Applying to Med & Law School??

[OwlsAreCool]

Hey! So basically I am premed and have been since I started college, but my grandpa is a lawyer and has always wanted me to switch over to be prelaw. I really do love him, and I could honestly see myself in either profession (I have worked in lawyer offices and healthcare clinics and loved both)I am leaning more towards med school (taken the MCAT, got a 514, gpa 3.85), but my grandpa said he would pay for all application fees as long as I applied to law schools as well ( haven't taken the LSAT yet, but in practice tests I am low 170s). I know this is a really weird situation, but it would be a huge huge help if I didn't have to worry about application fees.

Anyways, my question is: Do law/med schools associated with the same university talk to each other? If I apply to one will the other know? (I have to assume it would hurt my chances at both if they knew I applied to both) Specifically, UVA, Duke (both personal ties), and Stanford (a hailmary)

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[bluepeony]

Hey! So basically I am premed and have been since I started college, but my grandpa is a lawyer and has always wanted me to switch over to be prelaw. I really do love him, and I could honestly see myself in either profession (I have worked in lawyer offices and healthcare clinics and loved both)I am leaning more towards med school (taken the MCAT, got a 514, gpa 3.85), but my grandpa said he would pay for all application fees as long as I applied to law schools as well ( haven't taken the LSAT yet, but in practice tests I am low 170s). I know this is a really weird situation, but it would be a huge huge help if I didn't have to worry about application fees.

Anyways, my question is: Do law/med schools associated with the same university talk to each other? If I apply to one will the other know? (I have to assume it would hurt my chances at both if they knew I applied to both) Specifically, UVA, Duke (both personal ties), and Stanford (a hailmary)

If accepted to both, which would you attend? What are your career goals? I feel like its a waste of effort to apply to both when you can only attend one in the end. For example, your secondary essay quality would suffer and you may feel burnt out having to prepare for both law and med school apps and interviews. Have you looked into combined MD/JD programs?

 

[OwlsAreCool]

If accepted to both, which would you attend? What are your career goals? I feel like its a waste of effort to apply to both when you can only attend one in the end. For example, your secondary essay quality would suffer and you may feel burnt out having to prepare for both law and med school apps and interviews. Have you looked into combined MD/JD programs?

To be completely honest I'm not sure what I would pick yet, I would be applying next cycle and I have actually already started prewriting some secondaries, so I don't think the quality will suffer (unless most schools completely change their prompts). At the moment I am mostly trying to gather as much information as I can to make the best choice possible, but if I had to choose right not I would probably choose whichever option I felt most comfortable in after an interview there. I am sorry if this seems like a copout, but I really just don't know because both career paths seem amazing to me.

 

[bluepeony]

To be completely honest I'm not sure what I would pick yet, I would be applying next cycle and I have actually already started prewriting some secondaries, so I don't think the quality will suffer (unless most schools completely change their prompts). At the moment I am mostly trying to gather as much information as I can to make the best choice possible, but if I had to choose right not I would probably choose whichever option I felt most comfortable in after an interview there. I am sorry if this seems like a copout, but I really just don't know because both career paths seem amazing to me.

I think maybe you should do more shadowing/ talk to professionals working in both fields. It may be too late to switch after you're a year or two in and realize you like the other field better and are now in alot of debt. I think you should be pretty certain with whichever field you end up applying to that it's the right choice for you as both degrees cost alot of time, money, and effort to obtain.

 

[OwlsAreCool]

I think maybe you should do more shadowing/ talk to professionals working in both fields. It may be too late to switch after you're a year or two in and realize you like the other field better and are now in alot of debt. I think you should be pretty certain with whichever field you end up applying to that it's the right choice for you as both degrees cost alot of time, money, and effort to obtain.

I think you are probably right, but it would still ease my mind if I knew if med/law schools do share applicant info

 

[bluepeony]

I think you are probably right, but it would still ease my mind if I knew if med/law schools do share applicant info

I have a feeling that they wouldn't have the time and energy to cross reference whether an applicant is applying to both law and med schools given the volume of applicants they receive. I think this is mainly an issue if an applicant is simultaneously applying to MD only and MD/PhD programs. This would bring to question an applicant's dedication to the MD/PhD route.

The question is would you have competitive ECs and a compelling reason for applying to law school given that you've mainly focused on building your premed application?

 

[u_raptor]

Honestly you should look into MD/JD programs like bluepony mentioned. You are interested in both, and if you *really* do have an inkling of wanting both, that gives you the perfect opportunity (with a couple more years of training). Many schools offer it, and I believe some even allow you to transfer into the program post med school acceptance. However, I don't think MD schools will allow you to transfer into an MD or MD/JD post law acceptance. So keep that in mind, at least!

 

[LizzyM]

Let's boil it down here.... OP is asking if he should take the LSAT and write 3 law school applications in exchange for $3000 (or whatever the fees will be associated with submitting medical school applications) from Grandpa Moneybags, JD. Does that change your response?

And no, I would highly doubt that the admissions offices of the law and medical schools would cross-reference their application rosters. No one's got time for that.

 

[Rachapkis]

You need to determine what course is right for you -- not for your grandfather or anyone else. I recommend spending the time to figure out want you want, rather than continuing down both paths for as long as possible. I fear that if you take the LSAT and the MCAT, you will likely pick the path at which you did the best on the entrance exams or at which you got into the most "prestigious" school. In my opinion, that is not a prescription for a happy life.

 

[DNAJB6]

Anyways, my question is: Do law/med schools associated with the same university talk to each other? If I apply to one will the other know? (I have to assume it would hurt my chances at both if they knew I applied to both) Specifically, UVA, Duke (both personal ties), and Stanford (a hailmary)

No and no. And even if there was a scintilla of a chance the other would find out, it would not be an issue. The schools also have combined MD/JD programs that require you to apply to both schools separately and the admissions decisions would be independent of each other.

 

[premed20172017]

I took the LSAT and decided NOT to apply after working at a law firm. Don’t apply just because. It’s a waste of time and money. ONLY apply if you want to be a LAWYER.

 

[deleted804295]

Hey! So basically I am premed and have been since I started college, but my grandpa is a lawyer and has always wanted me to switch over to be prelaw. I really do love him, and I could honestly see myself in either profession (I have worked in lawyer offices and healthcare clinics and loved both)I am leaning more towards med school (taken the MCAT, got a 514, gpa 3.85), but my grandpa said he would pay for all application fees as long as I applied to law schools as well ( haven't taken the LSAT yet, but in practice tests I am low 170s). I know this is a really weird situation, but it would be a huge huge help if I didn't have to worry about application fees.

Anyways, my question is: Do law/med schools associated with the same university talk to each other? If I apply to one will the other know? (I have to assume it would hurt my chances at both if they knew I applied to both) Specifically, UVA, Duke (both personal ties), and Stanford (a hailmary)

Don't go into law unless you want to be a corporate slave with a decent income or doing good civil work for nickels.

Like others have iterated, figure out your interests. I seriously considered switching to pre-law in the middle of college and many of my ECs in college revolved around pre-law activities due to a genuine interest. I learned more about both fields and I realized I wanted med. In fact, the more I learned about law the more I hated it. Perhaps your experience have been different working with your grandpa but work as a volunteer/paralegal with lawyers who do work you're interested in making next to nothing and then let us know if it's something you're still interested in.

 

[deleted804295]

Honestly you should look into MD/JD programs like bluepony mentioned. You are interested in both, and if you *really* do have an inkling of wanting both, that gives you the perfect opportunity (with a couple more years of training). Many schools offer it, and I believe some even allow you to transfer into the program post med school acceptance. However, I don't think MD schools will allow you to transfer into an MD or MD/JD post law acceptance. So keep that in mind, at least!

MD/JD is strictly medical patent law. Most do more JD work than MD. You barely if ever work in the clinic. Not a good option for one interested in medicine.

Edit: Just looked at older threads and some MD/JDs across the nation and most of them actually just use their MD degree so the JD is a waste. Makes sense.

 

[WrenchesToMD]

You need to determine what course is right for you -- not for your grandfather or anyone else. I recommend spending the time to figure out want you want, rather than continuing down both paths for as long as possible. I fear that if you take the LSAT and the MCAT, you will likely pick the path at which you did the best on the entrance exams or at which you got into the most "prestigious" school. In my opinion, that is not a prescription for a happy life.

Exactly what I was going to say. Take your grandfathers persuasive efforts and money out of the equation and think about what YOU want in this life. I feel like this situation is somewhat synonymous to the many premeds I've met who are pursuing medical school for what essentially sounds like their parents dream more than anything. It sounds like you've been more invested in pursuing medical school all along up to when your grandfather not only dropped the JD bug in your ear but also threw a bribe on top of it.

With regards to your question, @LizzyM knows more than any of us premeds do

 

[deleted1005514]

Shadowing is a pre-req for medical school, but not for law school. Have you asked to shadow a lawyer, or even visited one in their office? Don’t shadow just on a court date, make sure you hang out with one on a regular Tuesday, so you can see the stacks of files piled around their office, and watch them sit at a computer for 8-10 hours, doing research, writing legal documents, and answering emails and phone calls.

Then decide which level of mundane you’re ok with doing for a couple of decades, and go to school for that. 80-90% of what any profession does is not the exciting, fun stuff.

Edited to add: I see where you’ve actually worked in both settings, that’s great. Now, which boring parts appealed to you the most?

 

[82Scout]

Sounds like you just want to make your grandpa happy. The professions are very different from each other and I would just apply to medical school because it seems like that what you want. Professional schools within a university are fairly separate entities, I personally doubt that the admission committees communicate with each other and they probably wouldn't even know unless you told them.

You can always tell your grandpa you plan to become an expert witness and see if he still throws some Benjamin's your way

 

[Doctor-S]

Anyways, my question is: Do law/med schools associated with the same university talk to each other? If I apply to one will the other know?

No. They do not talk to each other about applicants.

FWIW ... I'm at a university that has MD medical school and JD law school on the same campus.