Why do lawyers become Adcomms? Forum

[Unitas]

The subject says it all... I have been looking to find the reason, but I can't really find one.

Are they really well paid or what? They don't appear to get any sort of tenure or job protection even at the Dean level, so why do they do it as opposed to practicing law or even teaching? I know teaching is hard to get into, but the Deans at Yale and Harvard could teach somewhere, but still choose to be admission's deans. Why?

[Bauer24]

Dunno, probably for the satisfaction of rejecting people with high LSAT scores...

[eandy]

Probably great QOL.

[Rand M.]

Probably great QOL.

This. I know they are not paid all that well. UVa's faculty salaries are available online and all of the people who are not professors are paid in the 60-80k range, which while not bad, is not what one wold consider an enticing feature of the job. They have to have pretty good QOL. What do they even do during the summer months? It would seem like there would be a major slowdown from April to October/November or so.

[Unitas]

Probably great QOL.

This. I know they are not paid all that well. UVa's faculty salaries are available online and all of the people who are not professors are paid in the 60-80k range, which while not bad, is not what one wold consider an enticing feature of the job. They have to have pretty good QOL. What do they even do during the summer months? It would seem like there would be a major slowdown from April to October/November or so.

I am confused by this. The QOL couldn't be much better than a professors and professors have perfect job security and a much better salary. Professors also seem very active in the legal world, whereas, from what I have gotten Adcomms and Admission Deans are not (This may be off, correct me if I am wrong). Is being a Dean of Admissions a stepping stone to something greater?

[Jay-Electronica]

Elena Kegan is the new SG

[eandy]

Probably great QOL.

This. I know they are not paid all that well. UVa's faculty salaries are available online and all of the people who are not professors are paid in the 60-80k range, which while not bad, is not what one wold consider an enticing feature of the job. They have to have pretty good QOL. What do they even do during the summer months? It would seem like there would be a major slowdown from April to October/November or so.

I am confused by this. The QOL couldn't be much better than a professors and professors have perfect job security and a much better salary. Professors also seem very active in the legal world, whereas, from what I have gotten Adcomms and Admission Deans are not (This may be off, correct me if I am wrong). Is being a Dean of Admissions a stepping stone to something greater?

Being a professor isn't all fun and games. It requires a lot of research and writing for journals and such.

Also, I think being an adcom is a step on the administration ladder, which is appealing.

[lawyering]

Alena Kegan is the new AG

Elena Kagan is Solicitor General.

[Jay-Electronica]

Yea, thats what I meant lol. I failed really bad thur

[dutchstriker]

Elena Kagan was THE Dean, not the Dean of Admissions.

[Rand M.]

Elena Kagan was THE Dean, not the Dean of Admissions.

This.

[dutchstriker]

And I really don't think the Deans of Admissions anywhere have the qualifications to be a law prof.

FWIW, Michigan's Dean of Admissions makes something in the six-figure range.

[Hattori Hanzo]

Salary = $60,000
Playing god = priceless

[jks289]

Elena Kagan was THE Dean, not the Dean of Admissions.

Yes, this. She was the Dean and taught at Harvard. Not an adcom.

[Unitas]

Salary = $60,000
Playing god = priceless

HAHA, this was in the back of my head, but I know there has to be some reason.

I guess a stepping stone is probable. I have just never met anyone say I want to do admissions to get to this.. Or anything along those lines.

Like some will say I want to clerk to get a judicial position, public interest to go into politics, and so forth...

[Dignan]

Probably great QOL.

This. I know they are not paid all that well. UVa's faculty salaries are available online and all of the people who are not professors are paid in the 60-80k range, which while not bad, is not what one wold consider an enticing feature of the job. They have to have pretty good QOL. What do they even do during the summer months? It would seem like there would be a major slowdown from April to October/November or so.

I am confused by this. The QOL couldn't be much better than a professors and professors have perfect job security and a much better salary. Professors also seem very active in the legal world, whereas, from what I have gotten Adcomms and Admission Deans are not (This may be off, correct me if I am wrong). Is being a Dean of Admissions a stepping stone to something greater?

First, it is much harder to land a job in legal academia than in it is to secure a job as an adcomm. We're not talking apples to apples. If someone has the credentials to secure a job as a tenure-track professor, they're almost certainly not going to bother with a job in a law school admissions office.

As others have said, QOL is a big factor. Also, I suspect (but I do not know) that many of the adcomms have spouses who are working at the same school--or, if not working at the school, working in the city in which the law school is located.

[MURPH]

It has to be QOL. I would love to have a job like that. USNWR basically sets the formula for you to use when deciding who gets in. Your job is to entice X number of students above the median LSAT and X number above the Median GPA to go to your school. How do you entice them??? Scholarships. You need enough URMs so that no one accuses your school of racism and some screwballs who don't deserve to get in but who will pay full price (thus provide scholarships to the median boosters) Easy.

And that is the hard part. With that out of the way you pretty much have free reign to do as you please. Admit people from your undergrad institution, your friends kids, alumni's kids, etc.
For a few months you can travel around the country visiting colleges. Weekends off. Plus think of all the meaningful exciting personal statements you get to read!

[PDaddy]

For some, the old adage applies: Those who can...do...and those who can't...teach. In law school, the rule is: Those who can't teach...are adcoms.

For others there's an agenda: "My white friends got screwed over by this AA garbage, and I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen at my school"...without everybody detecting it. I interviewed at Northwestern with a gal I knew didn't like me as soon as she saw my face. I had received rave reviews the year before and nearly got in (I was on the WL until the first say of classes). But this lady did not like me and was not very engaging from the first words she spoke. She tried to talk me out of wanting to go to NU. I sent her a "thank you" note anyways and she never even responded to it.

For still others, they actually like administration and they like the job.

[eandy]

For some, the old adage applies: Those who can...do...and those who can't...teach. In law school, the rule is: Those who can't teach...are adcoms.

For others there's an agenda: "My white friends got screwed over by this AA garbage, and I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen at my school"...without everybody detecting it. I interviewed at Northwestern with a gal I knew didn't like me as soon as she saw my face. I had received rave reviews the year before and nearly got in (I was on the WL until the first say of classes). But this lady did not like me and was not very engaging from the first words she spoke. She tried to talk me out of wanting to go to NU. I sent her a "thank you" note anyways and she never even responded to it.

For still others, they actually like administration and they like the job.

[Cupidity]

I work in UG admissions, and I seriously considered a 40k a year salary there instead of a T-30 top-law-schools.com is great, you work 9-5 in what are incredibly friendly surroundings....sure you spend a couple hours a day reviewing files, but there are all the interviews and tours and school fairs. Board meetings to review publications...I mean, its a fun job. If you could do it somewhere nice, ie: on a beach....fuck law school.

[portena]

I work in UG admissions, and I seriously considered a 40k a year salary there instead of a T-30 top-law-schools.com is great, you work 9-5 in what are incredibly friendly surroundings....sure you spend a couple hours a day reviewing files, but there are all the interviews and tours and school fairs. Board meetings to review publications...I mean, its a fun job. If you could do it somewhere nice, ie: on a beach....fuck law school.

I think that sounds awesome.

[PDaddy]

Probably great QOL.

This. I know they are not paid all that well. UVa's faculty salaries are available online and all of the people who are not professors are paid in the 60-80k range, which while not bad, is not what one wold consider an enticing feature of the job. They have to have pretty good QOL. What do they even do during the summer months? It would seem like there would be a major slowdown from April to October/November or so.

Slowdown? It would seem to be a year-round job. What about all of the people whose files need to be re-read from the WL? What about the background checks that more and more adcoms are doing? What about the traveling to the summer seminars and conferences? What about the training they must receive every year? What about arranging the ASW's and events at their schools?

What about the press interviews and excerpts that go out in brochures? By the time orientation week has begun, they have to prepare to do it all over again for the next year. What about first semester issues with admitted students? What about the disciplinary processes? Forget what happens between October and March, April to September must be quite a grind.

[Cupidity]

Yeah, reviewing the files is one of the smaller parts of the job.

[OperaSoprano]

I work in UG admissions, and I seriously considered a 40k a year salary there instead of a T-30 top-law-schools.com is great, you work 9-5 in what are incredibly friendly surroundings....sure you spend a couple hours a day reviewing files, but there are all the interviews and tours and school fairs. Board meetings to review publications...I mean, its a fun job. If you could do it somewhere nice, ie: on a beach....fuck law school.

This. I don't work in admissions, obviously, but I've done a lot of work with prospective students, and I've noticed that adcomms here have a fabulous QOL. If I didn't want to practice, I would seriously consider working in my own admissions office.

[sumus romani]

Several people have implied that adcomms might not be "professor material." But since the skill sets required for the two jobs are so different, it is really hard to make the comparison between adcomms and professors. Most professors I know would make terrible adcomms, and adcomms as professors likewise.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Any adcomms reading? Please take me off the waitlist.