Job Discussion Forums

[chai_tea]

So, I'm in a bit of a quandary at the moment. My dream law school accepted me about three months ago, and a month later I was offered the opportunity to spend the next year teaching english in France. After submitting my deposit at my dream school, I requested a deferral of my acceptance. Recently, I found out that my deferral request was denied. Now, I don't know what to do.

I'm just finishing my undergrad now, and I think that taking a year off before going to law school would be beneficial not only for my personal growth and maturity, but also for professional reasons. My job would be part-time (teaching English), so I would have time to intern in my field of interest and take a class or two. I've taught English before, and I found it extremely personally enriching and rewarding. The problem is that I'm worried that I won't get into my dream law school next cycle. If I do withdraw and reapply, I risk being rejected. If this were to happen, I don't know what I'd do. I applied to a bunch of law schools this cycle, but I can't imagine attending any other school. I also don't care to waste my time or money on an MA program.

In the best-case scenario, I would withdraw from the law school, reapply, be accepted, and start law school in Fall 2011. In the worst-case scenario, I would withdraw from the law school, reapply, be rejected, and be forced to either attend another school (which I wouldn't), waste my time in a masters program, or continue working and apply for a third time. My other option, of course, is to not take any risks, decline the job offer, and start law school this fall. Though this option is the safest, I worry that down the road I'm going to regret not taking time off to live in France and teach. I also worry that I'll be at a disadvantage in law school as a recent undergrad with no work experience and a high likelihood of burning out.

Any thoughts? Advice? Thanks!

[mozzar]

This is a difficult question. Personally, I would try to take a summer break (spend three months) in Europe and then go to Law School. If it really is the dream law school then I imagine it's quite highly regarded and you wouldn't want to lose your place. In the long term you can always come back to France afterwards.

But I'm a cautious person who is always delaying fun stuff until he's got the right qualifications.

[Sadebugo]

[robertokun]

France isn't going anywhere. Your spot at your dream school might. I rest my case.

[spanglish]

Are you sure you want to go to law school? Are you sure you want to be a lawyer?

If your answers are yes to the above, then I'd say, no question, you should definitely go to law school this year.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

I agree that France will be there in 3, or whatever, years.
I'd definitely go law school first.

[Ursula]

I agree with the other posts. If this is your dream school, then go for it. In the meantime, try and fit in a long trip to France during the summer.

Just a random idea -- but you could look into WWOOF (willing workers on organic farms) -- I have friends who did this in Japan, New Zealand, and Hawaii, perhaps there are farms in France that are part of the WWOOF organization. That would be an inexpensive way to experience life in France for a while and get some kind of work experience (I know its totally unrelated to teaching English and not relevant at all to law school).

[naturegirl321]

Quick question OP, what passports do you hold?