<p>hi, I'm a sophomore in high school and I am debating between being a veterinarian or a lawyer. What are the pros and cons of both? I love animals, science and anything medical related but I feel in my heart I love anything law or history related as much or even more. I love math, but face it, I'm no whiz, but I am great when it comes to memorizing facts and I've always loved history, and I'm strongly, STRONGLY fascinated with criminals and the criminal justice system. Just these past months I've decided to become a vet and I'm volunteering/shadowing veterinarians at a local vet hospital. but this past week I'm leaning towards law school. I love them both, what are your suggestions? besides, what can one who's 15 do in high school for ecs regarding law school? I know that comes after undergrad but it's one of my talents and i want to use it. I can't volunteer at a law firm. I'm too young.</p>
<p>I'm a 4.1 GPA student in mostly honors courses (except math, and my electives and religious courses as they provide no honors religious classes or electives) next year i'll be in all honors and AP courses.. </p>
<p>so what do you guys think? thanks :+)</p>
<p>I think it’s too early to make a decision. Do well in high school, see how you feel in a year or two.</p>
<p>It’s much harder to get into vet school than law school. (Fewer vet seats available.)</p>
<p>The ec you should pursue re law future is debate. You will learn to research, think on your feet, speak confidently. Many attorneys were debaters in high school and undergrad. </p>
<p>Writing skills and critical thinking are also important. Read the NY Times and your local paper. Get familiar with local and state politics and issues. </p>
<p>Another ec is involvement in local politics or elections. Leadership roles at school are also important (student council, class officer).</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids I’m not too young…most of the students at my high school know what they’re going to be by freshman year… so I’m tying to decide. I’m positive that I will not pick anything out of the medical or law related fields regarding my future career. I used to want to be an anesthesiologist or neurosurgeon but then I remembered how I’m not great at math. so I ruled those out.</p>
<p>upennvetgirl–you do realize that most COLLEGE students change their major 3 times before graduation. </p>
<p>You will probably change your mind several time between now and high school graduation. It’s perfectly normal to do so.</p>
<p>RE: vet school. Pre vet requirements are nearly identical to pre med requirement. If you ruled out medicine because of the science and math, you probably ought rule out veterinary school too.</p>
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<p>You should rule out vet schools, then, since it is generally a harder admit than medicine, and the prereqs are essentially the same. (Of course, you could always go to the Caribbean programs. The only math they care about is $$.)</p>
<p>For a prelaw EC, get involved in your local free clinic. Yeah, I realize that being <16 limits your choices, but turn that into a legal issue. (It is Congressional law that limits your volunteering.) Write your Congressperson. Get the law changed.</p>
<p>btw: if you aren’t good at math, you might want to change your screename bcos Penn is unlikely.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m certainly not a math prodigy, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love it. I’m moving to honors next year. Math is my favorite subject. I’ll go delete this account right away, and make “columbialawgirl727” immediately… lol. please. I’m trying my hardest, and I try my absolute best at everything I do. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to argue but I love animals, I read everything I can get my hands on when it comes to medicine, study out of gray’s anatomy (has nothing to do w/ vet medicine but it’s fascinating), etc. I’m working on my math skills.</p>
<p>@WayOutWestMom – Never said I ruled out medicine. I just ruled out life-risking medical professions because I understand that anesthesiology requires a great understanding of chemistry and math, and neuroscience… well I’m not even going to delve further into that. I don’t know what I’ll be. I love law, not being self absorbed or conceited, but I’m a fantastic writer. I love veterinary medicine. I am absolutely sure that I will go for either one of those! That’s just how it is! I just want the pros and cons of each profession… I wrote an actual book on hamsters when I was eleven. I’ve always wanted to be a veterinarian, and my parents knew that was my calling when I was a child. I mean… I love animals and everything but I also love law. ahhhh</p>
<p>Anyone considering law school should read this. Unlike med schools, where in almost all cases an MD will land you a job, regardless if it’s from Harvard or Wyoming, the same can’t be said for law schools. If you don’t get in to a top 20 school, you run the risk of being unemployed with hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans.</p>
<p>[Is</a> Law School a Losing Game? - NYTimes.com](<a href=“For Law School Graduates, Debts if Not Job Offers - The New York Times”>For Law School Graduates, Debts if Not Job Offers - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Just because I said I’m not a math whiz doesn’t mean I’m not willing to work at it…</p>
<p>I’d like to have my own law firm in NYC :+) and I’m not doing it for the money. so don’t you guys even think that!</p>
<p>bump bump bump 10char bump</p>
<p>You need almost zero EC’s for law school – it’s ~99% gpa+lsat. And no professional school will care about EC’s performed in high school. What you need is ECs to get you into college, and those questions are better asked outside of the professional school thread.</p>
<p>@BlueBayou and why is Penn unlikely? I’m 15, it’s not like I’m a B- C student in my junior class who isn’t good at math and doesn’t care to be. What a crazy thought! I still have all the important years in front of me! And I’m on a good track, I think… So don’t rule it out completely, as if i’ll never get into Penn, because I’ll show you guys.</p>
<p>OP:</p>
<p>I can only comment on the information that you provide. And if you want to post inaccurate information, you are likely to receive a worthless response. In the old days, we called that GIGO.</p>
<p>In post 15, you claim that you are 15 and a Junior. Last month, you claimed to be a near-graduate, with a 2200 SAT. What is correct? On second thought…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1147694-chance-cornell-upenn.html#post12634929[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1147694-chance-cornell-upenn.html#post12634929</a></p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I said I was a sophomore, firstly. secondly, that is my plan. If you read my other post, you’ll see that I said that. I’m a rising sophomore, and the whole resume is just my plan, and I wanted to know if sticking by that plan would get me into a top tier school such as Middlebury, or dartmouth. Because if someone said “yes, you have great chances of getting into Middlebury!” I’d feel confident and stick by that if the majority believes that schedule and those ecs are good enough to get in. That’s all. What’s inaccurate? I just asked for the pros and cons of being a lawyer vs a vet. Please explain further the problems you have with my question? I’m just an ambitious fifteen year old SOPHOMORE in high school that wants to go to a great college. what’s wrong with that?</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Are you saying that the grades and scores you put in that thread are guesses???</p>
<p>Yeah! Except my freshman year. My unweighted GPA for freshman is 3.8, weighted (the one you send to colleges) = 4.1. I’ve grown up since then though. I’m just going to do my best these next three years. for now i just want to know which career path would be better suited for me.</p>
<p>notice i thought a 152 PSAT would qualify for a nmf ^^
I tried to calculate my GPA for junior and senior year if I got straight As, and it came out to a 4.8. so I put that down. That was just how i thought my h.s academic and extracurricular life would be. Then I realized my school doesn’t offer dual enrollment :(:(. So my perspective has indeed changed since then. I’m working like crazy so I can be accepted to brown Pre college, and yeah, I’m actually getting my diving certification and planning to be a diver for the aquarium and yes, I shadow at a veterinary hospital. Most of the stuff i can’t do yet because of my age… <.< can’t wait to be 16. 15 sucks.</p>
<p>NMSF is decided by the PSAT of junior year only.</p>