<p>My son graduate college in 3yrs, working for 1 year,did well on Lsats and has received 2 full tuition scholarship for 2 good law schools…Now he wants to learn a foreign language abroad for 1yr and come back and do law school. He feels he’ll be more marketable. No guarantees that the law schools will honor the full scholarships…We say do law school first… then learn a language…What do other parents think?</p>
<p>Up to him, isn’t it?</p>
<p>From what I have gathered from friends of mine who are lawyers, law schools are sensitive to the commitment and intentions of their students.</p>
<p>My suggestion: start law school now. Do an intensive summer program abroad – you learn a lot fast. It will make your son more marketable. Also, with a decent background in a foreign language, he could do a law school-related study abroad program once he has started his law studies.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to a language school related website I like a lot:
[Language</a> School Links Homepage. Links and Contact Info for Over 1,000 In-Country Language Schools Worldwide.](<a href=“http://www.languageschoollinks.com/index]Language”>http://www.languageschoollinks.com/index)</p>
<p>For US law programs that have some type of “law study abroad” program check out:</p>
<p>[Study</a> Abroad, Volunteer, Intern, Teach - GoAbroad.com](<a href=“http://www.goabroad.com%5DStudy”>http://www.goabroad.com)</p>
<p>and also:</p>
<p>[Study</a> Abroad & Study Abroad Summer, Internship, Language & Scholarship Programs - StudyAbroad.com](<a href=“http://www.studyabroad.com%5DStudy”>http://www.studyabroad.com)</p>
<p>Good luck to your son. Sounds like he has a promising future!</p>
<p>If he knows that he wants to go to law school eventually, he shouldn’t turn down the full rides. He may or may not have that opportunity again, and he might have to take out huge loans or move farther down the law school totem pole in order to find another full ride.</p>
<p>A friend’s S is at Yale law and told me that the school encourages a year abroad after 2 years of school. He’s leaving for South America in a few months</p>
<p>He may be able to defer law school and keep their scholarships. I have lots of friends with admissions to top law schools who are deferring right now to pursue jobs or other opportunities. </p>
<p>After law school, he’ll have the pressure of bar exams, clerkships, and starting his law career. Now is the time for him to explore all of the other ideas and interests he has, before he gets locked down into the school/internship/graduation/job grind. Law school will always be there.</p>
<p>law school may always be there…but the money and acceptances from law schools may not. And these days, law school can result in huge debt that can enslave you for years and cut down on your career options. If these are top schools, you son should think twice before turning them down (unless they allow him to defer for a year and keep the funding). You can always learn a language. Take intensive courses in the summer (first summer after law school is probably the best time to do that because second summer is when students do summer associateships).</p>
<p>I say he should call the law schools and find out if he can defer a year and keep the scholarships. In my experience while a summer is good, it’s not enough to speak a language fluently. (At least not for me.) </p>
<p>That said, I think spending a year overseas is a terrific idea and taking a break between college and grad school is also great. I spent a year in France before college and it was a very valuable experience. I also spent a year before grad school traveling around our country (had a grant that paid for it) and that was also an incredible experience. My grad school was happy to hold my place, but there were no scholarships involved.</p>
<p>^^^ I agree. It wouldn’t hurt to ask to see if he can defer a year and keep the scholarships. (Maybe get that in writing at some point.)</p>
<p>I think it would help if he had a particular country or program in mind when he asks about the deferral, particularly if it’s a hot language like Chinese.</p>