r/LawSchoolOver30

I’m 41, a mom of three, and seriously contemplating whether I should go to law school now. I regret not going when I was younger, especially because my sister ended up going and is doing really well. She recently asked me if I’d ever considered going, and I told her I always thought it was too late.

I’ve been doing paralegal work for the past three years, and I’m now helping her at the new law office she opened. The more I think about it, the more I feel like once I get past the initial “what am I thinking?!” feeling of going back to school, it could end up being one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

My biggest concern is how difficult law school will be while raising a family. I know it won’t be easy, but I also don’t want to look back years from now and wish I had just gone for it.

Has anyone else been in my shoes — starting law school in their 40s, with kids and a career — and decided to take the plunge? I’d love to hear your experiences, especially how you balanced school and family. TIA

I haven’t seen many folks with positive test optional experiences so it’s hard to understand how bad it will be if I apply test optional to GW. I have a 3.0 from a military academy (23 years ago!) and a full successful 24 year military officer career (as a nuclear engineer and then a military diplomat). I know it doesn’t count for medians but I also have two masters (3.77 and 4.0, respectively). I have been studying for the LSAT but feel like I’m spinning my wheels somewhat, trying to learn a new skill set that perhaps isn’t the best way to spend my time. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions regarding test optional after a long first career?

I finish my BA in April 2027, majored in environmental studies. I know I want to continue my education afterwards so I been looking at different options. Online law school with specifically environmental law concentration has my interest. It’s a big step & I have a busy home life as a SAHM. I could see myself with an environmental law firm or working as an environmental lawyer. Any advice?

I returned to school after a substantial break (nearly 20 years) to finish my undergrad degree. I had a very rough semester at my first 4-year college (I transferred from a community), and it hammered my GPA. Prior, I'd been Dean's List. Not so much there. Anyway, the economy crashed in 2008, and I dropped out in 2009 after trying to make it on my own/full time school for a while. (My major was one that required lots of 'studio time'). Anyway, long story short, I'm back and I'm killing it in a double major Poli Sci/Philosophy with an Institutional 3.93 GPA. And a minor in Theatre that I finished up for the hell of it (I was a major at the 4-year). Yes, I have an addendum prepared, but I feel like the writing is on the wall for me.

I've been figuring this out all on my own, as my father was a plumber and my mother was a kindergarten teacher at a church. It has been a punch to the gut to see my CAS GPA of 3.19. Seriously - it's the most nihilistic I've felt about this process so far. It's also been a punch in the gut that my PTs have not been nearly what they need to be to outweigh this fucking CAS GPA. I feel like scholarships -- which I would 100000% need -- are not going to happen. I cancelled my October LSAT, and I'm thinking of cancelling the November, too. I'm now thinking of going the grad school route, with my eye on a program in Germany (free higher education) and I'm toying with the idea of going the Ph.D. route instead, with a few programs near by that I think I'd excel in.

Being a lawyer was the dream, so I feel like I'm cheating myself by not even applying, but now that GRAD Plus loans are gone, it's changed the game significantly for me. I've been through a lot in life, and I do feel I would make a great attorney, but as far as a business decision goes, the schooling for it does NOT skew in my favor if I choose this route. Not only do I feel I would struggle significantly to even be admitted, there's no way I'd not have to take out heavy loans, and I just cannot do that.

I don't know what I'm expecting from this post - maybe someone else who identifies schooling as a business decision? Feeling like a weird mixture of despondent, toothless, and relegated.

Any insight that lends itself as productive or helpful is appreciated.

A brief summary of my journey. I'm 33 and have taken the LSAT twice now. My most recent attempt (September) was a 162, which was just a point below my recent PT average. I've hit 166 and 168 twice. For this last attempt I studied from February to April, then from June to August.

In that time I was purely self studying. I used the Powerscore LSAT Bibles as my primary resource along with the official PTs of course. In August I paid for 7Sage and did some live classes but didn't find it super helpful with so many questions getting asked.

I am leaning towards not applying this cycle. Am I crazy? My plan is to pay for a tutor next year and truly put everything I have into this. For this year, I only signed up for September (which I sort of regret). My thinking is next year I am willing to take it three times if I have to and then come September 1st I'm done no matter what. I truly believe I can break into the 170s, but I don't want to try and rush at the end of this cycle to try to do it, only to have a worse chance at a scholarship by applying late.

Wondering if anyone else is in a similar spot. This represents a career change for me and being an older student, it makes me nervous to push this off. But if I focus purely on the academic context, I feel like my plan makes sense. Wondering if any other slightly older students can relate. Thanks yall.

Up front disclaimer: I am very much in the conceptual/good idea fairy stage of planning, so I have no LSAT scores as a baseline and I might get some terminology wrong. Apologies in advance.

Where I’m at: As I transition into the civilian world after 8 years in the Army, I’m looking to fully use my GI Bill and find a decent career. I am currently setting myself up for a career in infosec/risk management through certs and my first Masters degree (recently finished). It’s a field I’m very passionate about and relates closely to my experience. I’m also definitely going back to college as a full time student to get an MBA (and/or a JD if that’s the path).

Why I’m here: I recently found out that there are lawyers that specialize in privacy and cybersecurity law, which sounds very interesting. I work with our JAGs a lot regarding security and intelligence oversight issues, so initial research makes this feel right up my alley. Definitely not a 1:1 but I think it’s relevant experience.

The ask: I’m looking to see if anyone has made a similar decisions or has some input for me to meditate on to help me decide. I don’t want to take time away from other certs I’m working towards for the LSAT if it’s a bad idea in the first place.

Following is my rationale for and against getting a JD so far:

Why get a JD:
- i plan on being a full time student anyways, so why not get a JD or dual JD/MBA? The GI Bill will pay for all or majority of it.
- getting a JD opens me up to the law side of the security industry that can also be lucrative.
- if I decide to stay on the original path, a JD would still look great for cyber risk management jobs

Why not get a JD:
- that’s a lot of work. Never stopped me before, but the Army has made need tired and I want a siesta.
- going into law seems to always be starting from the bottom no matter your non-law experience. It makes sense, I’m not ranting against it. But as most folks in this page note, it is pretty discouraging after 30.

I typed a lot more than in thought I would, so thank you in advance for anyone who reads this and gives input.