Physician with 3.98 161 LSAT

[LawyerMD]

"Your not having a JD or your having a JD will have zero impact on anyone besides yourself, because there are more than enough people available to fill every kind of law job."  

You have NO idea. I am obtaining this degree, not for myself, not to rack up degrees, but because I have actual plans of how I can use it to help people and patients. I am sorry you feel like what you do has NO impact on people. I am truly so sorry you feel like this about something you wake up doing every day. You should look into another profession.

"For every big law job, there are 50 people waiting to take that person's place who are every bit as qualified."

This didnt stop me from going into medicine, and this certainly wont stop me from going into law



"I don't think there will ever be a day in which you say "medicine is boring and unchallenging."  You want something boring, you're on the right course by applying to law school.  The law is extremely boring.  It is also over-saturated on the supply side."

It seems like you are a disgruntled law student or lawyer. Just because you are bitter and unhappy dont transcend that to others.


"To be perfectly honest, with a 161, I really doubt you will get into an elite school."

I will take my chances and if needed I will retake the exam and reapply.


"Law school is not like medical school; it doesn't not offer job security, and for many people it is, sadly, a waste."

Sorry you feel this way. Law, like medicine, needs people who are passionate about what they do. Passionate about helping people through treatment, care, medications, smiles and compassion, laws, statutes, our constitution, equality, and justice for all.

I am sorry you are in such despair over what you do. But I am not. I love what I do for patients, and I love the prospects of what I can do by studying law.

I am not interesting in a high salary, an elite job, or an impressive status. If I am aiming for a top caliber school, it's so I can be surrounded by the best, inspiring people who are passionate about what they do. That is not to say this only exists at a top 20 school or a top 50 school... and ultimately I am motivated and determined enough to make my goals happen for the population I am determined to help regardless of the law school I get into.

And with that, I refuse to respond to any more of your posts that discounts and insults the profession.

[/quote]

[Thane Messinger]

I am not interested in a high salary, an elite job, or an impressive status. If I am aiming for a top caliber school, it's so I can be surrounded by the best, inspiring people who are passionate about what they do. That is not to say this only exists at a top 20 school or a top 50 school... and ultimately I am motivated and determined enough to make my goals happen for the population I am determined to help regardless of the law school I get into.

Aloha, LawyerMD -

These are good reasons to aim for law school, and a top law school.  You're quite right that the caliber of student at a top school is, well, stellar.  There are many fine students at any law school; the key is to find the school that's right for you.

Best of luck in getting there.  It is a fun ride, with the right attitude.  

Thane.

[CJScalia]

You're pretty ridiculous for discounting peoples' goals and aspirations. There are many reasons why I want to practice both law and medicine besides health care law but I dont have to explain that to you.

There's at least 3 MDs in my class, so I don't really see why this is so astonishing to anyone. Best of luck to you for making that switch.

There are lawyers who switch into medicine, and vice versa. There are various combinations of dual degrees. In fact there are even a handful of medical schools that offer MD-JD 6 year programs.

Well, I think there's a whole lot less JDs going into MD. Simply because 1) getting into medical school is a hell of a lot harder and 2) lawyers typically suck at math.

That being said, I didn't write this just to go "I agree" with everything you said. According to the 3 MDs I know in my class, they did not feel like they got any real benefits of that degree in terms of admission. In fact, the only people who seem to have gotten some sort of bump due to the nature of their previous degrees are those with heavy science backgrounds, mainly PhD in engineer. And even them do not get a major bump.

If you absolutely want a top ranked school, re-take the LSAT. It's worth the time and effort.

Also, look into Northwestern. They have something of a fetish for people with a previous career, and I'm guessing they'd be more inclined to value your degree higher than most other schools.

I will add this, however. Your MD degree is going to be a huge asset when it comes to finding employment after graduation, perhaps making the impact of school rank a little less than it otherwise would be.

Good luck!

[Thane Messinger]

I will add this, however. Your MD degree is going to be a huge asset when it comes to finding employment after graduation, perhaps making the impact of school rank a little less than it otherwise would be.

Exactly right.  As a rule, those with specialized skills or credentials (engineers, scientists, physicians, therapists, CPAs, etc.) will be in a different world in terms of legal employment.  In many cases, they're not (usually) in the regular OCI world, but are instead quite attractive to specialized employers, such as IP firms (or specialized departments of big firms), agencies, corporations, and so on.  Fluency in a second (or third) language can likewise open a broader employment world.

That written, the real question is an input question, not an output question:  Do you really, truly WANT to learn the law?  If so, don't let anyone ever slow you down, or talk you out of it.  Go!  For everyone else, now is the time to think--really think--about this.  (An oddly named book that actually has one of the best discussions on this topic, mostly for the early-20s student fresh out of college:  Slacker's Guide to Law School.  Not really a comprehensive guide, but a few excellent points about law school and quite funny.)

[LawyerMD]

There's at least 3 MDs in my class, so I don't really see why this is so astonishing to anyone. Best of luck to you for making that switch.

May I ask which law school you go to which is so MD friendly?

Yes, I am considering studying for the LSAT again. The problem I have is science and medicine have taught me to be a meticulous reader. And this habit slows me down tremendously on the exam. I have gotten over this obstacle for the logical reasoning and am missing 2-4 on each LR section. But the reading comprehension has been a challenge for me, because tackling science passages is a different beast than LSAT passages. My "strategy" was to take my time on 3 passages with the most questions (and usually that gave me great accuracy on those passages) and I would then do a couple questions from the fourth passage that were not global and usually get those right and guess on the rest. On the real exam however, I did not get to the fourth passage at all and completely guessed on 6 questions. The second time around, I know I have to finish all the passages if I want to raise my score. It's just very hard to get out of my habit. In medicine, if I dont understand a sentence, I reread it, and reread it, then look it up, or ask for help, until I get it. LOL. This is the Kiss of Doom for the LSAT. I know. I need a new approach. I will also consider taking a prep course the second time around which may help.

[catimini]

May I ask which law school you go to which is so MD friendly?

Yes, I am considering studying for the LSAT again. The problem I have is science and medicine have taught me to be a meticulous reader. And this habit slows me down tremendously on the exam. I have gotten over this obstacle for the logical reasoning and am missing 2-4 on each LR section. But the reading comprehension has been a challenge for me, because tackling science passages is a different beast than LSAT passages. My "strategy" was to take my time on 3 passages with the most questions (and usually that gave me great accuracy on those passages) and I would then do a couple questions from the fourth passage that were not global and usually get those right and guess on the rest. On the real exam however, I did not get to the fourth passage at all and completely guessed on 6 questions. The second time around, I know I have to finish all the passages if I want to raise my score. It's just very hard to get out of my habit. In medicine, if I dont understand a sentence, I reread it, and reread it, then look it up, or ask for help, until I get it. LOL. This is the Kiss of Doom for the LSAT. I know. I need a new approach. I will also consider taking a prep course the second time around which may help.

 I am not an MD, but I had the same problem with reading. I always used to score perfect on games, get 2-3 wrong in LR and the final score really depended on RC.
 So for about 4 months, I took the habit of reading uninteresting, professional articles on Scientific American and Newsweek or journals because many articles from these sources actually appeared on previous LSATs. I made sure to choose articles that are longer in length than LSAT passages and to read them to the end as fast as I could.
 At first I couldn't retain many of the information in the article, because I focused mainly on finishing it on time. But once I became accustomed to reading fast, I began to pay more attention to the content, understand the flow, the main points, and other important points that are used to support the main points.
 This habit made my prep scores jump from 168-171 to 175-178 just before taking the actual LSAT. And everyone thought 171 was my limit. This is how I studied, and this may or may not work for you. I hope this helps!

[Thane Messinger]

There's at least 3 MDs in my class, so I don't really see why this is so astonishing to anyone. Best of luck to you for making that switch.

May I ask which law school you go to which is so MD friendly?

Yes, I am considering studying for the LSAT again. The problem I have is science and medicine have taught me to be a meticulous reader. And this habit slows me down tremendously on the exam. I have gotten over this obstacle for the logical reasoning and am missing 2-4 on each LR section. But the reading comprehension has been a challenge for me, because tackling science passages is a different beast than LSAT passages. My "strategy" was to take my time on 3 passages with the most questions (and usually that gave me great accuracy on those passages) and I would then do a couple questions from the fourth passage that were not global and usually get those right and guess on the rest. On the real exam however, I did not get to the fourth passage at all and completely guessed on 6 questions. The second time around, I know I have to finish all the passages if I want to raise my score. It's just very hard to get out of my habit. In medicine, if I dont understand a sentence, I reread it, and reread it, then look it up, or ask for help, until I get it. LOL. This is the Kiss of Doom for the LSAT. I know. I need a new approach. I will also consider taking a prep course the second time around which may help.

Good examples.  If it's at all helpful, a close reading IS important, and of course timing is as well.  Part of the challenge may be to maintain the intensity, but increase the warp.

So, the first half of your approach is quite right.  You DO need to read LSAT sections closely.  But it cannot be leisurely.  So the phrase "take my time," even if written partially in jest, is what should be addressed.

Hope this helps,

Thane.

[LawyerMD]

Today I learned I received my first acceptance to Georgetown Law!!! I feel so blessed to have been admitted to such a stellar program! Is anyone from this forum going there or going to the admitted students' reception?

[CJScalia]

There's at least 3 MDs in my class, so I don't really see why this is so astonishing to anyone. Best of luck to you for making that switch.

May I ask which law school you go to which is so MD friendly?

Since you already got accepted to Georgetown, I'm going to pass on this only to keep my privacy. Also, I don't really think our school is particularly pro-MD, we just have a lot of old farts in our ranks (myself including). There's several PhD's etc too, in short, it seems a lot of people with "previous careers" lean towards law.

[rene_descartes]

Dear Doctor,

As a former life science student turned law student, I highly recommend that you do not go to law school. I only hear about people leaving law school for med school.   You are very very accomplished already and there is no reason to go into healthcare law.  You can write and publish in the NEJM and write anything policy-related.

You do not even need to have any science background first of all to do healthcare law. My school is a well ranked school for health care law and the students in there are nowhere near as accomplished as you are and they want to do health care, and I do not think many of them were science or health majors in undergrad.   The bottom line is, what is important is how well you do in law school to get you any law job (which is rare these days). Other than a hard engineering degree or a PHD in biochemistry(which helps in IP job search), I do not think anyone's education background really helps in looking for a legal job.

That's just my opinion.