Junior in University; literally no extracirriculars Forum

[SupCutie]

I'm a junior at a well regarded west coast school. My grades are pretty good (3.87 gpa so far), but I have, as the title indicates, quite literally zero extracurricular activities since I've been in college. I'm a bit relieved to know that EC's are not weighted nearly as heavily as numbers, but I honestly couldn't even fill an application form. My resume the past couple of years consists of a stint at a coffee shop and about a hundred hours of volunteering at an inner city school. I have developed no real meaningful interests in college unless shotgunning natty's is "meaningful". I have no special talent, no real hobby, etc...

So I was wondering, what kind of EC's do TLS's and law-hopefuls generally pursue? I assume most do internships... but that begs the question, how does one get an internship with the kind of resume I have anyway? What do I even do at this point? I realize whatever I do will probably look like a calculated attempt to score points with the admissions department, but having some activities undoubtedly must be better than having none.

[paratactical]

Focus on your volunteer hours. 100 isn't a lot, but if you could double that number, it will at least be something you've had a longer-term experience doing.

[charliep]

im in a similar position, and, so far, the EC deficiency doesnt appear to have influenced my cycle very much. just keep that gpa up!

[Tiago Splitter]

how does one get an internship with the kind of resume I have anyway? What do I even do at this point?

You send applications. Lots of them. Plenty of companies need college students to handle menial work. It's about the name on the resume and showing you've done something. It's not about what you actually did, because no company is going to give you anything truly meaningful to work on.

That said, a great LSAT score will do a lot more for your cycle than any internship.

[ThreeRivers]

While not "nothing" my ECs were pretty bad (Actually put intramural sports on my activities lol) and doesn't seem to be having an impact... yea do a couple things just so it isn't completely blank though

I didn't put dates on my resume either, so if you did same they wouldn't be able to tell you snuck it all in last second

[apollo2015]

I have developed no real meaningful interests in college unless shotgunning natty's is "meaningful". I have no special talent, no real hobby, etc...

Do you have any friends in sororities/fraternities (depending on your sex)? Joining the Greek community is something I would recommend that any honorable college student do. Making Greek friends is also bound to help once you are expected to start bringing paying clients into your future firm.

What's your major? Usually there is at least one club on campus that relates to your subject of interest. Or you could start showing up to Campus Democrats, Campus Greens, or Campus GOP meetings. (Depending on what your political leanings are.)

That said, your volunteer work and coffee work would probably be sufficient unless you are aiming for a top 8 school.

[MrAnon]

You don't need any. I had zero ECs, as in absolutely none, no volunteer work, nothing, and I got into a school that my GPA and LSAT said I would get into. Don't waste your time.

[Nelson]

With that GPA you're fine. Just get a 172+ LSAT and enjoy a T6. Softs are irrelevant. Do whatever you enjoy or nothing for that matter. You can't pull Yale/Stanford lock softs out of your pocket in a year or two anyway.

Now if you were open to time off before LS, the best possible resume booster would be getting a decent job for a couple of years, but if you're set on K-JD I wouldn't worry about internships.

[SupCutie]

That said, your volunteer work and coffee work would probably be sufficient unless you are aiming for a top 8 school.

That I am.

With that GPA you're fine. Just get a 172+ LSAT and enjoy a T6. Softs are irrelevant. Do whatever you enjoy or nothing for that matter. You can't pull Yale/Stanford lock softs out of your pocket in a year or two anyway.

Now if you were open to time off before LS, the best possible resume booster would be getting a decent job for a couple of years, but if you're set on K-JD I wouldn't worry about internships.

Out of curiosity, what kind of softs would those schools be looking for anyhow? I have accepted that my EC's are going to be awful, but if it won't adversely affect my chances at other T14's I won't cry too hard about Y/S being out.

[Tom Joad]

Get a part-time job. Something to add to the resume but mainly for the money.

[cloudhidden]

You're bigger concern might be with firms come OCI. As a 0L I cannot speak authoritatively, as it might only remain an ancillary concern. You do want to have something substantive to say about how you spent your time if the question were to arise in an interview.

[mattviphky]

you won't be the first person who embellishes on their application. Some flowery language can turn some volunteer hours into a "life changing experience"

[inthebeginning]

top 2 funniest things I've noticed since I started this process (2 weeks in):

1. Post-college employment falls into the "softs" category.
2. The LSAT purposely doesn't let you use scratch paper on the logic games.

[dr123]

top 2 funniest things I've noticed since I started this process (2 weeks in):

1. Post-college employment falls into the "softs" category.
2. The LSAT purposely doesn't let you use scratch paper on the logic games.

Whats funny about either of these things?

[inthebeginning]

1. That what I've been doing for 2.5 years is a minor aspect of my application (I'm not against that btw, I think it's just the use of the word "soft").
2. I had to write in about size 6 font on my diagnostic to fit a couple tables in, and the paper was jam packed when I was done. And I just imagined thinking of the LSAT board deciding to not allow scratch paper and what their line of reasoning was.

[Shooter]

To the OP's question...

A lot of people will tell you that softs don't matter at all. This isn't exactly true.

I have spoken at length with admissions representatives from two T-14's, and they both essentially agreed that:

1) Your LSAT and GPA are by far the two most important determinants of your admissions cycle.
2) If you don't have any softs at all, it is still very unlikely that you'll be admitted outright. Even though the amount of applicants is decreasing, there are enough people with strong numbers and interesting softs to WL candidates who only possess one or the other.
3) You don't have to be incredible softs, but you do have to have SOMETHING. "Spinning" your experiences into something more interesting/relevant is perfectly acceptable.

Things these representatives liked included:

1) Study abroad/foreign work experience/fluency in another language.
2) Political internships.
3) Volunteering (which is helpful ITE because you can get even more substantive volunteer work in a down economy).
4) Full-time work experience, preferably in a field that hones communication/analytical skills, that provides you with an appreciation for structure, responsibility and relationship-building.

[ThreeRivers]

To the OP's question...

A lot of people will tell you that softs don't matter at all. This isn't exactly true.

I have spoken at length with admissions representatives from two T-14's, and they both essentially agreed that:

1) Your LSAT and GPA are by far the two most important determinants of your admissions cycle.
2) If you don't have any softs at all, it is still very unlikely that you'll be admitted outright. Even though the amount of applicants is decreasing, there are enough people with strong numbers and interesting softs to WL candidates who only possess one or the other.
3) You don't have to be incredible softs, but you do have to have SOMETHING. "Spinning" your experiences into something more interesting/relevant is perfectly acceptable.

Things these representatives liked included:

1) Study abroad/foreign work experience/fluency in another language.
2) Political internships.
3) Volunteering (which is helpful ITE because you can get even more substantive volunteer work in a down economy).
4) Full-time work experience, preferably in a field that hones communication/analytical skills, that provides you with an appreciation for structure, responsibility and relationship-building.

blahblahblahblah... do you really expect schools to tell you they're ranking whores? Its a tie breaker for those with even scores. Only way it'd matter if you REALLY raised some red flags, if you are applying to YHS (because they can reject elite candidates and still have plenty of others to fill out), or if you don't have WE for NU

[moneybagsphd]

To the OP's question...

A lot of people will tell you that softs don't matter at all. This isn't exactly true.

I have spoken at length with admissions representatives from two T-14's, and they both essentially agreed that:

1) Your LSAT and GPA are by far the two most important determinants of your admissions cycle.
2) If you don't have any softs at all, it is still very unlikely that you'll be admitted outright. Even though the amount of applicants is decreasing, there are enough people with strong numbers and interesting softs to WL candidates who only possess one or the other.
3) You don't have to be incredible softs, but you do have to have SOMETHING. "Spinning" your experiences into something more interesting/relevant is perfectly acceptable.

Things these representatives liked included:

1) Study abroad/foreign work experience/fluency in another language.
2) Political internships.
3) Volunteering (which is helpful ITE because you can get even more substantive volunteer work in a down economy).
4) Full-time work experience, preferably in a field that hones communication/analytical skills, that provides you with an appreciation for structure, responsibility and relationship-building.

This is nonsense. Your cycle probably won't be effected by your softs. Seriously, I doubt they look very much at your resume. You are better off spending the year killing the LSAT, and writing your personal statement.

[ThreeRivers]

To the OP's question...

A lot of people will tell you that softs don't matter at all. This isn't exactly true.

I have spoken at length with admissions representatives from two T-14's, and they both essentially agreed that:

1) Your LSAT and GPA are by far the two most important determinants of your admissions cycle.
2) If you don't have any softs at all, it is still very unlikely that you'll be admitted outright. Even though the amount of applicants is decreasing, there are enough people with strong numbers and interesting softs to WL candidates who only possess one or the other.
3) You don't have to be incredible softs, but you do have to have SOMETHING. "Spinning" your experiences into something more interesting/relevant is perfectly acceptable.

Things these representatives liked included:

1) Study abroad/foreign work experience/fluency in another language.
2) Political internships.
3) Volunteering (which is helpful ITE because you can get even more substantive volunteer work in a down economy).
4) Full-time work experience, preferably in a field that hones communication/analytical skills, that provides you with an appreciation for structure, responsibility and relationship-building.

This is nonsense. Your cycle probably won't be effected by your softs. Seriously, I doubt they look very much at your resume.

Yea, I love all of the "THIS UNIVERSITY SAYS"... could you imagine how horrible it would sound to say "yea, we just try to get the best LSAT / GPA median combo to get a good ranking.

[moneybagsphd]

Yea, I love all of the "THIS UNIVERSITY SAYS"... could you imagine how horrible it would sound to say "yea, we just try to get the best LSAT / GPA median combo to get a good ranking.

Word.
Don't think of Law schools as noble institutions, above their own self-interest. Top law schools jealously guard their rankings by admitting the best LSAT/GPA median they can get. Can get because we are there consumers, and we decide where is worth attending and where isn't. That determination, in large part, is made by measuring our numbers against theirs. If I have a 180/4.0, I'm not going to a school with a 165/3.5 median.
Numbers matter. TLS is an exceptional community of well-qualified applicants. Sometimes it leaves one with the impression that everyone is applying to law school with a 3.9+/170+, but you have to realize the LSAT-type fallacy of this logic: TLS is not a representative sample (at all).

[ilovesf]

Whatever, I did absolutely nothing in college. I was in no clubs, had no leadership positions, nothing. I don't think it matters. I had an internship 2 of the summers. I really don't think it makes a difference in terms of applying to law schools. I didn't apply directly from undergrad, so I don't know how what it means if you're applying directly afterward. My cycle turned out pretty much as my numbers indicated it would, if not slightly better.

[Shooter]

Lots of unnecessary anger/group-think going on in this thread.

My post stated that GPA and LSAT are "by far" the two most important determinants of a person's admissions cycle. So I'm not sure where the major disagreement is.

ThreeRivers even conceded that softs are a tie-breaker for people with similar academic credentials. When I said that school's have the ability to WL certain candidates who have otherwise competitive numbers, that is tantamount to saying "it's a tie breaker for those with even scores."

Regurgitating stale, predictable TLS-lore does nothing to help the OP.

[09042014]

You're bigger concern might be with firms come OCI. As a 0L I cannot speak authoritatively, as it might only remain an ancillary concern. You do want to have something substantive to say about how you spent your time if the question were to arise in an interview.

They never ask about undergrad, at least for me, but I had a couple years between. They will ask about law school stuff though.

[09042014]

Lots of unnecessary anger/group-think going on in this thread.

My post stated that GPA and LSAT are "by far" the two most important determinants of a person's admissions cycle. So I'm not sure where the major disagreement is.

ThreeRivers even conceded that softs are a tie-breaker for people with similar academic credentials. When I said that school's have the ability to WL certain candidates who have otherwise competitive numbers, that is tantamount to saying "it's a tie breaker for those with even scores."

Regurgitating stale, predictable TLS-lore does nothing to help the OP.

Schools don't really do tie breaker comparisons with other candidates.

[Shooter]

Lots of unnecessary anger/group-think going on in this thread.

My post stated that GPA and LSAT are "by far" the two most important determinants of a person's admissions cycle. So I'm not sure where the major disagreement is.

ThreeRivers even conceded that softs are a tie-breaker for people with similar academic credentials. When I said that school's have the ability to WL certain candidates who have otherwise competitive numbers, that is tantamount to saying "it's a tie breaker for those with even scores."

Regurgitating stale, predictable TLS-lore does nothing to help the OP.

Schools don't really do tie breaker comparisons with other candidates.

I don't believe ThreeRivers, the person I quoted, was referring to a literal tie-breaker. I certainly wasn't.