Options after poor 1L semester Forum

[Gay Charizard]

Went to law school last year at a T50 despite major health issues. Ended up finishing at the bottom 15% of the class. Took a medical leave after fall semester and I'm trying to decide whether to go back or not. Here are my options:

1. Go back for spring semester
If I work really hard and do well, I'll end up right around median ... of course, that's a big assumption to make. If I'm still at the bottom, I could always drop out. Biggest advantage of this is being able to start a career a year earlier. It's probably the best school I can get into for where I want to practice. Disadvantage: the poor grades from fall semester, a really big consideration.

2. Seek admission to another T50
This is another possibility. The question is, would I get accepted after receiving a semester of grades. The problem is that none of these schools are ideal, as they are all located outside the state where I want to practice. Advantage: being able to really participate in the law school experience, get a second chance at getting good grades. Disadvantage: waiting another year to graduate.

3. Seek admission to local T4
The good thing here is that it's local, I like the location, and it should be easy to get into. Disadvantage: waiting another year to graduate. Poor employment scores. I don't think this is a serious option.

4. Do something else
Right now working job with low salary.

Turning to you guys for help. Goals: BigLaw in the local market or clerkship for a federal judge, but will take a middle class job at a firm (not doc review). LSAT is 168, should I retake or does that even matter?

[proteinshake]

by T50, you mean the schools ranked 21-50, right?

[pterodactyls]

[Deleted]

I guess it will come down to how much you want big law, as the odds are against you with your current stats. But there are plenty of great legal jobs out there other than big law. I would think hard about what jobs will make you happy, and whether you would still want to practice as a lawyer outside of big law.

[chargers21]

If the T14 is easy to get into, then why didn't you go there from the start?

I am no expert but I assume that if you dropped out and applied to law school all over again, the fact that you've already attempted law school once (especially just last year) would hurt your application. Obviously I know very little about your situation, but I wouldn't assume that T14 admission is a guarantee.

I guess it will come down to how much you want big law, as the odds are against you with your current stats. But there are plenty of great legal jobs out there other than big law. I would think hard about what jobs will make you happy, and whether you would still want to practice as a lawyer outside of big law.

I think you misread. He said T4, meaning tier 4 or TTTT, not t14.

[pterodactyls]

If the T14 is easy to get into, then why didn't you go there from the start?

I am no expert but I assume that if you dropped out and applied to law school all over again, the fact that you've already attempted law school once (especially just last year) would hurt your application. Obviously I know very little about your situation, but I wouldn't assume that T14 admission is a guarantee.

I guess it will come down to how much you want big law, as the odds are against you with your current stats. But there are plenty of great legal jobs out there other than big law. I would think hard about what jobs will make you happy, and whether you would still want to practice as a lawyer outside of big law.

I think you misread. He said T4, meaning tier 4 or TTTT, not t14.

My bad, I misread that. I think I confused between "T50" and "T4" in the same post. Thanks for pointing that out.

I don't see the advantage of dropping out of the your T50 to go to a tier 4. Unless it was significantly cheaper and/or there were personal reasons you needed the location.

I stick with the sentiment from my earlier post: give it some serious thought and decide whether you still want to be a lawyer if you can't get big law or a federal clerkship.

[chargers21]

If the T14 is easy to get into, then why didn't you go there from the start?

I am no expert but I assume that if you dropped out and applied to law school all over again, the fact that you've already attempted law school once (especially just last year) would hurt your application. Obviously I know very little about your situation, but I wouldn't assume that T14 admission is a guarantee.

I guess it will come down to how much you want big law, as the odds are against you with your current stats. But there are plenty of great legal jobs out there other than big law. I would think hard about what jobs will make you happy, and whether you would still want to practice as a lawyer outside of big law.

I think you misread. He said T4, meaning tier 4 or TTTT, not t14.

My bad, I misread that. I think I confused between "T50" and "T4" in the same post. Thanks for pointing that out.

I don't see the advantage of dropping out of the your T50 to go to a tier 4. Unless it was significantly cheaper and/or there were personal reasons you needed the location.

I stick with the sentiment from my earlier post: give it some serious thought and decide whether you still want to be a lawyer if you can't get big law or a federal clerkship.

It's all good

I agree. I think bottom grades from the t50 are better than going to the t4 if the OP really wants to be a lawyer of some type. The tttt is definitely not an option.

Not being a lawyer is also an option that should atrongly be considered if being like a public defender isn't something OP wants to do.

OP could also drop out and retake the LSAT to maybe get into a t13 where biglaw and federal clerkships are an option if that's what they really want to do. Not sure how schools look at applicants that have already completed a semester though. They might look past it some for a documented health event or an improved LSAT score