Law school without a BA

[Foxy]

Hi,

Iam 30 years old and single mother. I am working full time and taking everning classes at UCLA for the last two year and half. I have read that some law school accept student who does not have a BA, but just have some school credits. Does anyone knows which school  does and what are the requirements ?

Thanks,
F

[voss749]

Generally most ABA schools will want a BA degree.

Youre in California and a lot of the non-aba accreditted schools will take
you without an ABA degree but you may have to take some sort of California
test. I would STRONGLT recommend you finish your BA first regardless because
it makes you more employable once you finish law school or if you decide not
to go to law school.

[funlawyer]

The answer is "no."  There isn't an ABA law school that will accept you without a B.A. degree at the time of entry into law school.  Some schools will accept you while you are a senior with the expectation that you will have earned the BA prior to starting law school by finished up law credits during the summer.  But schools normally do that only for very talented students with very high GPAs. Your best option is to finish your BA and apply.  A non ABA approved law school woud only be a waste of money because no one will hire you. 

[eray01]

I would highly suggest you don't do that. Get you're BA and go about getting a law degree the legitimate way. Any other way would be a mistake. You have to keep in mind that the legal job market is highly competitive. It may be one of the most competitive job markets out there. ABA approved schools are churning out about 50,000 newly minted lawyers per year (a good portion of those are probably in Cali. or headed to Cali.). People from lower ranked ABA schools have greater difficulty finding jobs over their counterparts at higher ranked schools. To go to a non ABA school would be a very bad move. Only a handful of states will allow you to sit for the bar if you didn't go to an ABA school. That prohibition speaks volumes for the reputation of non-ABA approved schools.

[QUAKER OATS]

50 years ago, this was possible when Law Schools gave a LLB (Bachelor of Letters and Laws?) instead of a JD

[FJMV]

I usually don't engage in Cooley bashing, but they're ABA and they don't require a BA.

http://www.cooley.edu/admissions/admw_outba.htm

[lincolnsgrandson]

It's a really bad idea, for all the reasons that have already been given. 
You're already in college.  There's no good reason not to finish your degree like every other lawyer does.

[eray01]

I would say that the completion of a bachelor's degree indicates some level of preparation for the demands of law school, and that's why it is required. It's debatable whether someone who has only two and a half years of college would be fully prepared for law school.

[bulletproof]

I have to agree with the general consensus.  Finish your BA, go to an ABA school.  There are many reasons just about everyone else does it this way.  If you are hoping to work for either a firm or the government you are going to be interviewed by somebody that did it that way too.  To do anything short would just limit yourself before you were even out of the gate.  UCLA is a good school, finish up there first.

[esquiremd900]

The answer is yes! I live in Maryland and the University of Baltimore School of Law will admit a person in thier junior year to law school. Upon completion of the first year they will award the BS. also.. Lawschoolbible.com  THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO BE ADMITTED TO THE BAR.