K-JDs, what "softs" did you apply to law school with? Forum

[softmer]

What were your "soft" admission factors, GPA + LSAT, and lastly the law schools you were accepted to.

[mwells56]

I put down my leadership positions in extracurriculars (President of a Club Sport, a couple of fraternity disciplinary committees), volunteer work, a manual labor job I do in the summers (builds character!), and i had two law related internships (one at a large form one at a DA's office). Also threw in that i play a little music just to show that I'm not a robot lol

I have a 3.7x and 168 LSAT. So far I've been WL'd at Berkeley, held at Columbia, and in with $150k at WashU. Still waiting on everyone else

[ATXStudent]

President of large student organization (1500+ members), president of another organization that is diversity oriented, student gov elected positions, four internships all legal focus, National scholarship awards, university leadership awards and keynote at major university event.

[Nebby]

The only thing that matters for KJD is your LSAT and GPA.

[softmer]

I put down my leadership positions in extracurriculars (President of a Club Sport, a couple of fraternity disciplinary committees), volunteer work, a manual labor job I do in the summers (builds character!), and i had two law related internships (one at a large form one at a DA's office). Also threw in that i play a little music just to show that I'm not a robot lol

I have a 3.7x and 168 LSAT. So far I've been WL'd at Berkeley, held at Columbia, and in with $150k at WashU. Still waiting on everyone else

Do you personally believe that your extracurriculars made any impact on the outcomes of your admission process?

[Versailles1919]

I had research experience, and I did personal work for professors on their own scholarly publications. I was also the leader of a campus-wide event of 1000+ people and I was given a bunch of scholarships and awards. Additionally, I've had a full time job all of undergrad.

I think personal statement and diversity statement are crucial for K-JD. You really have to sell what you did thus far in your life and how it has shaped you into a pre-professional. I've had schools comment on my experience and my resume so I think they are still impressed with K-JDs.

And of course GPA/LSAT.

[mwells56]

I put down my leadership positions in extracurriculars (President of a Club Sport, a couple of fraternity disciplinary committees), volunteer work, a manual labor job I do in the summers (builds character!), and i had two law related internships (one at a large form one at a DA's office). Also threw in that i play a little music just to show that I'm not a robot lol

I have a 3.7x and 168 LSAT. So far I've been WL'd at Berkeley, held at Columbia, and in with $150k at WashU. Still waiting on everyone else

Do you personally believe that your extracurriculars made any impact on the outcomes of your admission process?

I think so far, yeah. To some degree at least.

Maybe not as much with the adcomms but definitely with my interviews. My interviewers were all interested in my Club Sport because it's not a common sport and I've been VP/President since I was a sophomore. My Georgetown interviewer specifically said he was impressed by my relatively extensive legal experience as an undergraduate. All of them asked me about my internships (which I also wrote about in my PC) and I described what I did and why I think it shows that I have the potential to be a good attorney.

The Greek Life stuff was interesting because at first you see "frat boy" and that's not exactly a great thing. But because I was on disciplinary committees dedicated to erasing the kind of behavior people stereotypically think of as fratty, and my unique opinion on the future of Greek Life, I was able to spin it into what I believe to be a strong positive. I think using this point to show them my ability to argue constructively was a good thing as well.

Don't think the volunteering (clear resume booster), the manual labor job (who cares, tbh, just a way for me to earn some summer cash before/after unpaid internships), or the music stuff did anything but show them that I'm a well-rounded person (something that's extremely important to me and a big part of my identity). Different adcomms may or may not think that's important.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I do think that softs can be useful in distinguishing between K-JDs (once the LSAT/GPA barrier has been met). But I don't think what adcomms ask you about in interviews actually signals that those things helped you; they're just what's on your resume/app to talk about. Also interviewers have to ask you about something. So they may find one of your softs more interesting to talk you about than others, but that doesn't mean it's what gets you in to that school.

[mwells56]

I do think that softs can be useful in distinguishing between K-JDs (once the LSAT/GPA barrier has been met). But I don't think what adcomms ask you about in interviews actually signals that those things helped you; they're just what's on your resume/app to talk about. Also interviewers have to ask you about something. So they may find one of your softs more interesting to talk you about than others, but that doesn't mean it's what gets you in to that school.

Not going to disagree with you but I'd argue that having good softs that allow you to have something interesting to talk about in the interview and then actually using it to make a good conversation can definitely help.

[MonicaYoung_LOL]

I do think that softs can be useful in distinguishing between K-JDs (once the LSAT/GPA barrier has been met). But I don't think what adcomms ask you about in interviews actually signals that those things helped you; they're just what's on your resume/app to talk about. Also interviewers have to ask you about something. So they may find one of your softs more interesting to talk you about than others, but that doesn't mean it's what gets you in to that school.

Not going to disagree with you but I'd argue that having good softs that allow you to have something interesting to talk about in the interview and then actually using it to make a good conversation can definitely help.

Right--I think what stands out, rather than having good softs, since so many people do, is if you don't have softs at all. So, it's important to have good softs, specifically because not having them would make you stand out for the wrong reasons.