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[Diet Yomajesty]

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[OnTheRoad]

unusually lazy....

[Clara Bear]

I'm in a PT program, and some students in my class don't work. It seems like at least a third of them either don't work or work only like 10 hours a week. To be honest, those of us who do work are a little grouchy about that, because it seems like they have an unfair advantage over us and over the FT students.

However, the people I know who got good grades this last semester had full time jobs while going to school PT.  I think it's because ppl who have a lot to do get good at being efficient.

It might be glorious to sleep in every day, but do you think employers after graduation or for the summers will look favorably on someone who goes PT without a good reason?

[Miss P]

I'm in a PT program, and some students in my class don't work. It seems like at least a third of them either don't work or work only like 10 hours a week. To be honest, those of us who do work are a little grouchy about that, because it seems like they have an unfair advantage over us and over the FT students.

However, the people I know who got good grades this last semester had full time jobs while going to school PT.  I think it's because ppl who have a lot to do get good at being efficient.

It might be glorious to sleep in every day, but do you think employers after graduation or for the summers will look favorably on someone who goes PT without a good reason?

As a FT student at a school with both PT day and PT evening programs, I can confirm Clara Bear's sense that some PT students who don't work catch a little bitterness from both sides.  A number of the top students in my section first semester did very well at least in part because they didn't have our hardest class; many full-timers felt as if they were unfairly skewing our curve.

In any case, it's not at all a bad idea if a school that's a reach for you has a PT program.  Just make sure you can transfer into the FT program if you want to after a semester or a year.

[gophils215]

I did the work full-time, school full-time thing for half of UG, so I'm not looking to do that again, especially with LS.  While you may be in the minority of the student body, I don't see anything necessarily wrong with it.

[Reaching]

I have a question for PT students for something I'm curious about:

What do PT students who work do during the summers? Do they continue to work at the same job during the day and take classes in the evenings? Do they go off to do summer legal internships?  Does it affect summer associate positions?

[Clara Bear]

Reaching -- This will be my first summer as a law student, so I'm not exactly an expert, but I can tell you my plan.

I'm going to work at my current job, which is not really related to the law, through the summer.  The larger firms in my city hire associates to work in the fall and spring, just like the ones they hire in the summer, so I'm going to quit my job in the fall and get one of those jobs.  For the spring, I'll do another one of those jobs (if possible).  If that's not possible, I'm going to try to find a job as a clerk or something in the legal field.

Other people in my class are doing different things.  Many were clerks or paralegals at law firms before they came to LS, so they're going to just continue what they're doing.  Most people have very flexible jobs with high turn overs (like servers at restaurants and retail jobs) that they can easily quit for the summer and go back to once school starts up again.  A few people (we have a doctor and a physical therapist, for instance) are staying with their normal jobs at least until law school is over.  I'm not sure what (if anything) that will do to their post-graduate career prospects.

You also asked about classes.  At my school, there are no classes offered in the evenings during the summer. So, I think most of the PT students won't be taking summer classes.  A few are going to take summer courses so they can graduate earlier or so they can transfer to the FT program in the fall, but that's certainly not the majority of folks.

[I am Penny Lane]

I am most likely going to end up PT. I do not plan to work my 1st semester. I worked all of undergrad and full time since 17... I would like a few months just to concentrate on school. I think though, that I'll try to pick up a PT job my 2nd semester and see where it takes me. (And maybe do FT school or FT work the following years.) I don't see whats wrong with taking a little time off, but not working at all for 4 years while going PT seems like it could hurt you quite a bit.

Do you think employers would look down on my plan?

[Clara Bear]

I doubt that employers will look down on your not working for just 1 semester out of 8 (if you stay PT the whole time you're in school).  If you want to just concentrate on school for a semester, though, why don't you just go to a FT program?

[I am Penny Lane]

If you want to just concentrate on school for a semester, though, why don't you just go to a FT program?

I have to get into one I want to attend first.