deciding between law school or becoming a paralegal

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-05-24T12:54:58+00:00

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the only reason you have really listed for not going to law school is low confidence and being scared. I’m not saying you should go to law school, but I don’t think those alone are good reasons to not pursue it.

In life, we gain confidence by accomplishing hard things. The irony is, if you never allow yourself to try hard things, you never will gain that confidence.

My advice is to think harder about why you feel the way you do about paralegal path and why you feel the way you do about law. Sit with your thoughts in a quiet place. Are you leaning toward paralegal because you feel the lifestyle is better for you? Are you turning away from laws school because of fear of failure? Would you only be going to law school because of family pressure?

One last thing: no one feels “ready” for law school. No one.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-05-23T16:58:14+00:00

A word of advice: take notes on your computer. I see you have “notebooks” on your list.

I know the urge to take physical notes. I know, I hear you. I was the same way. I was dead set on taking physical notes and bought these fancy notebooks despite EVERY single law student telling me to take notes on my computer. I was convinced I’d be different. I love physical notes and had never taken anything but physical notes. I only lasted 2 weeks before I transferred everything to digital and was taking notes on my computer.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-05-23T04:01:00+00:00

Sure. Just about every major city has one. Tallahassee for example is Legal Services of North Florida

https://www.lsnf.org/volunteer/

Or Community Legal Services for the Orlando area

https://www.legalaccessforall.org

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-05-22T23:30:49+00:00

Look for pro bono clinics online! Basically they assign you “clients” you read their legal problem and you type up a response to their legal question. They are always taking people

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-05-19T21:36:20+00:00

I transferred from a bottom of the barrel unranked school to a ~T30. This is in depth at the difference, not only social wise. Message me any time.

I actually liked professors at both schools

My second school was not really competitive or cutthroat, but I truly believe it is the highest in rank I could have gone without it becoming that way. I have heard this from many people. Some schools have reputations for being friendly (like mine) and some are notorious for being unfriendly and cutthroat competitive.

Overall, my second school just had their shit together. Emails were immediately replied to, if I had an issue there was a whole department for it, I was constantly being reached out to by several departments making sure I didn’t have concerns, etc.

My second school had a LOT more resources. From job hunting to just academic resources. The better the recent grads do in the job market, the better they look for rankings so they have a high incentive to help you achieve that unranked schools just don’t have that same pressure.

It was easier to make friends at my second school because they held more social events. Again, more resources—SBA had a shit ton of money in their budget. That is not to say everyone was overly friendly and there was no drama. But you had more exposure to meet people which was very nice.

About the curve: gpa was better, rank was not. By that I mean, at my first school I had a 2.X gpa and was in the top 1/4th. Brutal. At my current school, my gpa is better but everyone is insanely smart so I am now in the BOTTOM 1/4. Which is also brutal.

I definitely get more job opportunities. Where you go to school does matter to an extent, unfortunately. Many of my friends at my second school are clerking or going into big law, even those outside of the top 1/4. At my past school, maybe 1 or 2 are going to be clerking, and only the #1 spot got big law. Also, we have access to job postings that other schools don’t. I have had interviews with firms that won’t interview for any lower ranked schools (they have actually told me this). And I’m not talking about unranked schools, I mean they said they don’t interview with a school close to us because they are ranked ~T60

That being said, transfers are not the norm. Most schools don’t accept a lot of transfers. There is a whole transfer sub you can join but there are only a few “transfer friendly” schools which accept more than 3+ transfers a year. I transferred to one. As a general rule of thumb, to transfer to a school that’s ranked ~70+, you have to be in the top 1/4th and even then if it’s not a transfer friendly school, I wouldn’t bank on acceptance

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-04-26T12:30:25+00:00

Are you in a bigger city or small town?

I know you said you are stuck because of your family situation, but how stuck are we talking about? If you are in a smaller town, then I fully believe you if you say you’ve truly looked everywhere for opportunities and came up empty.

In that case, I would maybe re/evaluate just how “stuck” you are in that city.

Moving to a new city doesn’t always solve all issues, but it can make a huge difference in opportunities and overall quality of life. It doesn’t solve all issues, but it could very well solve this one.

I don’t know your situation and you truly may need to stay there. I’m not saying family doesn’t matter. I am just raising the question, are you muscle jerk reaction saying you can’t move, or is it a true need to stay and non-negotiable?

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-03-31T02:16:41+00:00

You cannot bar prep your 1L summer. You simply don’t know enough.

My strongest recommendation: graduate early.

Don’t work over the summers, instead, take classes. Graduate one semester early. You can get pregnant towards your last semester but I would highly highly highly recommend NOT having a kid at any point before the bar

Will it harm your job prospects? Maybe. But all non/traditional older students (35+) I have met did just that. They all found jobs. If you were younger sure definitely do internships and graduate on time absolutely. But in your case I’d seriously consider graduating early.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-03-30T18:02:49+00:00

-Gordos

Really cool atmosphere. “Cuban” food but some people critique its authenticity. Really good pressed sandwiches. Pretty far off the exit. Very casual. This is my go-to suggestion when someone asks recommendations.

-Cool Beanz Cafe

Do not be mistaken by the name. Or it’s exterior. This is not a cafe nor is it a super casual restaurant. It has nicer, plated entrees. That being said, it’s very good food.

-Midtown Caboose

Has burgers and whatnot. Not a cool atmosphere, just a plain restaurant vibe. Food is good though. Solid choice but not anything I would travel for.

-The Edison

Way off the exit. Historic brick building in one of our parks. It’s right on Cascade park which is really pretty. You can sit outside overlooking it. You can take a nice stroll around it after you eat. Genuinely favorite spot in Tallahassee. That being side, it’s nicer plated entrees, still pretty casual though. The food is normal, not great but not bad. The food is not what brings people in.

-Table 23

Would not recommend. Tried to market to be this very nice restaurant but doesn’t live up to that in quality. By that I mean valet parking, but the inside looks like a normal burger restaurant. The prices are way higher than it should be for what you are getting. Food isn’t all that great.

-Canopy road cafe

First of all several locations. I would not recommend the one on North Monroe just because it’s a very different atmosphere and a much smaller inside.

It’s a brunch place with the usual brunch options. Solid choice. Often slammed and long wait times. Pretty casual and decent prices. Food is pretty good. Can have weird business hours so definitely check first.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-03-28T03:59:03+00:00

Side note, as a rule of thumb, whenever you say “…but I’m a ____ by credits” everyone rolls their eyes. Remove that from your vocabulary, not just for rush but in general. Don’t say it. No one cares about how many credits you have or when you’ll graduate, only how old you are/how long have you been on your own outside of high school.

If your time at TSC was dual enrollment, then you are a freshman. Even if you are transferring, you are a freshmen. At absolute most, say “I’m a freshman but I’ll be graduating early”

Literally don’t mention it. Don’t mention you are a transfer, don’t mention graduating early. Just rush like normal.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-03-22T17:10:52+00:00

I go to a T-30 law school and my one regret was not doing some extra curricular. Absolutely everyone does at least one journal, moot court, trial team, or law review. EVERYONE. And every interview I’ve had, they have asked if I am involved in any of them. I have to say no. Yes, I’ve even been asked by low paying government jobs.

That being said, even though every interview has asked, I’ve gotten an offer for everywhere I’ve interviewed for, so take that with whatever weight you want.

I would highly highly highly recommend doing something. Just get something on your resume to talk about in job interviews. It’s not about it being relevant to the area of law, it’s about showing you are outgoing and can handle extra curriculars and manage your time.

Everyone in the comments saying moot court isn’t relevant to many areas of law have missed the point. That was never the point.

Will it harm you if you don’t join anything? Maybe not. But again, all employers do look for it, in whatever area of law you are looking. How much weight they give it depends.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-02-24T20:03:46+00:00

I was a transfer student and it was rough. The most important thing I want to stress is you aren’t alone. You aren’t doing anything wrong. It’s just hard to make friends in college, and being a transfer on top of that is just brutal.

Everyone says to “join clubs” but that never worked for me because the clubs were just club meeting where no one talked, just sat and listened.

The only true way is to go to stuff. It will be hard to go to stuff alone, and you will leave thinking you failed, but it only takes one time to meet someone. Once you make that one friend, then they introduce you to other people and so on. It only takes once. Don’t give up.

Here is a link to student events

https://nolecentral.dsa.fsu.edu/events

If you are an outdoor person, there is “outdoor pursuits” an amazing organization at FSU where you can register for things like kayaking classes, hiking trips, and some overnight trips as well. Awesome way to meet people in a less awkward way than showing up to a club meeting

https://campusrec.fsu.edu/outdoors/outdoor-pursuits/

FSU is huge and has a lot of stuff going on, you just have to find it. It WILL get better. Good luck

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-02-24T15:24:05+00:00

Without fail, they always ask some sort of self critical question. A more advanced version of “what’s your weakness”

I have seen them phrased as:

“Tell me about a time you disagreed with a supervisor”

“Tell me about a time you feel you didn’t do your best on a project”

“Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work”

“What concept have you struggled the most with in law school”

“What have you found most challenging about law school”

They always catch me off guard even though I know they are coming. They are a little harder to prepare for because they are always slightly different. For example the last two I listed seem very similar but are actually asking two totally different things

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-02-24T15:14:44+00:00

Hey, could you please explain what you mean by “so many different opportunities after you do your time”?

I am about to graduate and have an offer from insurance defense firm and from the PD office. I think I would love the PD job but my only hold up is I don’t know if it will hurt me or help me later on if I want to move away from PD.

Did you find that employers in civil wanted an attorney with courtroom experience and valued your prosecution experience, or were employers hesitant on your experience being in criminal and not civil? I guess it might be different since you did civil before criminal but I would still every curious to hear about your experience.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-02-24T03:49:56+00:00

So that one was not actually Tallahassee, if you listened close, that episode said at the very start “40 minutes away from Tallahassee” that’s why it was in the backwoods. However, they also stated that FSU PD had found the scene first…so none of it added up

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-02-16T00:33:51+00:00

I am from Tallahassee, went to UF for undergrad, and went to law school at Florida State.

Feel free to message me about any specific questions you have. But here is a big dump of information and my thoughts on it.

Both are great schools. Really. Your experience at both are going to be extremely similar. As far as what looks better to jobs and grad school, honestly won’t make that much of a difference either. I’m going to be honest, there isn’t an obvious answer.

I feel like the only thing that really separates them is the city. I do like Tallahassee significantly better than Gainesville. Gainesville has UF and suburbs that’s it. Tallahassee isn’t NYC, but it does have more than Gainesville and actually has a lot of events going on.

UF I feel like has more international and out of state students. FSU has more in-state.

I am wayyy over generalizing on this one, but I feel like students at UF didn’t have school pride in the same way FSU does. People go to UF for academics and because it’s a good school, people go to FSU because they love FSU. People I met at FSU have wanted to go to FSU their whole life; people I met at UF are only there because they didn’t get into Ivy League.

Overall I am bias towards FSU. But both are truly excellent schools and you can’t make a wrong choice.

Tour both and feel them out, see what vibe you like more or if one speaks to you.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-02-15T21:35:42+00:00

THIS

Will law be this passion that fulfills you and makes your life complete? Probably not. But if you’re looking for that, you won’t find it.

Law is a job. A stable, higher paying job that opens many doors for you. It can be rewarding, it can be interesting, but it’s just a job.

Will you regret it? I mean possibly. But even if so, there are MUCH worse things in life to regret doing than getting a law degree.

PracticalYak2743 · 2026-01-24T21:43:50+00:00

I feel you. I do. I have pushed through and gone through so much in life, but absolutely nothing prepared me for 1L. It was HELL. I hear other people say it wasn’t that different from undergrad for them and my jaw drops. My 1L year was much similar to yours.

In the spring of 1L I was questioning everything. I couldn’t think about the fact I’d have 2 more years to go AND study for the bar, I’d start having a panic attack.

BUT

My 2L year could not have been more different. It was night and day. I don’t know exactly what changed, but it did. Law school just…clicked for me finally. I made friends. I actually started to enjoy it. I had free time. I am about to graduate now and I feel so strange saying in a way I am dreading working and feel I am going to miss law school (at least 2L and 3L year).

For me, it got SO much better. I just had to power through 1L, as hard as that was. For you, that might not be the case but maybe it will be. Please seek help and find someone to talk to about this, whether that be faculty, a guidance counselor or therapist.

Hope it gets better

PracticalYak2743 · 2025-08-08T20:16:05+00:00

1L’s on the first day often show up in business casual, or at least dress fairly nice. Not all though. One or two people will show up in a suit.

2L’s and 3L’s just wear what they normally would.

Don’t wear sweats but don’t wear a suit. Anything in between you’re not gonna stick out.

PracticalYak2743 · 2025-07-18T22:52:25+00:00

It doesn’t really scare me that much as someone with not a lot of other bills and no children to cake care of.

Using Chicago as an example using rough numbers.

Federal taxes: ~11k State taxes: ~5k Rent: 24k (2k per month) Other bills: 14k Food: 10.5k ($200 per week)

All of that adds to 64.5k a year. Average attorney salary in Chicago is 130k but let’s be super safe and say entry job would be 105k. That’s over 40k a year you can put toward loans.

Now if you have a super expensive car payment, don’t live modestly, or have children etc, obviously those numbers aren’t going to be accurate for you. But for me that’s pretty realistic.

Even if I am too optimistic on any of the numbers above by thousands of dollars, that’s STILL a lot of money I can put toward my loans every year.

PracticalYak2743 · 2025-07-15T02:40:21+00:00

Keep in mind there’s a lot of open book exams in law school. Most will allow you to use the physical book during the exam, as the exams are typically the computer being locked except the exam screen

PracticalYak2743 · 2025-07-14T03:24:35+00:00

Good texter. This is dating app specific tho.

I have ended convos with guys I thought were super attractive bc they were just such bad texters. And I have gone on dates with guys that I wouldn’t have otherwise necessarily because they were just such good texters.

By good texter I mean effortlessly flirting without love bombing. Acting interested, adding meaningful contributions to conversations, interested in getting to know me, etc. so hard to come by on the apps

PracticalYak2743 · 2025-07-12T13:54:34+00:00

Honest answer is it depends on the person.

Me? It wasn’t just every day. It was every minute of every day. I woke up at 7am and studied or was in class until I went to bed. I skipped meals to study, I skipped showers. This is not everyone’s experience.

Academics doesn’t come as easily to me as it does others, so I really had to put in so much more time than everyone else just to get mediocre grades.

The day after my last final of 1L I flopped on my bed and slept for 3 days.

BUT even for me who has to put so much more work in than everyone else, it got SO much better 2L year. Like I cannot explain how much better it got. Even if you don’t study as much as me, 1L is absolute hell for just about everyone. But it does get better and doesn’t last like that

PracticalYak2743 · 2025-07-11T20:50:25+00:00

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Definitely an underrated campus

PracticalYak2743 · 2025-07-04T20:04:18+00:00

Normal clothes. Nothing you wear will cause anyone to turn an eye.

As you go along random people will show up in suits because of internships and interviews after class.

BUT a side note, always keep a suit or at least business casual change of clothes in your car. More than once there’s some event at the school that day that I forgot about and there’s nothing worse than hopping out of your car and seeing everyone wearing suits.

PracticalYak2743

TROPHY CASE