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Hey guys, just wanted some advice on my situation. Currently, I work for an ivy league top 3 business school in a lower administrative role (1.5 yrs). I was just offered a position as a corporate paralegal for a practice in my city that pays more with full benefits. The problem is that I was going to go ahead and apply this upcoming fall to law school but the practice would like a 2 year commitment from me. Should I go ahead and apply anyway or wait until fall of 2015 to apply? Will working as a corporate paralegal be that much of a positive soft to wait another year? Or should I just say screw you to the firm and apply then resign next summer? No matter what, I want to move on from my current position to the firm. Focusing on Northwestern, what kind of experience would qualify as good work experience and would the corporate paralegal job qualify as that? I have a 2.9 gpa with a 172 lsat. I am 3 years out from my undergraduate, will another 2 years distance me a little from my low gpa?

Being a corporate paralegal is not really considered an outstanding soft. And there's no real way to "distance" yourself from your GPA. Once your cycle comes around, that number will be one of the first things adcomms see (and care about).

Wouldn't the paralegal job be good for hiring though, regardless of school you attend?

For NU specifically, having experience as a paralegal will benefit your application. I'm not so sure about the rest of the T14. Apply/Take the job and if you get a good offer for school the following year, just leave. It happens all the time.

That would be good for NU. I knew some people from college who were accepted with much less. Based on the WE I have heard of from other people and NU's tendency to give out conditional full rides to K-JDs if they gain some sort of WE for a year after college, I think NU's WE requirement is more of a "did something after college that wasn't school" rather than working at MBB or an I-Bank.

172/2.9 isn't a sure bet at NU but its very much in play. You already have 1.5 years of WE (you'll have closer to 3 when you matriculate which is what they'll consider), and that should be sufficient. Like Chrstgtr said

I think NU's WE requirement is more of a "did something after college that wasn't school" rather than working at MBB or an I-Bank.

I'd say you already have a very good shot at NU so if you are considering this job for the sole purpose of increasing your chances of admissions it might not be worth it.

I am just a 0L so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. However, even if that paralegal position will give you diminished returns in terms of an admissions boost, wouldn't having the experience be great for a legal employment boost? Plus, there are networking opportunities that may even help you land a job after you graduate.

It seems like the admissions boost may be negligible but the other benefits might not be.

WaltGrace83 wrote:I am just a 0L so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. However, even if that paralegal position will give you diminished returns in terms of an admissions boost, wouldn't having the experience be great for a legal employment boost? Plus, there are networking opportunities that may even help you land a job after you graduate.

It seems like the admissions boost may be negligible but the other benefits might not be.

I understand how you would think this way, but unfortunately this isn't really how it works. Work experience generally is good, but tacking a year as a paralegal won't make much difference come OCI unless you're an all star

jbagelboy wrote:

WaltGrace83 wrote:I am just a 0L so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. However, even if that paralegal position will give you diminished returns in terms of an admissions boost, wouldn't having the experience be great for a legal employment boost? Plus, there are networking opportunities that may even help you land a job after you graduate.

It seems like the admissions boost may be negligible but the other benefits might not be.

I understand how you would think this way, but unfortunately this isn't really how it works. Work experience generally is good, but tacking a year as a paralegal won't make much difference come OCI unless you're an all star

Also there could be some negative OCI response given that you are going to be screwing over the firm and that firm might well remember you or you might have another firm realize that you left them early.

Maybe I should stay 2 years and try for a higher LSAT? Do you guys think that'll increase my chances? I don't mind taking my time and saving more money.

There isn't much to be gained from either retaking or working in this particular job.