Four Benefits of Earning Your Law Degree in a Part-Time Program

Less than half of all ABA accredited law schools offer part-time (PT) programs and PT students only account for about 15% of the total enrollment in law schools; however, for many students who need to balance work or family life with law school, a PT program may be the best option to earn a Juris Doctor degree and achieve career goals. It typically takes a tough four years to complete the degree, rather than three, but the character and motivation of PT law students is truly inspiring. Below are four benefits to applying and attending law school part-time.

1) Flexibility
Part-time programs typically fall into two categories: day and evening programs. Day programs usually integrate the PT students into classes with full-time students, however, the PT students take a lighter course load. Evening programs are usually exclusively for PT students and classes are offered after regular business hours so students can maintain a full time job during the day and go to class in the evening. Some schools also offer weekend classes or allow students to jump between daytime and evening classes which allow students to have even more flexibility in their schedules to complete the degree.

2) Class Size
As discussed above, PT students only account for 15% of the total enrollment in law schools. Because of the small number of PT students, at many law schools the classes designated for the PT program are smaller than that of the FT programs. The smaller student to faculty ratio allows for more personalized interaction with the professor and fellow students which should lead to a better learning experience for the student.

3) Homogeneity and Diversity
PT programs are incredibly homogenous and diverse at the same time. This dichotomy leads to a very exciting learning experience.

PT programs are homogenous in the sense that the students are uniquely motivated to attend the program and many have the same outside anxieties, pressures, and goals influencing their experience which are largely exclusive to PT students.

PT programs are diverse in the sense that everyone in the program comes from very different experiences. PT students are typically non-traditional students and have years of life wisdom which allow them to analyze material from a plethora of  viewpoints and create a rich diversity of ideas in the classroom.

4) Admissions Standards
Because PT programs are largely non-traditional students, Admissions Committees must review PT applications differently than FT applications which tend to be from younger, more traditional students.

Traditional applications tend to rely more on LSAT and GPA as indicators for success in law school because the applicants have less life experience to balance out their applications.

Non-traditional students, however, have a rich diversity of life and working experiences which overrides the importance of a GPA earned 10 or 20 years ago or a LSAT score which does not measure ability to overcome obstacles.

This is not to say that Admissions Standards are less rigorous for PT students. In many cases, PT applications are much more difficult for Committees to review since the Committee must spend additional time and effort as they analyze and weigh the applicant's unique "soft" factors which indicate success in law school and the legal profession.

If you are one of the brave few that are interested in attending law school part-time, do your research and find the right program for you. Your law school experience will be challenging but it will be very rewarding. Good Luck!