<p>I am a freshman in college. I thought I was on a more business track until now, when I’m starting to have doubts. After consulting several people about law school, I am beginning to take an interest. I honestly barely know anything about law school/being a lawyer, etc. and just wanted some quick answers (sorry if this is all info I could easily find elsewhere).</p>
<li><p>Do people usually plan to go to law school right into college? If one day, maybe halfway through soph. year or during junior year you decided to do so, would it be too late?</p></li>
<li><p>I know you need a very high GPA and LSAT score. What other major requirements are there? For doing business, summer internships are highly important. Is this the case for law school?</p></li>
<li><p>What would you consider good personality traits to have to be successful in law school and beyond? I enjoy reading and writing. I’m introverted, although I don’t mind meeting people (I am doubting if I should continue with business because of this…the whole networking, having to impress people with your words is not something I can do confidently.)</p></li>
<li><p>Is being a lawyer pretty much what people do after law school? I can only picture a lawyer doing a case in a courtroom, or someone reading long texts and writing up a verdict. Is this basically what law entails?</p></li>
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<p>Sorry I had so many questions. I would really appreciate anyone who answered some of them for me. I am really looking for some answers. Thank you.</p>
<p>(I can't answer all of your questions, but the info below comes basically from reading these boards, doing my own research, and talking to many other law-bound students.)</p>
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<li><p>Some people choose law in high school, some decide during college, and some make the career change after twenty years in the workforce. You're fine not being sure yet. It's common (and generally advised) to take time off between college and law school...you can get some work experience and make sure that law is the right path for you. It's good that you're thinking about this now because it gives you plenty of time to play with the idea, explore the field, and so forth. Don't feel like you're on a racetrack, though. Law isn't like med school, where if you want to go right after college, you need to know as early as possible. </p></li>
<li><p>GPA/LSAT are the real meat of your application. Other things depend partially on the school(s) that interest you, as some have reputations for caring more about EC's or work experience. Commonly cited examples of schools that care about more than just numbers include Yale, Stanford, Northwestern, and Berkeley (although obviously the claim is true to some extent about many other schools, also). Nice EC's/internships/jobs will certainly add something to any application (not to mention your college experience in general), but they're not prerequisites for admission to law school. </p></li>
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<p>Your school should have a career office which should be able to give you basic info on law and law school. They might be able to loan you reading materials, give you some brochures, connect you with alums, talk about your own school's law school admissions track record, or direct you to your school's pre-law advisor. It's also likely that they host events/discussions geared toward students interested in law. Any of this would be good for you to check out. Good luck :)</p>
<p>I would just like to add one additional question: if I am interested in law school and want to put myself in the best position possible should I apply (in several years), is there anything I should start doing now? i.e. if you want to go into business, people say you should read the Wall St. Journal and network. Anything like this for law, or am I thinking too much into it?</p>
<p>First of all, if you know that you'll be interested in grad programs, try to get involved at school. You don't have to join every club out there, but don't look back in three years wondering why you never did anything "productive" in college. I've seen a few students decide grad plans late and then try to cram in EC's. </p>
<p>I've heard that reading something like the WSJ is good "mental exercise" for the LSAT. I've never really enjoyed reading the news, so I admit that I ignored this advice. That said, if you like reading the paper or you have easy access to it, it certainly couldn't hurt. I guess that something like this would be particularly beneficial if you weren't already in a major that required you to do lots of reading (I figured that as a philosophy major, I had my critical reading bases covered). There are also a few posts around here regarding courses that might be helpful-ish for law or the LSAT. General consensus is that certain courses (particularly intro logic) can help, but you don't actually have to take the courses to get the info...you can self-teach it or pick up similar strategies from regular test prep materials. Still, look around the law board and you'll find some info.</p>
<p>Again: talk to the career office at your school. It's likely that they'll be able to help you work out a time-line, or that they'll have literature re: the LSAT, the application process, etc. that will give you some ideas. As a freshman, I'm inclined to say do well, make a good impression on your professors, involve yourself where you can, make a casual appointment with career services, and put this on a back burner for awhile :)</p>
<p>Read a large number of challenging books. Learn to read critically. That involves trying to decide whether a writer has a valid basis for his/her assertions. Subject your own written assertions to the same level of scrutiny. Try to eliminate all errors of grammar and spelling from everything you write, whether you’re drafting a term paper, composing an email, or posting a message on College Confidential. (No one achieves perfection, but good writers aspire to it.) </p>
<p>I re-read The Elements of Style once a year or so.</p>