u/bigsniffles

Hi all. I’m here seeking y’all’s collective thoughts about whether to start law school this year or next.

I am considering deferring mainly for mental health reasons. I went through a traumatic experience a year ago, which really rocked my world. I had to move home and take some medical leave for PTSD. Between all of this, I’d decided that I wasn’t going to apply to law school this cycle.

November came around, though, I was feeling better, so I changed my mind & decided to apply. I think I wanted a distraction and also to feel like I was moving forward.

Flash forward to today. I’ve been accepted to a T3, and while I‘m excited, I’m also scared. My mental health has dipped and I’m worried that I’m not resilient enough for law school yet. If I deferred, I’d continue working in my current job, travel, hang with my family, therapy up the wazoo. It would be restful, but there would be little sense of momentum or challenge. A lot of time to think and feel—for better or for worse. But it could go a long way in terms of emotional stability and feeling ready for an intense environment.

On the flip side, a deferral year might not meaningfully improve things. My mom thinks it’d be in fact more helpful for me to jump into something new, be challenged, and have a sense of moving forward. To some extent, I think she’s right. Newness and a challenge would be good. But I worry law school is too much of that. I don’t want to crash and burn, or feel like I’m just enduring or treading water.

Any advice or thoughts would be so helpful.

Hi all. I’m here seeking y’all’s collective wisdom about whether to start law school this year or next.

I am considering deferring mainly for mental health reasons. I went through a traumatic experience a year ago, which really rocked my world. I had to move home and take some medical leave for PTSD. Between all of this, I’d decided that I wasn’t going to apply to law school this cycle.

November came around, though, I was feeling better, so I changed my mind & decided to apply. I think I wanted a distraction and also to feel like I was moving forward.

Flash forward to today. I’ve been accepted to a T3, and while I‘m excited, I’m also scared. My mental health has dipped and I’m worried that I’m not resilient enough for law school yet. If I deferred, I’d continue working in my current job, travel, hang with my family, therapy up the wazoo. It would be restful, but there would be little sense of momentum or challenge. A lot of time to think and feel—for better or for worse. But it could go a long way in terms of emotional stability and feeling ready for an intense environment.

On the flip side, a deferral year might not meaningfully improve things. My mom thinks it’d be in fact more helpful for me to jump into something new, be challenged, and have a sense of moving forward. To some extent, I think she’s right. Newness and a challenge would be good. But I worry law school is too much of that. I don’t want to crash and burn, or feel like I’m just enduring or treading water.

Any advice, perspective or experiences would be so helpful. I know the choice is ultimately mine, but it’d be great to hear from people who know what law school is like, and how it has impacted them.