Amateur MMA training/ fights a soft? Forum

[jeremydc]

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[RickyRoe]

My intramural basketball team won the league championship. I doubt either one will help get into a law school. In fact, mine would probably be a better soft because it was a team sport and not a sport John McCain once referred to as "human cockfighting". If you were actually good enough to make a living out of it you might be able to frame it into a very effective PS/DS. However, the way you describe it makes it sound like you just like to fight people.

[prezidentv8]

So within the past 3 years I fought at a few local events in hawaii under a gym called Animal House. It wasn't anything huge like UFC (obviously) but my 3rd fight was at an arena. My record is (4-1) and have my last fight on Independence day.

I was wondering if this could be placed on applications as a soft? A few of the events some money went to local charities. I am not planning on using it in my PS or DS because I see nowhere that it would fit it.

I am asking because I do not want to be penalized for mentioning it on an app because I have a feeling that some law schools might frown upon it.

Doubt it would hurt you unless you wrote something stupid about it ("I LOVE HITTING PEOPLE IN THE FACE!!!"). Otherwise, might make you a little more interesting to some adcom.

[jeremydc]

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[prezidentv8]

Thanks, thats what I figured. It wasn't that I like to fight (ok i do:) but I just figured Id ask. I don't have any softs the 1st 2 years of my undergrad because I was training, that wouldn't be a good addendum for the low gpa would it?

I am currently trying to get softs such as volunteering at ASPCA (since Dec), Teachers aid at my little brothers elementary (starting next week through dec) and the Boys and girls club (also starting next week).

I am afraid that having softs so late would show the admissions that I wasn't serious my first 2 years (i wasn't).

I guess I am hoping for a 170 like lsat and some type of URM boost for being Native Hawaiian.


Edit: each fight was just 4-5 hundred $ so its not like a living or anything, I just needed to stay active and find a legit way to fight without getting arrested for assault like when I was teenager

Yeah I feel you on the training/fighting thing. I was rowing during most of college and the only other good work I did outside of class was part time jobs and working as VP of my fraternity, neither of which show up well on these sorts of resumes. So, to me, it sounds like you've done the best you could with the situation. Nail LSAT, rely on numbers...the Hawaiian thing can't hurt either.

[bk1]

Native Hawaiian probably won't help, but it can't hurt.

The softs will help a touch, but I would say mainly to focus on the LSAT. If the softs cut into your study time for the LSAT then drop them because that is going to be the most important thing at this point for your application, and the small boost from the softs isn't worth a drop in your LSAT study time.

[jeremydc]

I actually feel that Native Hawaiian will help because some apps I was looking at had a box just for Native Hawaiians and I just registered with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (A state agency) for a Hawaiian registry card similar to tribal cards that Native Americans have. It looks like

--ImageRemoved--


I will be taking the LSAT in Feb because I graduate Fall 2011. I plan on applying early (as soon as schools allow without being ED) plus I am getting the Fee waiver from lsac so I will be applying to a lot of schools.

[jeremydc]

I actually feel that Native Hawaiian will help because some apps I was looking at had a box just for Native Hawaiians and I just registered with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (A state agency) for a Hawaiian registry card similar to tribal cards that Native Americans have. It looks like

--ImageRemoved--


I will be taking the LSAT in Feb because I graduate Fall 2011. I plan on applying early (as soon as schools allow without being ED) plus I am getting the Fee waiver from lsac so I will be applying to a lot of schools.

Side note: (Begin rant) And how can Hawaiians not be considered a URM, I mean there is only 1 Native hawaiian listed on LSN (End Rant)

[bk1]

Side note: (Begin rant) And how can Hawaiians not be considered a URM, I mean there is only 1 Native hawaiian listed on LSN (End Rant)

The URM thing is a whole debacle that really shouldn't be touched. But, from the URM forum "An Underrepresented Minority (URM) in higher education is any ethnic group that has historically made up a significantly smaller proportion of a given field of study (e.g. law school) than they make up in the general population, where "general population" can mean either the national population or the regional population near a certain school (e.g. the population of MA for Boston College, or California for UCLA)." Basically I think it is that Native Hawaiians are such a small percentage of the "general population" which is why things are the way they are.

[traehekat]

It is different, interesting, and pretty cool. Anyone who knows anything about MMA knows how much training/dedication a lot of people put into it, and I think that is certainly a quality to highlight. I would say definitely include it, just don't expect to receive any kind of bump from it (you never know, though!).

[20160810]

If and when Ed Hardy opens a law school, you'll be sitting pretty.

[jeremydc]

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[lawschoolstudent85]

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[shoop]

I have an odd hobby that I will mention as a "soft" (like, in the section for extracurriculars). It's basically a female version of a very stereotypically male individual sport, and I think it will be neutral or a "help" if I can stress the planning/dedication/nutrition+physiology knowledge that go into it. I spend like 15 hours a week on this crap, to the exclusion of more typical stuff like volunteering or whatever, so I need to mention it to show where my time goes. Focus more on what MMA says about the qualities that matter in law school (persistence, resilience, whatever) than on aspects that will just call up stereotypes about the sport.