Applicants often - and certainly sometimes wisely - pursue admission to law school through a part-time or evening program track. While not all law schools offer alternatives to full-time program, for many students, the part-time option offers a viable way to attend that dream school when either an LSAT score or GPA falls short of being competitive in the full-time pool. Typically, law schools do not officially present differing admission criteria between part-time and full-time applicants, however a quick survey of the numbers reveals a consistently more forgiving numeric range for part-time program applicants. Take Georgetown as example. According to the 2008 ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools, the median GPA and LSAT for the 2006 entering class were 3.71 and 169 respectively, while the part-time class had medians of 3.54 and 165.
It is important to keep in mind that evening part-time programs are generally geared toward professionals already in the works force. Accordingly, admission officers often place greater emphasis on work experience and other subjective factors than on the LSAT and GPA. So while it is not necessarily always easier to gain admission to a school through a part-time program, for an applicant whose numbers don't quite stack up and who has strong work experience or other soft factors, applying to the part-time program might make sense.
Other than the more lenient admission criteria, there are indeed some advantages to pursing a law degree part-time.
Debt Management: Completing a JD on the standard part-time cycle typically takes four years, as opposed to three years of full-time study. This protracted program with lighter course loads each semester, allows students to work and pursue their degree simultaneously. The financial considerations can be significant. Students considering attending law school part time sometimes cannot afford to quit their jobs to attend full time. Attending part time, perhaps even subsidized by an employer, is the only way for some students to fulfill their dream of a legal education. Additionally, a student may be able to take out fewer loans and offset the cost of a legal education while working.
"Flipping" Option: Another advantage to gaining admission to a school part-time might involve the ease of "flipping" to the full-time program after a successful first year. Do not expect all schools to openly promote this practice, however. While some schools grant students the transfer option automatically, many others flatly state outright that transferring to the full-time program is not an option. Even at these schools, however, the door might not be completely closed. It is entirely possible that schools simply are trying to deter applicants from getting in the "back door," hoping to reserve the part-time/evening program for the applicants for whom it was designed - professionals already in the workforce, pursuing a JD for career advancement. Students who flip from the part-time to full-time program after the first year might still be able to complete their degree in three years with smart planning.
The option of admission through a part-time program is indeed alluring, however it is important to consider that completing a law degree through a part-time option has other implications. These considerations should be weighed carefully.
Employment: Graduating from a part-time program may have an impact on employability after law school. In many cases, employers may not be able to distinguish a part-time from a full-time candidate in the review process. In some cases, where employers are privy to a candidate's part-time status, hiring partners may consider part time students as those who might not have been qualified to get in the full-time program. So for those students who attend school part-time and do not maintain outside employment, this bias (which some employers may not even realize is happening) might hold especially true. Additionally, while a handful of top-ranked schools offer part-time programs, the vast majority of part time programs are at less prestigious schools, with a corresponding impact on employment options. While placement rates may be comparable between the two programs, it is important to consider these statistics carefully. Bear in mind that students in part-time programs are frequently already employed, particularly in part-time evening programs, and thus possibly skew the statistics. All these factors can play a part in limiting your employment options in your post-law school life.
Missed Networking Opportunities: Approaching employability from another angle, employers may be concerned about a part-time student's lack of law-related experience. The law school experience reaches far beyond the classroom, with moot court, journals, law school clinics, student organizations, judicial externships, summer clerkships and law school activities offering law students a multitude of opportunities for experiential learning and networking. Senior Consultant Heike Spahn, a former Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago Law School, mentions that "one of the keys to obtaining a full-time position after graduation is a summer clerkship. Many part-time students attend summer school, which might hinder their ability to accept certain positions." Future career path considerations down the road have to be taken into account when determining to go into a full- or part-time program.
Additionally, while usually eligible to participate, part-time students who work full-time jobs rarely have time for these extracurricular activities. Additionally, while certainly networking through outside employment has its advantages, classmates are future colleagues. Limited campus face-time puts part-time - especially evening - students at a disadvantage in this regard.
Managing Multiple Responsibilities: Part-time students also need to make sure they have enough time to handle the often overwhelming responsibilities of school, full-time work and outside responsibilities. Law school is challenging, especially if you are attending part time. Taking on the additional demands, part-time students should be prepared that their grades or performance at work might evidence the multiple priorities in their lives.
Heike adds that "attending law school part-time often translates to a full-time commitment. Part-time students should expect to spend 40 hours per week working towards their law degree in addition to their employment and other responsibilities." The level of commitment that pursing a law degree requires is something that cannot be taken lightly.
Finances: Although attending law school part-times allows students to stretch the cost out over four years, it is worth mentioning that the final tab for part-time is often higher than completing the degree full-time in three years. The additional two semesters mean a whole additional year of university fees, which can be substantial. Additionally, the charge per credit hour is often more part-time than the full-time division. For example, at George Mason University School of Law, tuition for the full-time program for out-of-state residents as of 2008 is $28,532 per year, or a total of $85,596 (excluding annual law school and university fees for three years). Tuition for a part-time student will cost $90,691, plus four years of associated university fees. "In addition," comments Heike, "students should recognize that part-time students will have an additional year of housing and other costs such as child care and insurance that are related to law school attendance." Finally, part-time students are typically ineligible for law school scholarships.
Transfer: For students who are interested in transferring schools, starting in a part-time program might not be the best option. Some schools require completion of the first year before being eligible to apply to transfer.
Part-time programs can certainly be a viable option for obtaining a law degree - the admission standards are often slightly more lenient, and the path to the full-time division is sometimes easily pursued. However, students should carefully weigh the other implications of part-time enrollment versus waiting another year and strengthening their application (retaking the LSAT, getting additional work experience, building an alternative transcript) for application to the full-time program at their school of choice.
David Petersam
President and Founder of AdmissionsConsultants
http://www.admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885
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