Thinking About Law as a Career? What College Students Should Know Before Taking the Leap
Author: Brad Krause | Posted on: June 26, 2026
Law school comes up constantly as a fallback plan. "I'll just go to law school" is something a lot of college students say when they are not sure what else to do. But here is the thing: law school is not a fallback. It is a serious, expensive, multi-year commitment that leads to a career with very specific daily realities. If you are genuinely considering it, even just kicking the idea around, it is worth understanding what you are actually signing up for before you get too far down the road.
So what does the path look like?
You finish your bachelor's degree first, then apply to a three-year graduate program that results in a Juris Doctor. After that comes the bar exam. From the start of your freshman year to the day you are licensed to practice, you are typically looking at eight years, give or take.
The Law School Admission Council manages the application process for most U.S. law schools and has solid information on timelines and what programs are looking for. It’s worth bookmarking even if you are still a couple years out from applying.
What should you actually be doing right now in undergrad?
Your major is less important than people think. Law schools take students from almost every background. What matters more is your GPA, your LSAT score, your writing ability, and how compelling your personal statement is.
That said, there is plenty you can do to set yourself up. Mock trial and debate are obvious ones, but writing for a campus publication, doing research with a professor, or getting any kind of legal work experience through internships or clinics all help. The American Bar Association's pre-law resources are worth a look for students who want a clearer picture of how to use their undergrad years strategically.
Let's talk money
Private law school tuition is typically north of $50,000 a year. Add housing, books, and fees over three years and you can easily clear $200,000 in total costs. Public schools are cheaper, especially for in-state students, but costs still add up. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts lawyer salaries well above the national median, which sounds great until you factor in that starting pay varies wildly based on practice area and location.
A corporate associate at a large firm earns very differently from a public defender or a nonprofit attorney. Being realistic about the kind of law you want to practice, and modeling your expected debt against that reality, matters more than people realize. Law School Transparency has scholarship and debt data broken down by school, which is useful when you are comparing options.
A current scholarship worth knowing about
Scholarships can genuinely change the calculus on which schools make sense financially, so it’s worth building a list and applying early. One currently open program is the annual scholarship from HKM Employment Attorneys, a national firm that works exclusively on the employee side of workplace discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, and wage cases.
In 2025 the program awarded $24,000 across 24 students in 23 cities. The 2026 cycle has expanded to 37 cities, with $1,000 awards open to students in pre-law, paralegal, or J.D. programs at campuses within 60 miles of a participating location. Applicants need a 3.0 GPA or higher and a short essay on how they plan to use their legal education to serve their community. The deadline is October 15, 2026.
Students near Pittsburgh, PA, Cincinnati, OH, St. Louis, MO, or Atlanta, GA are among those who can apply. The full list of cities is in the FAQ below.
Is law actually the right fit for you?
Honestly, the best thing you can do before applying is talk to people who actually practice law. Not law school graduates who went into consulting, but working attorneys who can walk you through what a typical Tuesday looks like. The day-to-day of a litigator is completely different from that of a transactional attorney or a public interest lawyer. The rewarding career you are picturing probably exists, but it may not look the way you think it does.
If you can shadow someone or land even a short internship in a legal setting before you apply, do it. That experience will both clarify your thinking and strengthen your application.
Frequently asked questions
Does my undergraduate major affect my chances of getting into law school?
Not directly, no. Law schools admit students from virtually every academic background and there is no required pre-law track. What matters is whether your coursework challenged you and whether your GPA reflects genuine academic strength. Majors that build writing and analytical thinking tend to translate well, but plenty of science, business, and humanities students are admitted every cycle.
When should I start preparing for the LSAT?
Give yourself three to six months of focused prep, minimum. A lot of students take it in the spring of junior year or fall of senior year. Kaplan and 7Sage are both popular options depending on your budget and how you learn. The LSAT is highly coachable, but you need enough time to actually improve rather than just familiarizing yourself with the format.
What kinds of law can you practice?
More than most people expect. Corporate law, criminal law, family law, immigration, environmental law, intellectual property, employment law, civil rights -- each one has a completely different feel in terms of clients, day-to-day work, and culture. Above the Law's Better Know a Practice Area series is worth reading if you want unfiltered takes on what different specialties are actually like.
Where can I apply for the HKM Employment Attorneys Scholarship?
Below is the complete list of cities where students can currently apply. If your campus is within 60 miles of any location listed, check that city's scholarship page and get your application in before October 15, 2026:
• Birmingham, Alabama -- hkm.com/birmingham
• Huntsville, Alabama -- hkm.com/huntsville
• Phoenix, Arizona -- hkm.com/phoenix
• Los Angeles, California -- hkm.com/los-angeles
• Oakland, California -- hkm.com/oakland
• Orange County, California -- hkm.com/irvine
• Riverside, California -- hkm.com/riverside
• Sacramento, California -- hkm.com/sacramento
• San Diego, California -- hkm.com/sandiego
• San Francisco, California -- hkm.com/san-francisco
• San Jose, California -- hkm.com/san-jose
• Denver, Colorado -- hkm.com/denver
• Atlanta, Georgia -- hkm.com/atlanta
• Boise, Idaho -- hkm.com/boise
• Chicago, Illinois -- hkm.com/chicago
• Indianapolis, Indiana -- hkm.com/indianapolis
• Baltimore, Maryland -- hkm.com/baltimore
• Boston, Massachusetts -- hkm.com/boston
• Minneapolis, Minnesota -- hkm.com/minneapolis
• Kansas City, Missouri -- hkm.com/kansascity
• St. Louis, Missouri -- hkm.com/stlouis
• Bozeman, Montana -- hkm.com/bozeman
• Las Vegas, Nevada -- hkm.com/lasvegas
• New Paltz, New York -- hkm.com/new-paltz
• New York City, New York -- hkm.com/new-york
• Charlotte, North Carolina -- hkm.com/charlotte
• Cincinnati, Ohio -- hkm.com/cincinnati
• Portland, Oregon -- hkm.com/portland
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- hkm.com/philadelphia
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- hkm.com/pittsburgh
• Houston, Texas -- hkm.com/houston
• Arlington, Virginia -- hkm.com/arlington
• Bellevue, Washington -- hkm.com/bellevue
• Seattle, Washington -- hkm.com/seattle
• Spokane, Washington -- hkm.com/spokane
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin -- hkm.com/milwaukee
• Washington, D.C. -- hkm.com/washingtondc
What do law school admissions committees actually look for?
GPA and LSAT are table stakes, but the personal statement carries more weight than a lot of applicants expect. A specific, honest essay about why you want to practice law and what you plan to do with the degree tends to outperform a polished but generic one. Strong recommendation letters from professors who actually know your work also matter more than letters from impressive people who barely know you. And any concrete experience in or around the legal field -- internships, clinics, research -- makes the whole application feel more grounded.
How competitive is law school admissions?
Depends entirely on where you are applying. The top programs are brutally competitive -- median LSAT scores in the high 160s to 170s, strong GPAs from rigorous programs. Regional and state schools are far more accessible and often the smarter financial move, especially when scholarship funding is on the table. Law School Numbers' GPA and LSAT browser shows real applicant outcomes by score range, which is a much more useful reality check than any ranking list.
Article courtesy of SelfCaring
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