Going back to law school

[mrsdclare]

I attended University of the Pacific Fall of 2005.  Due to relocation issues (my husband is in the military) and my concerns about the cost of law school I withdrew halfway through the Spring of 06.  After much time and consideration I have decided that I will be returning to law school in the fall of 07.  I have begun the application process now.  I value the time I have spent evaluating what my passions are and what I want to do with my life.  I have a renewed sense of purpose and desire that I did not have during my first year.  I had to experience the "real world" to realize that I did not want to settle for mediocrity.  Long story short I am wondering if anyone else has gone through a similiar situation? Also if anyone has any advice as to how to go about this in my applications? Will I need to disclose that I matriculated in fall 05 at McGeorge? I did not have any official grades as the classes were for a full year.  The only grades we recieved were for the fall exams.  My grades for these exams were competitive.  My reasons for leaving school were not academic rather I felt a need to re-evaluate.  Any comments/advice ect would be greatly appreciated. 

[tenth8sphere]

You will need to reveal you went to another law school, even if grades were never posted. You can double check this by calling your old school - I suspect they'll confirm it.

[jacy85]

Yes, you have to reveal you matriculated at another law school.  Your transcript from there (even w/o grades) and an explanation why you left are vitally important to any law school considering your app.  They'll likely want to know that you were not expelled for ethical reasons and that you were academically competitive. 

You're going to have a lot of explaning to do about how 6 months could totally change your mind about law school, IMO.  The decision to attend school in the first place is a huge deal.  You spent 7 months in school after making this huge decision, then left mid semester (March?).  Now you're applying again only 6 months down the road.  What happened in 6 months that the previous 7 didn't spark?  A school is going to want to be VERY sure that you're not just bored with whatever it is you've been doing for the last 5 or 6 months.  An adcom is not going to want to feel like they're the flavor of the day.

[tacojohn]

I'll back up what Jacy said.  Whatever you did between now and when you left Pacific, you need to put it in a light that shows why you are sure now, and weren't sure before.  And it can't be that you tried something else and didn't like, so law school is left by default.  You'll need to show exactly why you changed your mind, and I would throw in something about how the experience better prepared you for law school.

[LostMyMonkeys]

I did it. Had about 5 years in between though, and finishd 44 units the first go around. I had to start over, with the LSAT and everything because of the time delay. ABA requires you finish your degree in a certain amount of time (5-7 years depending on full or part time).
When I met with the admissions director at the school I am currently attending, he told me my past law school wasnt going to hurt me. My grades were mediocre. In reality, LSAC only counts your undergrad GPA, but you dod submit grad school transcripts as well.
He said he was looking for people who would be sucessful in law school and I showed that.
I left because of my husband's military transfer too.

[LostMyMonkeys]

Oh, and I would say that you left school because of your husband's military transfer. I wouldn't go further than that, honestly. Its not necessary. I touched on some of the 'renewed passion' stuff in my personal statement though. PM me if you want more info