Question for the Lawyers & non lawyers: Should I take the bar exam?

[Sainttpk]

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Hi there!

Just need some advice from you folks, especially you attorneys out there who have decided to go into medicine.

I am in my last year of law school, and I am also working on my medical school requirements. I have NO DESIRE!! to EVER practice law one day in my life, however I am finishing my law degree since I started it. I graduate this May. So my question for you is this.

Should I take the bar exam anyways?

Main reason I ask is because I do not want to pay the sitting fee, and price it costs to go through barbri (A total of 2500 dollars). Another reason I do not feel like taking the bar, is because I graduate in May, and the bar is in July, which completly messes up my science classes I have scheduled for this summer. What would you do if you were me?

For those of you who do not know me, let me tell you a little bit about myself so you can understand my situation.

1) Always wanted to do medicine, but was scared of the sciences as an undergrad so I went into law for a lack of anything better to do.
2) Got into law school worked my butt off, and then realized that if I can work this hard to be an attorney, I might as well do something that I find interesting.
3) Decided to finish my law degree, Got my EMT certificate in order to get my feet wet in the medical field
4) Working as an EMT, and taking premed classes during my last year of law school

Finally I am near the end of my law school career, any advice? Should I take the bar? Or should I wait? I figure that I can take my bar anytime in the future, so I might as well just concentrate on getting into medical school. I do not want to waste another day in the legal field, any advice? comments?

Thank you.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Honestly, I didn't take the bar exam because I just couldn't do it. I felt like I had put so much time and money into law school already and knew my whole third year that I didn't want to practice -- I couldn't bear the thought of shelling out another $5k (borrowed, of course) and studying intensely for two months for a job I didn't want. IMO, sticking through law school while hating it is enough. Also, I went to school in Texas and absolutely hated Texas -- the most convenient option for me was to take the Texas bar, and the fact that I didn't want to stay there made it even less appealing. I didn't move to Oregon until August and would have had to wait until February to take the Oregon bar. Fortunately, I got a job before then, so I never had to worry about it.

I don't know, it could come up in a future interview question, but I've been on three DO interviews thus far, and no one's seemed interested. I have no doubt in the world that I'd pass, so it's not like I didn't take it out of fear of failing.

Overall, the bar's there so you can practice law -- if you're not going to practice law, why take it? This is my probably really bad advice, but it worked out for me. The February bar is always there for you if you don't take it now. As I'm sure you know, you learn how to pass the bar from BarBri, so it's not like being out of school for a few months should throw you off.

Good luck whatever you decide! I've been there, and it's tough.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hi there!

Just need some advice from you folks, especially you attorneys out there who have decided to go into medicine.

I am in my last year of law school, and I am also working on my medical school requirements. I have NO DESIRE!! to EVER practice law one day in my life, however I am finishing my law degree since I started it. I graduate this May. So my question for you is this.

Should I take the bar exam anyways?

Main reason I ask is because I do not want to pay the sitting fee, and price it costs to go through barbri (A total of 2500 dollars). Another reason I do not feel like taking the bar, is because I graduate in May, and the bar is in July, which completly messes up my science classes I have scheduled for this summer. What would you do if you were me?

For those of you who do not know me, let me tell you a little bit about myself so you can understand my situation.

1) Always wanted to do medicine, but was scared of the sciences as an undergrad so I went into law for a lack of anything better to do.
2) Got into law school worked my butt off, and then realized that if I can work this hard to be an attorney, I might as well do something that I find interesting.
3) Decided to finish my law degree, Got my EMT certificate in order to get my feet wet in the medical field
4) Working as an EMT, and taking premed classes during my last year of law school

Finally I am near the end of my law school career, any advice? Should I take the bar? Or should I wait? I figure that I can take my bar anytime in the future, so I might as well just concentrate on getting into medical school. I do not want to waste another day in the legal field, any advice? comments?

Thank you.

exlawgrrl and I totally differ on our advice regarding this, and there is another old thread someplace on a similar topic where we similarly disputed it. My experience has been that those who have worked as a lawyer for a time and are true career changers have an easier time getting into med school than those who appear to be jumping from professional school to professional school. Someone who has worked brings transferable skills and experiences, and doesn't get labled a "professional student". But that's just my two cents.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

exlawgrrl and I totally differ on our advice regarding this, and there is another old thread someplace on a similar topic where we similarly disputed it. My experience has been that those who have worked as a lawyer for a time and are true career changers have an easier time getting into med school than those who appear to be jumping from professional school to professional school. Someone who has worked brings transferable skills and experiences, and doesn't get labled a "professional student". But that's just my two cents.

You know, I do agree with you that from an admissions perspective, it's probably better to work as a lawyer for a few years. For me and maybe for the op, that just wasn't something I was willing to do. Personally, I did work (and am working) in a semi-legal sort of job since law school, so that makes my situation a bit different from someone who applied immediately after getting out of law school -- in fact, I didn't even start taking prereqs until after about a year of working. If the op wants to follow a path similar to mine, the bar would still be unnecessary.

I don't know, I think that you also fall into the issue of how much longer you'll delay your application. For some people, it's bearable to practice law for a few years while waiting to put together a super strong application later. For others (myself included), it wouldn't be. Also, it probably depends on your feelings about law and practicing law and all that good stuff. I've gotten the impression from you that you legitimately enjoyed legal work but decided you'd rather be a doctor. If you hate it, it's a bit more emotionally draining to do the legal thing for even more years after you already did for your three miserable years in law school. I agree, though, that it raises red flags -- I don't thing the red flags are necessarily insurmountable, though, especially if your numbers are solid and you're willing to go to a less prestigious school.

 

[Sainttpk]

I think I am leaning towards XLawGirls reasons for not taking the bar exam. Why go through all of the trouble of taking the bar, getting a whole law career started, when you know its not for you?

I do not see the bar and all the money spent as worth it just to preempt a few questions from an ADCOM. I think the time and resources may be better spent working on prereqs, or working at a job that gives you valuable medical insights. That are my feelings for now, but i am open to other suggestions.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think I am leaning towards XLawGirls reasons for not taking the bar exam. Why go through all of the trouble of taking the bar, getting a whole law career started, when you know its not for you?

I do not see the bar and all the money spent as worth it just to preempt a few questions from an ADCOM. I think the time and resources may be better spent working on prereqs, or working at a job that gives you valuable medical insights. That are my feelings for now, but i am open to other suggestions.

Well, I disagree with your last statement about "valuable medical insights" -- I would argue that there are a ton of crossover skillsets you learn in law that apply to medicine (as you would be working at a profession with significant client contact, confidentiality requirements, ethical tenets, intense pace and workload, etc.), probably more than you will be able to get elsewhere. But it is certainly not for everyone.
So one things you really ought to start thinking about how you plan to handle in PS and interviews: I can almost guarantee you that the "professoinal student"/"degree collecting" concern will be raised, and adcoms will want to know why you spent 3 years studying toward a career yet decided you didn't like it --without ever practicing; so why should they believe you now when you say you "know" you want to practice medicine? (Just a hint -- saying you went into law for lack of anything better to do probably loses you big points on the maturity section of the interviewer's form).

 

[Sainttpk]

You are right law2doc, that is one of the reasons I have become an EMT/Firefighter, while I am still in law school. I am taking steps to make sure medicine is for me. In fact I turned down a job at a law firm just to do what I am doing now. When it come time for interviews I am just going to be as honest as I can about my situation.

You are also right that there are plenty of crossover skills that can be learned in the legal profession, however I do not see the point of being an attorney when I can work in the medical field as an EMT getting valuable patient interaction. I can see where the client interaction is useful, however being an EMT/Firefighter seems a bit more practical to me in terms of gathering actual clinical experince in the field of medicine, while learning to deal with people on an everyday level. And the reality is that EMT's deal with alot more people then most attorneys I would assume. Especially in the higher volume call areas around the inner city.

When it comes down to it, I am 25 years old and I am not going to work another 2-3 years in the law just so that I can preempt some adcom questions about my choice to come to law school, it just seems a bit silly to me. Lots of 20's year olds make the mistake of choosing careers they do not belong in, and I think it is somewhat unrealistic for those in society to think that somehow a 21 year old person can make such big life choices at such a young age.

This is one of the reasons that I am focusing on applying to Osetopathic medical schools. I do not want to get into the whole DO versus MD debate, but it seems to me that DO schools seem to be more open to the idea that people do make mistakes when they are younger, and it seems as if they are more open to the idea of non-traditional students.

I'm just going to have to let my grades and clinical experience speak for my commitment itself. That being said, I am just going to be as honest and candid as I can about my legal experience.

Thanks for the advice.
=)

 

[Toofscum]

Haven't been around here lately--but as a JD, I wanted to add my 2 cents to this thread.

Like the OP, I had a similar story. I entered law school at 23 because I didn't know what else to do with my poli sci degree, and parental pressure also played a big role. It was a bad, lame reason, and I paid for it, but I was only 22 when I made the decision, and really didn't have much of a real world perspective at that time. I figured that the law was a broad enough field, and that I'd find something I'd like in it. Well, that did not happen and I hated every minute of law school. I knew by second year I was never going to practice, and like some have said above, I did not want to waste precious yeaars in a profession that I had absolutely no interest in. I did not take the bar exam because it would have interfered with my summer post-bacc classes (which I started two weeks after graduating from law school). Did my post-bacc, and then got a patient care position at a hospital full-time.

I knew I had no interest in law, and didn't want to ever practice law, and knew that taking the bar would be a waste of my personal time. Like someone said, it's expensive, Bar-Bri is expensive, and I really didn't have the inclination to take it. I think I was one of only 3 people or so in my law class who did not take the bar that year. No one could believe what I was doing, though interestingly enough I've learned that many of my classmates are no longer practicing law (just 2 years out).

Since my hospital job ended, I've been working full-time in a new job (non-legal, non-medical), only because after 6 months of looking I needed a job--any job and finally landed something after working at the mall in retail all summer. Well, I hate my current job and am counting down the days until my pre-med classes (upper level bios--I'm done with basic pre-med requirements) start again. The only reason I'm sticking with it is so I can save up money to take more science classes and also save up for admission application costs. I can't wait to apply to med school, I'm thinking I'll probably do that in about two years, after I quit my current job when I find another medical job again. I'm also trying to save up as much money as possible for med school tuition in the meantime.

Anyhow, my thoughts were it would be a waste of time for me to take the bar exam. I have no regrets in that. I also have no regrets in not practicing law, though I have been grilled on it (by regular employers as well--that sucked big time). It seems that no one is able to believe that people can change their minds. Most employers (and regular people on the street) simply cannot believe that one would choose the profession I'm in (and was interviewing for) over law. Well, as boring as my job is I know law would have been worse. What it comes down to is that I was not meant for office jobs. I can't stand sitting in one place all day in a small office, shuffling papers and dealing with papers instead of people. I can't stand it, and I miss the days of my hosptial job when I was all over the place--in the OR, PACU and patient rooms.

 

[Law2Doc]

Haven't been around here lately--but as a JD, I wanted to add my 2 cents to this thread.

Like the OP, I had a similar story. I entered law school at 23 because I didn't know what else to do with my poli sci degree, and parental pressure also played a big role. It was a bad, lame reason, and I paid for it, but I was only 22 when I made the decision, and really didn't have much of a real world perspective at that time. I figured that the law was a broad enough field, and that I'd find something I'd like in it. Well, that did not happen and I hated every minute of law school. I knew by second year I was never going to practice, and like some have said above, I did not want to waste precious yeaars in a profession that I had absolutely no interest in. I did not take the bar exam because it would have interfered with my summer post-bacc classes (which I started two weeks after graduating from law school). Did my post-bacc, and then got a patient care position at a hospital full-time.

I knew I had no interest in law, and didn't want to ever practice law, and knew that taking the bar would be a waste of my personal time. Like someone said, it's expensive, Bar-Bri is expensive, and I really didn't have the inclination to take it. I think I was one of only 3 people or so in my law class who did not take the bar that year. No one could believe what I was doing, though interestingly enough I've learned that many of my classmates are no longer practicing law (just 2 years out).

Since my hospital job ended, I've been working full-time in a new job (non-legal, non-medical), only because after 6 months of looking I needed a job--any job and finally landed something after working at the mall in retail all summer. Well, I hate my current job and am counting down the days until my pre-med classes (upper level bios--I'm done with basic pre-med requirements) start again. The only reason I'm sticking with it is so I can save up money to take more science classes and also save up for admission application costs. I can't wait to apply to med school, I'm thinking I'll probably do that in about two years, after I quit my current job when I find another medical job again. I'm also trying to save up as much money as possible for med school tuition in the meantime.

Anyhow, my thoughts were it would be a waste of time for me to take the bar exam. I have no regrets in that. I also have no regrets in not practicing law, though I have been grilled on it (by regular employers as well--that sucked big time). It seems that no one is able to believe that people can change their minds. Most employers (and regular people on the street) simply cannot believe that one would choose the profession I'm in (and was interviewing for) over law. Well, as boring as my job is I know law would have been worse. What it comes down to is that I was not meant for office jobs. I can't stand sitting in one place all day in a small office, shuffling papers and dealing with papers instead of people. I can't stand it, and I miss the days of my hosptial job when I was all over the place--in the OR, PACU and patient rooms.

You (and the OP as well) are really going to want to come up with a better response regarding law school than that you attended three years of graduate school due to being poorly thought out and for a lack of anything better to do post-college. It won't get you many "maturity" points with the adcoms.
I also think you continue to "over-glamorize" medicine and "over-demonize" the law. Not all law involves small offices, shuffling papers and/or not dealing with people (quite a lot of it is the opposite -- big conference or court rooms and extensive client contact); I often found myself wishing I had time to go back to the office and shuffle some papers. 🙄
And much of medicine these days involves a ton of paperwork and administrative rigamarole -in terms of insurance reimbursement and governmental requirements, and this is increasingly becoming more burdensome every year. Once you get past residency, you will not be able to avoid quite a bit of paperwork in your small office.
But law is certainly not a profession for everyone, and it is mandatory to have a certain level of interest and excitement at the beginning or else it isn't palatable, which neither you nor the OP nor exlawgrrl seem to have. That's too bad, as in my opinion it somewhat creates for you guys a harder to sell backstory, come applicaiton time. Good luck all.

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm not a lawyer, but you said you wanted non-lawyers' opinions, too, so here's mine: take the bar exam, and look for a short-term job that would make use of your law degree while you apply to med school. You can explain your change of career as being a combined MD/JD, done separately. This is basically what I'm doing, only it's an MD/PhD in my case. Right now I am finishing my PhD in chemistry, and I regularly get asked what I will do if I'm not accepted to med school at my interviews. Since I am wanting to change from bench research to clinical research, and I don't HATE bench research, I do have working as a chemist as a "fallback." I can tell the interviewers that I would post-doc for a year, find out how to improve my app, and re-apply. I've even been asked what I'd do if I *never* got accepted, and in that case I tell them that I would work as a chemist on clinical drug trials with MDs. 😉

You will have at least one year where you have to work anyway, since I have the impression that you didn't apply for fall 2006. So you might as well make use of your qualifications and try to figure out how to relate them to medicine. What about biotech patent law? Working for a hospital or insurance company? Defending physicians from malpractice suits? There has to be some way to combine an MD/JD that would be plausible to the schools and interesting to you. Plus, what happens if you don't get into med school next year and you have to sit out a second year? Do you really want to be an EMT with a law degree if med school doesn't work out? Even if you don't regret taking the bar right now, maybe in five years, or fifty, you'll change your mind and want to be able to use your law degree.

 

[Toofscum]

You (and the OP as well) are really going to want to come up with a better response regarding law school than that you attended three years of graduate school due to being poorly thought out and for a lack of anything better to do post-college. It won't get you many "maturity" points with the adcoms.

I really don't see why adcoms would dock me for maturity points--I mean, I'm 28 now and was 22 when I applied to law school. There's a huge world of difference (for me at least) in my world view between 22 and 28. I think any adcom who docks me for making an "immature" decision is really quite offensive, though I don't doubt it may happen. Who knows at 22 what they really want to do, anyway? Is there no such thing as "changing one's mind" to you? I just don't get that. However, I must say that finding a non-medical, non-legal job with a JD is really awful. The medical job wasn't hard to find, because the interviewers seemed to really understand why I wanted a medical job (i.e. to gain experience before applying to med school). They did not give me nearly so much crap about why the JD, etc.

[B]But the non-legal, non-medical employers--geez, you'd think they'd never heard of someone who wanted to change careers. I was grilled over and over again, and no employer (except my current one) would believe me when I tried to convince them that this is what I really wanted to do (of course I didn't mention med school in these interviews, just that I'd realized in law school I was more interested in journalism than in law). I now work as a newspaper editor (non-legal publication).[/B]

I also think you continue to "over-glamorize" medicine and "over-demonize" the law. Not all law involves small offices, shuffling papers and/or not dealing with people (quite a lot of it is the opposite -- big conference or court rooms and extensive client contact); I often found myself wishing I had time to go back to the office and shuffle some papers.

[B]Well, as I understand it, there's two types of law: litigation and transactional. I did not want to do litigation whatsoever--I hated legal research and writing, I'm not the type who enjoyed moot court (in fact, I hated it more than anything else in law school--i.e. oral arguments), and the thought of writing a memo or brief made me want to hurl (did enough of those in my 1L and 2L summer jobs.) Ugh. So that only left transactional--which did not appeal to me whatsoever. I knew there would not be a type of law practice to fit what I've written above--i.e. extensive client contact (right away--not after 6 years of toiling as an associate), no litigation, and not having an "office job." If anyone can point out a firm type/area of the law that would be a good fit for me, I'm all ears.[/B]


But law is certainly not a profession for everyone, and it is mandatory to have a certain level of interest and excitement at the beginning or else it isn't palatable, which neither you nor the OP nor exlawgrrl seem to have. That's too bad, as in my opinion it somewhat creates for you guys a harder to sell backstory, come applicaiton time. Good luck all.

Yes, I agree. From the very beginning (i.e. first week of law school), I knew I had zero interest in the law and zero excitement about it. I just could not get into it, and I think I gave it a fair chance.

I realize that my choice of paths has made it very difficult for me to find a regular job (though I think now that I've had 2 non-legal jobs under my belt, it will be a LOT easier to get over the JD hurdle in the future. I think the first two will be the hardest). And I know that many adcoms are going to be displeased with my path as well, and I'm anticipating getting grilled. But of course I'm not going to say what I really feel--that law school was an unresearched decision and I had no idea what I was getting into at age 22. I've come up with a much better explanation.

I guess I just don't understand--and I'd love to hear someone answer this--why regular people (and employers) cannot for the life of them understand a career changer's decision. I know so many career changers who have not gotten anywhere near the crap that I have with my JD (for example a teacher turned chef, an MD turned Phd in history, and an MA in psych turned JD.) None of these people got the grief that I've gotten and I'm sure I'll get. Is it just that people don't like lawyers in general and don't want them around?

Toofie

 

[Law2Doc]

I guess I just don't understand--and I'd love to hear someone answer this--why regular people (and employers) cannot for the life of them understand a career changer's decision. I know so many career changers who have not gotten anywhere near the crap that I have with my JD (for example a teacher turned chef, an MD turned Phd in history, and an MA in psych turned JD.) None of these people got the grief that I've gotten and I'm sure I'll get. Is it just that people don't like lawyers in general and don't want them around?

Toofie

The biggest reason would be that all of these people worked at their initially chosen career and THEN decided they didn't like it. Again, if you had practiced law, that would have been you too. But you are changing before you actually started the career you spent three years training for, and that is where your trouble spot is. (Not saying you should do anything to remedy this, just stating the fact). Med schools want people who have made a thought out decision, will stick it out through school, and will practice medicine once they complete their training. (Other careers want this as well). Someone who has been successful at another career requiring graduate education is someone who has a good track records for such. Someone who decided during their previous professional training that they made a bad decision, and then doesn't follow through with practicing what they trained for, can be seen as having a bad track record for such. Perhaps not insurmountable, but that is a hurdle. Not having the fairly marketable skills incident to actually practicing is also a hindrance. It has nothing to do with people's feeling about lawyers -- lots of career changer lawyers get into med school (as well as other fields). Med schools actually seem to like practicing lawyers as they have good cross over professional and people skills. There are also a variety of non-law jobs that practicing lawyers have been known to transition to (but which tend to be not as open to someone who has the degree but not the experience). You really need to stop bemoaning the fact that you have a professional degree -- it is hardly a curse, and you likely will come off badly (to employers, adcoms etc) suggesting it is.

 

[QofQuimica]

Is it just that people don't like lawyers in general and don't want them around?

Sorry, but this one was too good to let go without a smart comment. I actually like the patent attorney who works with us. But I tell him all the time that he's the only good lawyer out there. 😛

In all seriousness, no, I don't think that's the problem. Yeah, lawyers get a bad rap, but it's not like people are begging to be around chemists either.

 

[Sainttpk]

I understand your point law2doc, I have not completely made up my mind on taking the bar, however I will say this. If I get an oppurtunity to apply to medical school with good grades and a good mcat, I am going to do it. I am not going to put it off for a few years just to silence a few questions about my commitment to a new career.

I am going to weigh all my options carefully and take it from there. thanks for the advice.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

What I don't get about Law2Doc's general argument is that he/she seems to think that it's impossible to show maturity through any way other than practicing law. From my personal experience, that is just so untrue. In fact, about the most mature thing I ever did was opting not to practice law and leaving Texas. I was living a life that totally wasn't working for me and was making me miserable and made a choice to live I life I desired. Taking the bar and practicing law would have been easy compared with throwing it away and seeking out a life where I could be happy. Yeah, I know it sounds sappy, but it's true.

Why is it immature to take a different path and why is it immature to try to change things that aren't working for you? Continuing on a path that makes you miserable is immature, insane, irrational, or whatever adjective you choose. Sure, it's possible that I would have practiced law and totally loved it. It's more likely that I would have done it and hated it, but whatever. It wasn't the right thing for me then, and it isn't the right thing for me now. Do I regret what I've done? No. And that's all that matters to me. Will I not get into some schools because of it? Possibly. But, I don't care -- I'm already in, so, again, whatever.

Law2Doc, what's irritating about your posts on this subject is that you seem to have nothing but negativity to offer for people who have already made the choice not to practice. Once made the choice is actually pretty hard to undue. Personally, I find it useful to focus on the more positive aspects of my application rather than to flog myself constantly for opting to go to law school and then deciding not to practice. Yes, I understand that having a good explanation is good, but from reading your posts one could actually get the idea that it's better to have a felony or a 3.2 gpa than to have gone to law school and not practiced, which is wrong.

 

[Law2Doc]

What I don't get about Law2Doc's general argument is that he/she seems to think that it's impossible to show maturity through any way other than practicing law. From my personal experience, that is just so untrue. In fact, about the most mature thing I ever did was opting not to practice law and leaving Texas. I was living a life that totally wasn't working for me and was making me miserable and made a choice to live I life I desired. Taking the bar and practicing law would have been easy compared with throwing it away and seeking out a life where I could be happy. Yeah, I know it sounds sappy, but it's true.

Why is it immature to take a different path and why is it immature to try to change things that aren't working for you? Continuing on a path that makes you miserable is immature, insane, irrational, or whatever adjective you choose. Sure, it's possible that I would have practiced law and totally loved it. It's more likely that I would have done it and hated it, but whatever. It wasn't the right thing for me then, and it isn't the right thing for me now. Do I regret what I've done? No. And that's all that matters to me. Will I not get into some schools because of it? Possibly. But, I don't care -- I'm already in, so, again, whatever.

Law2Doc, what's irritating about your posts on this subject is that you seem to have nothing but negativity to offer for people who have already made the choice not to practice. Once made the choice is actually pretty hard to undue. Personally, I find it useful to focus on the more positive aspects of my application rather than to flog myself constantly for opting to go to law school and then deciding not to practice. Yes, I understand that having a good explanation is good, but from reading your posts one could actually get the idea that it's better to have a felony or a 3.2 gpa than to have gone to law school and not practiced, which is wrong.

I wasn't saying that having a law degree was a negative -- that is Toofscum's thesis. I actually think you can do a lot with it, and it can be your ticket to wherever you want to go if you use it right (and are willing to pay your dues). It certainly has worked well for me. However I do think that there are certainly negative hurdles created by getting a degree and trying to jump right into another without using it. Just as there would be negative perceptions if one got an MD and jumped right into law school, or if one jumped from job to job. That non-stick-tuitiveness is going to be considered a lack of maturity by some, and will bring upon you the phrases "professional student", "degree collector" by others. As for advice for those who have "already made the choice not to practice" - I didn't go down that path so I may not have good advice. But I do think that rather than jump right into the premed prereqs, you ought to find some area in which to make a "career", so that you are coming from another field as a true career changer and not jumping from degree to degree/school to school. The OP actually hasn't gone down your path just yet (although it sounds like he will) -- he was asking if he should take the bar exam, which is why I offered my two cents. Hope that was more helpful. Good luck!!

 

[drpatelplasticsurgery]

easier to take it when your memory's fresh than to postpone, change your mind, then try to find time to take it or be less knowledgeable and have trouble passing the further removed from your law school graduation