Changing your career at 40 can be a rewarding experience and you should not view yourself at a disadvantage to younger applicants. Admissions faculty review non-traditional applicants in a different manner than those directly out of undergraduate programs, as life experience will be to your advantage. This will assist you as admissions officers seek to enroll a diverse class.
Instructions
1. Review your academic credentials and ensure that you resolve any issues, both financial and academic, with your university, should there be any to resolve. As a non-traditional student, you will not be required to attain academic letters of recommendation, rather, you will need to seek those out amongst your professional networks.
2. Enroll in a community college or local university to complete the prerequisites--English composition, chemistry, developmental psychology, anatomy and physiology, biology, microbiology, statistics, nutrition--for admission to an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. Even if you have previously completed these courses, they are only valid if you have completed them within the past ten years. An ABSN program is an option for those who have previously completed a Baccalaureate degree in any other discipline and can be completed in 15 to 18 months of full-time study. Submit all required materials for admission: application, academic transcripts, personal essays and letters of recommendation. Submission of standardized test scores are generally not required of ABSN applicants.
3. Complete the ABSN program in the time restrictions stipulated by the university. Submit an application for licensure from your state board of nursing and register for the National Council for Licensure Examination - RN (NCLEX-RN). Achieve a passing score in order to receive licensure.
4. Prepare for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) as the primary step for admission to law school. The test gauges the taker's ability to analyze short excerpts of reading covering a range of subjects and solve logic games. The LSAT does not test the person's knowledge of the law, as it is meant to serve as a quantitative standard of a person's ability to comprehend and analyze, regardless of his or her academic background. Submission of an LSAT score is a requirement for admission to all American Bar Association accredited schools.
Submit all undergraduate transcripts and letters of recommendation to the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) as this is the centralized method of applying to all law schools. LSAC will assemble your application package and submit it to the schools of your choosing once all materials are received. Ensure constant supervision of your LSAC account in case there is ever an issue with any materials submitted.
5. Complete law school with three years of full-time study. Submit an application for licensure to your state Bar association and register for the state bar examination. Prepare for the two to three day examination thoroughly, as the examination is only offered twice per year--July and February. Earn a passing score in order to garner licensure.
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