Things to do in your year off Forum

Loyola Trojan · Post by **Loyola Trojan** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:46 am

Never went abroad in college, you guys know of any good programs for grads?
ANy other things doing during a year off that might help my application?

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:47 am

j/o every day

swilson215 · Post by **swilson215** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:42 am

Loyola Trojan wrote:Never went abroad in college, you guys know of any good programs for grads?
ANy other things doing during a year off that might help my application?

Get some work experience, and make sure that this is what you really want to do. I started working in a midlaw firm in my hometown, and then took a month off in May (1 year after I graduated) to go to Europe. I set up my own trip and managed all of the details myself (rather than going with a tour group) and had the time of my life (for less $$ than an organized trip).

enjoy your time off!

mettasutta · Post by **mettasutta** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:49 am

AmeriCorps--you help underserved communities and get a small education award (5K--enough to cover books and supplies for LS) at the end of your term. The toughest but most meaningful WE I've ever had.
-Teaching abroad--watch out, because some of these programs are scams!

TTH · Post by **TTH** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:52 am

rad law wrote:j/o every day

TITCR.

There's nothing you're going to do for one year that will really help your application. If you want to take more time off, you can do Peace Corps/AmeriCorps/TFA, but those are of only marginal benefit (of the three, Peace Corps probably gives you the best boost and is the coolest).

Go try to teach English abroad. I know both the French and Spanish Embassies have programs that hire American English speakers to teach in their countries. They typically want you to have decently strong French/Spanish tho

txadv11 · Post by **txadv11** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:57 am

Make money. Think about this like this:
Every $100.00 that you make and don't have to take out in a loan is worth much more.
Grad loan plus rates are a hair under 8%... so one year each $100 is actually 108, 2yrs= 117, 3rs 125 etc etc.
Basically given the number of years it would take to pay off, it is safe to say, every $100 you save and don't take out a loan, would have been double that or more.

Sandro · Post by **Sandro** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 1:33 pm

Do something cool. You have a bazillion options.

bhan87 · Post by **bhan87** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 1:37 pm

Loyola Trojan wrote:Never went abroad in college, you guys know of any good programs for grads?
ANy other things doing during a year off that might help my application?

You should look into teaching English abroad. You'll need to work of course but most companies will give you vacation time. You can use your salary for spending money and save the rest

phannahan44 · Post by **phannahan44** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:21 pm

bhan87 wrote:
Loyola Trojan wrote:Never went abroad in college, you guys know of any good programs for grads?
ANy other things doing during a year off that might help my application?

You should look into teaching English abroad. You'll need to work of course but most companies will give you vacation time. You can use your salary for spending money and save the rest

I taught English in China for 2 years during the break between undergrad and LS -- absolutely the life. Best decision I've ever made. It was really hard to leave when I had to come back. Fulfilling work, exciting travel, and everything is DIRT cheap in China

Naked Dude · Post by **Naked Dude** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:30 pm

Wanted to take time off, but didn't think admissions would give a flying fsck about AmeriCorps or teaching English in Korea. I figure the only benefit to it is it gives me time to retake.

Also, if you're reapplying, keep in mind that one year off means that you're reapplying like 6 months from the end of your last cycle. Even if you're not reapplying, you're applying about 6 months after you graduate from college. Seems like you'd need at least 2 years for it to make a difference resume-wise.

Upton Sinclair · Post by **Upton Sinclair** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:33 pm

You should do the same thing you did in UG, the same thing you'll do once LS starts and the same thing you'll do after you graduate LS.

Fuck bitches. Get money.

bhan87 · Post by **bhan87** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:39 pm

Naked Dude wrote:Wanted to take time off, but didn't think admissions would give a flying fsck about AmeriCorps or teaching English in Korea. I figure the only benefit to it is it gives me time to retake.

Also, if you're reapplying, keep in mind that one year off means that you're reapplying like 6 months from the end of your last cycle. Even if you're not reapplying, you're applying about 6 months after you graduate from college. Seems like you'd need at least 2 years for it to make a difference resume-wise.

This is a pretty terrible reason to do either. You should join Americorps or teach English abroad because you want to. The truth is, it won't really boost your chances at admission, but it's a pretty awesome thing to do before heading off to law school (which in the OP's case, is what he's looking for)

sauce18 · Post by **sauce18** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:48 pm

if you're interested in teacher abroad, CIEE teach abroad programs are legit and run by good people. i taught in south america last year and it was one of the coolest things i've ever done

nightman09 · Post by **nightman09** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:55 pm

If you want to teach abroad do EPIK in Korea or JET in Japan. The JET program is fairly competitive and both are well-respected if you have interest in anything Asia-related. Also, at either you'll make a ton of cash easily.

Or, just pick a cool NGO/non-profit and work abroad for a year.

I promise, traveling will be the best decision you ever made.

Loyola Trojan · Post by **Loyola Trojan** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:32 pm

Thanks for all the responses guys.

Even if it doesn't help with the application, I think it would be a good experience to do some abroad work. Definitely going to look into the programs already mentioned. if you guys know of any other programs that you would recommend, let me know about them and I'll check them out!!

Thanks again!

mettasutta · Post by **mettasutta** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:57 pm

Do not do AmeriCorps while studying for the LSAT though...it totally saps your time and energy, lol.

Fred_McGriff · Post by **Fred_McGriff** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:43 pm

New Zealand.

hous · Post by **hous** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:55 pm

I taught in China for a year, and in Korea for a summer camp before returning home. I miss it so much... Especially Korea...

Deuce · Post by **Deuce** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:56 pm

Taggin'

mettasutta · Post by **mettasutta** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:02 pm

WWOOFING is great for a gap year: http://www.wwoof.org/

tittsburghfeelers · Post by **tittsburghfeelers** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:37 pm

mettasutta wrote:AmeriCorps--you help underserved communities and get a small education award (5K--enough to cover books and supplies for LS) at the end of your term. The toughest but most meaningful WE I've ever had.
-Teaching abroad--watch out, because some of these programs are scams!

Could you elaborate on some of your AmeriCorps experience? I've considered applying for it, but haven't really found much information concerning the in and outs of it besides the blogs posted on their official website. What are some pros/cons, if you don't mind sharing? Also, feel free to PM me if you don't want to broadcast everything!

tea_drinker · Post by **tea_drinker** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:32 pm

Loyola Trojan wrote:Never went abroad in college, you guys know of any good programs for grads?
ANy other things doing during a year off that might help my application?

If you didn't get 180 on LSAT and think you can improve, keep pushing for higher scores. That is the only meaningful thing that can help your application.

Also, do watch rad law told you.

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