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Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:57 pm
by fangonk
I have a lot of really unusual soft stuff on my resume and I am not sure how it will appear to admissions boards. Take a look:
- Former Exchange Student (Senior year of high school)
- Did my undergrad at a Japanese University
- Im fluent in Japanese (again, not japanese - no ethnic/familial connection to Japan)
- Worked with a venture capital firm during sr/jr year
- Paid for school myself
- Poor rural background
None of this stuff is related to law and In my personal statement, I am going to pitch my self as someone who is interested in IT/Japan related law. Which, is the truth. Im worried that all this soft stuff makes me look like kind of screwy.
Anybody else have strange backgrounds like this? How did it play out? What does this look like to someone who took the normal route to law school?
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:02 pm
by topcheese88
looks phenomenal to me
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:14 pm
by iShotFirst
Is it that weird? I guess the Arkansas -----> Japan thing might be considered "weird" to some, but to me you just have some more experiences than the average guy. In my mind the applicant pool can be split into two camps: people straight from undergrad in the US, I guess the "normal route" like you say, and then another camp of people with a bit different experiences, such as yourself. Neither makes much difference, you just have a bit more to use to try and sell yourself.
I have a background fairly similar to yours, maybe a bit more bizarre, but I've been out for a few years. Ozarks (MO) -----> Austria, Malaysia here. But my cycle played out just the way my numbers would predict, and that is probably the case with most people (except those with incredible softs). The only thing that matters from your resume and history is how you use it to sell yourself, and MAYBE with the whole "schools wanting diversity (?)" thing. The best soft you have is speaking Japanese.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:19 pm
by eudaimondaimon
iShotFirst wrote:Is it that weird? I guess the Arkansas -----> Japan thing might be considered "weird" to some...
More like "awesome" rather than "weird."
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:21 pm
by 270910
It's a great set of experiences, but it won't make you outperform what your numbers suggest other than at the margins.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:26 pm
by fangonk
iShotFirst wrote: Neither makes much difference, you just have a bit more to use to try and sell yourself.
Sounds like your saying that softs really don't play such a big role - is that right? It pretty much go down with LSAT/GPA? Is the language thing really my biggest asset here? I don't have any sort of certification for my Japanese language stuff, do the applications ask for any?
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:38 pm
by 270910
fangonk wrote:iShotFirst wrote: Neither makes much difference, you just have a bit more to use to try and sell yourself.
Sounds like your saying that softs really don't play such a big role - is that right? It pretty much go down with LSAT/GPA? Is the language thing really my biggest asset here? I don't have any sort of certification for my Japanese language stuff, do the applications ask for any?
LSAT + GPA will account for 95% of your admissions cycle. "soft" factors matter extraordinarily little.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:41 pm
by iShotFirst
disco_barred wrote:fangonk wrote:iShotFirst wrote: Neither makes much difference, you just have a bit more to use to try and sell yourself.
Sounds like your saying that softs really don't play such a big role - is that right? It pretty much go down with LSAT/GPA? Is the language thing really my biggest asset here? I don't have any sort of certification for my Japanese language stuff, do the applications ask for any?
LSAT + GPA will account for 95% of your admissions cycle. "soft" factors matter extraordinarily little.
This is pretty much accurate in my experience and the experience of so many others, unfortunately. As for the Japanese language cert, no you dont need any certifications or anything. If your undergrad record showed no classes taken in a language and you never mentioned travel or living abroad and you said you had language skills, they might want to know. But you went to Japan for undergrad, and now speak Japanese, no questions will be asked. It's just something that might be interesting to the committees.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:46 pm
by fangonk
Good, all very reassuring indeed. I was really worried about my background. Now I just gotsta focus on the lsat. Thanks!
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:53 pm
by Unemployed
Are you retaking a 174? With a 3.0, I'm not sure if a higher score makes a huge difference. Northwestern will love your application either way.
fangonk wrote:I have a really really unusual academic history and I would like to apply to a top 15 law school. I am trying to figure out if I stand a reasonable chance of being accepted, so I have attached a really quick overview of my history and applicable background:
Im a graduating senior (I have one semester to go) and I attend a top 5 university in Japan (Sophia University). I have an LSAT score of 174 and a GPA of 3.0. Part of the reason my GPA is so low is that I was asked to direct a venture capital company in my junior year and I received some really crummy grades as a result of being totally overworked. I moved to Japan in order to learn Japanese fluently (which I have accomplished) after my senior year of high school. I am not Japanese. I also have some other application padding (former rotary youth ambassador, cello player, etc..). I grew up in rural arkansas, well under the poverty line and my high school had about 200 people in it. My major is International Business and Economics and I am also receiving a secondary certification in Japanese Studies.
Im not looking for positive reinforcement here, just an realistic discussion of my chances. Also, if you have any advice for improving my chances before I apply next fall, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:29 pm
by fangonk
I am interested in Duke or Cornell, both of which are really focus on GPA. Plus it will put me in long-shot distance of Columbia/NYU if I can land the big 180. Im kinda nervous about going to school in the states again, so I guess I am over-compensating.
That said, I would be thrilled to get into Northwestern or any of the sort.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:42 pm
by Mr. Pablo
I have an odd set of 'softs' and my cycle played out according to my numbers. You should expect the same.
Also, I love Japan. I was in/around Hiroshima for about a month from about mid July to mid August in 1995.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:43 pm
by Herb Watchfell
fangonk wrote:That said, I would be thrilled to get into Northwestern or any of the sort.
yeah right.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:51 pm
by dextermorgan
I'd be interested in the story of how you went from Arkansas to Japan personally.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 5:29 pm
by PlugInBaby
ウィーアブーですか？
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 5:46 pm
by orphanarium
...
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 7:30 pm
by JustDude
[quote="fangonk"][/quote]
AssClown.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:46 am
by fangonk
JustDude wrote:AssClown.
Well deserved.
Re: Judge my weirdo resume
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 1:12 am
by SOCRATiC
Everything looks A-OK to me:D