Law school from undergrad Forum

[Lawdood]

Hey guys,

Does applying to Law school directly from undegrad decrease chance of admission (HYS/T6) due to not having a complete transcript?
If you apply during September/October of your senior year, there will be 2 full semesters of grades missing.

I know that this may be a stupid question but I would really appreciate some answers.

Thanks

[swampman]

No. Though it may hurt you slightly in that you don't have work experience, which some schools are starting to care more about.

[KMart]

No. Though it may hurt you slightly in that you don't have work experience, which some schools are starting to care more about.

+1.

As your first semester grades come in you update the school with a new transcript and before starting school you give them a completed transcript. Generally after 3 years of grades your trend will continue and the GPA won't change much.

[Lawdood]

No. Though it may hurt you slightly in that you don't have work experience, which some schools are starting to care more about.

Would having 2 to 3 internships help?

[Lawdood]

No. Though it may hurt you slightly in that you don't have work experience, which some schools are starting to care more about.

+1.

As your first semester grades come in you update the school with a new transcript and before starting school you give them a completed transcript. Generally after 3 years of grades your trend will continue and the GPA won't change much.

My issue is that my degree is only 3 years, so they'll only have 4 semester to judge (until I send my final 2 semester grades)

[KMart]

No. Though it may hurt you slightly in that you don't have work experience, which some schools are starting to care more about.

Would having 2 to 3 internships help?

It's better than having none and I used my 1 job during UG in a law firm as a, "hey I have some experience (as much as I could get in UG)". I think that helped me.

[KMart]

No. Though it may hurt you slightly in that you don't have work experience, which some schools are starting to care more about.

+1.

As your first semester grades come in you update the school with a new transcript and before starting school you give them a completed transcript. Generally after 3 years of grades your trend will continue and the GPA won't change much.

My issue is that my degree is only 3 years, so they'll only have 4 semester to judge (until I send my final 2 semester grades)

Graduating a year early hurts you in terms of OCI because you're younger than a lot of people. Simply because you'll be a year younger you may want to think about postponing law school for a year. It'll help in admissions and will help you in interviews. That being said it is only a year, but I'd worry about being, quite possibly, the youngest person going through OCI.

[Lawdood]

No. Though it may hurt you slightly in that you don't have work experience, which some schools are starting to care more about.

+1.

As your first semester grades come in you update the school with a new transcript and before starting school you give them a completed transcript. Generally after 3 years of grades your trend will continue and the GPA won't change much.

My issue is that my degree is only 3 years, so they'll only have 4 semester to judge (until I send my final 2 semester grades)

Graduating a year early hurts you in terms of OCI because you're younger than a lot of people. Simply because you'll be a year younger you may want to think about postponing law school for a year. It'll help in admissions and will help you in interviews. That being said it is only a year, but I'd worry about being, quite possibly, the youngest person going through OCI.

I'm not sure what "OCI" means because i'm new to the forums. However, I took a gap year prior to starting college, so I would be 22-23 when starting Law school.

BTW, why does age matter?

[KMart]

I'm not sure what "OCI" means because i'm new to the forums. However, I took a gap year prior to starting college, so I would be 22-23 when starting Law school.

BTW, why does age matter?

OCI - on campus interviews. It's how you find your job for the second summer and, hopefully and ideally, career. Age matters to the extent they don't want someone who is 13 and immature. Obviously going to law school at 13 shows your brilliant, but the kid is at risk simply because a 13 year old can't connect with others in the profession who are quite a bit older. Exaggerated example, but you get the point.

A gap year alleviates the age discrepancy, you'll be alright OP.

[Lawdood]

I'm not sure what "OCI" means because i'm new to the forums. However, I took a gap year prior to starting college, so I would be 22-23 when starting Law school.

BTW, why does age matter?

OCI - on campus interviews. It's how you find your job for the second summer and, hopefully and ideally, career. Age matters to the extent they don't want someone who is 13 and immature. Obviously going to law school at 13 shows your brilliant, but the kid is at risk simply because a 13 year old can't connect with others in the profession who are quite a bit older. Exaggerated example, but you get the point.

A gap year alleviates the age discrepancy, you'll be alright OP.

Thanks!

I'm creating a list of all the jargon I see on TLS.

[KMart]

Thanks!

I'm creating a list of all the jargon I see on TLS.

If I remember correctly, I think there's a thread somewhere filled with the acronyms people use.

[Mack.Hambleton]

KJD has been very bad for HYS admissions recently

CCN don't give a shit they'll take you if they have the numbers

[PrezRand]

KJD has been very bad for HYS admissions recently

CCN don't give a shit they'll take you if they have the numbers

What about the other T14s and schools outside the T14 like Texas? Also, do you know why KJD has had problems?

[Indifference]

Tippy top law schools want sure bets, or as sure as they can get them. They want people they know will do well, and have proven themselves in the real world. All things equal, why go for someone with no experience over someone with experience?

Of course, they will still drop a little lower on the experience bar for high LSAT scores, because US News... That's probably definitely why I got in where I got in. Even then, objectively, my cycle for my numbers wasn't great. With work experience I would likely have been looking at full rides in the T14. Subjectively I'm going where I want, so I don't care.

ETA: K-JD here.

[littlepuff]

.

[Indifference]

Gonna go out on a limb and say your 177 4.0 + had more to do with it . OP, it is doable, just a steeper hill to climb.

Edit to remove quote. My bad.

[Lawdood]

Hey!

I applied during my junior year with only two years of grades and was accepted to HYS.
More info on http://lawschoolnumbers.com/free_airplane_earbud

I was quite worried during my application cycle as well. My impression as of now is that being "super" K-JD will be disadvantageous--maybe equal to sth like -2 LSAT points (completely arbitrary lol). Good luck!

ETA: please don't quote

ETA2: I think my cycle was successful partly because I tried to take the toughest courses at school so as to compensate for graduating early.

Gonna go out on a limb and say your 177 4.0 + had more to do with it . OP, it is doable, just a steeper hill to climb.

It may have been his 4.0+ from an ivy or his 177 lol

How much harder is it though to get into, say, HLS? What should I add/do to my application to make it more attractive to the admissions office?
Would an admissions consultant help?

[KMart]

By any chance can you get a thesis published?

[deant286]

.

[sims1]

Your lack of a final transcript can actually hurt you. If you apply early and your grades go up a lot in your final year, the adcom won't get to evaluate your final transcript until later in the cycle (and the class is almost full). Nothing you can do about it but forward your grades in ASAP.

[UpandDown97]

.

[Mack.Hambleton]

By any chance can you get a thesis published?

Just happened to come across this thread and read this, but how much bearing does completing a thesis during undergrad have on law school admissions? How about co-authoring a publication in an academic journal? Are these two the sort of softs that actually can give you an edge? I always assumed not, but now that you are posing this question to OP my curiosity has been piqued.

Average soft at best. They're required in a lot of programs so you're not really going to stick out much imo

[gnomgnomuch]

Hey guys,

Does applying to Law school directly from undegrad decrease chance of admission (HYS/T6) due to not having a complete transcript?
If you apply during September/October of your senior year, there will be 2 full semesters of grades missing.

I know that this may be a stupid question but I would really appreciate some answers.

Thanks

It depends on your GPA as it stands. If I had went to law school KJD, I'd have applied with a 3.7, instead, when I do apply, Ill be applying with a 3.77, which will put me at median or close to median at almost every t-14. If you're sitting with a 3.8+ I wouldn't worry about it much, though I'd argue that taking a year or two and working would be heavily beneficial - not admissions wise, but just for you personally. Internships are great, but they barely make a dent as softs unless you did something crazy like work for a major IO and run your own project - and even here, having that internship would probably not help you overcome your numbers, whatever they may be.

[stego]

I'm not sure what "OCI" means because i'm new to the forums. However, I took a gap year prior to starting college, so I would be 22-23 when starting Law school.

BTW, why does age matter?

OCI - on campus interviews. It's how you find your job for the second summer and, hopefully and ideally, career. Age matters to the extent they don't want someone who is 13 and immature. Obviously going to law school at 13 shows your brilliant, but the kid is at risk simply because a 13 year old can't connect with others in the profession who are quite a bit older. Exaggerated example, but you get the point.

A gap year alleviates the age discrepancy, you'll be alright OP.

Isn't OCI only for large firm hiring? Like, if you wanted to work for a DA's office or a public defender's office the process would be totally different.
When is OCI, by the way? Is it fall semester of 2L year?

[Indifference]

By any chance can you get a thesis published?

Just happened to come across this thread and read this, but how much bearing does completing a thesis during undergrad have on law school admissions? How about co-authoring a publication in an academic journal? Are these two the sort of softs that actually can give you an edge? I always assumed not, but now that you are posing this question to OP my curiosity has been piqued.

Average soft at best. They're required in a lot of programs so you're not really going to stick out much imo

+1. Most important thing is the LSAT and grades. Hopefully you already have the good grades. Either way, kill the LSAT. If you had unique softs you would know. If you have to think about it , or rationalize/justify why it makes you special, it probably isn't special.

But get the right LSAT and GPA combo, and most schools don't really give a shit about the other stuff (YS excluded).