Thursday, September 16, 2010

Considering Attending Law School

Choosing a law school to attend could be one of the biggest decisions you will make in your life. As a result, there are many factors that you will have to consider when you are trying to make this decision.

This can be a very difficult process as there are so many schools available to you for consideration. In addition, your decision is going to seriously impact the next three to four years of your life.

While your GPA and LSAT scores are important, they should not be the only things limiting the choice you make. There are many things you will need to consider when you are looking at various schools and not only where you fit into their statistics.

One of the other things you will need to consider in regards to law school is the location. This will not only affect your family, if you have one, but it will affect your performance in school.

Some people love the big city and would feel uncomfortable in a small, urban town. Others would feel completely overwhelmed by the big city.

There are law schools that fit into both descriptions. In addition, there is the weather to think about.

Some students get discouraged by cold weather and snow. You will need to make sure that the weather will not affect your grades.

In addition, if you have a family you will need to think about local schools and neighborhoods. You will want your family to be and feel safe.

The next thing you will need to think about it the curriculum. While you will be expected to be somewhat well rounded, you probably have an area of interest within law that you would like to focus on.

You will want to make sure that the schools you are thinking about attending offer classes of emphases in the area which you are most interested in. After law school you will be getting into your actual career and you do not want your emphasis to be something that you simply settled for, but something that you really love.

If you are able to pursue something that you really love, you will love your career. You do not want to hate your career your entire life.

Of course, you cannot expect to arrive at law school and take only the classes that you are most interested in. Most law schools require you to take a basic regimen of classes throughout your first year.

However, after the first year you will be able to get into more of the classes in the area you are interested in. If you are unsure of what you want your emphasis to be, your second year is a good time to take a variety of classes in order to find one.

It is also important that you look into what kinds of clinics each law school offers. While you are in law school it is very important that you get some real experience so that you will be able to make the transition from school to career much easier.

Of course, the reputation of the school you are attending is also very important, but not too important. Some students put too much of an emphasis on attending a school with a good reputation.

While degrees from certain schools certainly cause potential employers to pause, but many do not care which law school you went to as long as you can professionally carry out a task very well. However, a reputable name will definitely help improve your options if you are applying for a job somewhere far away from the school you will attend.

Another thing you will need to consider is the cost of living. You need to make sure that you will be able to afford the local housing rates among other things.

Prices for various things are different depending on which state you are in and what city you are in. The price of living in California or the Northeast can be quite expensive while the costs of living in the south of Midwest can be much less.

Not only will you be paying for housing, but you will be covering the costs of tuition. The bigger the city the more you may end up paying for rent.

You will also want to evaluate the school statistics of how well they are able to place their graduates. This will help you know how easy it will be to find a job after you have graduated.