MBA's influence on admission Forum

[sid.bahl]

Hi all. I'm applying for admission for this coming Fall. I graduated with my BSBA in 2009 and will be finishing my MBA this May. I've gotten far better grades in my MBA program than I did in my undergraduate studies mainly because I have an understanding on how to approach my education now. I've been working full time for over 6 years working with trusts/estates so I've gotten good legal exposure. I'm only 25 too so I think all of that works in my favor.

That being said, how much do you think my MBA will influence my candidacy? I'm applying to T1-T2 schools in LA, Chicago, NYC, and Boston.

[guano]

Hi all. I'm applying for admission for this coming Fall. I graduated with my BSBA in 2009 and will be finishing my MBA this May. I've gotten far better grades in my MBA program than I did in my undergraduate studies mainly because I have an understanding on how to approach my education now. I've been working full time for over 6 years working with trusts/estates so I've gotten good legal exposure. I'm only 25 too so I think all of that works in my favor.

That being said, how much do you think my MBA will influence my candidacy? I'm applying to T1-T2 schools in LA, Chicago, NYC, and Boston.

zilch

[iShotFirst]

Hi all. I'm applying for admission for this coming Fall. I graduated with my BSBA in 2009 and will be finishing my MBA this May. I've gotten far better grades in my MBA program than I did in my undergraduate studies mainly because I have an understanding on how to approach my education now. I've been working full time for over 6 years working with trusts/estates so I've gotten good legal exposure. I'm only 25 too so I think all of that works in my favor.

That being said, how much do you think my MBA will influence my candidacy? I'm applying to T1-T2 schools in LA, Chicago, NYC, and Boston.

zilch

+1 from a fellow MBA graduate

[Nova]

Less than 1 LSAT point

[eav1277]

Why not use your MBA instead of going to law school? Prospects aren't amazing especially coming out a T1-T2, you seem to have/had a full time job, and you'll not be working for three years due to law school.

A lot of people go to law school because they don't have better prospects. Then again, if you know why you're going and expect/know you can make more than you were/are making, go for it.

[sid.bahl]

Thanks for your feedback. I've long wanted to get into corporate law and that's part of the reason why I went for the easier graduate degree (MBA) first. With both, I think I'd be in a great position from both an academic and professional experience standpoint.

Does the fact that I completed both my undergraduate and graduate degrees WHILE working full-time help me at all? Given the fact that law school is so time-intensive and requires excellent time management skills, I'd assume that would be a significant factor.

[kalvano]

Does the fact that I completed both my undergraduate and graduate degrees WHILE working full-time help me at all? Given the fact that law school is so time-intensive and requires excellent time management skills, I'd assume that would be a significant factor.

It has zero to do with admissions.

[Nova]

LSAT/ [undergrad] GPA >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Everything else

[tachikara]

--

[guano]

Thanks for your feedback. I've long wanted to get into corporate law and that's part of the reason why I went for the easier graduate degree (MBA) first. With both, I think I'd be in a great position from both an academic and professional experience standpoint.

Does the fact that I completed both my undergraduate and graduate degrees WHILE working full-time help me at all? Given the fact that law school is so time-intensive and requires excellent time management skills, I'd assume that would be a significant factor.

Add half a point to your LSAT. Then round down.

[ms9]

Thanks for your feedback. I've long wanted to get into corporate law and that's part of the reason why I went for the easier graduate degree (MBA) first. With both, I think I'd be in a great position from both an academic and professional experience standpoint.

Does the fact that I completed both my undergraduate and graduate degrees WHILE working full-time help me at all? Given the fact that law school is so time-intensive and requires excellent time management skills, I'd assume that would be a significant factor.

Add half a point to your LSAT. Then round down.

I concur.

[guano]

Thanks for your feedback. I've long wanted to get into corporate law and that's part of the reason why I went for the easier graduate degree (MBA) first. With both, I think I'd be in a great position from both an academic and professional experience standpoint.

Totally missed this earlier.

the quick answer is, dumb move.
I doubt you graduated at 25 from the kind of business school that'd make a difference. Great from the knowledge standpoint, and that will help in later life, but that's about it

[sid.bahl]

I'd like to get into corporations law specifically. That's always interested me. I've worked for US Trust for 6 years so I have quite a bit of experience with estates/trusts so that's also an option. I did it more for the knowledge I'd gain. I completely understand that my law degree will make me or break me. I guess I'm a bit surprised at how little it matters from a law admissions standpoint.

[guano]

I'd like to get into corporations law specifically. That's always interested me. I've worked for US Trust for 6 years so I have quite a bit of experience with estates/trusts so that's also an option. I did it more for the knowledge I'd gain. I completely understand that my law degree will make me or break me. I guess I'm a bit surprised at how little it matters from a law admissions standpoint.

I know a lot about this. Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions

[ms9]

I'd like to get into corporations law specifically. That's always interested me. I've worked for US Trust for 6 years so I have quite a bit of experience with estates/trusts so that's also an option. I did it more for the knowledge I'd gain. I completely understand that my law degree will make me or break me. I guess I'm a bit surprised at how little it matters from a law admissions standpoint.

There are actually at least three reasons, two which I mostly agree with:

1. Is not factored into US News & world Report Rankings (not a great reason but it is reality)

2. Has very little differentiable value, in that the vast preponderance of graduate gpas are very high. Law school admissions is entirely about differentiating from the applicant pool.

3. Unlike uGPAs, I am unaware of any research that correlates graduate gpas with law school or 1st year law school performance.

So, in general, it has no real impact on the admissions process other than having the degree itself which may slightly differentiate. Surely it will help you in your career.

[sid.bahl]

Thanks all for your advice!

How do you think the fact that law school applications are significantly down would affect this? Do you think admissions teams would look at non-traditional factors more favorably?

[Rahviveh]

If you have good work experience, that could be a small boost and help differentiate you from other applicants.

come back when you have an LSAT score

[guano]

Thanks all for your advice!

How do you think the fact that law school applications are significantly down would affect this? Do you think admissions teams would look at non-traditional factors more favorably?

quite the opposite, it means that they'll be even more obsessed with numbers as they'll be struggling to maintain their medians

[North]

I'm applying to T1-T2 schools in LA, Chicago, NYC, and Boston.

Raise your standards.

[Sweetlady75]

Contrary to what everyone else in here seems to believe, your mba will count as a good soft factor. If your grades are much better than they were in undergrad, then it shows that you are capable of doing well in school. Also, the fact that you have worked full time the entire time will also be quite impressive to the adcom.

[Rahviveh]

Contrary to what everyone else in here seems to believe, your mba will count as a good soft factor. If your grades are much better than they were in undergrad, then it shows that you are capable of doing well in school. Also, the fact that you have worked full time the entire time will also be quite impressive to the adcom.

[guano]

Contrary to what everyone else in here seems to believe, your mba will count as a good soft factor. If your grades are much better than they were in undergrad, then it shows that you are capable of doing well in school. Also, the fact that you have worked full time the entire time will also be quite impressive to the adcom.

Who are you and what qualifies you to make this statement?
(Particularly when a former admissions officer is stating the opposite)

[Ramius]

Contrary to what everyone else in here seems to believe, your mba will count as a good soft factor. If your grades are much better than they were in undergrad, then it shows that you are capable of doing well in school. Also, the fact that you have worked full time the entire time will also be quite impressive to the adcom.

Key word SOFT. May act as a tiebreaker with literally everything else equal with a K-JD, but how often is that the case? Very few soft factors play a significant role in admissions decisions. From what I've seen on LSN and here, URM (not exactly a soft, but definitely the biggest difference maker if counted), military vet, and maybe PhD seem to give a real boost. If there are any Olympic medalists, NYT bestsellers and a few VERY unique softs out there, they would presumably get a boost as well, but they're an extreme minority.

[MichNole19]

As someone who also had 4+ years of work experience and an MBA before starting law school, I believe it made no difference on my admissions cycle. Perhaps if given the same grades/LSAT as someone straight out of undergrad I got a boast but that is about it. However I feel the work experience/MBA really helped when it came to OCI's. I did well this past semester but not top 10% of my class well and I got interviews that some who fell in that catergory did not and I really do attribute that to the MBA (any type of grad degree might have gotten the same treatment) and my work experience.

Good Luck!

[Ramius]

It's a little funny how often people cry desperately for their softs to make a difference in admission decisions while the majority of people who have softs that might legitimately help rarely say anything about it.