I got into Law School

[Harmonius]

Kingston Law School

*Sings, Oh happy day*

[Ryou-Neko]

That's lovely. Congradulations.

[PianoGirl4444]

Cool!  Congrats!  Get ready to become a hermit.  lol

[Will]

For the Americans in this thread: In most of the world, law is an undergraduate degree. The US is somewhat weird in that law is generally a first professional doctorate.

[unsungmelody]

Really? That's interesting.

[Harmonius]

Thank you guys. I'm already a Hermit  :lol:

[Ryou-Neko]

What?

[NoelleNC]

Yeah, cause  I looked at his post and then his age and I was confused, like "woah, law school at 18?" Haha. Well I think that makes sense. Here you have to go and get a bachelors in something irrelevant, or just basically involved, before you can actually train for the law career you want.

The world is smarter than America in this I think =D

[Harmonius]

I'm not quite sure about America but in the UK, the choice to study Law as a subject is also available. The education system here is a little different fom the US. We first have 5 years of secodnary school (whereas you guys get 7 years of high school). After secondary school, we enroll in either a college or a sixth form for 2 years. Whether we go to college or sixth form depends on our GCSE results we get from Secondary school. At this point we are 16 and are free to leave education for good.
College and sixth form are basically the same thing, although a sixth form takes place in a current secondary school. College is a seperate educating system just only for A-levels. A levels are the equivalent of SATs. A-levels determine whether we go to university or not. University to you guys means college.

During A-level studies at college or sixth form, we have a choice of what to study, most take 4 "AS or half subjects". At the end of the first academic year, we can drop one AS and carry on with the remaining. Many people choose not to drop any subjects and continue for a full course AKA A levels.

University depends on how well our A-level results are. University system for A-level is provided by UCAS:
A = 120 Points
B = 100 Points
C = 80 ""
D = 60 ""
E = 40 ""
U = Fail 0 points

[Will]

Here you have to go and get a bachelors in something irrelevant, or just basically involved, before you can actually train for the law career you want.

The world is smarter than America in this I think =D

I think it actually makes sense. The idea is that you have knowledge in a field other than law and that gives you a broader view of things. Also, even if your undergraduate degree has nothing to do with law, it will teach you how to think more clearly, allowing you to get more out of law school.

[Will]

(whereas you guys get 7 years of high school).

Nope. High school in the US is generally four years.

A levels are the equivalent of SATs. A-levels determine whether we go to university or not.

Yes and no. The SATs are not that important on their own. They are just one part of the college application. For example, my high school GPA really sucked. However, I got into the university that I did because my SAT score was very high. There are also people I know who had very high GPAs that made up for low SAT scores. Some schools (some of which are considered to be very good) don't even require the SAT exams. In England, the A-levels seem to be one of the primary hurdles to admission at a school, with many schools making an admission offer contingent on the student achieving a certain set of scores.

Also, the SAT is nothing like the A-levels in form and content. The SAT was formerly an IQ test that is now confused as to what it is. The College Board, who administers the exam, says that scores on the exam have a very strong correlation with freshman GPA and that is why they claim that it is useful for admissions committees to look at. The SAT IIs test knowledge in subject areas like the A-levels. However, they are not very rigorous at all. The closest thing that US students take in form and content to the A-levels are the Advanced Placement (AP) exams that many high school students take for early college credit. They cover specific subject areas and are generally considered to be quite rigorous. However, I know of no school who actually requires them for admission, although they can be a major plus for admissions.

[Scotty]

I'm not quite sure about America but in the UK...

woah, stop right there....Scotland has a completely different education system than England.

[Grakthis]

I think it actually makes sense. The idea is that you have knowledge in a field other than law and that gives you a broader view of things. Also, even if your undergraduate degree has nothing to do with law, it will teach you how to think more clearly, allowing you to get more out of law school.

Rosie and I fight about this all the time.  College/University in the European system is more like a technical school and they never focus on the liberal arts background that US schools prefer.

[zurielshimon]

I think the fact that universities in the U.S. require so much more "core curriculum" to produce more "well-rounded" graduates is one of the main things that makes so many students not finish.  Plus, it's very common for professional degree holders to earn better salaries than bachelor's degree holders, and professional schools focus entirely on the professional field the student wants to enter.

[NoelleNC]

(whereas you guys get 7 years of high school).

Nope. High school in the US is generally four years.

Yes, but I think he was referring to what we also call middle school possibly. Middle and High school are both secondary schools in the US.


And where I understand that a clearer understanding in general studies would help in a graduate law degree in some ways, education is too expensive in my opinion to "possibly" help, or "kind of" help. If I wanted to be a lawyer I would prefer not to have to spend $80,000 on a liberal arts degree before I go spend anoter $80,000+ on a graduate law degree... Idk, maybe that's just me. And I am just spouting those figures, etc.

And my school is a liberal arts college and I do agree that we have too many "gen eds", or core classes. I don't see how taking chemistry and biology with labs is going to make my career any easier once I graduate (I'm an English major)... maybe if I remembered everything I learned, but I really won't. I just BS my way through gen eds, most students do.