How long is law school?

Question

Zippia Team · Accepted Answer

Law school normally takes three years to complete in the United States. This also depends on how many attempts you made at the bar exam before passing. This test is notoriously known to be one some students must take several times before passing.

Here is a closer look at the components of a three-year law school program:

Coursework
Once you get into law school, you are confronted with a barrage of coursework that is diverse. To be a successful law school student, you must dedicate yourself to your program and be prepared to study and research for long hours.
You are also expected to complete a hefty amount of coursework, which means not just memorizing things from textbooks, but gaining an understanding of complex concepts, strategies, lines of reasoning, and many other legal and ethical principles.
Reading
There is a humongous amount of reading you must do in law school. Most of this pertains to legal texts and cases and has a lot of legal-specific jargon and even Latin. And if your undergraduate degree had nothing to do with the law, you will have to grasp many foreign concepts quickly.
Law school classes
During classes, law professors are known to cold-call students. This is when they pick a student at random to answer a question. Even students who know the answers often dread this part of law school, as it puts them on the spot to deliver a concise answer to what is usually a very complicated question.
Law professors are also known not to give feedback unless you actively seek it out, and even then, it can be hard to obtain. While this does teach you how to be independent, it also makes it difficult to know if you are on the right track with your coursework.
Law school curve grading system
Most law schools work on a curve grading system. This means that only a fraction of the class can do well. It is not uncommon for a law student to spend at least three hours studying every night after classes.
In many law schools, you have one exam every semester, and how you perform on this exam can alter your grades for the rest of your time in law school.
Bar exam
The most difficult aspect of law school is preparing for the bar exam. These differ in each state but are still immensely hard to pass.
Like the LSAT, only more difficult, the bar exam has a reputation for being the hardest exam a law student takes. People are known to have to take it multiple times, even as much as ten times or more.
Law school is one of the most demanding forms of higher education you can pursue, second only to medical school.