It's bar exam season once again as law school graduates and bar exam retakers troop to the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on all four Sundays of November for the 2018 bar exams.
Taking and passing the bar exams -- arguably the most difficult government-administered examination in the Philippines, and some say the most mentally demanding across the planet -- is deemed as the last step before finally becoming a full-fledged lawyer.
But of course before being allowed to take the bar exams, it is mandatory that one graduates from law school first.
In this week's edition of Q&A Tuesdays, a reader sends in a question on how it's like to be in law school and if all the attendant challenges that come with it are worth it.
I have been in government service for seven years now. I have a political science degree from a reputable university in Manila. I would like to think I'm fairly satisfied with the current state of affairs in my life. However, I harbor a nagging desire to become a lawyer. From what I've heard, going to law school is a tough and brutal experience, which makes me all the more fearful of pursuing this dream. Is going to law school worth it?
- Rene (Manila)
In college and now in your professional capacity, you have certainly come across enormous challenges and managed to deal with them effectively (hopefully).
But the thing about law school is that it is a different form of beast altogether. Nothing that you've gone through either in college or in your work will ever prepare you for what you will experience in law school.
Here's why: Many people make the mistake of going to law school unprepared.
Although there is no absolute way to prepare for law school, there are nonetheless certain things you have to take into account before deciding to take the plunge.
1. Consider your finances.
Going to law school is not cheap. If you are supported by your parents, then that's fine. But if you are a self-supporting student, it is twice as tough because law school will demand a lot of your waking hours. In addition, you will be spending a lot of money on reading materials, textbooks, codals, etc. Take your financial standing into account.
2. Time management is key.
In law school, you will be required to read voluminous sets of readings and cases and textbooks all at once. The readings are so thick, the requirements for one class alone will probably more than cover everything you've read your entire college life. It is also mandatory to finish all these readings, otherwise you run the risk of getting a failing grade when called to recite and you are clueless of what to say.
3. People in law school are very competitive.
Everybody in law school has only one mantra: survive. Charles Darwin's survival of the fittest theory rings true in law school. The mentally weak, the unprepared, the lazy, the procrastinators, and those without the drive to slog through the daily grind of classroom suffering are bound to get kicked out. And they do get kicked out.
4. Your social life will suffer heavily.
Because law school will demand 100 percent of your time and concentration, you will inevitably miss out on some events, celebrations, and get-togethers with your family and friends.
5. Your health will likely suffer, too.
Depending on how yo cope with stress and lack of sleep, you may either gain weight because of overeating and lack of exercise or lose weight because of loss of appetite. Decidedly healthy law school students are few and far between.
Despite all these horrific precautions, though, law school is still something those who've managed to graduate from it will relish their entire lives.
In law school, you will:
- meet life-long friends and peers whom you will forge a greater bond with because you all have seen and endured each other in both the darkest and happiest moments of law school;
- learn the rigors of law from some of the brightest legal luminaries;
- be a high-performing individual accustomed to high levels of stress;
- sport a no-nonsense approach in life guided by pragmatism and superior legal knowledge; and
- be more sympathetic with, and attuned to the needs of, the less privileged because your legal education has taught you that those who have less in life should have more in law.
Going to law school is a decision that should be made with certainty and a lot of courage. You don't go through it half-heartedly. If so, whatever the outcome of your choice, the fact that you did so with full resolve and conviction already makes everything worth it.
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Got a question yourself? Post it in the comments section below or on any of our social media channels. Watch out for the next edition of Q&A Tuesdays next week!