Going to law school as a teen? Young student has this advice
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A George Washington University law student who began his legal studies when he was 18 has some advice for other teens entering law school.
“The No. 1 thing is just to be yourself and forge your own path,” said Aaron Parnas, now 20, who spoke with Law.com in an interview.
“Everyone will tell you how they did it. But really, figure it out for yourself. And just be a regular law student. Don’t try to be the young one in the class. Don’t try to impress people because of your age. Just be normal. Try to fit in,” he said.
Parnas just ended his 2L year at the school and is working as a summer associate this year, the article reported.
He said his transition to law school was fairly smooth, although it was difficult to live alone in his own apartment at first. Before, he had lived in his parents’ home. Learning to write and think like a lawyer also has been a challenge, but all law students go through that, he said.
He acknowledged that it was probably more difficult for him to adjust to networking and working in an office setting. “I had never worked full time before or I had never had to attend those networking receptions and socialize in a more professional setting,” he said. “That, I would say, is more of an adjustment than the actual law school stuff.”
Other students planning an early start to law school are:
• Haley Taylor Schlitz, who said in March, when she was 16 years old, that she planned to attend Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in the fall.
• Brittany Reaves, 18, who plans to attend North Carolina Central University’s law school, according to ABC 11 and the Fayetteville Observer. She is interning at a law firm this summer.
• Braxton Moral, who graduated from his Kansas high school and Harvard University in May, according to CNN and the Hutchinson News. He attended Harvard through an extension program and hopes to enroll in law school in the fall, preferably at Columbia University.
