Law School vs. Med School Application Process -Which is Easier?

[OBGYN2010]

Any Insight?

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[redbeans]

From the heresay of my friends... LAW SCHOOL.

NO interviews. Just the test and essay.

 

[Blue Scrub]

I've heard its pretty much a strictly numbers deal with Law school....no interviews is pretty big

 

[dewzen]

Law School - easier by a mile.

I had friends that applied to law school and I didn't even know about it. Everyone sure as hell knew I was applying to med school.

First - undergrad course requirement -> most law schools don't require anything (my school doesn't have pre law at least)
second - LSATs a lot shorter, offered more often, much more common sense based (i.e. less studying)
third - applications - no interviews no secondaries. I mean that's huge.
fourth - there are so many law schools, anyone can get in at least somewhere. med school is quite a different story.

i dunno, maybe there are things that I missed such as much more competition?

 

[SaraL124]

Law School - easier by a mile.

I had friends that applied to law school and I didn't even know about it. Everyone sure as hell knew I was applying to med school.

I think that really depends on the person. My roommate applied to law school this year and no one knew, but my friend applied last year and there was no way you could not know. I know a lot of people applying to med school who aren't completely obsessed with it and wouldn't bring it up in conversation.

fourth - there are so many law schools, anyone can get in at least somewhere. med school is quite a different story.

That's not necessarily true. people get rejected from law school, just as often as people get rejected from med schools.

i dunno, maybe there are things that I missed such as much more competition?

Actually the numbers of people applying to medical school have been steadily decreasing in the last few years, while numbers of applicants to law school increase as the economy gets worse.

 

[Freakingzooming]

I think that really depends on the person. My roommate applied to law school this year and no one knew, but my friend applied last year and there was no way you could not know. I know a lot of people applying to med school who aren't completely obsessed with it and wouldn't bring it up in conversation.


That's not necessarily true. people get rejected from law school, just as often as people get rejected from med schools.


Actually the numbers of people applying to medical school have been steadily decreasing in the last few years, while numbers of applicants to law school increase as the economy gets worse.

I think you're completely wrong on your last statement. The past two cycles have shown tremendous increases in the application numbers. At my interviews at schools, every director has mentioned this to us that things are moving slower generally this year because of the increases in applicants.

Albany- 30 % jump from last season. Generally, people are very skittish about the economy and jumping towards medicine. True, the number of applicants at no way rival what it was like in the 90's or late 80's but it's been growing each year.

 

[scattered]

I don't have any empirical data but I do have a quick anecdotal tale to illustrate some of the contrasts between the processes.

This year I am applying to medical school and one of my best friends from high school is applying to law school. In terms of admissions, I consider the law school process much more streamlined and efficient. For instance, instead of tracking down your letters of recommendation to each and every school, my friend sent his letters of recommendation all to a centralized agency and they distributed them. Also, law schools have a much faster turn around time regarding notification -- I turned in my applications in August and am just starting to hear from most of my schools; my friend applied in January and has heard from half of his schools already.

In terms of "easiness" of the overall application process, both law and medicine are major life commitments and concurrently cause anxiety; despite the disparities between our professional school application processes, both of us have shared plenty of stress.

 

[bidster]

The law school application process is definitely "easier" from the viewpoint of how much you have to invest over several years and in terms of how streamlined their process is....BUT--I know several people applying to law school who have lamented on the latter part. Because numbers are such a big deal, they are the crux of your application and can become a major handicap if they're not stellar, especially if you want to attend a top-tier law school. If your numbers aren't what the law school wants, the rest of your application can become little more than fluff reading. At least with med schools--even if the process is more extensive and subjective--LORs, life experiences, activities, research, and interviews do receive more consideration and can help overcome weaker numbers.

 

[beponychick]

I applied to both. Law school admissions process is by far easier! From my experience, there is no comparison between the two.

 

[afr0dite01]

From what I've heard, law school is easier to get in to but harder to stay in. Medical school is harder to get in but easier to stay. Medical schools spend much more time and efforts supporting their students throughout the years because of some sort of money issue. They get so much money for each student so if they drop out over the years medical schools lose out on money. Law schools can take on much more students because they dont need the labs that medical schools do so they make most of their money during the early years. Since they have many more students, I would say the students wouldn't get the support that medical students do. So props to people that make it through law school!

 

[japhy]

law school aps are so much easier. i don't know why the med school process has to be so difficult.

they have a lot of similarities. for law school you send your transcript, lsat and letters of rec to lsdas (sound familiar?). however, this is much cheapr than amcas, plus they have all of your letters of rec. it is very easy to go online and pick and chose which schools get sent which letters. also, you pay upfront the number of schools you want your lsdas file sent.

next step is akin to secondaries, but there really is no screening process. basically you download the pdf application from the law school's website. same boring essays that you have to write for med school, etc, etc. then the law school requests your file from lsdas. no interviews...

people have also raised great points regarding what you have to do to even apply to med school compared with law school. law school is cake: take the lsat and you're done.

i think the folks at amcas could learn a thing or two from lsdas and make the process more student friendly by taking advantage of online updating, etc.

 

[Ross434]

I think you're completely wrong on your last statement. The past two cycles have shown tremendous increases in the application numbers. At my interviews at schools, every director has mentioned this to us that things are moving slower generally this year because of the increases in applicants.

Albany- 30 % jump from last season. Generally, people are very skittish about the economy and jumping towards medicine. True, the number of applicants at no way rival what it was like in the 90's or late 80's but it's been growing each year.

The number of applications have gone up. But the number of people applying has gone down. Generallly, the economy has little effect on med school enrollment. If there's a downturn, not too many people in industry are just going to say, !wow! maybe i'll go do 8 more years of education and spend a ****load and it'll get me out of this recession. They're going to say, wow, maybe i'll hide out in law school for 3 years and get a cool job related to my field, or get a raise afterwards.

 

[Ross434]

Any Insight?

I dont know. the LSAT is difficult to study for, as it is much more of an aptitude based test. And if you're not extremely smart and can do the exact type of logical thinking the LSAT requires - very very well- then you're not going to get into a top law school. Whereas med school admissions simply requires hard work, and if you study your ass off you can do well on the mcat.

I would go so far as to say that admission to a top 5 law school is as hard as admission to med school. However, admission to other law schools is by far easier.

 

[Law2Doc]

Any Insight?

Clearly law school process is easier. Easier apps, no interviews generally required (some places have them, but are usually optional/informational), LSAT is much easier and shorter than MCAT, lots more law schools exist than med schools and the classes are usually bigger, and correspondingly lots of people with lower credentials can still get in somewhere.

But I have to wonder about the point of the OP's inquiry.

 

[superdevil]

keep in mind how many law schools there are (tons), and how large there class sizes are (a friend who's going to UPenn's law school next year said a class size of 200 is "fairly small"!!!).

also, you can see the selectivity of the individual schools via the USNews rankings. many schools in the last tier accept well over 50% of their applicants!!! (unlike med schools who sometimes accept 50% of their interviewees only after they have discarded the other 80-90% of their applicants who don't interview). i've said it before, a well-read house plant can get into some law school somewhere in the US.


seriously folks, law school admission is easy: LSAT + grades = success. period.

 

[superdevil]

oops, just saw that Law2Doc posted some of the same stuff right before me. blast!

 

[Ross434]

keep in mind how many law schools there are (tons), and how large there class sizes are (a friend who's going to UPenn's law school next year said a class size of 200 is "fairly small"!!!).

also, you can see the selectivity of the individual schools via the USNews rankings. many schools in the last tier accept well over 50% of their applicants!!! (unlike med schools who sometimes accept 50% of their interviewees only after they have discarded the other 80-90% of their applicants who don't interview). i've said it before, a well-read house plant can get into some law school somewhere in the US.


seriously folks, law school admission is easy: LSAT + grades = success. period.

But top law schools only accept around 15% of their applicants. Look at salaries, as an example. Anyone can go to xy law school and end up making 60-70k/yr. But if you want the type of prestige and money that medicine brings (ie: more than 200k), then you need to attend an elite law school.

 

[tomorrowgirl99]

From what I've heard, law school is easier to get in to but harder to stay in. Medical school is harder to get in but easier to stay. Medical schools spend much more time and efforts supporting their students throughout the years because of some sort of money issue. They get so much money for each student so if they drop out over the years medical schools lose out on money. Law schools can take on much more students because they dont need the labs that medical schools do so they make most of their money during the early years. Since they have many more students, I would say the students wouldn't get the support that medical students do. So props to people that make it through law school!

I have been told the exact same thing. Usually medical schools have supportive staff that try to help you ease into the process. I have been told that most law schools are filled with gunners and that the faculty and staff aren't usually as accommodating as other professional schools.

 

[TwoLegacies]

I would go so far as to say that admission to a top 5 law school is as hard as admission to med school. However, admission to other law schools is by far easier.

I agree with this...

The process of applying to med school requires more effort. My two closest friends from college applied to law school, and apart from studying for the LSAT, I didn't see them do much! We are also residents of CA, and they only applied to CA law schools. That would be almost unheard of if we were talking about med school.

But it is just as hard numbers-wise to get into a GOOD law school, regardless of how much effort the application process takes.

 

[superdevil]

But top law schools only accept around 15% of their applicants. Look at salaries, as an example. Anyone can go to xy law school and end up making 60-70k/yr. But if you want the type of prestige and money that medicine brings (ie: more than 200k), then you need to attend an elite law school.

still, the "top law schools" have to ramp up their selectivity to equal that of ordinary medical schools. that's not too impressive.

also, a cousin of mine went to a 3rd tier law school. she got good grades, then graduated and took a ball-busting 90-hr/wk job in D.C. after getting that experience, she was able to move back home 3 years later and literally name her price when local firms expressed interest. so, while grads from "top schools" may earn more immediately, getting prime experience can erase that earning deficit rather quickly.

of course, that's just one anecdote.

 

[gbiz]

I'm having a hard time deciding between the two. Either I want to be a doctor, or I want to be a garbage man. Which do you think is easier?


Okay so we get a bunch of these threads on here; which is easier, which pays more, which app process is easier, etc. Dont you think the sample population is going to be biased for all of these questions!??!


Seriously, for this past thread, the only one I know that can give any type of real opinion is Law2Doc, for obvious reasons! What a friend has gone through compared to you could mean squat, because that person is a different person, and responds to things different!!!!

 

[scrappysurfer]

I had a friend apply to med school for 3 years before he got a DO spot. He applied to law school the last year and now has a "wall of fame" to erase memories of his "wall of shame." He got in just about EVERYWHERE and the process was much easier.

 

[mcjay]

Law School is much easier by far. First, the LSAT is shorter, a lot shorter. Then the primary applications and personal statement are shorter. Once the school is interested, only a few actually have an interview process. After applying to med school and seeing what my friends went through for their law apps, I have no sympathy for them. Rock on MD; sit down JD.

 

[willthatsall]

I think that really depends on the person. My roommate applied to law school this year and no one knew, but my friend applied last year and there was no way you could not know. I know a lot of people applying to med school who aren't completely obsessed with it and wouldn't bring it up in conversation.


That's not necessarily true. people get rejected from law school, just as often as people get rejected from med schools.


Actually the numbers of people applying to medical school have been steadily decreasing in the last few years, while numbers of applicants to law school increase as the economy gets worse.

I think you are wrong about a lot of your information. It is much easier to get into law school because there are a lot more schools (300-400?) and the incoming class sizes are much larger than med schools. Now, this doesn't mean that it's easier to get into a top law school, but if you just want to go to any law school it's not very hard to get in. I think that is probably why prestige is so important for law school. And yeah, numbers of people applying to med school has not been steadily decreasing.

 

[Uegis]

I know of sevaral friends one went to a community college for two years, worked, and got their law degrees taking night classes. Given that it is not from a reputable school, but it seems that getting into law school is not that tough. They sure as hell didn't struggle to get in while having a VERY relaxed schedule. Imagine being able to get a MD by taking night classes.

But for law school, where you go matters very much. So I would imagine becoming a lawyer is not difficult, but becoming a lawyer that can make a lot of money is difficult.

 

[Law2Doc]

still, the "top law schools" have to ramp up their selectivity to equal that of ordinary medical schools. that's not too impressive.

also, a cousin of mine went to a 3rd tier law school. she got good grades, then graduated and took a ball-busting 90-hr/wk job in D.C. after getting that experience, she was able to move back home 3 years later and literally name her price when local firms expressed interest. so, while grads from "top schools" may earn more immediately, getting prime experience can erase that earning deficit rather quickly.

of course, that's just one anecdote.

I assure you that this anecdote is not that unusual. I know many many people who went to not even top 30% law firms and still bring in salaries far in excess of the numbers Ross434 described. The upper echelon (esp. law review, but often as much as the top quarter of the class) of each law school (not just the top 15% ranked law schools) do quite well. Lots of people from not top schools bulk up their credentials via working for the government, and get to higher paying firm jobs via this route as well. And
law practice is often quite regional -- lots of firms hire the best people from the local law schools so a law graduate who is one of the best at a mid-tier Chicago school will often have a shot at the same Chicago firms as a top 15% school not located in Chicago (but obviously would be non-competitive in eg. LA or NYC). This regionalization effect is less true in the historically biggest markets (NYC and SF), but the second city markets actually have similar pay structures/levels these days.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm having a hard time deciding between the two. Either I want to be a doctor, or I want to be a garbage man. Which do you think is easier?


Okay so we get a bunch of these threads on here; which is easier, which pays more, which app process is easier, etc. Dont you think the sample population is going to be biased for all of these questions!??!


Seriously, for this past thread, the only one I know that can give any type of real opinion is Law2Doc, for obvious reasons! What a friend has gone through compared to you could mean squat, because that person is a different person, and responds to things different!!!!

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I say being a garbage man is easier, as you have to handle icky stuff as a doctor.

 

[japhy]

superdevil,

you're friend is starting at penn next fall? penn is a great law school and has a much more relaxed atmosphere than i came to expect.

the class here is ~250 and is a medium size class. 125-150 would be a small class.

 

[superdevil]

superdevil,

you're friend is starting at penn next fall? penn is a great law school and has a much more relaxed atmosphere than i came to expect.

the class here is ~250 and is a medium size class. 125-150 would be a small class.

well, he is still waiting on UChicago, his first choice. as of now, though, he's headed to UPenn.