I'm not one of those natural-born lawyers... Do I still have a chance?

[Astarael]

I just completed my freshman year at Loyola University New Orleans, a private, liberal arts, not very well-known university. I have a 3.9 GPA which would've been a 4.0 but I dual-enrolled at Tulane University to take Japanese 101 and got my face kicked-in with a B+. I'm double majoring in English Writing and Pre-Law Philosophy because English is my strong suit and I'm terribly interested in Philosophy, particularly morality and ethics. I'm very active in extra curriculars. I'm in quite a few at the moment just to test the waters and see which ones I want to stick with for the next few years.

My concern is this: I wasn't born with that natural talent in debate or an extreme interest in watching the news when I was a kid. I didn't know what "politics" meant until 9th grade. I performed above average in a Florida high school with a 3.6 GPA. I'm labeled as "Gifted" but nowhere near "Genius." I'm no prodigy and that's what scares me.

I've only recently realized my deep interest in law; I certainly had no intention of pursuing law the month before I moved into my college dorm. I keep thinking that no matter how hard I work these next seven or so years of undergrad and grad, I will still be closer to average than excellent in my knowledge and practice of law. I feel like I have to work twice as hard as the "natural-born lawyers" in order to become a decent lawyer, myself. Is this true? Do you have any advice about this? I plan to apply to some of the top 20 law schools (which means a 165 LSAT, near-perfect GPA, etc., etc.) but are the natural-borns the only ones who make it into those top schools?

I just joined the forum and I admit that I haven't perused more than a dozen topics. Therefore, if there's already a thread that answers all of my concerns, please direct me to it. Thanks!

[Thistle]

son, you need a girlfriend.

seriously.

[jacy85]

1.  This is the pre-law in HIGH SCHOOL board.  You should make sure you post in the correct board next time.

2.  I'm saying this in the nicest way possible - you sound very immature.  Not as in childish, but as in you seem to have very unrealistic expectations and little to no experience.  You "got your face kicked in" with a B+?  Are you kidding?  And to think that the law is only full of "natural-born" genius attorneys is just bizarre.  And the law is not about debate and politics.  Yes, there's overlap, and many people enjoy emphasizing the debate and politics elements of the law, but there's much more to it.

And...uh..."I'm labeled as "Gifted" but nowhere near "Genius." I'm no prodigy and that's what scares me."  Seriously?  You're looking for some serious ego inflation here.  You need to learn that what you're labeled has little to no place of relevance in the real world - it's what you do and your relationships with people that make you successful, not whether you're labeled "gifted" or "genius" in your high school permanent record.

My recommendation to you is to not worry about law school for a good long time.  You need to grow up a bit, enjoy and do well in college, get a few internships, and maybe work after school for a little while to figure out how to apply all of your alleged intelligence successfully.  Get some perspective, and then during the second half of your junior year, if you still want to go to LS, study for the LSAT and start researching schools - what they offer, what kind of people they accept, etc.  Oh, and I'll echo Tasha Elizabeth's advice: get a girlfriend.

[$Bill]

son, you need a girlfriend.

seriously.

This is the credited response.  I'd also recommend pornography and marijuana.  Then I would really research what a lawyers day really consists of... which is copying and pasting and digging through Lexus for applicable law.  If you do corporate law (which is I'd guess why you are shooting for T-14, the big money, bottles and models) you wont see a courtroom for a LONNNNG time.

Also, get rid of that ugly liberal arts major.  I'd rather have a 3.3 in biochem or economics then a 4.0 in english and philosophy.  I mean, theres always the chance you wont go to law school...

[Thistle]

OP sounds like a girl to me. Like, a real girl, not a pejorative girl.

well, she needs a girlfriend anyways.  or a boyfriend.  doesnt matter to me.


eta:  good morning sunshine!  er, sunkist.  you were being paged in another thread.

[SCK2008]

Couple things:

1.  OP is a Wally alt or the 2nd coming of Wally- I love it!! (which would make this an elaborate hoax allowing Walls to talk to himself/re-evaluate his legendary insecurities in yet another thread)...

2.  You need to work twice as hard as anyone else no matter what you're doing and no matter how talented you are- this is what separates the Michael Jordans/Wayne Gretzky's of the world vs. the Kwame Browns/etc... (the idea is the Kwame has all-star talent, maybe Hall of Fame talent but would rather collect his 20 million dollar paycheck and steal cake/never practice when Jordan is the most competitive man on the planet/gym rat)...(or it separates someone who might make the team vs. someone that gets cut)...

3.  Op might be immature but OP is young- at least OP is thinking about the future- give him/her some time to figure it out (although it is more fun to berate sometimes)...we have a chance to mentor here, isn't that what this board is about???  (kidding, slightly)...

4.  I think the idea that some people are "natural-born lawyers" might have something to it...but if you're not one of these few people you can still succeed- the David Ecksteins of the world...

Just my opinions- obviously I'm not that naturally talented so these ideas help me rest more easily at night...(and sorry about all of the sports analogies but I think they work in this context)...

ETA- re-read and there isn't as much berating as I first assumed...maybe a little more is necessary after all?

[Astarael]

I’d like to thank everyone who replied. To be honest, I did not expect to be teased more-so than critiqued and advised. I guess I was simply hoping for more positive criticisms. Here’s my responses to everyone:

Hadorbanim- Some people seem to be born with certain talents, like having an amazing singing voice without any lessons. We all shoot to be better than average, which is why I’m concerned about this in the first place. The last few sentences of your post really helped. Thanks.

Tasha Elizabeth- I’m guessing you think I’m a nerdy young man or something. I’m a female and I’m not an alt of someone named “Wally.” In any case, I appreciate the humor you added to this thread.

jacy85- 1. I know that this is the high school board. I figured I’d post here since my situation is closest to that of a high-schooler’s rather than a grad student's. If there is an undergrad section of the board, I must have overlooked it.

2. I really feel attacked by some of the things you're saying, but I understand and I can probably bring myself to agree with some of it. It's hard to accept being called immature, but I get at what you're saying. My mindset about law school is very inflated, so thanks for pointing that out to me.

I must have come off as a really rude, egotistical person in my post, which I think is why your reply is also a little impolite. My statement about the B+ in Japanese just reflects my attitude toward school work; it's silly to voluntarily sign up for an elective freshman course and to not do well in it. Anyway, I don’t claim to have an immense amount of intelligence so I’m sorry if you interpreted me as such because that’s really not me.

$Bill- I never said anything about what lawyers really do on a day to day basis. I never mentioned anything about being in a courtroom, making lots of money, etc. The only assumption I made about being a lawyer is that some types of lawyers have a background in debate and current events, which I don't.  Your reply isn't relevant to most of what I asked about. Anyway, I am very satisfied with my “ugly” liberal arts major. I don't need your advice on that.

Diet Sunkist- Yes, I am a girl. Uh, congrats on guessing correctly, I suppose.

SCK2008- I appreciate your response. Thanks for clarifying why I came to this board and posted. It's frustrating when a person posts something that's important to them and hopes for constructive criticism but ends up receiving half-criticism and half-berating and teasing. Sure, I'm young and immature in my ideals and thoughts but that certainly doesn't warrant immature and sarcastic responses. In any case, your post helped just as much as jacy's. Thank you.

---------------
Again, thanks for the replies. Take care, everyone.

[hotdogs]

got my face kicked-in with a B+.
I'm labeled as "Gifted" but nowhere near "Genius." I'm no prodigy and that's what scares me.
I just joined the forum and I admit that I haven't perused more than a dozen topics. Therefore, if there's already a thread that answers all of my concerns, please direct me to it. Thanks!

flame

don't feed the troll

[Thistle]

mmmm......hotdogs!  gobble 'em up!

[dsetterl]

 Gifted not a genius- thanks for that, good for quite a laugh. Don't take yourself so seriously. My suggestion is to go and get a job at firm. Serve some subpoenas, do some filing, document production etc, etc. It sounds like you know very little about the profession.

 mmmmmmmmmmmm hotdogs