Weight of a master's degree? Forum

[outlawscr10]

I have a 3.8/167. It seems like I'm about borderline for GULC, Duke and Northwestern. Anyone have any insight on if a master's degree can help make the difference at these schools?

[JazzOne]

The conventional wisdom on this forum is that graduate degrees have very little impact on law school admissions decisions.

Perhaps you already know that and you're asking if there is anything unique about the particular schools you mentioned. I don't think there is, but others can correct me if I'm wrong.

[Dr. Review]

A master's degree is essentially a soft for law school admissions purposes. You are probably in good shape (not a lock) at GULC/Cornell. Duke and NU may be a little more borderline, with a decent chance of acceptance, depending on how the LSAT slide goes this year.

[twenty]

A graduate GPA better than your uGPA will be a nice soft. A gradute GPA worse than your uGPA is a huge red flag.

[outlawscr10]

I do know that it will not compensate for a lower GPA or LSAT. I suppose it's more a question of how a graduate degree would influence borderline decisions.

[JazzOne]

I do know that it will not compensate for a lower GPA or LSAT. I suppose it's more a question of how a graduate degree would influence borderline decisions.

The data on that is very limited and mostly anecdotal. It probably differs from school to school. Perhaps what matters most is how you spin it to market yourself.

[outlawscr10]

My undergraduate GPA was a 3.8, while my graduate GPA was a 3.89.

Cheers, everyone. Thanks for the help.

[TheSpanishMain]

My sense is that a graduate degree might tip you over into the admit side if you're JUST on the border. Basically like any other decent soft.

[outlawscr10]

I'm not sure if it's worth noting that I did a combined BA/MA program as an undergraduate and then was on a fellowship for the remainder of the degree. Is this the kind of information to include in a personal statement? Of course, it's listed in my resume, but I'm not sure how much attention that will receive.

[mr. wednesday]

What is the masters in? I bet you'd get a slightly bigger bump for something that actually makes you more employable (like an IP area) vs an area that says you didn't know what to do with your life after college.

[Dr. Review]

What is the masters in? I bet you'd get a slightly bigger bump for something that actually makes you more employable (like an IP area) vs an area that says you didn't know what to do with your life after college.

Does the IP masters thing actually track? That implies that law schools care about employing people.

[outlawscr10]

What is the masters in? I bet you'd get a slightly bigger bump for something that actually makes you more employable (like an IP area) vs an area that says you didn't know what to do with your life after college.

More of the latter: history.

[Ti Malice]

I'm not sure if it's worth noting that I did a combined BA/MA program as an undergraduate and then was on a fellowship for the remainder of the degree. Is this the kind of information to include in a personal statement? Of course, it's listed in my resume, but I'm not sure how much attention that will receive.

That's definitely not the kind of thing to include in a PS. It belongs in the resume, and a PS should never be a resume dump.

[Ti Malice]

You are probably in good shape (not a lock) at GULC/Cornell.

A 3.8/167 is essentially a lock at Cornell these days, and will be even more so this year than last.

[mr. wednesday]

What is the masters in? I bet you'd get a slightly bigger bump for something that actually makes you more employable (like an IP area) vs an area that says you didn't know what to do with your life after college.

Does the IP masters thing actually track? That implies that law schools care about employing people.

I doubt it will make much of a difference either way but JD required/advantaged employment rates count in rankings so I wouldn't be shocked if employability is considered a bit. It's never going to be a game changer though because employment results are too far removed from applications (within a particular school) to have useful predictors.