Current College Sophomore: How To Plan for T14? Forum

[fourwinds]

I am currently a sophomore at New College of Florida majoring in economics and minoring in finance. I will graduate in May 2018, and I'm looking to go to law school immediately after. I'm interested in corporate/finance/tax law, and I'm shooting for T14 law schools so I can be in a competitive biglaw market, like NYC. I'd be willing to attend a public school in my state (such as University of Florida), but only if it were practically free and only if it were my only option. I don't really like Florida, and I don't want to practice here. Attending University of Florida would pretty much force me to get my first law job in this state.

Here's my main question: what makes candidates stand out to T14 law schools? I know that they care heavily about LSAT scores and GPAs. What else do they care about? I will be the teaching assistant for Intermediate Macroeconomics next semester; don't know if they'd care at all about that. I plan on studying for and passing the tests to become an IRS enrolled agent within the next year. I will also be taking an LSAT prep course soon to get a head start on getting a stellar LSAT score.

Is there anything else that I should be focusing on this early to prepare to get into a top law school? I know that my school is pretty good at getting people into good law schools. We're on some list for being the #2 feeder school into elite programs. I've met two graduating seniors that are going to law school next year, one of them to UPenn and the other to Notre Dame.

[TheSpanishMain]

Don't go straight from undergrad to law school. Plan to work for 2-3 years at least.

Get your GPA as high as possible.

[fourwinds]

I need to go to law school directly after undergrad for a few reasons. Plenty of students from my college get into elite law schools directly out of college, so it's doable. Somebody got into UPenn this year. We usually send at least 2-3 students to an Ivy League every year. Considering our graduating class is only ~100 students that's pretty impressive. It's a small liberal arts college. But yeah, working after my undergrad isn't really in the plans.

[raven1231]

Get a solid gpa and do good on the LSAT. If you're not wanting to get work experiences then that's really it. You can also work on trying to polish your softs.

[fourwinds]

I also wrote and published a book earlier this year. It's for sale on Amazon and other retailers. Not sure if they'll find that impressive or not. It's a nonfiction book written to high school students. It's a guide to college admissions, college selection, financial aid, etc.

[gerrydawg]

I also wrote and published a book earlier this year. It's for sale on Amazon and other retailers. Not sure if they'll find that impressive or not. It's a nonfiction book written to high school students. It's a guide to college admissions, college selection, financial aid, etc.

I'm sure they'll find it impressive, but remember that at T14s (at least the one I go to), literally everyone here has something super impressive on their resume. Sure, some are kids who just had really high GPAs and LSATs, but a lot of students have at least some distinguishing factor.

That being said- take time off. Law school is a totally different beast than undergrad. Make sure you know you want to do it. It's a professional school, not an extension of your liberal arts education.

[TheSpanishMain]

I need to go to law school directly after undergrad for a few reasons. Plenty of students from my college get into elite law schools directly out of college, so it's doable. Somebody got into UPenn this year. We usually send at least 2-3 students to an Ivy League every year. Considering our graduating class is only ~100 students that's pretty impressive. It's a small liberal arts college. But yeah, working after my undergrad isn't really in the plans.

I don't doubt you're smart and I'm sure your undergrad is great, but you're missing the point. It's not about getting into an elite law school. It's about maturing as an adult, making sure you really want to be a lawyer, and getting some professional credibility on your resume. Most of your future T14 peers will have some form of professional work experience.

What are the reasons, just out of curiosity?

[pppp]

There's no such thing as a feeder school to elite law programs. The law schools you're applying to won't care at all that you went to new college. It's all about your gpa and LSAT. Publishing a book is a nice enough soft that it should enhance your resume, but just as a tiebreaker basically. Not as nice a soft as 2 years work experience in finance which would really help you down the road with firm hiring also; that's why people suggested it.

[LandMermaid]

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[LandMermaid]

[quote="fourwinds"]I need to go to law school directly after undergrad for a few reasons. Plenty of students from my college get into elite law schools directly out of college, so it's doable. Somebody got into UPenn this year. We usually send at least 2-3 students to an Ivy League every year. Considering our graduating class is only ~100 students that's pretty impressive. It's a small liberal arts college. But yeah, working after my undergrad isn't really in the plans.

Why? (No one is saying it isn't possible... we are saying there are some really, really compelling reasons not to. You are a college sophomore, if it's smart to change "the plans," you should)

[Mikey]

Just because other students in your school are going straight to law school doesn't mean you have to do the same. Those students who got into good schools did it on their own. The school someone goes to literally has little to no impact on admissions. Many people are K-JD, but usually there's not a legit reason for their NEED to go right after college, they just do it because they want to. What's your reason?

If you do intend on going straight through though, keep that GPA up and if you intend to take the LSAT next year in June then start studying around the beginning of your junior year, or around the middle but that's totally up to you and your diagnostic. If not in June, then take it in October obviously so that way you can still apply early.

[RZ5646]

I need to go to law school directly after undergrad for a few reasons. Plenty of students from my college get into elite law schools directly out of college, so it's doable. Somebody got into UPenn this year. We usually send at least 2-3 students to an Ivy League every year. Considering our graduating class is only ~100 students that's pretty impressive. It's a small liberal arts college. But yeah, working after my undergrad isn't really in the plans.

If your stats are good enough, you can go to a T14 without work experience, but that doesn't mean that you should. Time off is valuable for a number of personal and professional reasons, so you should seriously consider it. At the very least, make yourself employable with a good major and/or internships so you'll actually have a choice and not be forced into going to law school immediately.

FWIW, I used to think I'd go to law school right after college, but after being accepted to my dream school as a K-JD I decided to defer for a couple years to gain work experience and save money.

[TheGoat18]

No one cares about your softs. Graduate with the highest GPA possible and take your LSAT until you score over 170. Work experience is really helpful for employment, but I guess I understand if you wanna go K-JD. Don't worry about extracurriculars. It sounds like you have enough impressive sounding bullshit to fill a resume, which is all you need. It's GPA + LSAT for 99% of applicants. If you are an Olympic gold medalist, that will help. If you have literally nothing to put on your resume, that will hurt. You are in the middle of these two goalposts, and so it doesn't matter. And for the love of god, use all your retakes on the LSAT. If you are practice testing in the 170's, get a 164 on test day, and get into Vanderbilt or something, don't convince yourself that that is good enough. Retake the test.

Getting into a top school is really not hard if you have any test taking aptitude at all and a GPA above 3. Just remember 95% of your application is two numbers, and while special snowflakes do exist in the world of law school admissions, you aren't one of them. You'll be fine

[seagan823]

I am currently a sophomore at New College of Florida majoring in economics and minoring in finance. I will graduate in May 2018, and I'm looking to go to law school immediately after. I'm interested in corporate/finance/tax law, and I'm shooting for T14 law schools so I can be in a competitive biglaw market, like NYC. I'd be willing to attend a public school in my state (such as University of Florida), but only if it were practically free and only if it were my only option. I don't really like Florida, and I don't want to practice here. Attending University of Florida would pretty much force me to get my first law job in this state.

Here's my main question: what makes candidates stand out to T14 law schools? I know that they care heavily about LSAT scores and GPAs. What else do they care about? I will be the teaching assistant for Intermediate Macroeconomics next semester; don't know if they'd care at all about that. I plan on studying for and passing the tests to become an IRS enrolled agent within the next year. I will also be taking an LSAT prep course soon to get a head start on getting a stellar LSAT score.

Is there anything else that I should be focusing on this early to prepare to get into a top law school? I know that my school is pretty good at getting people into good law schools. We're on some list for being the #2 feeder school into elite programs. I've met two graduating seniors that are going to law school next year, one of them to UPenn and the other to Notre Dame.

You should see if there is an corporate/finance/tax lawyers in your alumni/friends/family network and talk to them about their jobs. Talk to as many people about what it is like to be a lawyer in the practice area you are interested in. Do that while getting the highest GPA you possibly can. Then if you still want to go to law school you will be in the best possible position to take the LSAT and go.

[KissMyAxe]

Post Deleted

[SFSpartan]

Get excellent grades. Get an excellent LSAT score. Period, end of story.

Also, would seriously urge you to consider (as TSM has) taking a couple years off of school. People seriously underestimate the benefit of having a multi-year gap, and going out into the world really does make you a more interesting person (Disclaimer: I didn't have a multi-year gap, but I worked full time through undergrad. Also, if I could do it over again, I would have stayed out longer despite being very pleased with my current outcome). It also prepares you to do "real work", which will come in handy if you want biglaw.

In any event, stop thinking about LS, do well in school, and have experiences that will make you an interesting person.

[pterodactyls]

Get excellent grades. Get an excellent LSAT score. Period, end of story.

This.

It's never too early to start studying for the LSAT, especially if you have some free time during your summers. I wish I had started studying earlier so I could take my time.