Teach for America vs Peace Corps vs Fullbright Forum

[jone7007]

Edit to clarify the basis for my real question:

I was a Peace Corps volunteer before I even considered going to law school because I wanted to volunteer and live overseas.

Today, though I got curious about this soft vs. that soft when an admissions staff member implied that Peace Corps wasn't as good as Teach for America. I'm not knocking TFA. It is a great program. I just didn't like Peace Corps being put down. That implication leads me to ask the question - as far as admissions are concerned do they matter and is one actually better?

So far as the Peace Corps goes for those who want to know. The biggest boost was in fee waivers to schools I wouldn't have gotten fee waivers at based on my LSAT alone. While I served, I am not above using my service to get merit fee waivers to the 5 school I applied to. GULC, GW, GM, Denver, Gonzaga. Many school I ultimately decided not to apply to also gave me fee waivers I didn’t use.

I am a late applicant splitter so I don’t think PC service is helping my cycle much. I will edit this at the end of my cycle if that changes.

However, I have been heavily encouraged to apply for public service scholarships based on my PC and 3 other years of public service. I chose not to because I other than Gonzaga, near home, I only applied part time. (Please save the PT vs. FT for another thread.)

If any other TFA, PC, or other strong soft that is reading this cares to weight in on how you thought it affected or didn’t affect your cycle, admittance and scholarships, it could be useful for future applicants.



EDIT: Maybe my "softs" did help. I got accepted to my reach school, GULC, with a 168/2.99. Other than Gonzaga all aplications were part-time. I recieved no deny or waitlist decisions.

Accepted:
GULC - no scholarship
George Washington- with drew before scholarship notice if any would have been made
Denver - w/ 2/3rds scholarship

Withdrew before decision:
Gonzaga
George Mason

[J90]

Are you kidding? Get and then complete any one of these and then come back.

I assure you, you don't join the Peace Corps for 27 months just to get a slight law school admissions boost. If that's what you have as your conviction, you won't last.

Edit: I posted this because I didn't think she had served in the Peace Corps. The question of "This vs. this, what helps more?" clues you in to that conclusion. If she had just done Peace Corps, she would've asked specifically how that particular experience keyed in to her admissions process.

[ManOfTheMinute]

Please go away. You won't get into any law school where that will matter. If you are trying to decide between the three, just apply straight to law school since thats obviously what you want. Or don't.

[WhatOurBodiesAreFor]

Man you guys are total d-bags.

That said, if you are (which I know you didn't say) doing this to boost your law school application, you are probably the biggest d-bag here and not them.

To say anything but "it's all about numbers" would be wrong. It is all about numbers.

Softs can give you a boost though, make sure your application exudes very positive things about you (this is not at all limited to listing a dozen extracurricular activities while in undergrad and participation in honors societies) and you'll see good outcomes.

When, for example, you are soundly within a schools GPA50-75 and soundly within a school's LSAT 25-50, soft factors will come into play.

[jone7007]

I did the Peace Corps before I even considered going to law school because I wanted to volunteer and live over seas. I will probably again later in life regardless of if I have a J.D. Today, though I got curious because most schools give out fee waivers for at least the TFA and Peace Corps above. But, the more time I'm on TLS I really doubt my Peace Corps or frankly any "softs" matter beyond saving application fees.

Maybe I've been told to RETAKE one too many times. I was also a little annoyed today because an admin staff member implied that Peace Corps wasn't as good as Teach for America.

[John_rizzy_rawls]

I did the Peace Corps before I even considered going to law school because I wanted to volunteer and live over seas. I will probably again later in life regardless of if I have a J.D. Today, though I got curious because most schools give out fee waivers for at least the TFA and Peace Corps above. But, the more time I'm on TLS I really doubt my Peace Corps or frankly any "softs" matter beyond saving application fees.

Maybe I've been told to RETAKE one too many times.

Okay so you actually served. That's pretty legit.

I mean... if you're exactly tied with another applicant in numbers, this could tip the scales in your favor but yeah not much beyond that. The schools that actually care about softs are Berkeley, Stanford, and Yale. Harvard to a lesser extent. But you're out at all of those with your GPA/LSAT combo.

Either way, kudos on the Peace Corps service.

[eav1277]

I think a boost might also come out a killer PS (if you had any "life changing" experiences).

Anyways, where you'd serve? Was it as meaningful as you expected? I actually don't know anyone who has done the peace corps.

Also it seems like there are more former TFA alums than PeaceCorps alums on TLS (or at least the TFA ones talk about it more).

[senorhosh]

I did the Peace Corps before I even considered going to law school because I wanted to volunteer and live over seas. I will probably again later in life regardless of if I have a J.D. Today, though I got curious because most schools give out fee waivers for at least the TFA and Peace Corps above. But, the more time I'm on TLS I really doubt my Peace Corps or frankly any "softs" matter beyond saving application fees.

Maybe I've been told to RETAKE one too many times. I was also a little annoyed today because an admin staff member implied that Peace Corps wasn't as good as Teach for America.

Don't take too many of these comments to heart. The reason why TLS hates these types of questions is because there are so many people out there who are serving mainly for the benefit of law school admissions (which is a horrible idea for multiple reasons).

Seems like you were genuine in your service.
I really do think your Peace Corps will help you, but probably only if you are borderline. Combine that with an outstanding personal statement, you might even break some barriers and have an amazing cycle.

Def. will not get you Harvard (unless you're URM, and even then, that sub 3.0 GPA is pretty damaging). However, it might be a soft that can get you into your reach schools.

[cinephile]

TFA might be seen as more prestigious because they already pre-screen for prestige, like they seriously care about your grades and where you went to school whereas Peace Corps maybe cares about you as a person and what kind of impact you want to make on the world.

[A. Nony Mouse]

TFA might be seen as more prestigious because they already pre-screen for prestige, like they seriously care about your grades and where you went to school whereas Peace Corps maybe cares about you as a person and what kind of impact you want to make on the world.

However, there are also a lot of criticisms out there of the TFA model that I've never seen leveled at the Peace Corps. So I think it depends on who's looking at them.

[cinephile]

TFA might be seen as more prestigious because they already pre-screen for prestige, like they seriously care about your grades and where you went to school whereas Peace Corps maybe cares about you as a person and what kind of impact you want to make on the world.

However, there are also a lot of criticisms out there of the TFA model that I've never seen leveled at the Peace Corps. So I think it depends on who's looking at them.

This is true. But what I meant was if you had the stats to get into TFA, then that puts you in a better position for law school anyway because you're already a HYP 4.0 student.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

It has been said that some schools reserve spots for TFA students. E.g. x school saves y seats for TFA alums. I do not know if this is actually true, but I imagine a phone call to a few schools would be useful. I do know that PhD programs reserve spots for TFAers.

But I must say, asking the question of this vs. that vs. that is indicative that you shouldn't do the first two. TFA and Peace Corps will be hell if you are not entering it with an honest heart. I say that from the perspective of a S/O of a current TFAer. Shit is fucking crazy.

[mermaid9052]

Currently serving as a Fulbright Scholar ...

I applied last admission cycle ... last year I was accepted at NYU, Waitlisted at Columbia and Rejected at Harvard (with only a one month review haha) ...

This year I was again accepted at NYU, Waitlisted with Columbia ... and now held with Harvard (after a 4 month review)

So really the only change was maybe a little more consideration by Harvard? but nothing substantial enough to give me an acceptance ... i mean, my fingers are still crossed maybe some miracle will happen and that will change ... but well see!!!
So those are the overall law school results of my experience ...

BUT that being said ... A program like TFA Fulbright or PC are SO much more than an admissions boost ... I would recommend this experience to anyone, because it truly makes you view life differently ... it is also a HUGE commitment .. especially if it is not something you are extremely passionate about ... If you have a genuine enthusiasm for public service then go for it ... the name recognition of these awards are far more glamorous than the real experience ... the real thing includes some difficult sacrifices and strong will power ... but overall this has been one of the most eye-opening and defining experiences in my life ... and I definitely think I am going to be a much stronger student going into law school next year than if I had not taken Fulbright .. It has helped me more clearly define my views on international law, public policy, and overall has tested my character and ambitions.

Hope this helps ... let me know if you have any questions about Fulbright or anything else!