I struggled for most of my life trying to decide what I wanted to pursue after high school and went through many different options; ranging from owning a restaurant to active military service. It was only recently that I discovered a great interest in criminal justice and the opportunity to help people stay safe and obey the law, and discovered that becoming a lawyer would combine this interest with fun that I feel during lively debates and intellectual conversations. The road to becoming an exceptional criminal lawyer is paved with strict academic criteria used to instill versatility to the highly changing tasks one may face, and those who lose focus may struggle to keep up with the pace required. typically takes 7 years of full-time study after high school – 4 years of undergraduate study, followed by 3 years of law school. (U.S. Bureau of Statistics) Becoming a lawyer of any type requires a lot of dedication, simply because of the time demands; however, the list of challenging academic standards would ensure that a person would have to be passionate about law in order to complete the amount of work necessary. The LSAT is the first test a person takes before being admitted to law school, and the score given is coupled with the individual's undergraduate GPA so the university can decide whether they will be accepted or not. Each university has a unique set of standards for accepting people into its program, but I am trying to go to the University of Miami to join a long tradition of excellent legal education. Miami generally does not accept people with a GPA below 3.1 and a median LSAT score of 156, so they are not on the strictest paper...... middle of paper...... t every day, and all this time. helping people and trying to make the world safer. Initially, 7 years seems like a huge amount of time to go through all the tests and study, but the hard work will be worth it once the ultimate goal is achieved. All academic obstacles are simply there to get the individual to become a successful lawyer; with a strong sense of ethics and a desire to contribute to maintaining the justice system that ensures the safety of our citizens. Works Cited “How to Become a Lawyer”. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 8, 2014. Web. March 15, 2014. Wardwell, Walter I. and Arthur L. Wood. “The extra-professional role of the lawyer.” American Journal of Sociology 61.4 (1956): 304. Wood, Arthur Lewis. “Professional ethics among criminal lawyers.” Social problems 7.1 (1959): 70-83.