If you’ve been out of school for a while—more than a year or two—your preparation for applying to law school might look a little different. Your GPA is set in stone (or the stone age, if you’re like some of us and finished undergrad before the dawn of the internet) and you aren’t likely to be adding law-related internships to your résumé or joining the pre-law society at school. 

The Advantage of Being a Nontraditional Student

However, there are advantages to being a nontraditional applicant. With more experience of the world, you have a chance to hone in on your “why law” and “why now”—what exactly you hope to accomplish or pursue with a law degree, and why you’re specifically choosing to make a career change in the current moment. A strong application will make it clear what skills and insights you’ve gained from your previous experiences, and you likely have the benefit of a more developed personal narrative that will allow you to stand out from the crowd.

You should also use your existing networks to find support, information, and mentorship. This includes alumni networks, people in your current field, family and friends, and so on who may have gone through the law school admissions process themselves. Many schools also allow alumni to take advantage of pre-law advising and programming, so get on your alma mater’s pre-law advisor email list if possible.

Things Nontraditional Students Should Know

Nontraditional students often have the most questions when it comes to putting together their law school applications, so let’s answer a few of the most common.

I’m in my 40s. Is it too late to start a law career?

Definitely not! In fact, some studies indicate that those who attend law school in their 30s and 40s end up as the most effective lawyers.

But won’t I feel isolated on campus?

Some 20% of law students are 30 or older. Many law schools have specific programs to connect later-in-life students—and being closer in age to your professors might actually be a benefit in forming connections with faculty. 

I haven’t been in school since 2008—do I still need an academic letter of recommendation?

Ideally, yes. Even if it’s been a while, schools always value letters from former professors. Some even explicitly require it. While there is more leeway on this if you have been out of school for a really long time, it’s always a good idea to see if you can reconnect with an old teacher. It’s a part of a professor’s job to write letters of recommendation to students, and requests from long-lost pupils happen every semester. If you can, try to chat with them in person or on a video call, fill them in on your more recent life, and help them remember what kind of student you were.

But what if I haven’t been doing anything “impressive”?

Then you’re in the same boat as many successful applicants. Not everyone comes to law school after years of perfect résumé-building. Admissions professionals know that people applying to JDs are often looking for a reset on their career. Just tell your story well! 

That concludes our series on the three kinds of applicants (if you haven’t, check out our posts on applying to law school while you’re still in college and if you should take a gap year). Next week, we’ll dive into the age-old question: Where should you actually apply?