Law School Straight After undergrad? Forum

ac8876a · Post by **ac8876a** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:07 pm

If i want to attend law school straight out of undergrad, will my law school applications be looked down upon?
Even if I have had multiple internships for at least four months?

shump92 · Post by **shump92** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:11 pm

Not really. A good GPA/LSAT with your internships reflects well on your maturity. As long as your essays are good, I don't think KJD will be a detriment.

pittsburghpirates · Post by **pittsburghpirates** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:15 pm

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ac8876a · Post by **ac8876a** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:36 pm

Thanks for the replies, really appreciated!

malleus discentium · Post by **malleus discentium** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:44 pm

I disagree. KJDs tend to fare at least marginally worse in admissions, but good numbers often overcome it. The real trouble you will face is OCI. KJDs still obviously get jobs, but they face a little more resistance than those with WE.

Ron Howard · Post by **Ron Howard** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:54 am

Non-KJDs do have a bit of advantage in admissions over non-KJDs. But much of this advantage is not due to the fact that one is not a KJD. Instead, it is, in part, the result of greater maturity, greater insight in personal statement, etc., which derive from, or are at least highly correlated with, being a non-KJD. To the extent that a given KJD applicant can close the gap with the factors, they will likely have an admissions cycle that more closely resembles that of a non-KJD. Thus, if you have a solid resume, can come across as mature in your application, and can write an insightful personal statement, you can greatly, perhaps totally, mitigate any advantage that the average non-KJD has over you.

mbesux · Post by **mbesux** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 1:26 am

Honestly I think you are better off rolling straight in. Why waste those extra years of your life?

source: guy who wasted those extra years of his life

IMHO

krads153 · Post by **krads153** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:23 am

mbesux wrote:Honestly I think you are better off rolling straight in. Why waste those extra years of your life?

source: guy who wasted those extra years of his life

IMHO

To figure out if you really want to do law. I don't think enough people take time out to work as a paralegal, etc. to figure out if this is what they really want to do.

Law school will always be there. I'd take a couple of years to work and see if law is really something you want to do.

Generally · Post by **Generally** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:27 am

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TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:32 am

mbesux wrote:Honestly I think you are better off rolling straight in. Why waste those extra years of your life?

source: guy who wasted those extra years of his life

IMHO

Sure, if you waste those years. There are a million things people do between undergrad and law school that aren't wasteful: build a resume, see the world, find out if you're actually interested in law, etc.

benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:35 am

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shump92 · Post by **shump92** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:47 am

benwyatt wrote:
TheSpanishMain wrote:
mbesux wrote:Honestly I think you are better off rolling straight in. Why waste those extra years of your life?

source: guy who wasted those extra years of his life

IMHO
Sure, if you waste those years. There are a million things people do between undergrad and law school that aren't wasteful: build a resume, see the world, find out if you're actually interested in law, etc.
+1.
I'm at the beginning of my second year off and as ready as I am to get started next fall, I'm glad I took the time to have a bit of a life.

+2 Even having just a year or so as a break from school can be refreshing. It gives you the flexibility to not be worried about applications during senior year and gives you a chance to be removed from the stressful environment that is college. But OP, you know yourself well. If you are sure that you do not need a break then feel free to begin your path into a legal career.

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:53 am

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benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:07 pm

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Mack.Hambleton · Post by **Mack.Hambleton** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:33 pm

Yes, it hurts for admissions, OCI, and life in general.

adil91 · Post by **adil91** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 4:51 pm

Mack.Hambleton wrote:Yes, it hurts for OCI.

How do you know this since you're not even in law school yet? There have been a couple of Big Law recruiters on here that have said that good work experience is a small positive but it doesn't hurt those who don't have it. OCI is pretty much about grades according to them. Anyways OP, if you have something that you find interesting and meaningful you want to do after college and before law school, go pursue it(if you have the means of course).

TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 5:04 pm

shump92 wrote:It gives you the flexibility to not be worried about applications during senior year and gives you a chance to be removed from the stressful environment that is college.

You better be a hard science major at MIT or a West Point cadet, otherwise LOL at "the stressful environment that is college."

salander · Post by **salander** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 6:19 pm

TheSpanishMain wrote:
shump92 wrote:It gives you the flexibility to not be worried about applications during senior year and gives you a chance to be removed from the stressful environment that is college.
You better be a hard science major at MIT or a West Point cadet, otherwise LOL at "the stressful environment that is college."

There are lots of colleges other than MIT and West Point that are stressful.

shump92 · Post by **shump92** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 6:35 pm

TheSpanishMain wrote:
shump92 wrote:It gives you the flexibility to not be worried about applications during senior year and gives you a chance to be removed from the stressful environment that is college.
You better be a hard science major at MIT or a West Point cadet, otherwise LOL at "the stressful environment that is college."

This isn't true. Stressful environments depend on a lot of things. I had that during UG, so did my friends who fit into your first category, and my friends who would be in your second category had plenty of stress too. But I also had many friends who like me don't fit Into those categories who had plenty of stress. My statement was not said in a relative sense and it is accurate without fitting these binary criteria.

terrier27 · Post by **terrier27** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 6:44 pm

Mack.Hambleton · Post by **Mack.Hambleton** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:41 pm

adil91 wrote:
Mack.Hambleton wrote:Yes, it hurts for OCI.
How do you know this since you're not even in law school yet? There have been a couple of Big Law recruiters on here that have said that good work experience is a small positive but it doesn't hurt those who don't have it. OCI is pretty much about grades according to them. Anyways OP, if you have something that you find interesting and meaningful you want to do after college and before law school, go pursue it(if you have the means of course).

Ur right I forgot I had to wait a month before I could learn anything from the biglaw partners I know. Yes grades matter more, but you're automatically at a disadvantage versus the 70%+ of your class who do have work experience, which is not good if you're at a school where a significant portion of the class does not land biglaw/desirable jobs. Just look at any OCI thread, WE/KJD status is always a factor.

TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:00 pm

salander wrote:
TheSpanishMain wrote:
shump92 wrote:It gives you the flexibility to not be worried about applications during senior year and gives you a chance to be removed from the stressful environment that is college.
You better be a hard science major at MIT or a West Point cadet, otherwise LOL at "the stressful environment that is college."
There are lots of colleges other than MIT and West Point that are stressful.

shump92 wrote:
This isn't true. Stressful environments depend on a lot of things. I had that during UG, so did my friends who fit into your first category, and my friends who would be in your second category had plenty of stress too. But I also had many friends who like me don't fit Into those categories who had plenty of stress. My statement was not said in a relative sense and it is accurate without fitting these binary criteria.

No. That was a very serious, completely exhaustive list. I'll defend my binary criteria to the death.

rwhyAn · Post by **rwhyAn** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:18 pm

I think it's best to take a year or two off to get some experience, and it'll help you to realize the true value of a dollar. I know a few K-JDs who have racked up hundreds of thousands of debt because that debt might as well be Monopoly money to them. Many of them truly don't know how difficult it will be to pay that money back or how much it will affect their lives.

lavarman84 · Post by **lavarman84** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:41 pm

Mack.Hambleton wrote:
adil91 wrote:
Mack.Hambleton wrote:Yes, it hurts for OCI.
How do you know this since you're not even in law school yet? There have been a couple of Big Law recruiters on here that have said that good work experience is a small positive but it doesn't hurt those who don't have it. OCI is pretty much about grades according to them. Anyways OP, if you have something that you find interesting and meaningful you want to do after college and before law school, go pursue it(if you have the means of course).
Ur right I forgot I had to wait a month before I could learn anything from the biglaw partners I know. Yes grades matter more, but you're automatically at a disadvantage versus the 70%+ of your class who do have work experience, which is not good if you're at a school where a significant portion of the class does not land biglaw/desirable jobs. Just look at any OCI thread, WE/KJD status is always a factor.

This shouldn't surprise anyone. It's no surprise that people with a better resume have an advantage. That holds true most anywhere else.(at least with careers where you aren't considered overqualified)

But how big of a negative is the question? I don't expect it's a major one...unless you literally have no work experience.

lavarman84 · Post by **lavarman84** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:42 pm

TheSpanishMain wrote:
salander wrote:
TheSpanishMain wrote:
shump92 wrote:It gives you the flexibility to not be worried about applications during senior year and gives you a chance to be removed from the stressful environment that is college.
You better be a hard science major at MIT or a West Point cadet, otherwise LOL at "the stressful environment that is college."
There are lots of colleges other than MIT and West Point that are stressful.

shump92 wrote:
This isn't true. Stressful environments depend on a lot of things. I had that during UG, so did my friends who fit into your first category, and my friends who would be in your second category had plenty of stress too. But I also had many friends who like me don't fit Into those categories who had plenty of stress. My statement was not said in a relative sense and it is accurate without fitting these binary criteria.

No. That was a very serious, completely exhaustive list. I'll defend my binary criteria to the death.

FWIW, I agree with you. College was a lot of things. Stressful wasn't one of them. I miss undergrad.