is 50 too old

[leftofthedial]

to go to law school?

[SeattleGirl]

1. This 50 year old would say, hell no!

If that's what you (or anyone) wants to do and you qualify, do it! :hi:

[leftofthedial]

2. well, I'm already a jerk,

so I have some qualifications . . .

[SeattleGirl]

3. LOL!

There you go!

[yvr girl]

4. You might have a hard time getting in

Some schools only want to give seats to people who can put the time in.

[leftofthedial]

5. the time to go to school

or the time to have a long career after?

I figure at 50, one could reasonably put in a 25-year career.

[eyesroll]

7. In the United States, age discrimination is illegal.

I'm not sure what you mean by "put the time in," but if you mean attend classes and graduate within four calendar years going full time, or six calendar years going part time (as required by ABA rules), then a 50-year-old can do it as well as a 25-year-old can.

[yvr girl]

10. Being illegal doesn't mean it doesn't happen

I actually meant time devoted to career rather than time spent in school.

[leftofthedial]

11. age discrimination is illegal, which explains

why the 30 people in my over-45 professionals unemployed group never even get interviews when they apply for jobs.

[eyesroll]

19. Well, yeah, as yvr girl said, it's not that it doesn't happen.

But one thing I've found is that with law-school admissions, it's almost entirely numbers.

You'll get the seat if you have a good LSAT score and undergrad GPA (yes, unfortunately, if you had a bad semester at 21, and you're 50 now, it will still count against you -- although admissions committees will cut you more slack than if you had a bad semester at 21 and you're 22 now). If you have a bad one, you won't. If you have a middling one, then the softer factors count...but age generally won't be among them. Heck, your years of work experience will be a definite plus at some schools.

Of course, good/bad/middling is different for different schools, and you'll probably have better luck outside the upper tier of law schools, regardless of your numbers. I don't know your family situation, but nontraditional students tend to be much less mobile than their 22-year-old counterparts, so I know your choices may be limited.

Plus -- many schools have part-time evening options, and most people in those classes are returning students (30s to 50s).

[leftofthedial]

20. I got fairly decent grades way back when

and do very well on tests

I'm pretty much limited to where I am, but there are several mid-tier choices

[democracyindanger]

6. Hope not

One of the things I want to do in retirement is get a law degree.

[leftofthedial]

33. how come?

if you don't mind my asking?

[democracyindanger]

37. The challenge, mostly

But I've seen how effective Star Jones is on "The View." Who wouldn't bow to my superiority when I can start every sentence with, "Well, I'm a lawyer..." :P

[leftofthedial]

38. LOL

But what about all the lawyer jokes?

[bigwillq]

8. NO!

Go for it!

[eyesroll]

9. Not at all!

I'll be doing it at 30, and everyone says my time in the workforce (i.e. getting up at 6 am, going to work, managing my time, not going to keggers) will put me at an advantage.
Best of luck to you!

[leftofthedial]

34. thanks!

[Sanity Claws]

12. Why do you want to go?

Do you want to become a lawyer? This may sound dumb but actually not everyone going to law school wants to be a lawyer.
I don't think the question should be, Am I too old? Instead, you should ask yourself what you expect to get out of it, how much it will cost you, not only in tuition and books but lost income from your current profession. Is this cost worth it in terms of increased income over the rest of your expected work life?
BTW, I'm an attorney. Had I to do it all over, I would have chosen a different profession.

[leftofthedial]

17. all great questions

why would you have chosen differently and what would you have chosen? why did you choose law in the first place?

[Sanity Claws]

21. I don't like the profession

I do litigation and it's incredibly contentious. Everything seems to be zero-sum game; you're either a big winner or a big loser. There are days when I feel I'm getting lied to or being played by opposing counsel and my own client. You lose trust in everyone and everything.
It wears on you after a while.
You also work really hard and the financial rewards are not commensurate with the work. The exceptions are a few who don't mind selling their soul to represent big corporations and their agenda.
I'm not sure what I should have chosen instead. These days I think of journalism or publishing and wonder whether I can make a change.
Good luck to you.

[leftofthedial]

26. good luck to you! I hope you find some happiness

I had a close friend who was a criminal defense attorney

many of the factors you cite as well as a kind of base corruption and lack of justice in the system really wore on him.

I'm not sure I'd be cut out for litigation. My current profession is already about 99% rejection.

[Kali]

27. Journalism - talk about about a profession that

seems like everybody sold out!......not that we don't DESPERATLY need some journalists with ethics...just saying if that aspect burns you out on law, journalism won't be much better IMO.

[SW FL Dem]

23. Good questions!

I went to law school because I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but I didn't really know what that entailed. I practiced law for almost 15 years and never really enjoyed it. Now my top ten law degree makes me one of the most overqualified stay at home moms around. At least I finally paid off the last of my student loans a few years ago. I graduated over 20 years ago and had over 55K in student loans by the time I finished.

[Sanity Claws]

24. That was a lot in debt

I also graduated from a top school more than 20 years ago with a lot of debt --$20K. You take the cake though with $55K in debt. It scares me even to write it.

[eyesroll]

35. There are people graduating from the mid-tier local school where I'm going

with $100,000 in debt. :scared:

Thankfully the Scholarship Fairy has been nice to me, so I will not have to worry about selling my soul to The Law Offices of Big, Greedy and Soul Sucking in order to pay it back.

[bertha katzenengel]

13. No.

Absolutely not.

[CBHagman]

14. NO.

No, no, a thousand times no!

Seriously, I remember years ago Eda LeShan published a book of her radio talks called "Living Your Life," and one issue she dealt with was the importance of living with passion and open-mindedness. She cited specific examples of someone she knew who had become a lawyer at 50-plus, much older people who had gone to college or taken up new careers, a 90-something woman who was politically active, etc.

If your heart really is in this and you can find a way to do it, by all means take those steps. :applause:

:yourock:

[DanCa]

15. Age is never a reason to stop learning

Good luck and I hope you see it thru.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Of course it isn't!

About the only thing that 50 is too old for is having babies.....

And I forgot to look and see if you are female! :blush:

Edited to add: I see you aren't female.....so, that issue is resolved!

GO FOR IT! Live your dreams! Carpe diem!

:applause: :woohoo: :woohoo: :applause:

[LibertyLover]

18. Heavens no

I actually started law school when I was 50. I did one year. Then I had to quit because my husband and I adopted our 16 month old daughter from China and I simply didn't have the time, or truth be told, the interest, to continue. She is 3 now and I figure that when she goes to school full time, I can think about going back. It's never too late. Go for it!

[Burma Jones]

22. Not unless you have a terminal disease.......n/t

Go For It..........

[leftofthedial]

32. my only terminal disease is DU

get it? Terminal disease? I crack me up.

[philosophie_en_rose]

25. Of course not!

I'm older than average (25) and in law school. Although I think the undergraduates look like fetuses (fetii??), you'll find that there is always someone that shares your interests -- even if they're younger than you are.

To the contrary of some other posts, I think that being older is an advantage. You can write about your life experiences and bring context to discussions, whereas students coming straight from undergrad have sometimes never worked or are sometimes distracted by partying.

[leftofthedial]

29. I'm never distracted by partying

at my age, it's just wake up, drink prune juice, work and sleep. LOL

Good points about perspective and life experience. I think I'd get along great with students of all ages. I've worked with young people throughout my careers.

[Catchawave]

28. So, how old will you be .....

3-4 years from now, whether you go to law school or not ?

Same can be asked for medical/veterinary schools too :)

[madeline_con]

30. I've actually heard of a lot of people going once they're older. n/t

[StellaBlue]

31. no

Not if you can afford it (probably can afford it better than my 20something peers!).

Plus, you will provide a mature (?), thoughtful, 'different' perspective to any law program - I would think most law schools would like to have you.

[Left Is Write]

36. No.

I've been thinking of these things lately myself. I'm considering going back to school for teaching, though I wouldn't be able even to start for 3-5 more years. I'd be in my mid 40's by then.

Still, if it's something we want - we should go for it, regardless of age.