Is law school or medical school more stressful?

Asked by: Adolf Lockman  |  Last update: September 5, 2025
Score: 4.1/5 (3 votes)

Each path demands extensive education and a commitment to rigorous training before becoming a qualified professional. Although both law and medical schools present their unique challenges, it's generally accepted that medical school demands a higher level of intense coursework and thorough training.

Is law school more stressful than medical school?

If you're at a lower ranked law school and you are set on market paying big law, it's going to be more stressful. However, it all depends on your goals. Elite medical schools are almost as stressful as “average” medical schools, unless you end up at one of the few unranked pass/fail medical schools.

Is it harder to be a lawyer or doctor?

Becoming a doctor would seen to be more difficult than becoming a lawyer, using educational requirements, length of studies, and financial considerations as the metrics.

Is law school the hardest degree?

The law school coursework is diverse and vast, which means you can't afford to slack off. You need to put in the necessary work throughout the program if you want to succeed. In summary, law school is hard. Harder than regular college or universities, in terms of stress, workload, and required commitment.

Is medical school really that stressful?

There are various factors that lead to stress in medical students including exams, the vastness of the subject, high family expectations, lack of time management, financial problems, relationship problems or even peer pressure. Due to this, stress is really a topic of discussion among medical students.

Law School vs. Med School: Which Is Harder?

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What is the dropout rate for medical school?

The AAMC does not release medical school dropout rate numbers; however, they have shared data on medical school graduation rates. The graduation rate after four years ranges from 81.7% to 84.1%, which leads some sources to suggest that the med school dropout rate is between 18.3% and 15.9%.

Are med school students happy?

In general, 1st and 2nd year medical students became happier over the year, while 3rd year students became slightly more unhappy. See Table 4: One year follow-up of self-rated happiness.

Is law school hard in Canada?

Law school is hard – and that's a fact. But before you count how many sleepless nights you may have in the future, you must first prepare your Canadian law schools' requirements. This might be the initial obstacle you would have to face in achieving your dreams of becoming a lawyer.

How many hours do law students study a day?

Law Students' Average Daily Study Hours

All in all, however, law students typically spend around 30 – 40 hours per week studying. That may sound like a lot, but a good rule of thumb is that you should be studying at least two hours for every one hour of class time per week.

How many people drop out of law school?

The decision to attend law school shouldn't just be financially driven. You'll also want to consider the high dropout rates of law school, particularly among minorities. Overall, dropout rates are over 6% for first-year students. For American Indian, Hawaiian native, and Black students, the dropout rate is 11% to 13%.

Are lawyers more stressed than doctors?

Listokin and Noonan compared Kessler 6 scores from lawyers and medical professionals (medical doctors, veterinarians, and dentists) and concluded that lawyers did endorse slightly higher distress scores than doctors, yet they found no statistically significant difference in the rates of mental illness between the two ...

What is the highest paid lawyer?

Highest-Paid Types of Lawyers
  • Patent attorney: $180,000.
  • Intellectual property (IP) attorney: $162,000.
  • Trial lawyer: $134,000.
  • Tax attorney: $122,000.
  • Corporate lawyer: $115,000.
  • Medical lawyer: $113,000.
  • Real estate lawyer: $98,000.
  • Family lawyer: $93,000.

Is it harder to become a doctor or dentist?

Both include a mix of classroom learning and hands-on training. However, the curriculum for medicine is generally more intense, with more hours spent in the classroom and clinical rotations. In contrast, dental students often have more flexible schedules and less time in class.

Is doctor or lawyer easier?

In short, medical school is hands-on and requires a lot of memorization. Law school requires analytical work and critical thinking. Law school requires heavy reading and writing while medical school requires learning about problems through clinical studies and hands-on training.

Is law school really stressful?

The combination of long hours, competing with peers, and pressure to perform at a high level can lead to law student burnout. Stress is also a key contributor. Unmanaged stress leads to burnout in any industry, and most law students report significant stress—even when compared to other graduate students.

What is the most stressful year of medical school?

What's the Hardest Year of Med School? The third year of medical school is by far the hardest, current and former med students will almost always agree.

What is the hardest year of law school?

Law school is an academic challenge; most students agree the first year (“1L” year) is the most difficult. In part, this is because law school is taught using methods entirely different than the lecture method used in most college classrooms.

Is law school harder than graduate school?

Yes, grad school requires learning new approaches, new theories, new ways of thinking. Some of this even makes your head spin. But it simply doesn't require the same radical realignment that law school does. What you learned as an undergraduate applies to grad school — but not so much to law school.

Is there homework in law school?

Accordingly, homework tends to focus on reading casebooks and statutes to learn legal doctrines. As part of your assignment, you'll be expected to read and comprehend individual court cases and notes from the author or editor. Assignments may range from 40 pages to 100 pages of reading per class per week.

Is law school harder than med school?

Although both law and medical schools present their unique challenges, it's generally accepted that medical school demands a higher level of intense coursework and thorough training.

Can I get into law school with a 2.5 GPA Canada?

Canadian law schools with lower GPA and LSAT requirements

Generally, you would need a GPA above 3.7 or 80% to successfully enter a Canadian law school. With a high LSAT score and other requirements, it may secure your spot to your preferred law school.

What is the hardest course in law school?

Some of the hardest classes in law school, according to current and former students, are:
  • Constitutional Law.
  • Civil Procedure.
  • Contracts.
  • Federal Courts.
  • Federal Income Tax.
  • Administrative Law.
  • Partnership Tax.

Is it OK to fail in med school?

Getting Bad Grades in Medical School. I'm not going to sugarcoat it: most of us fail at least once in medical school. Unless you're one of those rare students who can absorb knowledge like a sponge, failure is all part of the process.

What is the depression rate in medical school?

In this systematic review, the summary estimate of the prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms among medical students was 27.2% and that of suicidal ideation was 11.1%. Further research is needed to identify strategies for preventing and treating these disorders in this population.

How old are most med students?

Most med students are around 24 years old when heading into their first year. The average graduating age is 28, but it's never too late to go to med school. Non-traditional applicants often fear it may be too late to attend medical school.