<p>I posted this in the parents forum but since my D is planning on attending law school, this may be a more appropriate place.</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore and says she will basically be finished with her bachelor's degree in poli sci/minor in philosophy after her junior year. She would like to stay on at her college to play her sport (she is on a merit scholarship so money is not an issue) and is thinking of perhaps changing her phil minor to a major. Other posters have said she could pick up some classes that would help her on the LSAT and/or in law school. </p>
<p>Her GPA after freshman year was 3.8 and so far, she is getting A's this semester. Her interests are in education and children/women's rights. She is a also a good math student (and has expressed that she misses math). </p>
<p>Any suggestions on how to make the most of this "freebie year"?</p>
<p>Demosthenes49, law school is her plan. My husband and I suggested that she major in stats or a major that would allow her to choose between starting a career or law school. She is very happy with her major and actually wants to double major in philosophy because she loves her current classes.</p>
<p>Blue bayou, she knows GPA is more important than another major/minor. She’s going to talk to the Pre law advisor for suggestions, too.</p>
<p>I generally recommend against pre-law advisers. I spend way too much time correcting their bad information. I’m a little curious why she wants law school. Her interests are education, women’s rights, and math. Law will cover only one of those, really, and only in specific jobs.</p>
<p>Demosthenes49, I truly don’t know why she wants to go to law school. She was involved in mock trial in high school and decided that she wanted to be a prosecutor then. So far, her plans haven’t seemed to change. This summer, she will be a foreign government intern and when she returns, she will visit with a family friend of ours who works for a non-profit focusing on children’s/women’s rights. My husband and I feel she will ultimately find her career path through these (and future) experiences. The way we look at it, she will excel in whatever she chooses to do as long as she loves it! (Practically speaking, we have a stake in this law school plan as we offered to help pay since she got a full ride for her undergrad.:))
I will encourage her to speak to other advisers in order to gain more reliable info.</p>
<p>95% of LS admissions is GPA+LSAT; LSAT is slightly more important to most top law schools. Thus, besides more A’s, she needs to rock the LSAT (since it is ~50% of admissions). More importantly, if she really rocks it, she could be looking at some serious merit money from excellent law schools. (And saving money — yours or hers – is a good thing since the legal profession is really bad right now and her interests (women’s/children’s rights), which leans towards PI, don’t tend to pay well.)</p>
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<p>That’s fine in theory, but ‘excelling’ does not pay the bills. Law grads have a bimodal income stream – at least of those able to find legal jobs. Many law school grads cannot find legal jobs.</p>
<p>From what you’ve described, I am concerned that she has built an image of law without anchoring it in experience. I think she definitely needs to spend more time interning/working in law before she commits to law school. The nonprofit is decent experience (assuming it does legal work and your daughter will be involved in that aspect) but the other two probably won’t help much. An internship with your local District Attorney/Public Defender/Legal Aid office would get her better acquainted with what law practice actually looks like. After graduation, being a paralegal for a couple of years is also a great way to get experience (and a common choice among law students). </p>
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<p>Honestly, this just isn’t true. Law school works by taking a bunch of people with similar histories (good grades, good LSAT scores) and pitting them against each other in a zero-sum game. I don’t doubt your daughter’s work ethic or ability, but law school is filled to the brim with good work ethics and good abilities. Entering law school is a much more involved decision than just desire. You mentioned that you want to pay tuition. That’s certainly admirable, but you should understand you’re potentially talking a quarter million dollars. That’s the kind of bill that sticks with you.</p>
<p>^yes, I agree she needs more experience with law. She knows the Asst. DA and also other attys who have offered to be mentors. My husband and I have been the ones encouraging her to sign up for other internships (abroad and with nonprofits) to see if she might discover other career possibilities. </p>
<p>I find that we must often tell her to slow down. A judge recently told her to enjoy her time playing her sport and not to rush through school. He said law school would always be there. She has until next year to sort out her senior year classes so I think I should just step back. </p>
<p>This forum has been so helpful and I know she’ll be able to ask her own questions when (and if) she decides law is for her.</p>
<p>Thank you Demosthenes49 and Bluebayou, for your replies.</p>
<p>Cartera, I’d actually disagree with that a little. I have a friend who prosecuted people who committed sex crimes against minors. People who commit other forms of child abuse, domestic violence, etc. also often get prosecuted. So I could see how that could work. Of course, prosecutors often end up prosecuting women and children (well, teenagers) so there’s that. </p>
<p>I agree with the others who have said she should try and maximize her GPA and do an internship in the legal field (a DA’s office, an organization supporting domestic violence survivors, the local Child Protective Services agency, whatever). Also, I’d suggest doing everything possible to learn another language. I think Spanish is probably the most versatile. If she can go to a foreign country for some immersion, so much the better. Obviously there’s only so much you can pick up in a year, but a little improvement is better than nothing.</p>