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I'm 26, have a wife and child, a year of WE in a big firm, and two years of mission service. Does that make me non-traditional in a way that might give me any slight boost? I realize that none of those items are in themselves unique, but I'm not a single 22 year old straight out of undergrad.
So, what makes a non-traditional applicant? I imagine it is completely relative and subjective, but I'm just curious as to the thoughts of the fine people of TLS.

You would certainly qualify as non-traditional, I think. I believe the cut-off is usually considered to be around 25, or married w/kids. I meet that criteria too, though unfortunately, I don't think we get any discernible boost for being non-trad.

While there most likely isn't any formulaic boost, I imagine that being non-traditional at least sets you apart from other applicants, which can only be a positive benefit when there are thousands of applicants. That is my guess anyway.

Youre definitely non traditional. You may not get as high a "boost" as URM's do, but if your numbers are right, and you display maturity, you definitely are looked at in a more positive light.

Good luck!

AP-375 wrote:So, what makes a non-traditional applicant? .

If you have an extra limb, that's pretty non-traditional.

Other than that, I think the term is pretty broad. To me, traditional means you just graduated college and now you want to go to law school. Nontraditional means you have life/work experience in between your undergrad years and law school.

IMHO, I would say nontraditional students (generally) put more at risk by going to school - often times we have a family or a good career. I think this is where we get the boost. Numbers aside, adcomms know that if given the opportunity, we are probably going to commit and work hard because of what we are giving up to go back to school.

I guess I fit into that category too, as I'm over 30 with a wife and two kids. I'm also a disabled veteran. I've outlined a few different approaches to my personal statement, though I've tried to include my military service, my disability, and my "non-traditional" status in each configuration. Is it advantageous for me to stress one of these elements more than another?

Borderline numbers then non-trad might matter.

If you are well below both medians then you don't have a shot.

tazmolover wrote:Borderline numbers then non-trad might matter.

If you are well below both medians then you don't have a shot.

+1 cause this is right

+100 cause correct advice given by a n00b for once.

numbers rule. non-trad status will not change that. below median you are looking at WL city and if below 25% dings are going to be ringing in... (unless URM,but that is for another thread).

Ascend wrote:I guess I fit into that category too, as I'm over 30 with a wife and two kids. I'm also a disabled veteran. I've outlined a few different approaches to my personal statement, though I've tried to include my military service, my disability, and my "non-traditional" status in each configuration. Is it advantageous for me to stress one of these elements more than another?

I think all those elements would be excellent topics.