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[JurisDoc]

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Hello,

I am new to these forums but have been browsing them for a few weeks now. I have seen a lot of discussion regarding quitting graduate/professional school programs and the implications of doing so.

I am currently in my 2nd year of law school (only attending part time and working full-time) and know that I made a mistake in choosing the "quicker and easier" path rather than following my (longer and harder) dream of becoming a doctor. Law is definitely not what I have ever wanted, and I find myself here as a "it's something to do with my GI Bill" solution, along with pressure from my husband who seemed to think that lawyers make a lot of money.

My husband is encouraging me to finish the degree since I wouldn't start med school until fall of 2008 anyway (and would finish my JD by that time). I just feel it's a waste of my time and money at this point.

My grades are mediocre...about the middle of the class. However, law school grades are very different from graduate school grades, with the average grade being a C+. As such, will a medical school committee be turned off by my law school grades? What if I do not include them at all in my application? Are they required to be included since law school is unrelated to medicine?

Thanks for your responses!

 

[Moki]

From what I have been told, your law school transcript will be taken into consideration as part of the whole picture. However, it will not have the same impact as your undergrad GPA. Focus on carefully craft your personal statement and answers to those likely questions about law school that you will receive. A lot will depend on your other credentials and how well you present.

As for your other question, my vote is for you to finish law school. The first year is by no means indicative of the second and third year. You get more flexibility to choose the classes in the area that you are interested. If you are set on med school, take some classes that relate to medical malpractice, either directly or indirectly. May prove to be a huge benefit down the road.

Law school is not the practice of law. Often the two seem wholly unrelated. What law school does do is teach you how to think a certain way. Among many other things, it teaches precision and logic, both of which are easily transferable and, I suspect, will help you in medical school.

Besides, you never know where life will take you. . . .

 

[JurisDoc]

Thanks for the advice! There are a few parts of law school that I find interesting, and fields that I could probably enjoy, but it wouldn't be my passion.

It's probably safest to remain in school though since there is no guarantee I will make it into medical school. It's just hard to take any refresher post-bac type courses, get volunteer work in, and study for the MCATs while taking an almost full-time law school course load in the evenings and working full time during the day.

My question is...do you even have to disclose the fact that you went to law school? It's not really relevant and to my knowledge there is not some giant conglomerate professional/graduate school organization that reports who has attended where 🙂

 

[MicroBugs]

You're most likely going to have to admit that you've been in law school, since schools will want to know what you've been doing with your time. I thought about leaving my MPH program simply becuase I was unimpressed and not at all happy with the organization initially. However, I was advised by some adcom members that unless you have an excellent reason for leaving a program, you really shouldn't. Food for thought.

 

[Moki]

Yes, you must report that you went to law school.

There are ways to get in the necessary post-bac courses and volunteer work. Also keep in mind that the further along you get in law school, the less work will be required, generally speaking. This is a result of the fact that you now know how to study for it and do well. First year is always the hardest.

The most sane way would be to do it during the summer and in the following year, thus delaying application to med school for a year or so. I know that thought may make you cringe - it made me when people gave me the same advice. You want to be able to present yourself in the best possible manner the first time. The alternative is re-applying, which will have an impact on you emotionally. Besides, I suspect that part of your message to med schools will be "Law school was not for me." (of course, rephrased to be more positive and proactive.) They'll want proof that you're not simply jumping onto the next bandwagon. Allow yourself some time.

In any event, also consider taking the bar when you finish. It is far better to do it right out of law school. Once you have it, you can go inactive and pay a yearly fee. That way, it's there if you ever need it. All you have to do is switch to active status.

It's a good thing to have in your back pocket.

 

[JurisDoc]

Thanks once again for the comments! Just a few replies/thoughts on my part...

Moki, are you saying wait until the summer after my third year in law school to start taking post-bac classes and the MCAT? That would delay me two years, not one. I really do have all the required courses...I was a biology major. I just wanted to take a few to brush up.

As far as having to explain what I've been doing for the past few years (in lieu of talking about law school) that wouldn't be an issue because I've been working full-time.

I'm considering taking a leave of absence from law school (we can take up to 3 semesters off) and then returning if I don't get in to medical school. My husband's thought on this, however, is that by that time I could almost be done with law school.

Moki, regarding the course load getting lighter, you're right about that, and the classes are somewhat more enjoyable since I was able to "sort of" pick them (the evening classes have limited availability). I am finding it nearly impossible though to keep up with the reading since days are spent at work and evenings spent in class.

Anyway, food for thought...our career center told us that it takes the average law grad 6-9 months to find a job, and the average starting salary out of our school is $50,000. Pretty depressing, considering I'm making more than that already. What good is a law degree then (unless of course the work was very enjoyable/rewarding)?

The other significant factor playing into this is my husband and I just bought a new house that requires both of us to be employed to make the mortgage payments. So that is weighing on my mind too...having to sell the new house if I get into med school...the hubby will be crushed 😉 And in this housing market right now, who knows how much we'll lose! And then there's the kids thing...I'm already almost 30...gotta make time for kids eventually...

Anyway I'll stop rambling. I'm sure there are plenty of people going through the same things.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

You know, you're almost halfway there, so I'd recommend finishing law school. Also, let me sum up your third year of law school -- pointless and easy. We were told that law school is 3 years instead of 2 just to give us two summers to find work, and I can buy it.

Also, yeah, you do have to disclose law school, but I don't think that your average grades will kill you provided that your ugrad gpa and bcpm gpa are high. And, your gpa could very possibly go up between now and graduation because your classes are going to get less competitive.

 

[JurisDoc]

It is true that I am almost halfway there...you're right. I just can't help thinking that finishing the next half will put me another $40,000 in debt and make it hard for me to focus on med school stuff (volunteering, post-bac classes, MCAT). It is probably best to finish what one starts, though.

Exlawgrrrl, what is your situation? Did you finish law school? Practice and then switch? Thanks!

 

[emgirl]

Thanks for the advice! There are a few parts of law school that I find interesting, and fields that I could probably enjoy, but it wouldn't be my passion.

It's probably safest to remain in school though since there is no guarantee I will make it into medical school. It's just hard to take any refresher post-bac type courses, get volunteer work in, and study for the MCATs while taking an almost full-time law school course load in the evenings and working full time during the day.

My question is...do you even have to disclose the fact that you went to law school? It's not really relevant and to my knowledge there is not some giant conglomerate professional/graduate school organization that reports who has attended where 🙂

YES- you have to disclose all transcripts. Withholding a transcript can mean that should you get into a med school later, they can kick you out if they find out you hid your grades. Also, I'm assuming you get loans- it would not be difficult for med schools to find out you went to law school and you would be in a bad position if you lied about not going to grad school.

 

[JurisDoc]

Oh no...I wouldn't intend to lie. I just haven't seen the application form itself so don't know what is asked on it. I assumed they asked about all undergraduate studies and related graduate studies, but wasn't sure about a completely unrelated professional school. Thanks for the heads up 🙂

 

[Medmaid]

Will schools really look up your past loans (and the schools associated with them)? Is there a waiver you sign or some other kind of permission you have to explicitly grant in order for schools to gain access to this information?

 

[Law2Doc]

Oh no...I wouldn't intend to lie. I just haven't seen the application form itself so don't know what is asked on it. I assumed they asked about all undergraduate studies and related graduate studies, but wasn't sure about a completely unrelated professional school. Thanks for the heads up 🙂

They require a copy of every transcript from every college, university, graduate program, professional program or postbac you have attended since high school. So they will know you were in law school and see all your grades. Check out the various past threads on changing from law to medicine, they are pretty applicable to your situation. The consensus is that you will want to finish your degree because having dropped out of one form of professional program looks bad to folks trying to determine whether you have what it takes to make it through another. (Some, like me, think you have a better leg to stand on if you actually become a practicing lawyer before you make your "career" change, but others on this thread disagree with me and seem to have made the jump admirably after completing school but without going the whole nine yards.)
But more importantly, deciding you don't like law is not a particularly compelling reason to go into medicine. (And you haven't really gotten to the point where you have experienced law, actually -- school and practice are not very similar). Do what you can to get some direct clinical exposure, and talk to a lot of doctors. Jumping from degree program to degree program is always a hard sell, but you are better off having a compelling reason as to "why medicine?" rather than "why not law?".

 

[JurisDoc]

Well I am definitely not looking into medicine because I don't like law! I have wanted to do medicine for as long as I can remember...that's why I did my undergraduate in Biology in the first place. I just didn't think my grades were good enough at the time. Now, 6 years later, I know I made a mistake in taking the "easy" path into law school (I couldn't believe how easy it was to get in...no pre-requisites...granted this is not a Tier-1 school I am at). I know I won't be happy until I finally achieve what I've wanted to achieve my whole life, but just haven't had the confidence or willingness to throw everything else aside and take the long path to medicine.

 

[JurisDoc]

Will schools really look up your past loans (and the schools associated with them)? Is there a waiver you sign or some other kind of permission you have to explicitly grant in order for schools to gain access to this information?

I do find it hard to believe that a financial aid office will have any clue what past grades you sent to the admissions office.

 

[Law2Doc]

Well I am definitely not looking into medicine because I don't like law! I have wanted to do medicine for as long as I can remember...that's why I did my undergraduate in Biology in the first place. I just didn't think my grades were good enough at the time. Now, 6 years later, I know I made a mistake in taking the "easy" path into law school (I couldn't believe how easy it was to get in...no pre-requisites...granted this is not a Tier-1 school I am at). I know I won't be happy until I finally achieve what I've wanted to achieve my whole life, but just haven't had the confidence or willingness to throw everything else aside and take the long path to medicine.

Again, you are going to need ot come up with more specific pro-medicine reasons, not anti-law ones (i.e. that law was a mistake, or the easy path etc.) You are likely going to need to leverage that law school background as having some useful transferrable skills, and something that helped you come to the realization of "why medicine" so the sooner you stop thinking of and describing it as a mistake, the better off you will be. Some of us managed to make law work be an asset, not a hindrance in this road.
And I again suggest that you get some clinical exposure and talk to lots of doctors, so that you can apply with better founded reasons beyond "I have wanted to do medicine for as long as I can remember". What you think you know about medicine based on your lifelong aspirations may not be 100% accurate and best to see what is involved and what's what before changing streams. Good luck.

 

[Law2Doc]

I do find it hard to believe that a financial aid office will have any clue what past grades you sent to the admissions office.

If you apply for fin aid for med school, they will know what loans you have had and what schools they pertained to. If you didn't provide a transcript for that school to AMCAS, you will have some 'splaining to do.

 

[JurisDoc]

Well, I wasn't really practicing for my interview/personal statement 🙂 I was just explaining that my turn to medicine was not just a "well I don't like law school so now which professional school should I check out?" 🙂

And as far as the financial aid thing, yes I understand that they will see that past loan for law school, but I was just saying that I doubt the financial aid officer is going to see that loan and say, "Hmmm...I wonder if she reported that she went to law school on her admission application?" But what do I know 😛