Ruthie Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) Since hsing, I've felt like I've been educated for once in my life:) I've always thought about becoming a lawyer. My last baby will be in college when I am 43. If any of you are lawyers, what do you think? What does it take to get into law school? Would it be too demanding at that point in my life? Ruthie Edited January 13, 2009 by Ruthie to be more specific Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Well, you are better than me - i'm 40 and have 13 years to go. I'm not sure what i'm going to do.... heck, i'm going to have to figure out how to make 3-400 a month this year as it is :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highereducation Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Ruthie, I didn't go to law school, so I can't speak to that directly, but in my other life I was a real estate paralegal, so I've spent a lot of time in the company of lawyers, and I've met many who went to law school later and were very happy that they did. Also, my sister is a lawyer, and I recall that when I attended her graduation, the graduating class was made up of all age groups, including one woman who was being graduated at age 72! Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I've always thought about becoming a lawyer. My last baby will be in college when I am 43. <snip> Would it be too demanding at that point in my life? I think there's a member of the board who said her mom went back to law school late in life. You might try changing the subject heading to grab her attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 My mom went back to school when I went to college. She would have been around 41, if my calculations are correct. She's a nurse, and was recently the nursing director of a hospice; she's just gone back to floor nursing after 5 years away. I don't know anything about being a lawyer, but I don't think it's too late for a career once the kids are grown! I certainly hope not; I plan to be a speech pathologist when I grow up. Schmooey's arrival put that off by a few more years, but it's still my goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 *sigh* I'm going to be 55 when this little one starts college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthie Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 :) How's that? Honestly, after hsing and realizing I can learn anything, I FEEL like I can do anything, but just want to make sure reality matches feelings! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon H in IL Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Law schools vary by quite a lot in how demanding they are. I attended St. Louis University Law School my third year as a visiting student and was appalled by how dim and slow many of the students were. Which is to say that the school itself couldn't be that demanding or they'd have flunked out or dropped out. They might have graduated but I wonder if they could pass the bar. OK- that was my own vent. Sorry. :chillpill: Having been through the process of educating my own children and learning so much from the women (and men) on this board, it's my opinion that the average WTM educator could take out the average law school student with one hand tied behind her back. Law is a great general education, but it's not one thing, yk? So you'd need to narrow down your focus and find a field that needs lawyers (like real estate) and gear your class load and job search to that area. And btw, your professors would adore having you in class: bright, motivated, well-read, deep thinking, seeing the big picture and not just the narrow issue. Of course the same could be said for any advanced program of study. Professors have to put up with a lot of poorly-educated trained robotic thinkers. Poor dears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) (I'm not sure I can even call myself a "lawyer" at this point, lol. It's been over 5 years since I last represented a client), I say you should go for it if it's something you really want to do. You can handle the work. We had students of all ages in my law school class. Sure, MOST of us were in our 20s, but there were people older than you will be, too. Law school was VERY demanding. I've never worked harder at anything in my life. I don't think it would be hard if you were there just to graduate, but at the time, there was this incredible pressure to be nearer the top of the class, else who would hire you? And I felt the stress of that. In a way, I wish I could do it again without that pressure - wanting just to learn and to graduate, and trusting that I could find a job when I graduated, even if it wasn't with a top law firm. I actually don't think law school would be nearly as hard if you weren't interested in class rank. I don't think we actually received grades. Maybe I am wrong and we did, but I wouldn't remember, because the only thing that really mattered was class rank. It wasn't so much that the work was hard (though there was a massive amount to read). It's that you had to perform so well on that one final exam or else all was lost. Many classes only had one grade - that one final. I loved law school. I absolutely loved it. I like studying. At the time, it didn't seem that hard to me for sit in a chair for 8 hours reading, thinking, outlining, and trying to make sense of it all. I liked law school a LOT more than I liked practicing law. Everyone told me that the people who love law school often don't enjoy the practice, and for me, that has been true. That's not to say that there aren't types of practices I would enjoy. Anyway, law school is demanding, and families pay a price, but your family will be grown, and in some ways, maybe that's ideal. Do they still make you take an exam (LSAT?) to get in? I do actually think that analytical thinking is partly temperment - I'm sure it can be trained too, but it seems to me that some people are just more analytical by nature than others, and it really helps in law school. I knew people who were smarter than me, more studious than I was, and just really wanted to be lawyers, but who, for whatever reason, just couldn't pull it together to produce good analytical evaluations of cases on exams, and so they weren't making good grades. Edited January 13, 2009 by Danestress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire in NM Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I think it is absolutely wonderful that you are going to go to law school after homeschooling your dc. A good friend of mine taught in PS until she retired and she was over 50. But her dream was to pursue a law degree and so the fall semester after her retirement she enrolled in law school. Claire in NM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Well, at the rate I'm going, I'll be 60 before my youngest is grown... I think by that time, I won't want to be tied down to a career (besides, I have one right now on top of homeschooling). But, no, 40 isn't too old. For law school, you'll need to take the LSAT -- and you'll have to check to see what else a law school would "want" from an older adult, not right out of college. In Virginia, you don't have to go to law school... you can just take the bar exam! Although, not many people pass the bar exam without going to law school :D Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest janainaz Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I'll be 50 when my youngest starts college. I can't ever picture myself 50, I'm still waiting to grow up! If I was 43 when my youngest started college, I would SURELY go pursue something. I can't imagine sitting around the house, I don't know what I'd do besides clean all day long. 43 is young! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I'm not planning on going back to school, but I am planning on going back to work - at least for a little while. I'll be 50 when dd graduates high school. I won't be able to go to work doing what I was doing, but I should be able to go into a support field. If you want to go to law school, there isn't anything to stop you but yourself. Go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 *sigh* I'm going to be 55 when this little one starts college. Me too.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I work now so when the youngest graduates, I am retiring. I plan to get a boat and sail away. My dream is to be a pirate. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain View Academy Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 If you have a bachelor's degree you just need to study for the LSAT. Law school takes 3 years. Otherwise, you're looking at 4 years undergrad and 3 years graduate. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthie Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thanks for the encouragment!! I've been spending alot of time daydreaming about what I want to do when the kids are gone. I just cannot believe I am more than half way thru this childraising chapter of my life!!! I dreamt all during my youth about when I would be a mom and my future children and here I am thinking about what to do when they are gone. I think planning now will ease the pain,YKWIM? Blessings, Ruthie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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