Help! I need motivation!

[c3c1L1a]

Could not think of anything else to title this post. I seriously need motivation. Please don't judge me, I don't know why I don't have it. I spent my high school years getting excellent grades at a private high school and I was very involved in various activities. Everything was easy. I had (or have) amazing parents, but looking back they may have been a bit overbearing and I didn't quite develop the skills I needed to survive on my own, at least when it comes to self-discipline and personal initiative.

So here I am, about to enter my 5th year of college (at KU, if it matters to any of you), and I will be lucky to graduate with a 2.5 GPA.

My whole life I have wanted to be a lawyer. I was literally born to be a lawyer. I have the logical mind, a love for arguing, and the intelligence to do it (IMO). I have spent the past 4 years meandering through college because there is no pre-law major at KU, and I have viewed college as a necessary step in order to get to law school, my ultimate goal. Because I viewed college this way, I basically committed self-sabotage. I have not put the effort into my studies that I should have, and right now I feel I have wasted away my intelligence and my potential. I was told how smart I was my whole life and I could pass tests in high school without a lick of studying, and unfortunately these habits have carried over to my college life (where things are not as easy) and I am now sitting on a 2.3 GPA. I guess I lacked the ability to see the big picture as an 18-yr-old freshman (and a 19-yr-old sophomore, etc.).

Well, now I am a 5th year, 22-yr-old senior and I see the big picture. I just hope it's not too late. I need help in getting over my bad habits or else I won't achieve what I want to achieve in life. I skip class way too often (for multiple reasons - many times it has to do with the fact that I don't respect my teachers and figure I can teach myself better through reading the book). Many times I don't turn in stupid little assignments (I guess I'm a bit of a perfectionist - I can't stand half-assing things and if I can't finish it completely I just don't turn it in, which many times also results in me not attending class because I am embarrassed of my unfinished work).

Worst of all, I don't care about my major. At all. I am an Economics and Psychology double major, but I don't really respect the majority of the teachers in both majors. And their style of teaching just doesn't vibe with my style of learning. Maybe I'm full of *&^%. If so, someone please tell me.

I just want to get to law school. I got a 161 first try Junior year. I am preparing and waiting to take it again until I really feel I can improve my score. I need direction! And motivation!

If anyone has any advice on where to go from here, I would appreciate it. I am very lost.

Thanks, Cecilia

[Cher1300]

IMHO, and I really don't mean to be harsh, but if you can't finish simple assignments in undergrad, you'll never do it in law school.  Undergrad is a breeze comparatively speaking.  I just finished my first year and can tell you that you will be working your @$$ off your first year just to get a C or to pass in some cases, and you will also find certain professors/classes you will not like in law school just like undergrad.  It is tedious reading case after case after case in addition to outlines and practice exams that you have to do on your own time in addition to all the research and reading.  Those additional steps are not assigned, so if you don't have enough motivation to do it on your own, you won't pass.  People make it through their first year of law school.  However, I have a feeling law school is probably not what you think it is going to be.   

I know people are told all the time they should be a lawyer because they love to argue, but that really doesn't help in law school because that is not what you are tested on.  You are tested more on your ability to analyze a hypthetical situation and presenting both sides of the argument under the elements of the law. 

That being said, some people who did poorly in undergrad end up doing well in law school because they really want it.  So you need to realize that your undergrad is a means to an end and if you don't change your bad habits now, you won't make it in law school if you get accepted.  My best advice would be to work your @$% off this year and increase your gpa so you can show the admissions committee you've grown up and are ready for law school.  Otherwise, doing the same thing your senior year will only re-inforce their decision not to accept you.  Lastly, talk to other 1Ls so you get an idea of just how much work and how competitive law school can be before you spend your money.  Good luck.

[Maintain FL 350]

Generally speaking, I encourage people to at least make an attempt at acheiving their dreams. If your dream is to be a lawyer, then the time to make that leap is probably when you're young, single, and don't have too many other distractions.

However, you should also be fully informed as to what acheiving your dream entails. If you go into law school unprepared for what lies ahead, you will likely end up frustrated and disappointed. Here's the deal: law school, for the most part, is not any more interesting or inspiring than economics. If you were bored as an econ major, you will likely be bored with most of the law school curriculum. Sure, you'll get to take interesting classes like criminal law, constitutional law, and maybe moot court. But you'll also have to slog your way through contracts, corporations, property, and civil procedure. In undergrad you can get through boring classes with a C by pretty much showing up and putting in some minimal pre-finals study time. You will not get a passing grade in law school with the same study habits. The amount of effort that got you an A in undergrad will get you a barely passing  C- in law school. Seriously.

If you want to follow your dream of becoming a lawyer, go for it. But understand that much of what you think you will like about law is probably not quite right. A love of arguing, interest in social justice issues, etc., will not really help you too much. What you need to get through law school are discipline and focus. Law school is a marathon, not a sprint, and you'll need to commit yourself to becoming more disciplined about your study habits. Force yourself to go to class every single day, study every single day, and do all the reading. You can do it, you can get into law school and make it through law school, but you've got to reset your mind. 

Incidentally, the vast majority of people in law school were not pre-law majors. I'm not even sure if most colleges offer such a major. Most law students majored in history, poli sci, english, etc. Most of your classmates will be high acheivers, and you'll have to compete with them for grades. The people I knew in law school who brought bad study habits with them from undergrad, those who procrastinated, and those who didn't pay attention in class were usually gone after the first year. Those who succeeded weren't always the smartest, but they worked incredibly hard.

Law school is doable, but you've got to force yourself to make an effort if you're going to do this. Good Luck!

[Cher1300]

Generally speaking, I encourage people to at least make an attempt at acheiving their dreams. If your dream is to be a lawyer, then the time to make that leap is probably when you're young, single, and don't have too many other distractions.

However, you should also be fully informed as to what acheiving your dream entails. If you go into law school unprepared for what lies ahead, you will likely end up frustrated and disappointed. Here's the deal: law school, for the most part, is not any more interesting or inspiring than economics. If you were bored as an econ major, you will likely be bored with most of the law school curriculum. Sure, you'll get to take interesting classes like criminal law, constitutional law, and maybe moot court. But you'll also have to slog your way through contracts, corporations, property, and civil procedure. In undergrad you can get through boring classes with a C by pretty much showing up and putting in some minimal pre-finals study time. You will not get a passing grade in law school with the same study habits. The amount of effort that got you an A in undergrad will get you a barely passing  C- in law school. Seriously.

If you want to follow your dream of becoming a lawyer, go for it. But understand that much of what you think you will like about law is probably not quite right. A love of arguing, interest in social justice issues, etc., will not really help you too much. What you need to get through law school are discipline and focus. Law school is a marathon, not a sprint, and you'll need to commit yourself to becoming more disciplined about your study habits. Force yourself to go to class every single day, study every single day, and do all the reading. You can do it, you can get into law school and make it through law school, but you've got to reset your mind. 

Incidentally, the vast majority of people in law school were not pre-law majors. I'm not even sure if most colleges offer such a major. Most law students majored in history, poli sci, english, etc. Most of your classmates will be high acheivers, and you'll have to compete with them for grades. The people I knew in law school who brought bad study habits with them from undergrad, those who procrastinated, and those who didn't pay attention in class were usually gone after the first year. Those who succeeded weren't always the smartest, but they worked incredibly hard.

Law school is doable, but you've got to force yourself to make an effort if you're going to do this. Good Luck!

+1  Absolutely!

[legend]

The above posters are 100% correct and I want to add on to the post. First you can certainly get into law school with a 2.5 & 161. Harvard and T14's are out of the question though if you have the time & money and have not officially graduated yet you could take another year in undergrad to build your GPA taking classes like frisbee golf, sports & film, and whatever other easy A courses your school might have. To the majority of law schools all they care about is the UGPA number the substance behidn it usually doesn't matter.

As to why you did poor in undergrad the same situations will come up in law school. There are some interesting cases, but in many schools you will have to turn in stupid little assignments. As a lawyer you will have to prepare often pointless briefs for a pointless hearing. Even when you become a lawyer a lot of it is pointless boring tasks. You get some excitement, but the majority of the time even if your lucky enough to go to court you will be sitting around waiting for your case to be called as 20 other attorneys sit waiting next to you.  Law requires a great deal of focus and patience.

As to you not respecting your professors that is not an excuse in law school or in the legal profession. You could be the smartest person in the world at the end of the day they are writing the exam and you better know what they are talking about. Same with the Bar you could know every piece of the law, but you have to follow what the bar examiners want. If you pass that your going to go in front of judges many of whom you don't like or respect, but you have to figure out what they want. The judge could be a complete moron he is in control and you are not if you don't learn how to get on good terms with the judge and the court staff you will get your ass kicked everyday nobody how smart you are.

You also need to realize law school finals are no more exciting than econ as the posters above said. Knowing why the contract between Paul & Dale didn't have consideration because of some  nitpicky wording is stupid, and that fact situation would never come up in real life. Or when you read Dale "intended to carry the steak away" but put it back immediately it was Larceny instead of no crime because of the little word "intent". That is a minor preview of the nitpicky and frivilous stuff that comes up in law school and on the bar. There is a lot of work in doing that and it has very little if any practical application to the real world.

If you get through three years of that you get to take the bar exam and pack in a multitude of subjects where you have to notice nitpicky issues that often have little to anything to do with something you would see in real life, but you have to pass this exam or you else you cannot be a lawyer.

Despite what I said above I truly loved law school, but many people do not because they don't know what they are in for. The media portrays it as a highly glamorous profession, but when your sifting through 1,000's of pages of documents in a warehouse to find something relevant it is not that exciting. You don't see that side of it on Law & Order or Franklin & Bash. This is a tough profession and having a J.D. and passing the bar does not make you special. You have to learn how to get things done even when you don't want to and sometimes even if they don't make sense.

I would highly recommend you work in a law-firm in some capacity to understand what a lawyer is really about before spending 100k and 3 years of your life in law school.

Good luck whatever you end up deciding.