I am currently in an administration of justice program at one of the best schools for it. I am getting a minor in political science as well (considering taking the few extra classes and making it a major) I wanted to go to law school, took the lsat, and now I think I’m reconsidering since I don’t know if a life as a lawyer would make me happy. I really don’t know what to do.
What options are out there for graduate schools or further education? I am a senior and I’ll be graduating (with luck and little sleep) in May. I am open to anything… any ideas whatsoever. However, it has to be practical. Obviously, med school is out of the question since I haven’t taken a biology curriculum by any means.
I’m considering applying to Chiropractic school. They seem to make good money, I enjoy working with people and I’m very independent (plus, I’m sure being called dr. the rest of my life wouldn’t hurt) Are the requirements for chiropractic school strict? I have a great GPA of over 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. I have many many extracurricular activities that I’m involved in including vice president of the student body at my current university. I have taken leadership roles in all of them. What other options are out there that are reasonable to my situation? The sky is the limit!
With all due respect, if you don’t know for sure what you want to do, I’d suggest getting a job – any job – rather than going directly into a graduate program. You may as well get paid while you’re figuring it out, rather than racking up debts for a degree that may or may not be relevant. You can always apply to graduate and professional programs later, once you’re sure what you want out of them.
(Not that I followed my own advice, of course, but I got paid to go to grad school, and it was a subject that I enjoyed studying for its own sake. Professional programs, I think, are a bit different.)
Poli Sci won’t really help you at all as a major unless you do something specifically in the field afterwards. I majored in Poli Sci and it’s as much of a job boon as a philosophy degree. Better grades are more important than the number of majors you have, especially considering that B.A.s don’t mean as much anymore as they used to.
If you’re uncertain about law school, or any graduate school for that matter, go to any one nearby and sit in on some classes. This won’t give you the best overall view, but if you dig what you see and hear, then you may want to put the effort in to apply someplace. I’m finishing up my last year of law school and unforunately, I didn’t follow my own advice either before I applied and went. For a lot of law students, law school SUCKS. But the actual lawyering part can be fun, whether you prefer to do the litigation scene or just earn the big bucks as one of them soulless corporate types.
You’re graduating in a year? I second the advice to get a job if you aren’t sure you want to do law school, and suggest that you look into working at a law firm. Perhaps as a paralegal (although many firms require paralegal certificates). But spending a couple years in a law firm will give you a definite feel for what it’s like. You’re right: it’s not for everyone. And I must also point out that law school is nothing like the practice of law. But both law school and lawyering can be great, if you’re built for it. How can you tell if you’re built for it? Darn good question. Many lawyers beginning practice – their first three or four years – are ambivalent about the practice, because it has both its good and bad points. In addition, it’s really, really hard to go to work every day believing that you don’t know anything, and that’s pretty much what it’s like for many. But you do get over that, and, frankly, I don’t know what I’d do if I weren’t a lawyer.
I should also point out that those in law school who took it most seriously, who did better with less studying, were those who had worked for a couple years before going back to school. (This is, of course, my opinion, based on no empirical studies.) I was out for several years before I chucked it all to go back to school. So don’t feel like you need to decide now about graduate school. You can do it later.
I resent your implication that we litigators can’t be soulless as well.
I recommend getting a job as a raft guide on the Colorado River. Learn rock climbing and BASE jumping. Snowboard as much as possible. When you can, take long solo backpacking trips into dangerous, remote places.
<shrug> It’s been working for me for almost 40 years.
Yeah, like everyone else said, get a job. Or better yet, don’t, if you can afford it.
You’re young and can live cheaply, so this is the time to dogsled around the world, study with a master basketweaver in Indonesia, or whatever.
Maybe the best idea is to work for a while in a job in a field you think you’re interested in – paralegal or whatever. Figure out if that is what you want to do, and make the grad school decision from there.
Then take your savings from that job and hit the road for a while before grad school.
But there’s no harm in going to work for a while before grad school. Even if you end up washing dishes for a year, that experience will make you much happier later on when you find something you do want to be doing.
