How to Deal With Quitting During or After the First Semester
I received the following question from "Lan" regarding the decision to potentially quit amidst the first semester of law school:
How are you not worried about the debt? I am thinking of withdrawing. I am a 1L in my first semester and I hate it, and am so depressed. I've had a few breakdowns. Right now, I'm in debt $19,333, and the interest was another $300 after just a month! I can't take the time off when that interest will keep accruing even though I know it would be nice. I don't know whether to get a full time job or reapply for a masters. Please help.
Dear Lan,
First, you should know that you are the only one that can make this important decision. I really want to help, but I can pretty much only offer advice based on my experiences, and without all the facts of your personal situation.
Second, like Karen before, if you are having health problems resulting from your law school experience, you need to talk to healthcare professionals or others that are qualified to offer you assistance if you aren't already. I'm sorry. I know how much it sucks to not be able to be your full and complete self, but this happens to so many law students and people in general when faced with such a stressful workload and the lofty expectations of yourself and others.
Third, as for the debt, I should clarify that I am worried, but not nearly as frazzled and harried as I felt about it a year ago. I do have obligations to meet, and they do weigh on my decisions. However, as I mentioned in my post about debt, I personally feel better about it because I will be a teacher, which offers me debt forgiveness here in the US after 10 years of making my payments on time. I also felt relieved that I could at least do an income contingent or income dependent payment plan, that lessened the amount of monthly payments to a more reasonable match to whatever my monthly income may be. Hence, I feel a bit more relaxed about it. However, I have come to terms with the fact that I will have this debt for a long time.
Fourth, as for your feeling that you can't take time off, I'm not sure why that is, but I can see how that adds to your frustration. If your law school's counselors/advisors are telling you that a break is not permitted or if the accruing interest is the reason, then you obviously do face the more urgent decision of whether to quit or keep going. I have one important thing to say about my experience in the first semester, it was about 75% different from the rest of my law school experience. There was a change in the countenances and attitudes of myself and many of my classmates that I saw after the first semester was done and after we got our grades. So, I will tell you that law school was quite different for me, at least, after the first semester. I felt that it got much better after the first semester, in some important ways. I only say this as a caution to those who want to quit in the first semester because they think law school will only feel the way it does the first semester. For you, Lan, it sounds like the health problems that you're dealing with were ones that didn't show up for me until later, so I think that may add to the credibility of your decision to quit sooner rather than later, if you make that choice.
Finally, as for your choice between getting a full-time job or seeking a masters degree, I would look to what you want your future to look like. If you ultimately want a job that requires a masters or PhD, starting to move that way would be a good choice. Your debt can be put on deferment because you will be actively going to school (and adding to the debt). I will ask you the same question that was asked of me about my possible attendance at a graduate school: what will be so different about the pressures, expense, and experience of graduate school from law school? For me, the answer would have been related to the particular school I would have selected and its proximity to my support system. (I have opted not to go that route in the short term.) But it's important to consider that you may have similar depression or breakdowns in other programs as well. I would just think of ways to mitigate that, or talk to others about how you could do so. Also, getting a full-time job doesn't have to be a final decision for you. You could definitely work in whatever field you may have connections or experience in for some time and find something else that you really want to pursue, or you may just be able to pay the bills until you decide to ultimately pursue your masters. It could give you the time to build your confidence and be squared away after the tough few months you've had.
I hope I've offered at least one piece of advice that will help you on your way. Talk to friends, family, and others that you can trust if you need more help in thinking this through. I wish you the best in your tough decisions ahead, and I truly hope that whatever you choose, that you get to feeling better and you can live depression-free. Good luck, Lan.
-Jeff
Next time on How to Quit Law School: When to quit?
How to Deal with the Anxiety of Dropping Out of Law School
I received the following question from "Karen" regarding the tough situation in which she finds herself as a 2L:
I am a 2nd yr., 4th semester and now thinking of dropping out now. I am on academic probation and the stress of pulling my GPA up .5 points is causing physical symptoms now. I have anxiety over writing and feel like a failure if I can't make it or quit. I can argue in mock court fairly well using case law along with reciting state and Federal rules. However, for me it's writing that is the worst, to have to put together an appellate brief is worse than 10 root canals. I am mid semester and am having serious doubts if this is my path. I love law, I love classes along with the discussions. But rule synthesis from all the cases out there on Westlaw and writing my own argument for the fictitious client (facts) is keeping me up at night, making me feel like I am not cut out for law school. I don't want to disappoint family by quitting so should I hang in and try? Letting the chips fall where they may or get out now and save myself this stress and the next two months of hell?
Dear Karen,
First, I want to clarify that you are the only one that can make this very important decision. I genuinely want to help you out, but I know that I don't have all the facts of your life, and therefore can't give you the best advice. I will do my best, however.
Second, if you are having physical symptoms from anxiety, go talk to your school's student health services. If this isn't available to you for whatever reason, talk to a qualified counselor. I can relate to your experience with anxiety, as I had the same situation. I didn't want to admit it, but it was the case. I talked to a counselor who informed me that I was only the 100,000th law student she'd seen who had the same health problem resulting from law school stress. (I'm exaggerating, but it's extremely common.) Believe me, you're not alone, and I'm willing to bet that there are quite a few people in your classes that can relate, as much as they'll put on a happy face. Talk to your counselor or doctor about what is stressing you out, and come up with a plan of action for how you can best overcome. In doing this, I was able to really get a better handle on how I could be happy again, and better deal with stress and anxiety.
Third, talk to your school's academic counselors. If they're anything like mine were, they'll be very helpful and give you some great ideas for how you can still move forward. If you're on probation, you may already be in contact with them, but they may be able to help you in determining if continuing your legal education is really going to be beneficial to you.
Fourth, anxiety is a medical problem. You do not need to feel like a failure if the anxiety is too overwhelming for you to do your best in law school. I sincerely hope that your family is supportive enough that they would be understanding when you tell them that you are having physical problems from the stress. It's not your fault that this is happening to you. But you can take steps to get yourself better so that you can reevaluate and find the best career path for you whether that's through law school or not.
Fifth, you do not have to finish law school to have a successful career and happy life. There's a lot more to it than jumping through educational hoops. If writing in law school is something that you just can't make work for you, it's likely that the extensive writing of many legal jobs would be very difficult for you as well. This doesn't mean that you could not possibly finish law school and get a great legal job. It is probably possible that you can find a way to mitigate your anxiety symptoms and finish out your last few semesters. Perhaps then you can find a legal job that wouldn't require as much writing. Or, since you mentioned that you love the law, you could consider that there are law-related jobs that you could also do that don't require a JD. Perhaps you could work for a policy-making group or organization and you could use your oral argument skills there in a think-tank type setting. All I'm trying to say is that if things don't work out this semester in raising your G.P.A. or if you decide to quit, it doesn't have to be the end of the legal road for you. And it certainly doesn't make you a failure. If you've proven to yourself that you're a capable oral arguer, there are clearly many other things at which you could be successful.
Finally, this isn't going to be an easy decision. Talk to counselors. Talk to your family if you think that they can help. Consider taking a break. Just don't try and tackle everything on your own and force yourself into a worse physical and mental situation. If you're calling law school and legal writing "hell," it sounds like things are bad. Don't make them any worse on yourself.
I hope that I've helped you consider some ways you can get through this tough time and decision. Don't rush it, but don't delay so long that you become extremely unhappy or unhealthy. I wish you all the best, I truly do.
-Jeff
Next time on How to Quit Law School: First-semester 1Ls and quitting.
I am a 2nd yr., 4th semester and now thinking of dropping out now. I am on academic probation and the stress of pulling my GPA up .5 points is causing physical symptoms now. I have anxiety over writing and feel like a failure if I can't make it or quit. I can argue in mock court fairly well using case law along with reciting state and Federal rules. However, for me it's writing that is the worst, to have to put together an appellate brief is worse than 10 root canals. I am mid semester and am having serious doubts if this is my path. I love law, I love classes along with the discussions. But rule synthesis from all the cases out there on Westlaw and writing my own argument for the fictitious client (facts) is keeping me up at night, making me feel like I am not cut out for law school. I don't want to disappoint family by quitting so should I hang in and try? Letting the chips fall where they may or get out now and save myself this stress and the next two months of hell?
Dear Karen,
First, I want to clarify that you are the only one that can make this very important decision. I genuinely want to help you out, but I know that I don't have all the facts of your life, and therefore can't give you the best advice. I will do my best, however.
Second, if you are having physical symptoms from anxiety, go talk to your school's student health services. If this isn't available to you for whatever reason, talk to a qualified counselor. I can relate to your experience with anxiety, as I had the same situation. I didn't want to admit it, but it was the case. I talked to a counselor who informed me that I was only the 100,000th law student she'd seen who had the same health problem resulting from law school stress. (I'm exaggerating, but it's extremely common.) Believe me, you're not alone, and I'm willing to bet that there are quite a few people in your classes that can relate, as much as they'll put on a happy face. Talk to your counselor or doctor about what is stressing you out, and come up with a plan of action for how you can best overcome. In doing this, I was able to really get a better handle on how I could be happy again, and better deal with stress and anxiety.
Third, talk to your school's academic counselors. If they're anything like mine were, they'll be very helpful and give you some great ideas for how you can still move forward. If you're on probation, you may already be in contact with them, but they may be able to help you in determining if continuing your legal education is really going to be beneficial to you.
Fourth, anxiety is a medical problem. You do not need to feel like a failure if the anxiety is too overwhelming for you to do your best in law school. I sincerely hope that your family is supportive enough that they would be understanding when you tell them that you are having physical problems from the stress. It's not your fault that this is happening to you. But you can take steps to get yourself better so that you can reevaluate and find the best career path for you whether that's through law school or not.
Fifth, you do not have to finish law school to have a successful career and happy life. There's a lot more to it than jumping through educational hoops. If writing in law school is something that you just can't make work for you, it's likely that the extensive writing of many legal jobs would be very difficult for you as well. This doesn't mean that you could not possibly finish law school and get a great legal job. It is probably possible that you can find a way to mitigate your anxiety symptoms and finish out your last few semesters. Perhaps then you can find a legal job that wouldn't require as much writing. Or, since you mentioned that you love the law, you could consider that there are law-related jobs that you could also do that don't require a JD. Perhaps you could work for a policy-making group or organization and you could use your oral argument skills there in a think-tank type setting. All I'm trying to say is that if things don't work out this semester in raising your G.P.A. or if you decide to quit, it doesn't have to be the end of the legal road for you. And it certainly doesn't make you a failure. If you've proven to yourself that you're a capable oral arguer, there are clearly many other things at which you could be successful.
Finally, this isn't going to be an easy decision. Talk to counselors. Talk to your family if you think that they can help. Consider taking a break. Just don't try and tackle everything on your own and force yourself into a worse physical and mental situation. If you're calling law school and legal writing "hell," it sounds like things are bad. Don't make them any worse on yourself.
I hope that I've helped you consider some ways you can get through this tough time and decision. Don't rush it, but don't delay so long that you become extremely unhappy or unhealthy. I wish you all the best, I truly do.
-Jeff
Next time on How to Quit Law School: First-semester 1Ls and quitting.
How to Escape It All
I don't know how helpful I'm actually being for all of you because I don't really hear from any of you. I get very few comments (what, like two comments from visitors?) However, I do look at the search keywords that Google tells me visitors used to find my blog. Apparently my blog is now pretty much where Google is sending all of you that are thinking about quitting. I don't know much about what you're all going through specifically, but I do see from the search terms that some of you use, that a lot of you are stressed. Believe me, I DO understand what that's like.
Before I decided to take a break from law school, I was completely stressed out. A year ago, I couldn't believe that this great adventure I had wanted to go on was actually more of a really tough to get through afternoon television melodrama. I wasn't getting what I had wanted, I wasn't feeling like I wanted what I was getting, and I felt myself compromising so many of my own character traits and ultimate career desires just because I had already begun down this law school road. I just wanted to run away. I can't tell you how many times I joked with friends that I was just going to cash all my law school loan money out of the bank at once and flee to some distant inexpensive country and live like a king for a while. I was just trying to keep pushing because I was so afraid of what people would think if I quit, and I was afraid I would never be able to overcome the debt-Everest I had already accumulated.
Well, you know now that I am among the very few who have widely published their stories of quitting their legal educations (I had no idea how many international people would be reading this blog! (2nd parenthetical: Apparently no one in the Philippines likes law school.)) So I think I've pretty safely gotten over caring what people think about my decision. In fact, when my friends or new people I meet ask me what's going on in my life, I generally start with, "Well, I was in law school for a couple years, but I recently decided to quit." I'm very much over that one. And I've explained some of the reasons that I, as someone who got American federal education loans, am not as freaked out about that 6-digit number that loomed daily in my mind. The debt is rarely on my mind these days, and that is a complete 180ยบ change from the same time a year ago.
So what happened in the last year? Like I've said. I took my break. I decided I was going to move back in with the folks, take a semester off of school, and just retool my life. I was going to do all these great things that were going to make me come back and kick law school's ass. Among the things I did in the initial flurry of excitement about possibilities was get my passport. I had never had a passport in my life, and the only international travel I had ever done was to Mexico. (Which used to never require a passport.) I was pumped. (I also got a dog?) I was calling it my gap semester, and I was going to just disappear for a while and go to New Zealand or somewhere far far away. Then ... the stress crept back in. The law school debt! I reverted back to my usual self. I would get so completely afraid of the ramifications of any slightly major decisions, so I would just never do anything. I didn't go to New Zealand, or even leave the country.
I went back to legal work, and it was a job that I really had wanted. I loved working in the courtroom the first time I had done it, and I wanted another chance to do it on a more regular basis. The job was great, but I still just wasn't feeling that legal practice was what I wanted. On top of other very influential personal feelings, experiences, and forces in my life, it all just became very clear when I was sitting in the courtroom one day. I am only going to be happy again if I just let this go. (See the second post on this blog.)
So I did. I quit. In the flurry of excitement over new possibilities (again), I started this blog, began job hunting, and starting trying to live out some of the dreams I had begun focusing on. (See the third post on this blog.) One of the things I had written, was to leave the country and go on an awesome vacation in a different corner of the planet. Well, unfortunately, I didn't want to do this on my own, and I'm not exactly rolling in the dough right now. Despite these things, I still came really close to booking a European cruise a couple times. I waxed a little more practical and decided that I'd settle for checking off a bucket-list item that hadn't made my "dreams" chart that I had filled out. So I booked a free flight to New York with my SkyMiles and I watched a bunch of US Open tennis matches. It was amazing. I had always wanted to go to a major tennis tournament, and now I have! (Thanks to a great friend that let me crash at his place as well.) So, I checked a long-desired experience off my life's to-do list, and came back so much more prepared to face any challenges that quitting may have put in my way.
This is a far more anecdotal post where most of my blog posts are about advice. So, I guess here is the advice for you to take away if you actually have read these bumblings: after you've quit (or maybe before?) find a way to force yourself to escape for a minute and recharge the batteries by doing something that you actually REALLY want to do. Something you've always wanted to do.
Now that I did that, I am fine that I might not get to leave the country for a long time. I have gotten a job that lets me write. I have made up my mind about my exact plan of action for the next few years. And I even have gotten involved in a start-up tech company that is letting me really explore things I've always wanted to try, but never dared. (And I'm not living with the folks anymore. Love you, mom and dad!)
Escaping, even if just for a week, to do something that I think is awesome, really started me on a much better path to making quitting completely worth it. I love where I am, and I can promise you that I would not be this happy if I was in the midst of another law school semester right now.
What stress?
How NOT to escape it all: Man Committed Crime to Escape Law School
(One last parenthetical: I know that many of you are still stressed: )
Before I decided to take a break from law school, I was completely stressed out. A year ago, I couldn't believe that this great adventure I had wanted to go on was actually more of a really tough to get through afternoon television melodrama. I wasn't getting what I had wanted, I wasn't feeling like I wanted what I was getting, and I felt myself compromising so many of my own character traits and ultimate career desires just because I had already begun down this law school road. I just wanted to run away. I can't tell you how many times I joked with friends that I was just going to cash all my law school loan money out of the bank at once and flee to some distant inexpensive country and live like a king for a while. I was just trying to keep pushing because I was so afraid of what people would think if I quit, and I was afraid I would never be able to overcome the debt-Everest I had already accumulated.
Well, you know now that I am among the very few who have widely published their stories of quitting their legal educations (I had no idea how many international people would be reading this blog! (2nd parenthetical: Apparently no one in the Philippines likes law school.)) So I think I've pretty safely gotten over caring what people think about my decision. In fact, when my friends or new people I meet ask me what's going on in my life, I generally start with, "Well, I was in law school for a couple years, but I recently decided to quit." I'm very much over that one. And I've explained some of the reasons that I, as someone who got American federal education loans, am not as freaked out about that 6-digit number that loomed daily in my mind. The debt is rarely on my mind these days, and that is a complete 180ยบ change from the same time a year ago.
So what happened in the last year? Like I've said. I took my break. I decided I was going to move back in with the folks, take a semester off of school, and just retool my life. I was going to do all these great things that were going to make me come back and kick law school's ass. Among the things I did in the initial flurry of excitement about possibilities was get my passport. I had never had a passport in my life, and the only international travel I had ever done was to Mexico. (Which used to never require a passport.) I was pumped. (I also got a dog?) I was calling it my gap semester, and I was going to just disappear for a while and go to New Zealand or somewhere far far away. Then ... the stress crept back in. The law school debt! I reverted back to my usual self. I would get so completely afraid of the ramifications of any slightly major decisions, so I would just never do anything. I didn't go to New Zealand, or even leave the country.
I went back to legal work, and it was a job that I really had wanted. I loved working in the courtroom the first time I had done it, and I wanted another chance to do it on a more regular basis. The job was great, but I still just wasn't feeling that legal practice was what I wanted. On top of other very influential personal feelings, experiences, and forces in my life, it all just became very clear when I was sitting in the courtroom one day. I am only going to be happy again if I just let this go. (See the second post on this blog.)
So I did. I quit. In the flurry of excitement over new possibilities (again), I started this blog, began job hunting, and starting trying to live out some of the dreams I had begun focusing on. (See the third post on this blog.) One of the things I had written, was to leave the country and go on an awesome vacation in a different corner of the planet. Well, unfortunately, I didn't want to do this on my own, and I'm not exactly rolling in the dough right now. Despite these things, I still came really close to booking a European cruise a couple times. I waxed a little more practical and decided that I'd settle for checking off a bucket-list item that hadn't made my "dreams" chart that I had filled out. So I booked a free flight to New York with my SkyMiles and I watched a bunch of US Open tennis matches. It was amazing. I had always wanted to go to a major tennis tournament, and now I have! (Thanks to a great friend that let me crash at his place as well.) So, I checked a long-desired experience off my life's to-do list, and came back so much more prepared to face any challenges that quitting may have put in my way.
This is a far more anecdotal post where most of my blog posts are about advice. So, I guess here is the advice for you to take away if you actually have read these bumblings: after you've quit (or maybe before?) find a way to force yourself to escape for a minute and recharge the batteries by doing something that you actually REALLY want to do. Something you've always wanted to do.
Now that I did that, I am fine that I might not get to leave the country for a long time. I have gotten a job that lets me write. I have made up my mind about my exact plan of action for the next few years. And I even have gotten involved in a start-up tech company that is letting me really explore things I've always wanted to try, but never dared. (And I'm not living with the folks anymore. Love you, mom and dad!)
Escaping, even if just for a week, to do something that I think is awesome, really started me on a much better path to making quitting completely worth it. I love where I am, and I can promise you that I would not be this happy if I was in the midst of another law school semester right now.
What stress?
How NOT to escape it all: Man Committed Crime to Escape Law School
(One last parenthetical: I know that many of you are still stressed: )
Next time on How to Quit Law School: Questions from readers? Or, if there still are none, regret.
How to Draft Your Resume or CV After You Have Quit Law School
To start with a quick update about me, since this blog is primarily read by a few of my friends: I realized today that I am the happiest I have been in the last couple years. Quitting law school was definitely the right choice for me.
Moving on to more important things to those of you random stoppers by who find yourself wanting to bail on law school, or who have bailed. Your resume. Or for the handful of international readers that I didn't anticipate for this blog: Your CV. What to do? Trust me, this was one of the most difficult problems I've ever had when it comes to resumes. I found a solution fairly quickly, but it was probably not the best. With this post, I will aim to assemble the best advice and ideas on how to treat dropping out of school on paper. Hopefully we can both gain from this one.
Who's Your Intended Employer?
Unless you're just barely into your legal education, you probably already have a resume with your law school front and center. This will have to change.
You need to start by considering who your potential employer is looking for. What do they want to see from you?
If they care at ALL about your time in law school, then further consideration of this matter is important. However, if a hypothetical employer couldn't care less about your few months(weeks maybe?) of education in torts, contracts, and civil procedure, you could probably be excused from including law school at all. (And excused from reading this, you're saying to yourself.) That is of course dependent on the thoroughness required of your resume/cv. If its a government job, they often want an accounting of school, jobs, and everything in between.
If you're like me, and you are dealing with years of law school/legal experience... I don't think you get out of it so easily. It would be tough for me to tell a potential employer where the last couple years went if I didn't include anything about law school.
Ways To Present Unfinished Law School
Of course, if you have worked any legal jobs, these can be utilized on your resume and will almost definitely be an asset, depending on how you present them. I have found that intern work for judges has adapted well to various office work positions I have sought, and obviously to law-related posts. But there's still that problem of the time I spent as a full-time student.
Now here's where this gets tricky, and various sources suggest a few different solutions.
I don't know how to do this other than to throw the various solutions at you, and let you conclude which you like best, and which suits your needs.
- An article on eHow suggests: "Write the date you started and the date you withdrew from the school. Include a couple of bullet points detailing any extracurricular activities. These may compensate minimally for the lack of degree or diploma." Extra-curriculars are definitely a key to sugar-coating something that you quit. If you got far enough along to have ANY sort of activities, use them. Granted, the sophistication of your employers may see through rather hollow activities, so know your audience.
- Another suggestion, which comes from various dubious and semi-trustworthy sources and which I actually have used is to call law school "Additional course work," and list activities, etc. I am not completely settled that this is the best idea when you have a year+ experience. I say that because I think it doesn't quite settle the question of whether I'm no longer pursuing law school or whether I'm just not done and may/will go back. (Most employers want you for as long as possible.) I had just the dates of my law school attendance and placed my law school experience UNDER my undergrad experience. (See the picture above.) I don't love this solution and I considered further augmenting this solution with a notation where my attendance dates are of some similar form to "No longer pursuing JD." In some online application formats that don't permit a standard resume I have used that. (I didn't get those jobs... so... let's keep looking at ideas!)
- Another similar suggestion to the first comes with an example and is referring to undergrad, but you can apply the idea: "If you attended college, but did not graduate, include the dates you attended, your major, and how many credits you earned toward your degree. List your high school after the college information." (See example below.)
- Another possibility may be to include an "Objective" section which explains your abnormal move. (Oh wow, I almost just did a legal citation... weird.) This source finds Objective sections abhorrent, but suggests that a career change may justify one. "Objectives are redundant because everyone knows what your objective is: to get a job. . . . If you’re from a non-traditional background – a Ph.D student who wants to move into M&A, for example – you might think an Objective is 'necessary' to show recruiters what you’re doing. If you’ve done your job correctly, though, you have already presented your story in-person to recruiters and to your contacts..., so there’s no need to reiterate it on your resume." Of course, a verbal resume to a potential employer is ideal if you can clearly explain the whole law school situation. However, if you don't have the chance to talk to anyone about why you're applying before they see your resume/cv, then perhaps a clear and concise "Objective" section is for you. I've never used one, and I also doubt their effectiveness.
- A source I don't look to often for great advice, Yahoo! Answers provided this next one. The "Best Answer" reminded me that I need to point out the importance of your cover letters. They are an absolutely crucial tool for you to explain your situation! You can expound on your reasoning for quitting, but as this inquirer points out, this can often seem unprofessional. The "Best Answer" provides some good ideas in using the cover letter, as well as a line in his job history that emphasizes some good that was done amidst a career break that might otherwise look to an employer like a red flag. Say as much or as little as you like, but the cover letter is probably the best way to address why law school was not completed. The "Best Answer" also expounds on a great solution to talking to the employer about a career break, such as quitting law school. We all have our reasons, just do your best to state yours concisely while making it clear that it was a good reason to quit. Note: The only other answer to this inquirer suggested that "Consulting" was a good way to cover a career gap. Sounds kinda slimy, but maybe that's just me... and the inquirer who selected the other answer as "Best."
- Another blog post from a putative "work coach" (including a tale to which we can relate) further deals with the topics of possibly leaving law school off the resume, and how to answer employers with THE million-dollar question. As for the resume, this job coach suggests leaving law school off. While that may be fine advice intended for someone more than ten years removed from law school, I think those of us closer to the experience will need to include law school in our job hunt to some degree. However, this same crowd can also probably benefit from this post's advice on answering the question, "Why did you quit law school?" for potential employers. Having a straight-forward and honest answer to those who ask you about quitting law school is going to be the best policy.
There are some ideas, and I hope that they help. I really do. This post is by no means final. I intend to keep refining all my posts as a matter of fact. As I find more stuff I'll add it here, and refine my own resume for the future!
I want to really help other people in this situation because I know how alone I feel in this decision sometimes. No one I know personally can relate exactly. Hopefully I can be just a bit more comfort to those of you who are struggling with your decision more than I have. Hope you can find the happy place I'm in these days!
Next time on How to Quit Law School: How to escape!
How to Deal with Critics of Your Decision to Quit Law School
Listen to them.
Of course, listening doesn't mean you have to heed their advice. Like I mentioned in my first post, my family and friends were all very supportive of my decision to quit. It was fairly clearly a good choice, if not the best, for me.
I did, however, have one very strong voice to seriously consider the things I was giving up. There are many opportunities that just having a JD can present. (Admittedly less in this economy than in times past, but still, having a JD on your resume can put you in a better standing with almost any employer than not having one.) I was very glad that this individual was there to be that voice. He reminded me of just what law school could mean to me. I listened to him for a good hour while he chatted with me about my decision. I didn't fill him in on everything, but he knew pretty much the whole picture. He gave good advice.
He made a compelling case for sticking with it, but I still chose to quit. I am very grateful that he forced me through that. Having had that conversation let me know just how seriously I was taking this decision. Moreover, even in the face of a fairly comprehensive list of what I was giving up, I still felt strongly enough about quitting to do so. While I did have some pangs of regret, I came out of the conversation stronger in my resolve to make this life-changing decision count.
This critic had my best interests at heart. I know, though, that there are many people that have familial or other pressures that land them in law school in the first place. If you have overbearing parents, or people in your life with lofty expectations of you, they may be extremely critical of your decision. Maybe you have a family that's relying on you for support, and don't want to make any risky moves with your career plans. I'm sorry. Those situations are elements to your law school experience that I don't know much about. I'm sure that makes law school feel even more like a prison if you hate it. I hope you have others with whom you can speak. Heck, talk to me! Ask me questions in the comments, or I'll give you my email upon request. Just try to include as many voices as you can so that the possibly overbearing ones aren't the only ones you're hearing. (Or just tell them to shove it? Your choice. But probably not the best choice for the sake of preserving familial/other relationships.)
My point, I think, is remember that in quitting, you are/would be giving up a lot. But in facing the comprehensive list of "but if you just finish"-isms that your critics will throw at you, you may still find the benefits of quitting to weigh more. Take your critics' comments in stride. They'll be for the better when it comes to needing the resolve to make something great of your decision to quit and do something else.
Next time on How to Quit Law School: Quitting law school just blew up my rรฉsumรฉ. What to do with your rรฉsumรฉ after quitting law school.
Of course, listening doesn't mean you have to heed their advice. Like I mentioned in my first post, my family and friends were all very supportive of my decision to quit. It was fairly clearly a good choice, if not the best, for me.
I did, however, have one very strong voice to seriously consider the things I was giving up. There are many opportunities that just having a JD can present. (Admittedly less in this economy than in times past, but still, having a JD on your resume can put you in a better standing with almost any employer than not having one.) I was very glad that this individual was there to be that voice. He reminded me of just what law school could mean to me. I listened to him for a good hour while he chatted with me about my decision. I didn't fill him in on everything, but he knew pretty much the whole picture. He gave good advice.
He made a compelling case for sticking with it, but I still chose to quit. I am very grateful that he forced me through that. Having had that conversation let me know just how seriously I was taking this decision. Moreover, even in the face of a fairly comprehensive list of what I was giving up, I still felt strongly enough about quitting to do so. While I did have some pangs of regret, I came out of the conversation stronger in my resolve to make this life-changing decision count.
This critic had my best interests at heart. I know, though, that there are many people that have familial or other pressures that land them in law school in the first place. If you have overbearing parents, or people in your life with lofty expectations of you, they may be extremely critical of your decision. Maybe you have a family that's relying on you for support, and don't want to make any risky moves with your career plans. I'm sorry. Those situations are elements to your law school experience that I don't know much about. I'm sure that makes law school feel even more like a prison if you hate it. I hope you have others with whom you can speak. Heck, talk to me! Ask me questions in the comments, or I'll give you my email upon request. Just try to include as many voices as you can so that the possibly overbearing ones aren't the only ones you're hearing. (Or just tell them to shove it? Your choice. But probably not the best choice for the sake of preserving familial/other relationships.)
My point, I think, is remember that in quitting, you are/would be giving up a lot. But in facing the comprehensive list of "but if you just finish"-isms that your critics will throw at you, you may still find the benefits of quitting to weigh more. Take your critics' comments in stride. They'll be for the better when it comes to needing the resolve to make something great of your decision to quit and do something else.
Next time on How to Quit Law School: Quitting law school just blew up my rรฉsumรฉ. What to do with your rรฉsumรฉ after quitting law school.
How to Deal With Critics of Your Decision to Go to Law School
Listen to them.
I know you won't, but listen anyway. I had some folks telling me flat-out: "Don't go." I didn't listen. I still stand by not listening. I felt like going to law school was the right decision for me, and I still feel like it was. I know that sounds messed up given my most recent decision regarding law school. But I gained a lot. A lot of knowledge, friends, and general life experience. An adventure, really sucky at times, well worth it.
So, listen to your critics, make a rational decision, or do neither. Go with your gut. Do whatever you feel is right. My point: it's your decision. I certainly don't mean by "Listen to them," that you have to do what they say. I think you should at the very least factor it in. I just hope you'll remember that if you get through the first semester or two and hate it, that you don't have to be stuck there. Responsibly and seriously consider pulling out and exploring your other options. Don't wait too long to reassess.
If law school is all you've ever wanted, I don't know what to tell you folks exactly. I did not have the legal ambition until after I was already halfway done with undergrad. So, I don't really know how to relate with you, but I suppose if you are reading this, just know that it's not the end of the world if you hate it. Don't be afraid to give it a year, and then reassess and determine if law school and the law is really what you thought it was. Perhaps my advice means follow your dreams, until they're not your dreams anymore?
Legal education in this country could use a lot of improvements. It's a hoop-jumping system that charges increasingly exorbitant amounts of money each year to teach you mostly things that will never come in handy after the bar is over. But if you're taking your decision seriously, you already know that. You're ready to jump. I was, too. I knew the checkmarks I'd have to get before I completed the somewhat arbitrary legal checklist. As it turned out, my life didn't make it easy, and I realized that the hoop-jumping didn't feel like it was going to be worth it. I felt in prison, and you just might, too. Just be prepared for it not to be exactly like you may have always hoped it would be.
To George Mason's credit, they very clearly let us 1Ls know that the legal market and law school itself would not be a delightful diversion. Many of my classmates commented that they were freaked out by how bluntly we were told that it was going to be rough. I cannot say I was not fairly warned.
Just because I quit law school, does not mean that I hate everything about it, or that I think everyone should get out. I still love some aspects of the law, and the great societal utility it can provide. I had first-class, accomplished classmates who are headed for great things. I learned that the law can be used in some very admirable and noble ways. I had some great professors that taught me some things that will be useful for the rest of my life. I worked with judges and lawyers that afforded me some unforgettable experiences and lessons.
I tried to fit the law into my life, but it wasn't working. That's an oversimplification of everything that lead to me quitting, but I just want readers to know that I still condone some people going into the law. It can be a great thing. It wasn't for me. Know that it just might not be for you, either.
Next time on How To Quit Law School: How to deal with critics of your decision to quit law school.
I know you won't, but listen anyway. I had some folks telling me flat-out: "Don't go." I didn't listen. I still stand by not listening. I felt like going to law school was the right decision for me, and I still feel like it was. I know that sounds messed up given my most recent decision regarding law school. But I gained a lot. A lot of knowledge, friends, and general life experience. An adventure, really sucky at times, well worth it.
So, listen to your critics, make a rational decision, or do neither. Go with your gut. Do whatever you feel is right. My point: it's your decision. I certainly don't mean by "Listen to them," that you have to do what they say. I think you should at the very least factor it in. I just hope you'll remember that if you get through the first semester or two and hate it, that you don't have to be stuck there. Responsibly and seriously consider pulling out and exploring your other options. Don't wait too long to reassess.
If law school is all you've ever wanted, I don't know what to tell you folks exactly. I did not have the legal ambition until after I was already halfway done with undergrad. So, I don't really know how to relate with you, but I suppose if you are reading this, just know that it's not the end of the world if you hate it. Don't be afraid to give it a year, and then reassess and determine if law school and the law is really what you thought it was. Perhaps my advice means follow your dreams, until they're not your dreams anymore?
Legal education in this country could use a lot of improvements. It's a hoop-jumping system that charges increasingly exorbitant amounts of money each year to teach you mostly things that will never come in handy after the bar is over. But if you're taking your decision seriously, you already know that. You're ready to jump. I was, too. I knew the checkmarks I'd have to get before I completed the somewhat arbitrary legal checklist. As it turned out, my life didn't make it easy, and I realized that the hoop-jumping didn't feel like it was going to be worth it. I felt in prison, and you just might, too. Just be prepared for it not to be exactly like you may have always hoped it would be.
To George Mason's credit, they very clearly let us 1Ls know that the legal market and law school itself would not be a delightful diversion. Many of my classmates commented that they were freaked out by how bluntly we were told that it was going to be rough. I cannot say I was not fairly warned.
Just because I quit law school, does not mean that I hate everything about it, or that I think everyone should get out. I still love some aspects of the law, and the great societal utility it can provide. I had first-class, accomplished classmates who are headed for great things. I learned that the law can be used in some very admirable and noble ways. I had some great professors that taught me some things that will be useful for the rest of my life. I worked with judges and lawyers that afforded me some unforgettable experiences and lessons.
I tried to fit the law into my life, but it wasn't working. That's an oversimplification of everything that lead to me quitting, but I just want readers to know that I still condone some people going into the law. It can be a great thing. It wasn't for me. Know that it just might not be for you, either.
Next time on How To Quit Law School: How to deal with critics of your decision to quit law school.
How To Relax About the Law School Debt
*Pep talk voice*: You got yourself into law school. You had to do some kind of selling of yourself. You're almost definitely capable of getting some kind of job. And really, with income dependent or contingent repayment plans, as long as you have a job, you'll be able to reasonably pay your debt payments.
Ok, I know that you probably react the way I usually did to this kind of talk. The pessimist in me would say, "What if I can't get ANY job. ANYTHING?!" Then the pessimist would continue to argue, about how I'll never be able to buy a house, buy things on credit, etc. because I'll have student loans for 25 years.
Well, pessimist, I don't really have a response to you. You might be right. Maybe you won't have a house for 25 years. (Who among our generation starting their careers amidst the recession really still expects a house any time soon?) Maybe you're capable of writing a personal statement and taking the LSAT, but you're not capable of flipping burgers. As for the rest of you capable burger-flippers, you can handle the debt. It can work.
I have a special benefit to my new desired career direction, in that teachers in public (government) institutions are able to receive debt forgiveness after 120 loan payments are made. (10 yrs.) The same goes for those who qualify in other "public service" jobs. According to FedLoan Servicing, Public Service Loan Forgiveness can be available to those working for:
- A Federal, State, local, or Tribal government organization, agency, or entity (including most public schools, colleges, and universities, and all Tribal colleges or universities);
- A public child or family service agency;
- A non-profit organization under certain IRS codes, (including most not-for-profit private schools, colleges, and universities);
- A private non-profit organization (that is not a labor union or partisan political organization) that provides at least one of the following public services:
- Emergency management
- Military service
- Public safety
- Law enforcement
- Public interest law services
- Early childhood education
- Public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly
- Public health
- Public education
- Public or School library services
- Other school-based services [Janitorial??]
There are certain requirements that must be met, but this opens a lot of opportunities to reduce the amount you'll ultimately pay, and the length of time!
There are also other courses of action that can possibly alleviate the debt. Debt consolidation options may be available if you have more than one loan. Not to mention forbearances, deferments, and even complete forgiveness! (You might have to die or become a vegetable, but hey, at least it's a possibility that you could wipe out the debt entirely!) However, you should definitely look to deferments before forbearances as they can lead to damaged credit.
The reason I mention burger-flipping, is that there are often income contingent repayment plans. These plans operate based off of your annual income reported on your taxes. Your monthly payments are set at a reasonable amount based on that income. Of course, on a fry-cook salary for example, having loans like these to repay will take a toll on your ability to pay other bills, grow your wealth, etc. But it will be a lessened impact than having to pay the fairly large amounts required by most default repayment plans.
There are also other courses of action that can possibly alleviate the debt. Debt consolidation options may be available if you have more than one loan. Not to mention forbearances, deferments, and even complete forgiveness! (You might have to die or become a vegetable, but hey, at least it's a possibility that you could wipe out the debt entirely!) However, you should definitely look to deferments before forbearances as they can lead to damaged credit.
The reason I mention burger-flipping, is that there are often income contingent repayment plans. These plans operate based off of your annual income reported on your taxes. Your monthly payments are set at a reasonable amount based on that income. Of course, on a fry-cook salary for example, having loans like these to repay will take a toll on your ability to pay other bills, grow your wealth, etc. But it will be a lessened impact than having to pay the fairly large amounts required by most default repayment plans.
I think even the pessimist in me felt a lot brighter about the debt situation when I realized there are a lot of ways to mitigate the stress of the student loan repayment. The debt is definitely a tough part of the decision to quit law school, but it's probably not so terrible as you may think. (I realize that this post may actually encourage some to stick with or start law school, too... if that's the case, rock on! Good luck to you!)
Next time on How to Quit Law School: A note to those of you who came across this blog in your quest to decide if STARTING law school is for you.
How to Analyze the Decision to Leave Law School
There is one key to any analysis of the decision to quit law school that is vital to keep in balance: your long-term priorities.
A decision to quit law school can definitely happen too fast. I have been contemplating this decision for months now and even I had a moment a few days ago amidst a conversation about the value of a JD where I felt panic-stricken. "Have I made this decision too quickly?!" I'm a strong advocate of getting out of there before you're too deep into it, but you absolutely must give this decision the respect and time it deserves. It's important.
"What are your dreams?"
A very good friend of mine gave me a great piece of advice when I found myself adrift and floundering to come up with the solution for my law school prison problem. She asked me a point blank question that caught me off guard: "What are your dreams?" ...I realized that I didn't have any. Not even was becoming a lawyer a former dream. I just didn't have any! She told me about a book she'd read. The author suggested that those adrift (like us lucky folks who need a blog like this) write down the following: five things you want to do in the next 6 months, five things you want to be in the next 6 months, five things you want to have in the next 6 months, and then repeat each for the next year. So you write out 30 things you want total. You look at these six lists and pick 3 things from each to focus on. I suggest doing the 1 year lists first and then using the 6 month ones to be incremental (half-way points?) goals toward the ultimate year goals. It's actually harder than you think to come up with these goals, but you should sit down and do it anyway... you're making a tough decision.
Doing this really helped me to find out that I do have some dreams. I tried to stay semi-realistic, but was liberal in giving myself some room to dream in setting my goals. I have some fun goals, and some that are very practical. (Having enough money for debt payments. No, duh.)
I guess the moral of including this in this post, is that if you find law-related things still showing up in your lists of goals, you should probably reconsider quitting law school. But if you, like me, find legal matters to be the furthest thing from your dreams... you know what to do.
The Old Tried and True
Pros and Cons Lists have been there to help me in making many decisions.
In order to make a decent pro and con list for this choice I had to circumvent the biggest obstacle presented by pro and con lists. Emotion. I often go into a list made willy-nilly knowing exactly which side will come out on top. To combat this I found a great website that factors emotion into the pros and cons in a helpful way. Pro Con Lists allows you to factor the emotional and rational nature of each individual pro or con. I highly recommend this site if you like the pro and con list analysis. (A quick perusal of the site just now reveals that my anonymous list is still there for you to view. :-/ )
Whatever your method, just remember to focus on your long-term priorities.
P.S. Perhaps you can get some funny, if not honest, folks to hash out the arguments for you.
P.P.S. Or, what about the economics of it all? (Wow, a little of my law school has definitely stuck with me.)
Next time on How to Quit Law School: The old ball and chain... THE DEBT!
A decision to quit law school can definitely happen too fast. I have been contemplating this decision for months now and even I had a moment a few days ago amidst a conversation about the value of a JD where I felt panic-stricken. "Have I made this decision too quickly?!" I'm a strong advocate of getting out of there before you're too deep into it, but you absolutely must give this decision the respect and time it deserves. It's important.
"What are your dreams?"
A very good friend of mine gave me a great piece of advice when I found myself adrift and floundering to come up with the solution for my law school prison problem. She asked me a point blank question that caught me off guard: "What are your dreams?" ...I realized that I didn't have any. Not even was becoming a lawyer a former dream. I just didn't have any! She told me about a book she'd read. The author suggested that those adrift (like us lucky folks who need a blog like this) write down the following: five things you want to do in the next 6 months, five things you want to be in the next 6 months, five things you want to have in the next 6 months, and then repeat each for the next year. So you write out 30 things you want total. You look at these six lists and pick 3 things from each to focus on. I suggest doing the 1 year lists first and then using the 6 month ones to be incremental (half-way points?) goals toward the ultimate year goals. It's actually harder than you think to come up with these goals, but you should sit down and do it anyway... you're making a tough decision.
Doing this really helped me to find out that I do have some dreams. I tried to stay semi-realistic, but was liberal in giving myself some room to dream in setting my goals. I have some fun goals, and some that are very practical. (Having enough money for debt payments. No, duh.)
I guess the moral of including this in this post, is that if you find law-related things still showing up in your lists of goals, you should probably reconsider quitting law school. But if you, like me, find legal matters to be the furthest thing from your dreams... you know what to do.
The Old Tried and True
Pros and Cons Lists have been there to help me in making many decisions.
- Pro: Buying this dog will give me a friend I can rely on to cheer me up when I get home from oppressive law school classes.
- Con: Buying this dog will lead to many a smelly surprise in my house.
In order to make a decent pro and con list for this choice I had to circumvent the biggest obstacle presented by pro and con lists. Emotion. I often go into a list made willy-nilly knowing exactly which side will come out on top. To combat this I found a great website that factors emotion into the pros and cons in a helpful way. Pro Con Lists allows you to factor the emotional and rational nature of each individual pro or con. I highly recommend this site if you like the pro and con list analysis. (A quick perusal of the site just now reveals that my anonymous list is still there for you to view. :-/ )
Whatever your method, just remember to focus on your long-term priorities.
P.S. Perhaps you can get some funny, if not honest, folks to hash out the arguments for you.
P.P.S. Or, what about the economics of it all? (Wow, a little of my law school has definitely stuck with me.)
Next time on How to Quit Law School: The old ball and chain... THE DEBT!
How to Talk Yourself Out of Law School
As promised, the following are the notes I took during one of my courtroom observing sessions while being a judicial intern this summer. Obviously I was VERY distracted. Yeah, people were being arraigned, getting cuffed, or being sentenced to prison while I was just jotting this stuff down on my legal sheets. I was initially just goofing around, but it became a fully formed legal-style memo. For some reason I thought it should be in the third person?
Judge Allphin's Criminal Calendar
"An"
Stable v. Fun
Issue: Whether under the weight of law school debt, Jeff should pursue a job that he enjoys or one that pays but he can handle?
Facts: Jeff is $100k in debt from a year and a half's worth of law school student loans. To this point, Jeff has only completed 35 credits, and has at least two years of prison remaining. Jeff could work in public service and get debt forgiveness after 25 years. Jeff could also have income contingent payments. Jeff hates law school. He doesn't really enjoy working in the law either. He has some desire to be a writer. He also wants to weigh these matters with some reality.
Statute: Debt collectors can be sicked on Jeff if he doesn't meet his obligations.
Analysis: Jeff's main goal is to be financially stable and not unhealthily unhappy with his job. The second part of that almost definitely precludes a legal job, as it is these jobs that have landed Jeff in this predicament. The weight of reality also seems to preclude Jeff dedicating too much time to writing, as that is a proven unlucrative field for millions of aspiring writers. Jeff could be crazy if he tries to continue law school, and likely would fail out or do very poorly. Jeff has multiple other options that he has entertained. He considers HR a field he would probably be good at, and that wouldn't make him very unhappy. He has always felt that he would be a teacher as well. This might not only satisfy his need to not be unhealthily unhappy, but it would have other benefits. Some feel that they have a few things in life that they're meant to do. This would fall in that category for Jeff. However, following this path has gotten Jeff into trouble before, as Jeff felt meant to go to law school. He did, however, feel before he made that decision that he was going to be humbled and fail. He feels that came to fruition, and that a "meant to do"-path may still be for him. Teaching would also carry financial benefits, whether Jeff pursues a PhD, or a teaching certificate that would permit him to teach college courses or high school courses, respectively. Either way, Jeff wouldn't have an extremely lucrative job, but if he teaches at a public institution he may qualify for public service debt forgiveness. Jeff may have other options, but none seems to be as good a solution as teaching. As far as his choice between the teaching certificate and pursuing a PhD, Jeff is concerned with his: (a) ability to gain acceptance to these programs and (b) ability to pay his debt in the interim between the present and starting the further schooling necessary. Jeff hasn't considered how quickly he could get going on the teaching certificate, but knows that he would have to wait a year before he could start a masters, preceding a PhD. This interim could be filled with a simple retail job, but that might not satisfy debt payments and other financial obligations. Jeff might pursue humanitarian causes during this interim, but also is concerned with the financial burden created by the opportunity costs.
Conclusion and recommendation: Given the seriousness of unhealthy unhappiness Jeff has experienced, it seems only proper that he quit law school entirely. Although this frightens him and may lead to difficulties, it seems to be for the best. It is recommended that Jeff seriously reconsider high school instruction, or that he do what is necessary to pursue a masters and a PhD. The interim is a matter he's capable of dealing with. He is capable of finding a decent-paying job. He can do it.
Next time on How to Quit Law School: pros and cons lists.
Judge Allphin's Criminal Calendar
Stable v. Fun
Issue: Whether under the weight of law school debt, Jeff should pursue a job that he enjoys or one that pays but he can handle?
Facts: Jeff is $100k in debt from a year and a half's worth of law school student loans. To this point, Jeff has only completed 35 credits, and has at least two years of prison remaining. Jeff could work in public service and get debt forgiveness after 25 years. Jeff could also have income contingent payments. Jeff hates law school. He doesn't really enjoy working in the law either. He has some desire to be a writer. He also wants to weigh these matters with some reality.
Statute: Debt collectors can be sicked on Jeff if he doesn't meet his obligations.
Analysis: Jeff's main goal is to be financially stable and not unhealthily unhappy with his job. The second part of that almost definitely precludes a legal job, as it is these jobs that have landed Jeff in this predicament. The weight of reality also seems to preclude Jeff dedicating too much time to writing, as that is a proven unlucrative field for millions of aspiring writers. Jeff could be crazy if he tries to continue law school, and likely would fail out or do very poorly. Jeff has multiple other options that he has entertained. He considers HR a field he would probably be good at, and that wouldn't make him very unhappy. He has always felt that he would be a teacher as well. This might not only satisfy his need to not be unhealthily unhappy, but it would have other benefits. Some feel that they have a few things in life that they're meant to do. This would fall in that category for Jeff. However, following this path has gotten Jeff into trouble before, as Jeff felt meant to go to law school. He did, however, feel before he made that decision that he was going to be humbled and fail. He feels that came to fruition, and that a "meant to do"-path may still be for him. Teaching would also carry financial benefits, whether Jeff pursues a PhD, or a teaching certificate that would permit him to teach college courses or high school courses, respectively. Either way, Jeff wouldn't have an extremely lucrative job, but if he teaches at a public institution he may qualify for public service debt forgiveness. Jeff may have other options, but none seems to be as good a solution as teaching. As far as his choice between the teaching certificate and pursuing a PhD, Jeff is concerned with his: (a) ability to gain acceptance to these programs and (b) ability to pay his debt in the interim between the present and starting the further schooling necessary. Jeff hasn't considered how quickly he could get going on the teaching certificate, but knows that he would have to wait a year before he could start a masters, preceding a PhD. This interim could be filled with a simple retail job, but that might not satisfy debt payments and other financial obligations. Jeff might pursue humanitarian causes during this interim, but also is concerned with the financial burden created by the opportunity costs.
Conclusion and recommendation: Given the seriousness of unhealthy unhappiness Jeff has experienced, it seems only proper that he quit law school entirely. Although this frightens him and may lead to difficulties, it seems to be for the best. It is recommended that Jeff seriously reconsider high school instruction, or that he do what is necessary to pursue a masters and a PhD. The interim is a matter he's capable of dealing with. He is capable of finding a decent-paying job. He can do it.
Next time on How to Quit Law School: pros and cons lists.
How To Quit Law School
Quitting law school is done best in one specific way... as soon as possible.
Hi! I am among the most recent class of law school dropouts and want to share my story to aid others who find themselves in the quandary of law school prison. What is law school prison? It's when you've decided you're going to stick with it. You go for a while, you don't love it, but you tell yourself, "I can do this for a while. I can just be a lawyer for a few years, then I'll move on to what I really want to do." This shortly leads to "I hate this. But I'm SO in debt. How could I possibly do anything else now?" Prison. Law-school-debt prison. Well, that's how I felt anyway. There are a myriad other reasons to quit law school, and certainly I have many more of my own, but whatever your reason, you should know that you're not alone, that you're not hopeless, and that life will just keep moving.
YOU'RE NOT ALONE:
Hi! I am among the most recent class of law school dropouts and want to share my story to aid others who find themselves in the quandary of law school prison. What is law school prison? It's when you've decided you're going to stick with it. You go for a while, you don't love it, but you tell yourself, "I can do this for a while. I can just be a lawyer for a few years, then I'll move on to what I really want to do." This shortly leads to "I hate this. But I'm SO in debt. How could I possibly do anything else now?" Prison. Law-school-debt prison. Well, that's how I felt anyway. There are a myriad other reasons to quit law school, and certainly I have many more of my own, but whatever your reason, you should know that you're not alone, that you're not hopeless, and that life will just keep moving.
YOU'RE NOT ALONE:
- Law schools lose students every year:
- Various schools' 2011 attrition rates 1st year / 2nd year:
- Akron: 19.6% / 4.4%
- George Mason: 16.2% / 1.7%
- George Washington: 6.4% / 4%
- Loyola Marymount: 11.5% / 2.2%
- Michigan State: 14.5% / 1%
- Quinnipiac: 10.4% / .9%
- Some are even advocating that students be paid to leave law school because legal education is such a mess!
YOU'RE NOT HOPELESS:
- Many successful people have dropped out of law school:
- Martin Luther
- Al Gore
- Demetri Martin (HILAROUS!)
- Diane Sawyer
- Paul Simon
- Vince Lombardi
- Ronald Baron (BILLIONAIRE)
- Carly Fiorina (CEO of Hewlett-Packard)
- Billy Joe McCombs (Dropped out to sell cars... BILLIONAIRE)
- Stewart Rahr (BILLIONAIRE)
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Harper Lee
- Leslie Wexner (BILLIONAIRE)
- Even Supreme Court Justice Cardozo dropped out of law school!
- I'm not saying you have to be a billionaire, here's an article from a recent dropout who landed a decent job I wouldn't mind.
- Another post full of inspiration.
LIFE GOES ON:
- I'm still here. Blogging this right now. I didn't die. I told all my friends and family. I didn't die of embarrassment. I didn't disappoint them to death. My law school administrators were GREAT. They worked with me and helped me talk it out, and come to the best decision for me.
- Yes, I'm going to have to get a move on, and find a job, move forward with other plans, but it's not terrible. People sympathise with my situation, and are very willing to help.
- People hate lawyers anyway, you can at least be glad to be done with lawyer jokes!
The comment from two different loved-ones that made the feeling that I've made the right choice really hit home?
"YOU SOUND RELIEVED."
I am.
If you find yourself in the aforementioned prison, just shut the books, take the key off the wall, and let yourself out. It might not be the easiest thing you ever did, but it won't be the worst. Certainly, I am still fresh to all of this. But hindsight right now is 20/20. Without the specter of all things law school looming around me, I can see clearly that I should have done this a long time ago.
If you're still not completely convinced, take a break. My law school was surprisingly chill about me taking a leave of absence. I did, and it gave me a great chance to really think this over. At the very least, talk to people! Talk to your family, friends, school administrators, counselors, financial aid office, professors, gurus, pastors, rabbis, priests, God, therapist... whoever! (Me?) If you keep it all locked up, you'll only get more miserable.
Yes, some people are capable of hating their jobs, but still being successful. But you don't have to be one of those people. If you've just had a bad few weeks of school, give it some time and things may very well turn around. But if you find yourself in prison, and you find yourself reading an article like this... give it a rest already. Take a break or quit, but don't torture yourself any longer!
Next time on How to Quit Law School: The legal-style memo I wrote myself to analyze quitting law school.
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