The law has long been seen as a prestigious career path and a great option for students with all kinds of skill sets. But still when it comes to joining the law school, everything from applying to graduating seems to be filled with a fair amount of doom and gloom. The legal industry has contracted seriously in the last few years, and there’s no doubt that students face a lot of competition coming out of law school. But still, if you are able to make the right decision as an individual, your law degree can open numbers of doors for you. So, here are a set of questions that you need to ask yourself before joining the law school –
1. Do i need to take a LSAT to apply?
Getting into good law school is really important and by giving LSAT exam, it helps determine if an applicant will be accepted in law school or not. However, these days some law schools have started accepting the applicant without the LSAT exam as well.
2. If applicant score high on the LSAT then should applicant be accur that he/she will crack bar exam too?
There is no assurance that if an applicant has cracked his/her LSAT, then he/she can also make it through the bar exam as well. It entirely depends on the applicant’s personal calibre and if the question revolves around passing the bar exam in order to be a professional law practitioner, then yes, it is indeed a major requirement. The bar exam is a six-hour test with two-hundred multiple-choice qiuestion covering the topics like contracts, torts, constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, evidence, and real property.
3. Is it a compulsion to work in the legal field, if you are joining a law school?
Other than the legal field, Legal enthusiasts can work in Multinational firms as ‘Legal Advisors’. This will help them attain a position in the corporate arena and is different from the old-style-court-practice.
4. Will IÂ need to specialize in a specific area of law?
Make up your mind when it comes to ‘Law Specialization’. Be very selective in terms of choosing your law field, such as Civil Rights, Corporate and Securities Law, Criminal Law, Education Law, Employment and Labour law, Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Family and Juvenile Law, Health Law etc.
5. Will IÂ get a pleasant salary with a law degree?
There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to salary of a law practitioner. But if you need numbers, then according to the statistics in 2014, law graduates made between $ 50, 000 to $74, 999 in US – which indeed is a pretty good sum.
6. How much will a law degree cost?
Most full-time law school programs last three years and the average annual private law school tuition is $41, 985, so tuition and fees will cost you (on average) nearly $130, 000. (However, top law schools such as Harvard, Stanford, and Yale will cost you nearly $160, 000). (As of October 2016)
7. How competitive is the admission process?
Law is one of the most difficult and competitive course and all the top universities have really low acceptance rates, when it comes to admissions. For eg. The acceptance rate of Yale Law School is 9.7% and Stanford Law School is 9.1%. So, you can easily get a idea as of how many applicants apply at these law schools and in reality how many get selected.