics and am also a member of the honors college. Right now I only have a 3.3 overall gpa (3.9 in my major), but it's steadily rising (I did very poorly my first year, but have been on the deans list the last 4 semesters) I believe I'm on track to getting around a 3.5 overall by graduation. </p>

<p>Option 1: My original plan was to take off the year after I graduate and get a job or internship, but mainly spend a large amount of time studying for the LSAT to start law school one year after my BA. I wanted to take the year off in between for two reasons: 1. I want to make sure my senior year grades and gpa are taken into account and 2. I've delayed studying for the LSAT and want to be fully prepared rather than rushing it to get applications in soon. I also even considered taking both the LSAT and GRE and taking a shot at applying for dual JD/MBA programs. This is because I intended to focus on corporate law and am really not interested in litigation.</p>

<p>Option 2: I've been reading a lot about patent law and since I've always been sort of a computer/tech geek it seems really appealing to me. The problem is that my current major is not one of the ones required for patent law. So after I finish my first bachelor's degree I've been considering going back to get another bachelor's in computer engineering before going to law school so I'll be able to practice patent law. I've been looking at Rowan's electrical and computer engineering program. </p>

<p>Although I know majoring in philosophy is not that marketable on its own I have a strong interest in the subject matter and would not have chosen differently if I could go back. It's considered a very good major for law school and besides, my parents footed the bill for my first bachelor's so I won't start getting into debt until the second one and/or law school. </p>

<p>So, what do you think, option 1 or option 2?</p>

<p>Some concerns I have are:
1. If I already received a BA is it possible to get financial aid for a BS in computer engineering? I've read that sometimes getting a second bachelor's is difficult, but in this case my current BA or pursuing a masters wouldn't be sufficient.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How long would the second bachelor's degree take to complete if I've only taken the minimum math and science requirements (Bio/Chem/Pre-calc) for my current degree? I've always been pretty good at math and science and was in all the advanced classes in high school, but I didn't feel the need to take them and risk lowering my GPA when they weren't required.</p></li>
<li><p>If I go with option 2, is there any reason I should reverse the order and do law school before comp eng?</p></li>
<li><p>Am I not taking anything into account that I should be? </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I know this post is quite long, but if anyone has taken the time to read this far and could offer some input it would really mean a lot to me. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>For law school GPA purposes it’s probably best to stay at Rutgers for another year or two and planning a double major in CS/CE because the additional courses will raise your GPA for law school admissions purposes.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the reply! I considered that but I thought it’d be difficult to continue getting 3.75+ semester GPAs which has been needed to boost my terrible freshman grades. From what I heard that kind of GPA would be hard to maintain as a computer engineering major without a strong background in the field. Also I don’t believe Rutgers CE program is rated near as well as some other local schools.</p>

4

<p>Also from what I’ve heard law school only takes your 1st bachelor’s GPA into consideration?</p>

5

<p>If you haven’t taken calculus and calculus-based physics, you are probably looking at a minimum of 3 extra years to get an engineering degree, possibly even 4. Even though you wouldn’t need that many credits, engineering classes tend to have long chains of pre-requisites. I suggest looking up the major requirements for both Rutgers and Rowan, and the suggested 4-yr course plan (if available) to figure out how long it would take for you, playing close attention to pre-requisities. </p>

<p>Rutgers CE program is very good and well-respected locally, and better known than the younger program at Rowan. So, don’t let that be a reason to switch schools. (So you understand my perspective, I’m an engineering manager in NJ, and have hired many EE/CE/CS grads from Rutgers.)</p>

<p>However, your GPA will likely be hurt rather than helped by engineering, calc and physics classes. </p>

<p>Do you have room in your senior year schedule to take a few classes towards the computer engineering path, to see if you have the genuine interest and aptitude for it, before diving into a plan for a second bachelor’s degree? </p>

<p>I don’t really recommend getting an engineering degree just for the purpose of becoming a patent lawyer. I’ve worked with many patent lawyers, all of whom worked as an engineer for at least a little while before going to law school. Engineering school is hard, and you have to really want to be there to be successful.</p>

6

<p>First off, thanks a lot for taking the time to answer. One thing that I should have mentioned is that I go to Rutgers Camden (I got accepted into NB, but live in SJ so commuting is easier). I’m guessing you were probably referring to NBs CE program, though I don’t know much about R Camden’s either. My entire senior year schedule is booked already so I won’t be able to start any CE prereqs except for the small possibility of one math class. I didn’t think double majoring in Philos and CE was a good idea because it’d be very difficult to maintain a competitive GPA for law school so that’s why I didn’t go that route (supposedly they only look at your first bachelors GPA). </p>

<p>One reason I’m considering the change in direction from corporate law to patent law is because corporate law jobs seem to be drying up while I still see a good bit of adds for patent law. Computer science was actually my original intention when entering college before I went with philosophy/pre-law so I thought CE and patent law would be more up my alley. Although I haven’t yet gotten the technical math/physics education I’m semi tech savvy and used to build my own computers and do some programming for fun in high school, so I’ve always had an interest in the field. </p>

<p>I’m afraid that if I go my original corporate law route I’ll end up either not securing a job because of the huge surplus of lawyers and end up waiting tables or actually getting the job and regretting the specialization I chose :confused: You can’t do much with just a Philosophy BA so I feel like I need to choose between the two if I’d like to make a good living (oh and I am very interested in law so it isn’t all about the money). It just seems that technology and law together coincide very well with my person interests, but I’m unsure how feasible this is.</p>

7

<p>

</p>

<p>True</p>

<p>in addition, you probably will not be eligible for any need based aid other than possibly loans to complete the second bachelors.</p>

8

<p>In patent law, the prestige of the undergrad program trumps the prestige of the law school so you want to get your undergrad degree at the best school possible. The opposite is true for corporate law. As long as you do well in undergrad, it really doesn’t matter the source. What will matter is the prestige of the law school. I am finding, however, that choices are limited for those in patent law without advanced degrees. That will change as the economy and the job market improves - I hope.</p>

9

<p>Thanks, that’s some helpful information. I hear people say that Rowan has a “good” engineering program, but would you consider it prestigious at all? If so what might be better options in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area? Also that’s another thing I didn’t consider, is a BA in comp eng not sufficient or must I get a masters too? I figure the choice of major also comes into consideration, say, biology vs comp engineering? If I’d need a masters right away at least that’ll probably nix that option because I won’t even be starting law school till I’m 28 at that rate.</p>

10

<p>Yes, I had been referring to Rutgers NB. I don’t know anything at all about engineering at Rutgers Camden, and question if it even exists. </p>

<p>Drexel is probably the most prestigious engineering program in the Philly/South Jersey area, except for U. Penn, which I imagine is not a realistic option, since I think the transfer acceptance rate is impossibly low. I’ve heard good things about Rowan’s engineering program, but it is quite new, and I’ve never professionally run across a Rowan engineering grad. </p>

<p>No, you don’t need a master’s in engineering to get a job, or to become a patent lawyer.</p>

11

<p>Hmm I considered Drexel at first, but the tuition was something like 40k instead of about 6k per semester so that was obviously a big draw back for me.</p>

<p>So to really some it all up, if I have a passion for computers and technology, but also a passion for philosophy and law, is there anything completely crazy or potentially problematic about finishing my philosophy bachelors by 22, going for a second in computer engineering and finishing by 25-26 and then finally going to and finishing law school for patent law by age 28-29? I won’t need to pay for my first bachelor’s and possibly a half of my second (very grateful to my parents for this) but I would need to take on the debt for at least half of the second bachelors and all of law school. Comments/suggestions/criticisms and what not much appreciated!</p>

12

<p>Only you can decide if you want to make the big investment in time and money to pursue a second bachelor’s degree. But, don’t underestimate how hard it will be. A passion for computers and technology is not sufficient to be successful in engineering school - there is a huge amount of math and physics to get past first, and many engineering students end up changing their majors out of engineering because of the difficulty.</p>