Admitted to Appalachian but I want to go to Uconn

[blue54]

Honestly, I wouldn't go to law school right now unless you are admitted to a T14 or have a job lined up waiting for you after school.  I am a second year associate at a mid-sized law firm, located in a mid-sized city in the south.  I went to a T2 and graduated with honors.  We are currently looking to fill a position and received 104 resumes for one spot.  The starting salary at my firm is $50,000. The legal market is collapsing like a sand castle in a rain storm.  The only reason we are growing is because we specialize in a niche field.

Face it: your numbers suck.  Don't blame it on anything else but your ability to take a standardized test and get good grades.  If you suck at doing this now, you will most likely struggle in law school.  You aren't a special snowflake.  You aren't suddenly going to excel in law school when during undergrad you were merely adequate.  Law isn't your calling, so turn off Law & Order and find something more suitable to your talents and skills. Everyone has a place in life, but this isn't yours.  Law schools are a business, and they see 'sucker' written across your forehead, guaranteed by non-dischargeable loans.  The market is much different, akin to, ahem, real life.  It's all about competition.  The cream rises to the crop.  Those who have connections and went to highly ranked schools are the ones who get the jobs.

You want to go to law school at Appalachian, which has one of the worst job placements of all law schools and is located in the backwoods of Virginia, by all means, give them your money for a chance at hanging your own shingle in a market absolutely flooded by lawyers, experienced and inexperienced alike.  Sure, you won't know how to draft a pleading, answer discovery, or craft a settlement agreement.  You won't have access to Lexis, you won't know which judge prefers morning hearings, and you won't know how to conduct voir dire, but hey, you will be a lawyer. 

While you are visiting ALS, ask them for a complete breakdown of job placement statistics.  Ask them how many 2012 grads were hired by law firms, what size the law firms were, and the starting salary for these firms.  Ask them how many grads are practicing in careers that require bar passage.  Ask them how many went solo.  ALS doesn't publish this information publicly.  There's a reason.

Caveat emptor. 

[jack24]

To the OP.

About 75 percent of LSAT takers did better than you on the test.   The LSAT may not be an accurate indication of overall intelligence or potential success as an attorney, but it does do a good job of testing things like speed, reading comprehension, processing horsepower, patience, and analytical discipline (to some extent).   It is true that the US news rankings are bunk, but employers know that the applicant pool to a T4 school is not as academically accomplished, so hiring out of a school like Appalachian is a risky proposition.  The chance the applicant is going to be less intelligent than his peers and competitors is very high.

Now, the Median LSAT at Appalachian is 148, so you are comparable to their overall class.    It would be an amazing feat for you to get in the top 25%, but it can be done with some hard work, in my opinion.

The Median LSAT at Uconn is 159, which is in the 77th percentile.   That is a significant difference.  Even in these recent years, there's something like 24,000 test takers between a 145 and a 159.

I don't write this email to be mean or anything, but I think it's important for you to heed the advice of the posters above, and don't anticipate a successful transfer.   Go to Appalachian if you believe that's a good place to graduate from.   

But I'm a little jaded. My school was ranked around 50, I was a law review editor and a moot court member in the top 25% of my class.  I applied to over 50 jobs, contacted over 300 attorneys, and networked my ass off.  I got a job as a lawyer for $48,000 with over 100k in debt.  My job is incredibly boring.  My friends who graduated three years earlier than me with virtually identical resumes started out at firms for $120k/yr.   They got hired during on campus interviews.  My 2L and 3L years, there were less than four employers for OCI.

I graduated with about 55,000 other graduates, and there were over 100,000 applications for law school in my cycle.   Fortunately, LSAC estimates that maybe less than 40,000 will attend lawschool this fall.  Unfortunately, the industry is only scheduled to create 9000 new jobs a year, and only 12,000-15,000 attorneys are expected to retire.   Hopefully a lot more will retire in the 2020s.

So, according to the LSAT, you are at a huge disadvantage.  Appalachian is at a huge disadvantage.  And the job market sucks ass.   Only 55% of the graduates from my school had a full-time job at 9 months after graduation in 2011.

[livinglegend]

Listen to what you want Applachian is not going to make employers jump after you, but the reality is in the law whether you succeed or not is a lot more up to you than anything to do with your school. Furthermore, in response to Blue54 102 resumes for one spot is quite common for any position worth having.  For any nurse, pilot, architect, doctor, cop, firefighter, sales, etc job there will usually be 100 or more applications sent in for one position that is just the way it goes. Finding a job is tough.

Now OP Applachian is an ABA school and it will teach you the law. However, it is located in Grundy, Virginia and it will be difficult to get internships etc during school since it is in such a remote location and employers are not going to do OCI there it is out of the way and not Harvard. However, that doesn't mean you can't succeed and if being a lawyer is what you want to do then Applachian can make you a lawyer if you graduate and pass the bar.

There are people from every law school that find jobs and others that don't I can tell you from personal experience when I went to law school there were people that I knew would be fine and others I knew would not ever get hired. There was one guy in the top 20% of our class he was smart, but he would wear baggy stained clothes, he smelled, and he was a weirdo nobody was going to hire him until that stuff changed, which he never did and has not found a job despite passing the bar.

Another guy I knew got offered a few jobs, but he kept failing drug tests and getting his offers rescinded he has a problem with drugs. Both of these guys are listed as unemployed grads, but it has a lot more to do with them than anything related to our law school.

Bottom line if being a lawyer is really what you want then go to law school, but do not expect anything to be handed to you. Like anything worth having you will need to fight to succeed and it will not come easy. I wish you the best of luck in your legal career should you choose to go down that path.

[mycousinvinny13]

Face it: your numbers suck.  Don't blame it on anything else but your ability to take a standardized test and get good grades.  If you suck at doing this now, you will most likely struggle in law school.  You aren't a special snowflake.  You aren't suddenly going to excel in law school when during undergrad you were merely adequate.  Law isn't your calling, so turn off Law & Order and find something more suitable to your talents and skills. Everyone has a place in life, but this isn't yours.  Law schools are a business, and they see 'sucker' written across your forehead, guaranteed by non-dischargeable loans.  The market is much different, akin to, ahem, real life.  It's all about competition.  The cream rises to the crop.  Those who have connections and went to highly ranked schools are the ones who get the jobs.

I created this thread for indivudals who actually attended a T4 and transfered to a T2, not for someone like you to post rude and uncalled for comments like the above quote. I understand my numbers are low and certainly do not need someone I do not even know to remind me and I am not expecting a hand out as you mentioned above.  Not that this is any of your business but, I am well networked as the majority of my family are attorneys. This is my calling and I am not going to let a standarize test prevent me from attending law school even if that means attending a lower ranked school with the goal of transferring.

Agian, refrain yourself from commemts that you made in my post to others. Nobody needs to be labeled as you labeled me. There is a difference from constructive criticism and rude comments.

Thanks

[jack24]

I created this thread for indivudals who actually attended a T4 and transfered to a T2, not for someone like you to post rude and uncalled for comments like the above quote. I understand my numbers are low and certainly do not need someone I do not even know to remind me and I am not expecting a hand out as you mentioned above.  Not that this is any of your business but, I am well networked as the majority of my family are attorneys. This is my calling and I am not going to let a standarize test prevent me from attending law school even if that means attending a lower ranked school with the goal of transferring.

Agian, refrain yourself from commemts that you made in my post to others. Nobody needs to be labeled as you labeled me. There is a difference from constructive criticism and rude comments.

Thanks

While I do think Blue54 goes a bit far, I hope you do recognize the challenges that lie ahead.   Now, if you have a job lined up with a family member (or if you are planning to hang your own shingle on day one), then none of the advice on this thread will be helpful.   Seriously, if that's the case, go to the cheapest law school you can find, and finish as fast as they'll let you.   Legal training is, by and large, a joke.  2L and 3L can be worthwhile, but they don't have to be.  I know plenty of people who studied irrelevant and easy courses for two years, and law school is hella easy if you are OK graduating in the bottom half.   

Transferring is just such a brutal prospect.  I went to a great school, but it was in a market I didn't want to work in.  I didn't get into the schools in the market I wanted to work.   When I looked into transferring to a school ranked around 35-55, I found that they only took 5 transfer students each year, but they got an incredible amount of applications.   They told me they still considered LSAT and UGPA, and that your 1L achievement only constituted about half of the decision factors.

This may not be the same for all schools, but it was certainly discouraging.    I found my job through networking, but it was really tough.  Sometimes you get lucky, and you find something fast.  I managed to convince three different hiring partners from medium sized firms to go to lunch with me.  Each one of them confessed to getting hundreds of resumes each month.  They said they didn't have many openings, but when they did, the only way to deal with the resume's was to use a  matrix and have their paralegals implement it for the first round.

For example, one partner said he would throw away any resume unless the student either went to a top 25 school, the top school in the region, or was in the top 25% of his class at another school.    He said he usually had 20-30 resumes from IVY league 3Ls or grads. 

Now, you may not be looking to work for a mid-sized firm, but this has a domino effect.  This means that you are competing with candidates like me for the lower level jobs.  As a result, you need to network like a champ, dominate your T4 (and/or get transferred to a T2), and be willing to take less desirable jobs, maybe even jobs that don't match your "calling."  The BLS and LSAC are estimating that there will still be 12,000-20,000 more law graduates than legal jobs in 2016, even though enrollment has fallen through the floor. 

So if it is your calling to practice family law in a medium market for around 45,000 a year, then I think you have a great shot.   But if you want to do mergers and acquisitions at a mid-sized firm, you are basically playing roulette.

[blue54]

It was not my intention to offend, or come off as antagonistic.  However, you know your numbers are bad, and the only schools you are getting into are the lowest ranked schools.  That should be a red flag.  Additionally, the bar exam is basically one giant, long, complex standardized test (the MBE alone is 200 lengthy multiple choice questions, with each question having 2 right and 2 wrong answers and you need to choose the answer that is 'most right'). Furthermore, law exams are arbitrary and drafted in a way that awards points to those who are good test takers.  If you aren't doing well on standardized tests now, and in your general studies, it isn't rocket science that getting top grades during your 1L year (thus enabling you to transfer) is going to pose difficulties.  95% of Appalachian students are going to be gunning to transfer out, however, only the top 5% will get that chance.  Given the unpredictable curve, the odds are very much not in your favor. 

I too emerged from the notorious class of 2011, where I saw only 55% of my classmates find jobs.  It's no secret that law school doesn't prepare you to practice law.  I am only trying to dissuade you from law because I have seen and experienced, first hand, what law school and the legal field is currently like.  When you push back against my advice, and others' advice who have gone through the same experience, it leads me to believe that your judgment is too clouded by prestige and pride to truly listen to us.  You can make up every excuse in the book as to why you think transferring to a T1 school will be a possibility, but we have all been there, and seen it.  We are telling you it's not likely.  Furthermore, we are telling you that going to such a low ranked school is a bad idea.  Listen to us. If you have contacts in the legal community, as you suggest, ask them what you should do, instead of coming to a forum full of random strangers.  They will tell you what we are telling you.  Law is brutal right now.  Making $45K per year with $100K in student debt is depressing, and that is if you are one of the 55% who find a job.  Find a job where you can make $45K without any debt.

It is laughable to argue that law school, ABA accredited or not, gives you the tools to become a lawyer.  Ask any new attorney the day they are sworn in to draft, file, and argue a summary judgment motion.  Ask any new attorney to attend a mediation and open with a reasonable bracket.  It is a well known joke that law school, and the bar exam, are terrible indicators of how to practice law.  And comparing the legal field to the medical field is, well, incomparable.  The medical field is subsidized by insurance, and so it grows in correlation with a growth in population.  Law, on the other hand, enjoys no such subsidies, and is therefore adversely impacted by a declining economy (seriously, who can afford $300/hr rates right now?).

Again, I apologize if I came across as rude.  It is a byproduct of a profession which forces one to put on his adversarial glasses at breakfast every day.  I just wanted to emphasize that you know your numbers are bad, and you are looking for advice.  Take ours and run with it.  There are plenty of other careers out there that are growing and rewarding right now.  Don't settle for living in Grundy, VA for 3 years, paying 150K for a nearly 50/50 shot at making 45K per year practicing family law, doing document review, or acting as a coverage attorney.

[livinglegend]

To Blue yes most recent law graduates do not know how to file complaints or do anything complicated. However, I cannot think of any other profession that produces ready to go people right out of school. For example I am a City Attorney there are cops who have their first day, fire fighters, building inspectors, etc. Who have their first day out of whatever school/academy they came from and the cop on his first day out of the Police Academy does not know how to do a lot of things and they will not send the rookie cop in by himself to take down the biggest meth lab in town. Like every other profession it will take time for the cop to get good at his job and obtaining experience as a lawyer is no different.

I could go on would you want a doctor to perform their first real surgery on you? No, but every doctor has to go through that. Would you want the house your architect is designing to be their first home? No, but every architect has their first project. I could go on and on with examples and the bottom line is in any profession the person will have their first (experience) and probably not be very good when they start out. Even Lebron James was a rookie and didn't make the playoffs his first year, but look at him now.

Also to become a police officer is difficult, fire fighters, etc. I talk to the recruiting people in charge of those positions all the time they are inundated with resumes and applicants for one or two spots. My overall point is law is really no different than any other profession and it will be hard to start a career that is worthwhile in any profession. Therefore, if OP really wants to be a lawyer then he/she should go to law school there will be challenges and it is expensive, but if being a lawyer is what they want to do then they should go for it.

However, if you know of some profession where they are hiring like crazy, that pays exorbitant amounts of money, and isn't to stressful I am sure plenty of people on this board myself included would love to hear about it. Based on my experience that doesn't exist and whether OP goes to law school or pursues some other profession it will be difficult to start a career. 

It is true that if OP expects to transfer out of Appalachian that is not a good plan since they would need to be in the top 10-20% of the class to do so and there is an 80%-90% chance that will not happen. However, people find jobs right out of law school as 55% of your class did. From my experience in the legal profession finding a job has a lot more to do with the person than the name of the law school they went to. An employer particularly a law firm doesn't want a whiner or someone who says I can't do x or y.  To be a successful lawyer you have to overcome obstacles and basically get sh*t done. If you are going to spend time complaining about how hard it is to do x, y, z then you won't make much of a lawyer and probably shouldn't go into the profession.

So OP if you want to be a lawyer then go to law school. When you graduate and pass the bar do not expect anything to be handed to you it will take a lot of fighting and hard work to succeed as a lawyer, but if your up for that then enroll in law school. I wish you good luck in your legal career should you pursue that path.

[jack24]

Livinglegend:

What you and those of your thought persuasion seem unwilling to discuss is the massive waste that is law school.   Yes, other professions are brutal as well, and nothing is a sure thing.  But Law school is incredibly expensive.  It's also three years long, and two of those years could arguably be spent in an apprenticeship for free rather than in class for 800 bucks per credit. 

Medical School and Law school is not a great comparison either.   It is extremely difficult to get into med school right now, and it's VERY easy to get into law school.   If you are willing to drop to the bottom of T4, you can get in with a 15-20 percentile score on the LSAT.   You can also get into law school with a very easy undergrad degree, but med school requires intense prerequisites and a huge commitment.   In short, the OP wouldn't stand a chance to get into an american med school. 

Perhaps a better comparison would be Pharmacy School, Optometry School or PA school.   These options require about three years after your bachelors and they all have significant tuition costs.   Those job markets, however, are much more stable.   Two qualified law grads with similar resumes may have wildly different results out of law school.  That's not so much the case in these professions.  For example, almost all retail pharmacists start out at 55+ bucks an hour.  They have a lower ceiling than an attorney, but it's not like the law, where 50% of the graduates have to be on income based repayment because they make less than $55k a year.   Overall, the legal industry is getting killed.  Only 55% of the graduates from my T2 had JD preferred or required positions at 9 months after graduation. 

An MBA or a MAC+ CPA are also bad comparisons because an MBA or MAC at a low ranked school is incredibly cheap.  You can get an MBA for about $12,000 total.  A MAC isn't much more expensive, and you will be better prepared for the CPA exam coming out of accounting school than you will be for the Bar coming out of Law School.  You can also easily work full time while you earn an MBA, and it opens up a broad range of potential employment.  It's no guarantee, and it's a waste of money for a lot of people, but it's not as bad as law and the risk isn't nearly as high.

I think someone like the OP should probably try being a paralegal or administrator for a law firm or state organization.  OP could even work as a victims advocate or an investigator.   Jobs in the 40-50k range pop up all the time, the hours are better, and the up front investment is tiny in relation to law school.   Working as a paralegal won't prepare you to be a great lawyer in most cases, but it will help you decide exactly what kind of law you want to practice and whether or not you'll like it.

Finally, OP can do whatever, but I think you generally paint a rosier picture of law school prospects than is reasonable.  I don't know what LSAT score you got, but the OP did worse than like 30,000 LSAT takers.  It's an uphill battle.

[livinglegend]

First law school is not that easy to get into? It is easier than medical school you need a bachelor's degree, which only about 30% of American's have and globally that number is far lower. Then you need to get basically a 145 to get into Appalachian or Cooley two of the easier to get into schools in America, but even to do that you need to be in the top half or higher of LSAT takers. You state 30,000 people did better than OP on the LSAT, but there were 130,000 test takers http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/data/lsats-administered.asp therefore he did better than 100,000 people who have bachelor's degrees, which is quite good.

What I don't think most law students realize is that if you attend law school you are good at school. I played sports in college and know many people are not capable of pulling a 2.0 to any law student that seems like a joke and I got a 3.3 drinking, partying, and putting in minimal effort in college, but school simply was easy for me. It is not simply work ethic either I played basketball in College I could probably work 100x harder than every NBA player right now and not be anywhere near their level. I remember watching a documentary of Allen Iverson saying he never lifted a weight in his life yet he was an NBA All-Star somethings just come naturally to people. So getting into law school and scoring well enough to get into any ABA school is an accomplishment in my opinion.

LAW SCHOOL A WASTE?
Do some people was their law school experience? Yes. There is no mandatory requirement to take the hardest courses, bust your ass to find a paying internship, etc. Plenty of people I went to law school with routinely missed class, took easy courses, and were rarely involved with anything. Yes the third year of law school was a complete waste for these people, but any educational experience is what you make of it.

During my Third year I was on a journal, I took numerous writing classes so I would have good writing samples at graduation, I participated in two mock trial competitions, and got an internship (paid) that lead to my first job out of law school.

My classmates had the same opportunities to do what I did others did not. Undergrad or any other school is no different. In college I knew plenty of people that smoked pot all day, missed class, got a 2.0, and did jack over their 4 years in college. I could have done more in college personally, but I played basketball, made friends, held several jobs, was in school politics, etc. I got a scholarship for basketball, but my stoner dorm mates had the same opportunities I had , but they never utilized them.

My point is law school is no different than any other form of school you make it a worthwhile experience or not. If you want to sit in the back of the class, take Yoga for lawyers 3L, or some other fluff thing nobody is stopping you just as nobody is stopping you from taking the difficult courses, befriending professors, participating in moot court or mock trial. The choice is yours no matter what school you attend.

COST OF LAW SCHOOL
Some schools are expensive, but not all of them Florida International, CUNY, Florida, Florida, State, South Dakota, North Dakota, all offer very cheap in-state tuition. Southwestern law school has a program where you can graduate in two years and plenty of other schools if you push for it will let you graduate in two years, but again you have get it done nobody is going to hand you anything.

MBA/Pharmacy/CPA

News Article saying an MBA is a waste of time & money. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CEUQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2F8301-505125_162-45040152%2Fwhy-an-mba-is-a-waste-of-time-and-money%2F&ei=6torUcfnC4rEiwLInIHYCQ&usg=AFQjCNHfUJJJyo_LSL0H-I91JLSw1gA1Mw&bvm=bv.42965579,d.cGE

A CPA who can't find a job http://www.cpanet.com/cpa_forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37159

Pharmacists can't find a job https://www.google.com/search?q=Pharmaticists+can%27t+find+a+job+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=TE7&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=Pharmacists+can%27t+find+a+job&spell=1&sa=X&ei=NNsrUajBM6e9iwK_-ICQAw&ved=0CC8QvwUoAA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42965579,d.cGE&fp=44bd0b80c492aca7&biw=1366&bih=638

Conclusion:
This world is difficult there is no golden ticket whether OP wants to be a lawyer, pharmacist, MBA, there will be a million things he/she could bi**h and moan about. We are very foruntate to live in America we have an abundance of opportunities and many of us myself and yourself included were fortunate enough to receive graduate degrees. Where I came from attending a public school in L.A. all anybody was a chance to go to a college any college, but many were not lucky enough to do it I was good enough at basketball to get out and made it to law school etc, but a lot of people had it easier than me, but literally billions more people around the world had it harder.

If OP is someone who is going to complain that they went to law school and were in top of their class so somebody owes them something and how unfair everything is then he/she should not go to law school any law school. If he/she is willing to bust their ass, handle rejection, and sincerely wants to be a lawyer then they should go for it whether it be Appalachian or somewhere else.

I am not trying to paint a rosy picture of law school either it is hard, it is expensive, and there are no guarantees. However, there is no guarantee elsewhere MBA school is expensive. Pharmacy school is expensive 51k for tuition http://www.pacific.edu/Admission/Graduate-Professional/Pharmacy/Pharm-DTuition-and-Fees.html  and it is three years long. I could go on and on with examples and the bottom line is no matter what profession you are in there will be people who complain how unfair it is.

To OP if you really want to be a lawyer and you think Grundy, Virginia will be a good fit I encourage you to do it. If you are not truly sure what you want to do with your life hold back it is a 3 year 100,000+ commitment and if your not ready for that do not attend law school. You know far better what you want than any anonymous internet poster on this board or others so really look deep down in yourself and ask what you want. If being a lawyer is the choice you want then go for it and feel free to personal message me with any questions you might have.

[jack24]

First law school is not that easy to get into? It is easier than medical school you need a bachelor's degree, which only about 30% of American's have and globally that number is far lower. Then you need to get basically a 145 to get into Appalachian or Cooley two of the easier to get into schools in America, but even to do that you need to be in the top half or higher of LSAT takers. You state 30,000 people did better than OP on the LSAT, but there were 130,000 test takers http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/data/lsats-administered.asp therefore he did better than 100,000 people who have bachelor's degrees, which is quite good.

Okay, the 30,000 was just a random number.   A 145 is the 25th percentile, so if 130,000 took the test, then 97,500 test takers (per year) get better than a 145.

I was comparing law school to Medical School.   Let's look at one example.   The 86th ranked Med School is USC-Keck, and its students have an average MCAT score of 34.1, which is in the 92nd percentile.  AVERAGE, at the 86th ranked med school.   Compare that to Law School, where those who get the 92nd percentile (165) can generally take a swing at schools ranked from 20-25.    The 86th ranked school requires a score round around the 66th percentile.

I'm just pointing out that a med school comparison isn't a good comparison.

What I don't think most law students realize is that if you attend law school you are good at school. I played sports in college and know many people are not capable of pulling a 2.0 to any law student that seems like a joke and I got a 3.3 drinking, partying, and putting in minimal effort in college, but school simply was easy for me. It is not simply work ethic either I played basketball in College I could probably work 100x harder than every NBA player right now and not be anywhere near their level. I remember watching a documentary of Allen Iverson saying he never lifted a weight in his life yet he was an NBA All-Star somethings just come naturally to people. So getting into law school and scoring well enough to get into any ABA school is an accomplishment in my opinion.

It is an accomplishment to get into an ABA school, but 45% of the graduates from my T2 were jobless at 9 months after graduation.   The OP's test taking ability is in the 25th percentile of all applicants, so he's facing some tough numbers.  Add on the $100k+ in debt he'll likely face, and the gamble is bad.  Worse than the gamble for other programs.

LAW SCHOOL A WASTE?
Do some people was their law school experience? Yes. There is no mandatory requirement to take the hardest courses, bust your ass to find a paying internship, etc. Plenty of people I went to law school with routinely missed class, took easy courses, and were rarely involved with anything. Yes the third year of law school was a complete waste for these people, but any educational experience is what you make of it.

During my Third year I was on a journal, I took numerous writing classes so I would have good writing samples at graduation, I participated in two mock trial competitions, and got an internship (paid) that lead to my first job out of law school.

My classmates had the same opportunities to do what I did others did not. Undergrad or any other school is no different. In college I knew plenty of people that smoked pot all day, missed class, got a 2.0, and did jack over their 4 years in college. I could have done more in college personally, but I played basketball, made friends, held several jobs, was in school politics, etc. I got a scholarship for basketball, but my stoner dorm mates had the same opportunities I had , but they never utilized them.

My point is law school is no different than any other form of school you make it a worthwhile experience or not. If you want to sit in the back of the class, take Yoga for lawyers 3L, or some other fluff thing nobody is stopping you just as nobody is stopping you from taking the difficult courses, befriending professors, participating in moot court or mock trial. The choice is yours no matter what school you attend.

While you may be correct on all of your points, you still paid a ton of money to either work, or take classes that you didn't need.  I did a lot of great stuff during law school as well.  I remember editing hundreds of pages of law review articles for free... but that experience doesn't really help me now.  2L and 3L don't really prepare you for the bar or for work as an attorney, and all the extra curricular stuff that is effective shouldn't cost so damned much.

CPA programs and MBA programs may be a total waste of money to some people, but the risk is way lower.  The total cost is much less, the opportunity cost is much less, and you can work while you go.  Some people make good money during law school, but they are the rare exception.

I don't think the OP should listen to an anonymous internet poster, but he should look at the statistics.   He's in the bottom 3rd of applicants in a world where law school is only a good investment, in my opinion, for those in about the top 40% of graduates.    I just saw a job posting that required a JD + bar license and it was only paying 28,000 a year.