This is my first attempt to answer one of our reader submitted questions. I'll try to make this a weekly thing if you keep the questions coming. First off, read my little disclaimer at the bottom of this post...Ok, here's the question. And feel free to comment, suggest, or criticize what I say in the comments:

• How old is too old to become a lawyer? I am 35, and I have two years of college. I am going back to school this fall for nursing, but have wanted become a lawyer for a long time. Do you think that at my age I could have a meaningful career in law or is it too late now?

First off, congratulations on heading back to school. Whether or not you go to law school, I'm sure you will not regret finishing your degree. As far as your questions about law school, there is no doubt in my mind that you can still have a meaningful career in law.

There are many students in my classes who I'm sure are 40+. Especially after I switched to the part-time program this year. I highly recommend keeping up with this blog from a "thirty-something" mother in law school who is recounting her experience as she goes through law school. Read her advice for parents entering law school here.

What follows are some factors you might need to consider regarding going to law school at an older point in your life than most.

Getting into law school
Once you take the LSAT and score well enough, getting into law school won't be a problem at all. If anything, your age and unique life experiences are going score some points with law school admissions.

Law schools love to diversity of all kinds. And I can see why with older students as the real world knowledge that older students bring to the table makes them stars of many classroom discussions in my experience.

Money and Loans
You may have accumulated enough wealth to afford law school on your own. If so, it makes things a lot easier and some of what I say may not apply to you. But law school is EXPENSIVE. $25,000+ in tuition a year at many private schools. Add in living expenses and many students rack up well over $100,000 in student loan debt during law school.

Compared to the younger students, older students who take out loans are on average going to have less working years to pay back a potentially large debt. It also means you will have less years of experience at the end of your career to help you build a higher salary. So you may need to be more averse to loan debt than the normal student which, in turn, may limit your school choices.

Full-time or Part-time?
Generally, full-time programs take 3 years, part-time programs take 4. The ABA says a first year, full-time student cannot work over a certain amont of hours (20 I think. But i have no idea how they enforce this). And most people say treat law school like a full-time job. So if you go full-time, can you afford to not work for at least a year or preferably longer?

Going into a part-time program would allow you to work, thereby giving a source of income and reducing or eliminating loans. But I can attest to this, working full-time and going to law school takes up nearly all of your working and free time. Even more so in the first year of law school, which will be the hardest year of law school. So factor in the time you can afford to give up (especially if you have a family or other obligations) if you work in addition to part-time law school.

Choosing a law school
A lot of people say that as a law school applicant you should attend the highest ranked school to which you are accepted because the reputation of the law school has a huge affect on the opportunities you will be afforded after law school. This is not always the right advice, but probably even less right for the average older student.

Back to money again, if you go your highest ranked option (unless your LSAT numbers are phenomenal all around) that school is likely offering less scholarship money than your other options. Do you have a source of money or are you willing to take on the loans it might take to go to your highest ranked law school option?

Additionally, as discussed here, almost all law school scholarships are not guaranteed past the first year, dependent on class rank/gpa. So you cannot assume your scholarship offer will last past your first year anyway.

Ability to relocate may also play a significant role. I assume more older students are in less of a position to up and move compared to the straight out of undergrad types. Are you willing to relocate? Where to? Do you have a house, family, or other "grown-up" obligations that will not allow you to relocate?

All of these factors mean that you may have to "settle" for a less reputable law school. This, in turn, may mean you forego the opportunity to attend a higher ranked school that, under normal circumstances, would be the most likely school to open doors after graduation.

Getting a job
Your age shouldn't hold you back from getting any variety of job you could get as someone in the same position at a younger age. I don't think employers are going to hold your age against you, but I'm a little weak in knowledge of real world legal hiring practices (if anyone has an idea feel free to comment). Besides, I learned in Employment Discrimination that an employer cannot discriminate against you because of age after 40 years old (if I remember correctly).

But do you have visions of 6 figure job offers straight out of graduation? That would certainly reduce the burden if you have to take loans out. Or it could reduce the impact of three years of no income if you go full-time.

Truth is, about the only way to get a coveted 6 figure big law firm job offer straight out of law school is to land a summer associate position after your first year in school. Likelihood of landing summer associate position is highly dependent on a combination of your school's rank/ quality/ reputation and your individual class rank.

So "settling" on a school based on factors that may affect you as an older student hurts your chances at a big salaried job straight out of school. This also makes betting on landing the high paying job as an older student by taking out a lot of loans for a non-top tier even riskier than normal. It could could mean you are stuck with a large debt, less than expected salary, and less possible working years to pay the debt back.

You may just really want to work in the legal realm, whether it is at a small-medium firm or in the public sector. Maybe you hope to eventually work your way up to the higher salary. Maybe one of your experiences in life have inspired you to become a lawyer and you just want to help people. You're looking at a smaller paycheck out of school in this case, but it puts you in a better position as an older student. You can be less picky about the school you attend and put more credence into things like school location, expenses, and time you can spend on things outside of school. Performance in school is still important in landing a good job, but these types of employers are less set on class and school rankings.

Those are my thoughts and good luck with your decision.

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*I am a law student. That means I don't have all the answers. I may be lacking knowledge in certain areas, namely the real world practice of law. But I have done a lot of research into the law school process as a whole and I am currently living through law school. I am also surrounded by a lot of smart and experienced people with unique insight into the law school world who either work at CALI or with whom CALI has close relationships. I hope that you seek others' opinions and insights in addition to mine in order to make an informed decision.