Best Experience to get HYS/Columbia Hamilton/NYU full schol Forum

[rutgers17]

I'm wondering about the best internship/work experience for getting into the elite schools. My absolute ideal would be a Columbia Hamilton Scholarship, but I know how competitive these are. I'm just wondering what experience would put me in the best position.

I had a 3.97 undergrad GPA (Political Science & Journalism) from Rutgers New Brunswick. I'm currently getting my M.A. at Columbia Teachers College (Politics & Education). I'm also doing a summer program at Oxford (International Politics) if that means anything? I'm taking the June LSAT and if by some miracle I can break 175, I'm wondering which of my options you guys think would be best...

I currently work at a nonprofit that encourages citizen engagement among young people - this is mostly focused on developing campaigns on college campuses to get students talking about politics/voting. I'm also interning for a Senate campaign. So option 1 is to just continue what I'm doing.

My best friend's dad is a partner at a small firm. He is a real estate lawyer (something I have no interest in), but I could definitely get an internship with his firm in an area I'm more interested in. Do you guys think it would be worth it to take this on along with the stuff I'm already doing?

My last option would require me to relocate for an internship. My aunt is a DA in Boston. She worked for a judge for years and said she could get me an internship with that judge if I wanted it. This would require me to take a hiatus from my current job/internship (which I don't even know if I can do). But, if I can do it, would it be worth it to do like a month long internship this summer with the judge? Would this look a lot better than what I'm currently doing?

I have a lot of extracurriculars and stuff but none involving law directly. What do you guys think would be my best option to put me in contention for HYS or a full scholarship to one of the lower T14 schools (provided I kill my LSAT)?

Thanks!

[Ti Malice]

Just keep doing what you're doing now. None of those other options would add anything to your app, and both options actually sound substantially less interesting than your current work. What really matters is killing the LSAT.

[eerie_erie]

Agree with the person above me. Get 175+ on the LSAT.

[ManOfTheMinute]

You have enough softs - your current job is solid. It is now a matter of the LSAT. 180 or bust.

[rutgers17]

ok cool, this is the response i was hoping for.

i've just gotten into full swing with the LSAT prep so fingers crossed!

Thanks for the advice, guys!

[North]

With a 3.9 and your current softs, the only thing you need to be thinking about is the LSAT.