jmail wrote:What can a person do while in High School in order to become a stronger candidate Admission wise?
Besides good GPA, of course...
Thank you in advance.
This post isn't to make you a stronger candidate, but as a former debater in high school and a former high school mock trial coach, this is what I normally tell high school kids:
1. If you're interested, explore the legal profession if possible. Where I live, there are all sorts of vocational programs for high schoolers; legal is one of them. This program is actually amazing. The kids get to intern with a judge, ride with police personnel, work with alcohol enforcement agents, visit customs officials (even riding in helicopters), sit in with 911 operators, intern with lawyers, et cetera. A few kids love it. Some decide it's not for them. And some like other professions that were related (such as social works). Then the city also has stuff like teen court where the teens actually hand out real sentences for minor traffic violations. If your city doesn't have any of these programs, try to see if you can find some way to get exposed to the legal or legal-related profession.
2. Join high school debate team or mock trial team or something of the sort. If your high school doesn't have one, then start one. A friend of mine's daughter started a mock trial team and I helped out. Everyone had a blast. About half weren't going to be lawyers and got dragged into the team by their boyfriends, girlfriends, or friends. They were all happy in the end. Didn't win a darn thing but it was a lot of fun.
3. Read a lot, preferably something harder than Harry Potter. Will help even if you're not going into law.
4. Go out and talk to people. Will also help even if you're not going into law. And if you're going into law, it will definitely help you. You can get a lot of friendly and free advice and tips from more experienced lawyers. If you practice at a local level like me, you'll be attending various bar committee meetings, bar events, et cetera so you're going to have to talk people.
So anyway, these are some things you can do as a high school student. I'm sure there are more. Many of the activities mentioned above will take some of your time, but won't consume you (though it could if you let it or want it). The girl who started the mock trial team was a high school cheerleader, a member of the cross-country team, and did a bunch of stuff throughout high school. She is now a junior in college and still has law school as her #1 choice after undergrad.