<p>I'll be attending Carnegie Mellon University in the fall as an undergrad, with aspirations to attend law school. I'm fairly certain that I want to pursue a career in the legal field, but I'm not overly familiar with the routine lifestyle of a graduate student. Do you simply study, as if you were in high school/college, take notes in class, and pass tests (I know that's a gross oversimplification)? If so, how does one make a living? That kind of lifestyle is fine for the undergrad years, where housing and food are provided by the college, but I don't think grad school is like that? Do people pursue part-time jobs and recieve assistance from their parents? Or, do some students have a full time job and study in their free time? I feel like the latter is impractical, and would be detrimental to both your work and studies. Which begs the question, as a student from a low-income family that won't be able to support me financially during law school, how am I going to pay for food? I'm sure others have been in my shoes before; how have you approached this? </p>
<p>Some things I've heard, but am not too sure about:</p>
<p>1) My friend's dad recommended working for about 3-4 years before going to law school, so I'd have some money saved up for law school and basic survival. Alas, I'm majoring in History and Philosophy, which doesn't exactly scream "lucrative job," and I'm not sure I'd be able to wait the 3-4 extra years. </p>
<p>2) Apparently, one of my cousins (U-Mich grad) was a teacher for a program called Teach for America. From what I can gather, she taught for two years, was given the benefits that teachers in that school district receive, and received help in paying for law school. This seems a lot more appealing to me; I'm majoring in History/Philosophy, so I could teach social studies at the lower levels while saving up some money. As far as the compensation upon completion of the program (2 years, I think it was), what is it exactly? My cousin graduated from U-Mich, taught for 2 years via TFA, and then attended UChicago Law. TFA covered 2 out of the 3 years at UC Law, or at least I think they did. Do they cover 2 years of graduate study? I looked at their website, and it was pretty vague.</p>
<p>Law school is different from u.g. (or h.s.!). Most law classes only have a single final exam at the end of the semester. That means you must have a lot self-motivation to study all semester and not just wait until the end. The exams are usually graded on a curve. That means you may know the material pretty well, but your classmates know it better, and therefore you get a poor grade. Not many law students work part-time during the school year, but good summer placement will make up for that. There are merit scholarships if you’ve got a stellar academic record and need-based grants as well as loans. These are ways that many students pay for law school. If any one else posts on this thread, you will probably hear get a lot of advice about being wary of student loans.</p>
<p>If you’re just starting college, don’t worry too much about this stuff. Do well in school, enjoy making new friends, and explore your options before you settle on a choice for law school.</p>
<p>Teach for America is a great option for work after undergrad (though it is competitive, so keep up those high grades you’ll need for law school anyway, and do some volunteering for education-related causes if possible in undergrad). Other nonprofit work after undergrad would be good, too. Something like 70% of law students today have one or more years of work experience after undergrad, before law school.<br>
There is less need-based aid for law school than there is for undergrad, but plenty of loans. And most of the top schools have their own special loan programs for law graduates going into public-interest law (govt., nonprofits) which greatly reduce loan payments after graduation; some even defer payments and eventually forgive your loans if you stay in public service for a certain number of years. (These programs typically do not cover judicial internships/clerkships.)
If you don’t go into public-interest law, law schools figure you will make plenty of money, enabling you to pay back loans. All these loans also would cover your room & board/food.
It is difficult to work full-time and attend law school part time. First year of law school is time consuming, but almost all law students work part time their second and third years, or get involved in their law school’s legal clinics.
The day-to-day life of a law student is much like that of an undergrad history/philosophy major – lots of reading and classes are lectures/questioning of students. However, unlike history undergrad, you likely will not have to do any papers (except in one semester or two of legal writing class), and you likely will not have mid-terms – just one exam at end of semester (in a few cases, just one exam at end of school year), which typically are essay exams.
Check out top-law-schools website, it has lots more info than CC which is aimed at undergrads. Good luck!<br>
From Midwestmom – lawyer and mom of pre-law undergrad now visiting law schools</p>
<p>Full time engineer and part time law student here!!!</p>
<p>It is not that bad actually ( my first exams are next month though). Its easierto get a job and go to law school than when i was in engineering (which I can only get research positions due to its flexible hours). There are no labs and little to no assignments except for like an essay here and there that you need to rely entirely on the case databases. I heard that the exams are bad, but since its all on the textbooks and its more like memorizing cases, i skipped All those lectures.</p>