A comment to an earlier post reminded me of this issue: What advice would you give to students who had skipped grades, and are now considering law school not at age 21 or older — the norm — but rather at 19, 18, or even younger?
Should one take some time off to better understand the world — especially its business aspects — or even just to enjoy yourself, and start college at 21? For students who have skipped grades, going to college early is hard to avoid, since they may find little else they can productively do instead. But someone who graduates from college at 18 or even 17 might be able to find an at least moderately interesting and rewarding job, or an interesting academic program, though the academic program won’t offer much education in the business world.
Or should one just keep going through, and get the law degree early as well? Naturally, everyone’s situation and preferences will be different — but what matters (professional, social, and educational) should one keep in mind in making this decision?
I’ve seen several people go through law school early, and it seems to me their experience has varied. One did spectacularly well, and seemed to enjoy himself. Others did quite well, and now seem to be happily practicing lawyers. At least two probably would have been better off getting some seasoning before going to law school; one might well have gotten into a good deal of social and professional trouble because of poor judgment that might have been exacerbated by his lack of social experience, though that’s of course very hard to tell. (I personally don’t have such experience; my brother and I went to college some years earlier than the norm, but we both went to law school at a normal age, Sasha at 25 and I at 21.)
Any thoughts, from your experience, from the experience of your friends or classmates, or from your experience observing friends and classmates?