With tuition costs steadily climbing and starting salaries falling, many law school applicants question its value as an investment. But this is a valid question that requires further exploration.
Law school requires strong intrinsic motivation in its applicants. Money, prestige or job security cannot help get through long nights of studying alone.
1. It’s Expensive
Aspiring lawyers often become seduced by the prospect of earning high salaries and prestige with their law degrees. Unfortunately, many law school graduates end up leaving with significant student loan debt as well as unexpected expenses such as healthcare.
Prior to enrolling in law school, it’s essential that you understand that this decision represents an immense investment in your future and explore all available options carefully before taking the plunge. These could include spending some time saving for law school tuition or taking advantage of a gap year to gain valuable legal experience and become a more desirable applicant.
Be mindful that one of the primary goals of earning a law degree is rewiring your brain and developing practical skills for life. From advocating for equitable policies to understanding contracts to counseling complex cases, having legal literacy gives you power over complex matters and helps make informed decisions.
2. It’s Time-Sucking
Law school requires much reading and effort, which may seem like wasted time. Unlike undergrad where you could tune out lectures but still pass exams, law school is all about studying for each class and keeping on top of things; otherwise you run the risk of falling behind and never being able to catch up, which could prove disastrous to your grade.
As well as reading for each class, law school requires writing legal briefs and researching cases – particularly your “LRW” class (legal research and writing). If these tasks don’t appeal to you as intellectual challenges, law school might not be for you – in which case it might even be time- and money-squandered; alternative career paths could be best.
3. It’s Stressful
Law school can be an immensely stressful experience. For many people, this may be their first exposure to an educational setting where their performance has direct ramifications for professional identity and the ability to make ends meet; all while taking on debt that may take years to pay back.
Additionally, the competitive and comparison-oriented nature of legal study can lead to unhealthy habits which compromise long-term mental health and performance.
At law school, it’s possible to do much to alleviate stress levels. Start by practicing healthy habits such as getting enough sleep, eating healthily and limiting social media use; then find a stress management strategy that suits you; it may also be worthwhile seeking support groups for students like Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Massachusetts (LCLM).
4. It’s Not Practical
Law school can be both financially and time consuming. Students need to dedicate a great deal of effort and sacrifice time with family for studying; sometimes that means forgoing family gatherings to spend hours reading or preparing for class.
Of course, much of what you learn in law school will be theoretical. For instance, many law schools use case-based learning formats whereby you read cases and write briefs to gain a deeper understanding of legal concepts and frameworks. You will also be required to write using IRAC (issue, rule, application and analysis) structures for structuring your arguments.
While these skills are all useful, they’re not always practical. Some graduates argue that law school curricula are too focused on academic prestige and memorization than practical applications in real-life applications; rather than teaching law students for legal review articles alone.