eggsdog11

I am aiming to do a Ph.D. in my master's field (I do not have published research from my master's; just a capstone paper). However, I have been in law school after my master's, and despite doing very well, I took a semester off to figure out what I was doing with my life. I'd been moving very fast (bachelor's degree before I could legally drink) and realized that I did not want to be a lawyer, and needed to get some space for clarity on my future direction. I have three options, and I'd like to know which you think will give me the best chances of getting into a program. Return to law school, apply for 2018 start I could return to law school, complete the degree in Summer 2018, and hopefully start grad school in Fall 2018. The appeal in this is that I worry having an unfinished degree, even though it is not "relevant," will make me a worse candidate for something academic. By fast-tracking the rest, I can still get to my ultimate goal in the same time frame it would if I didn't return at all (the third option). My fear, however, is whether it is worth the cost/effort—would an unfinished J.D. really be a mark against me? Return to law school, apply for a 2019 start I could space my credits out over two years at law school. This gives me an administrative advantage, in that I don't need approval to take maximum credits to finish or need to worry about the course offerings not allowing me to take what I need in a shorter time. It also allows me to take on more things at law school that could help, such as doing Law Review and being published. I also have some RA and TA opportunities professors have discussed with me. While none of this would be research in my field, it would be something that at least shows my potential to do and want to do research. Beyond the obvious downsides of delaying things an extra year and costing money, I worry that returning from withdrawing only to take light credit loads will make my transcript imply academic rigor was my issue, when in reality, I have found law school to be easier than even my bachelor's degree. Don't return, apply for 2018 start I could just not go back and focus on the Ph.D. This would save me time and money; I could even continue earning some income during the year. My fear, however, is that I'm not published, was only briefly an RA for two professors and haven't been a TA in a few years, and, as I mentioned, I worry that not finishing a degree—even an unrelated one—just doesn't look good. Moreover, my law school is the most respected and recognized institution I've attended, so while I did very well in my bachelor's and master's degrees, they aren't necessarily prestigious. I fear my commitment being questioned, as I've had a really odd path to this point. While I recognize that no one can decide for me, I'd love any insight on this situation. In essence, I am trying to figure out: (1) Is finishing the J.D. valuable for my bid for admission? (2) If it is, is it better to just get it done, or would there be value in being a law school RA/TA with potential publication in a law journal? I'd also like to note that I am happy to discuss more specifics over private messaging.