How much of a soft would a year in the peace corps be? Forum

[xyzzzzzzzz]

Well in that case if you have interest go for it, but don't expect it to make a huge difference in LS admissions. Especially after 2 more years; who knows where the medians will be at that point?? With the huge increases being seen with LSAT takers and LS applicants it'd probably be more helpful to just retake or look for a strong regional school.

Again, if the peace corps is genuinely your thing then more power to ya and good luck. If not, don't be miserable for 2 years thinking it is the difference maker.

Can you back up what you are saying about things getting more competitive? If you can great, but otherwise this whole the coming cycles are go going to be so hard hype is just well, unfounded.

You can look at the data yourself.. there are more applicants for the same number of spots.. if that doesn't mean more competitive I'd like to hear your thoughts

and btw I said "who knows where the medians will be at that point".. and used the word "probably".. hope you aren't taking the LSAT tomorrow.. language is pretty important for success on it

more people applying doesn't necessarily mean more qualified high scoring people are applying. Also, there is no need for the snark and personal attacks.

[JusticeHarlan]

Well in that case if you have interest go for it, but don't expect it to make a huge difference in LS admissions. Especially after 2 more years; who knows where the medians will be at that point?? With the huge increases being seen with LSAT takers and LS applicants it'd probably be more helpful to just retake or look for a strong regional school.

Again, if the peace corps is genuinely your thing then more power to ya and good luck. If not, don't be miserable for 2 years thinking it is the difference maker.

Can you back up what you are saying about things getting more competitive? If you can great, but otherwise this whole the coming cycles are go going to be so hard hype is just well, unfounded.

This excellent thread has started aggregating 2010 medians and comparing them to 2009 medians. It's as yet incomplete, but growing. You can see the data there: some schools' numbers are up, some school's numbers are staying the same, and a few have even dropped a bit.

[xyzzzzzzzz]

Well in that case if you have interest go for it, but don't expect it to make a huge difference in LS admissions. Especially after 2 more years; who knows where the medians will be at that point?? With the huge increases being seen with LSAT takers and LS applicants it'd probably be more helpful to just retake or look for a strong regional school.

Again, if the peace corps is genuinely your thing then more power to ya and good luck. If not, don't be miserable for 2 years thinking it is the difference maker.

Can you back up what you are saying about things getting more competitive? If you can great, but otherwise this whole the coming cycles are go going to be so hard hype is just well, unfounded.

This excellent thread has started aggregating 2010 medians and comparing them to 2009 medians. It's as yet incomplete, but growing. You can see the data there: some schools' numbers are up, some school's numbers are staying the same, and a few have even dropped a bit.

Thanks Harlan.

[kalvano]

This is the exact same argument as last year. I don't think anything was really resolved.

[JusticeHarlan]

Well in that case if you have interest go for it, but don't expect it to make a huge difference in LS admissions. Especially after 2 more years; who knows where the medians will be at that point?? With the huge increases being seen with LSAT takers and LS applicants it'd probably be more helpful to just retake or look for a strong regional school.

Again, if the peace corps is genuinely your thing then more power to ya and good luck. If not, don't be miserable for 2 years thinking it is the difference maker.

Can you back up what you are saying about things getting more competitive? If you can great, but otherwise this whole the coming cycles are go going to be so hard hype is just well, unfounded.

This excellent thread has started aggregating 2010 medians and comparing them to 2009 medians. It's as yet incomplete, but growing. You can see the data there: some schools' numbers are up, some school's numbers are staying the same, and a few have even dropped a bit.

Thanks Harlan.

My pleasure, xyzzzzzzzz. Just make sure to send some thanks to im_blue for starting and continuing to update that thread; I think it should be sitckied somewhere.

[theskippa10]

Isn't there some program that pays army vets like half the tuition for law school?

It's FLEP for the army, and from what I gather only like 5-6 Captains make it a year, and then you have 8(?) years of JAG commitment after. can't count on that by any stretch

[bigben]

About this much: |---|

[capitalacq]

fyi, just b/c last year was competitive doesn't mean that this year is going to be as (or more) competitive.

[Borhas]

Let's say someone (maybe a future me) applies for a law school, gets denied for a small margin, and goes to the corps.

Other than a soft it'd be multifunctional; it'd give you a year off school a (supposedly) awesome and fulfilling experience and it'd, for most people, be a good resume builder.

How much of a soft would it count for though? I would think it'd be substantial for those schools with a more holistic view of acceptance, but which schools are those really?

I was considering the peace corps or the military since I didn't know what I wanted to do in life you a long time but now I've decided on LS and it seems like it might still be a good idea

pretty sure it's 2 years in peace or else you quit early

and nobody wants a quitter

[xyzzzzzzzz]

Let's say someone (maybe a future me) applies for a law school, gets denied for a small margin, and goes to the corps.

Other than a soft it'd be multifunctional; it'd give you a year off school a (supposedly) awesome and fulfilling experience and it'd, for most people, be a good resume builder.

How much of a soft would it count for though? I would think it'd be substantial for those schools with a more holistic view of acceptance, but which schools are those really?

I was considering the peace corps or the military since I didn't know what I wanted to do in life you a long time but now I've decided on LS and it seems like it might still be a good idea

pretty sure it's 2 years in peace or else you quit early

and nobody wants a quitter

you can a) get fired, or b) get medically separated, c) leave early, or d) get terminated due to in country problems.

[haveaniceday111]

Hey everyone, and OP,

As a current PCV and someone applying for this cycle, I might have a few things to say...


1. How much of a soft?

Like nearly everything in Peace Corps (and in life), it really depends.

To the extent that it demonstrates your commitment to service, ability to thrive under stress, ability to learn another language, independently design/implement/manage/assess projects and work with different kinds of people, I would argue that it's a great soft. That being said, in my immediate experience, not all PCVs have those traits. Just like work experience, it's not simply having the words "Peace Corps" on your resume but also what you did. Did you dig wells? Did you learn the language? Did any of your students get scholarships to U.S. universities? Did you engage the community? And yes, did you finish your 27 months, or at least early terminate with a legit excuse (e.g. family emergency, illness)? Or did you just sit around and read all day, not engage the community, party and burn bridges with your community?

2. Awesome and Fulfilling Experience?

Again, as someone currently living it and seeing others go through it, the answer is, "it depends." A lot of people come into the PC with a 60's, idealist, I'm-gonna-save-the-world mentality and then end up frustrated and cynical because of cultural differences and the stresses of being in an unfamiliar culture. On the other hand, some people love it so much that they end up marrying a local and settling down in their host-country, or abandon all previous plans and devote their lives to development work, or going on multiple tours with the Peace Corps. Ultimately, it's up to you.

I don't want to go into too much depth for me personally, but I can tell you this for sure. If you're not totally set on what you want, Peace Corps service can be good to take time off and reflect on yourself and the world. It'll give you a new perspective on a lot of things, and I think your picture of how law school fits into your life's big picture will become clearer bceause of it.

Hope that helps. If you have any specific questions or if you wanna discuss this further, feel free to PM me.

[xyzzzzzzzz]

will do harlan.

[Bosque]

This is the exact same argument as last year. I don't think anything was really resolved.

And the year before that actually.

[r6_philly]

This excellent thread has started aggregating 2010 medians and comparing them to 2009 medians. It's as yet incomplete, but growing. You can see the data there: some schools' numbers are up, some school's numbers are staying the same, and a few have even dropped a bit.

Mean is a better gauge than median in this context, but we will not have that info. At least measure the mean of the medians. Median improvement could be due to a lot of factors, not just the quality of the applicants. Maybe applicants with better numbers are reaching farther down the rankings looking for scholarships and grants. Mean and distribution of the entire applicant pool would tell a complete story but we do not have that info. Everything on the quality of the entire, increased pool are all guesses.

Also, since there are more prep companies, more people are repeating the test, and LSAT has undergone a change in the last year or so, the numbers may not compare well.

[Ascend]

If you are considering the military for 2 years, then get ready for some grunt work, lol. All army commitments are technically 8 years (unless they've changed something recently). You do X amt of active and the remainder as either active or inactive reserve. However, the 2 active x 6 reserve jobs are supply and demand jobs, typically the one's that nobody wants or that nobody wants long term. Conversely, if you want a technical job such as something medical, your active duty commitment will almost certainly be 6 years.

Not saying it's a bad idea to join the military, I'm just saying you should understand that 2 year active duty slots are typically jobs that most people aren't particularly found of, lol.