Defer for Peace Corps? Forum

[Sacred Cow]

3.6/175, going into my senior year of UG. I want to do Peace Corps before law school. I was thinking of applying for both this fall and then deferring law school for two years, but I'm worried about screwing myself out of $$$ and possibly acceptances (if PC was seen as a strong soft, maybe? Mine are pretty weak at the moment). Is deferring like ED in that regard, where you lose negotiation leverage? Would it be better to apply when I come back?

Also, any thoughts on PC are appreciated, especially from former PC members.

[pcthenls]

I applied to law school and Peace Corps the same year and thought about deferring for two years, but ultimately chose not to. If I had, I would have cheated myself out of way better admissions outcomes and merit aid. Granted I applied in the 2010-2011 cycle and now in the 2013-2014 cycle, so my situation could be different, but I definitely received a huge bump in acceptances and financial aid post Peace Corps. Obviously the drop in applications probably did not hurt either.

Beyond this reasoning, the Peace Corps will change you and likely affect your interests. At the same time, you will learn so much about yourself, not only by dealing with the challenges innate in PC life, but also just being an independent young twenty-something who is no longer bound by the institution of college.

You may find that after Peace Corps, you do not see yourself practicing law. Or, you may end up extending for longer than two years, finding a cool NGO job in your host country, falling in love, wanting to move somewhere other than where school X that is holding on to your deposit is located, or any number of things that could alter your course.

When I left Peace Corps, I did not really think I could see myself practicing law. Then I worked for a public interest law firm and found out that I really had an interest in pursuing a specific kind of legal job. Luckily, my time in Peace Corps also taught me a thing or two about my strengths and weaknesses and also provided me with valuable language skills that I use in my legal job now and hope to continue using.

If you have any questions, PM me. Regardless, Peace Corps over law school was the best decision I made as a young twenty-something. However, this choice is not for everyone, and you need to evaluate your desire to pursue Peace Corps service.

Good luck with your decision!

[Ti Malice]

Apply later.

[nagy1]

+1
better to apply when you're about to finish Peace Corps or a few months out. I would definitely do PC first and then see where you're at. You'll find that doing Peace Corps opens alot of doors for you, especially grad school wise. Check out the PC Coverdell Fellows program. I wouldn't tie your self down by applying now and deferring. Also my friends who did LS right after PC all told me they wished they had taken some time off after completing their service. Actually that was true of all the RPCVs I know who went straight to grad school.

[BlackCanary]

I'm struggling with this myself. Leaving soon & I come back at the end of an application cycle.

[thequigley]

3.6/175, going into my senior year of UG. I want to do Peace Corps before law school. I was thinking of applying for both this fall and then deferring law school for two years, but I'm worried about screwing myself out of $$$ and possibly acceptances (if PC was seen as a strong soft, maybe? Mine are pretty weak at the moment). Is deferring like ED in that regard, where you lose negotiation leverage? Would it be better to apply when I come back?

Also, any thoughts on PC are appreciated, especially from former PC members.

I tend to agree with what everyone has said if your heart is completely set on the Peace Corps, but there is no reason not to apply to law school and the corps this year. It will give you options. That being said, you may get some very lucrative offers with your stats, and skip out on the peace corps all together. If you aren't willing to do that, maybe just put your head down, do your time, and then apply.

[SPerez]

Not to mention, if you're like seemingly half the PC applicants I see, you will find your future husband/wife while on your assignment.

Because lost has been the lesson of Keanu and Sandra in Speed: Relationships based on stressful situations do not last.

[JamMasterJ]

If you get your GPA up to 3.7, applying later is way better since you'll have a shot at harvard