Interesting extracurriculars / sorts for clerkships? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Obviously this will depend heavily on the judge. But I've seen or heard about boosts from college athletics or backgrounds in classical music.

[throwawayt14]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Military experience, MBB consulting, elite IB/PE/VC experience, Rhodes/Marshall scholarships, Fulbrights with interesting research work, legitimate entrepreneurial experience, i.e., not I made an app no one ever used, college athletics, success in national competitions like the Spelling Bee, etc. I have seen all of these in my chambers.

Boiled down, it's anything that makes your resume stand out from someone who just got good grades and hasn't done anything else that makes them compelling. Or something that indicates the candidate has already gone through an intense selection process and succeeded.

[lavarman84]

It's an idiosyncratic process. Different judges care about different things. Just think about what makes you look interesting.

[Anonymous User]

Not exactly what you're asking, but this is why a phone call can come in handy. Helps get a good candidate (3.8 at NYU/CLS + LR) get pulled from the large pile of other NYU/CLS 3.8s + LR.

[Anonymous User]

Hard to make yourself distinctive if you weren’t already distinctive before you applied. Especially because ideally you’re elite in something distinctive versus just a participant. I don’t think any law school activities really move the needle in a predictable way. Just emphasize any points of differentiation.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Military experience, MBB consulting, elite IB/PE/VC experience, Rhodes/Marshall scholarships, Fulbrights with interesting research work, legitimate entrepreneurial experience, i.e., not I made an app no one ever used, college athletics, success in national competitions like the Spelling Bee, etc. I have seen all of these in my chambers.

Boiled down, it's anything that makes your resume stand out from someone who just got good grades and hasn't done anything else that makes them compelling. Or something that indicates the candidate has already gone through an intense selection process and succeeded.

This also varies hugely judge to judge. My judge would have yawned at "MBB consulting, elite IB/PE/VC experience" as what half of HYPS grads do (and there's a good chance many judges wouldn't even recognize the name of an elite PE firm), but would have been legitimately excited to meet a Spelling Bee champion.

[Letmein7]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Military experience, MBB consulting, elite IB/PE/VC experience, Rhodes/Marshall scholarships, Fulbrights with interesting research work, legitimate entrepreneurial experience, i.e., not I made an app no one ever used, college athletics, success in national competitions like the Spelling Bee, etc. I have seen all of these in my chambers.

Boiled down, it's anything that makes your resume stand out from someone who just got good grades and hasn't done anything else that makes them compelling. Or something that indicates the candidate has already gone through an intense selection process and succeeded.

This also varies hugely judge to judge. My judge would have yawned at "MBB consulting, elite IB/PE/VC experience" as what half of HYPS grads do (and there's a good chance many judges wouldn't even recognize the name of an elite PE firm), but would have been legitimately excited to meet a Spelling Bee champion.

Agreed something like spelling bee champion is a good one to stand out. I also think being a Moot Court finalist or winner would be a good one, especially if you did that while keeping your grades up.

By and far above the winner at least for one of my judges would be college athletics, especially college basketball. If you have that and the grades are above the bare minimum, it would have been your's to lose.

[Anonymous User]

one that hasn’t been mentioned is that former debaters are everywhere in lit—I heard Kannon mention in an interview once that he’s one of the few top SCOTUS advocates without a debate background.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

Agree with this. Something that makes you seem like a genuinely interesting person with things that you're passionate about.
To add to the running list, I would also say that a lot of judges appreciate extracurriculars or interests that reflect a working class upbringing or having worked through school. Usually it's easiest to bring that up in a cover letter or have someone else mention in a letter of rec, but if you have, say, experience working in agriculture or something, don't shy away from it on your resume.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

Obviously don't put something you aren't actually very proficient in, though. You can and will be asked about these. I once sat through an excruciating interview of an applicant who got caught by what was meant to have been a softball question about their alleged interest. It became apparent that they put it on their resume more because it sounded interesting than because they were passionate about it.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

But this is yet another "it depends." For every interest that actually grabbed our attention, we would get one (like "fountain pens" or "fine cigars") that just made us go "huh, that was strange."

Point is, with interests sections, it's a complete roulette barring something truly cool ("NYT bestselling author", etc.). Some judges think they're pointless, some like softball "cooking"-style interests to get a little sense of your personality, and "French pastry baking" runs about equal odds of piquing a common interest and sounding overly pretentious. You have no way to predict what you're going to get, so just follow your gut and make a resume that best fits your personality--90 percent of interview offers will come from grades/school/recs anyway.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

But this is yet another "it depends." For every interest that actually grabbed our attention, we would get one (like "fountain pens" or "fine cigars") that just made us go "huh, that was strange."

Point is, with interests sections, it's a complete roulette barring something truly cool ("NYT bestselling author", etc.). Some judges think they're pointless, some like softball "cooking"-style interests to get a little sense of your personality, and "French pastry baking" runs about equal odds of piquing a common interest and sounding overly pretentious. You have no way to predict what you're going to get, so just follow your gut and make a resume that best fits your personality--90 percent of interview offers will come from grades/school/recs anyway.

Yeah, I agree that you have no way of knowing how any given interest will land (says someone who loves fountain pens! Although I didn’t list it as an interest). So there’s no way to really identify “good” interests or to pick the “right” one for an application. It’s a little like people asking about softs for their law school apps the year before they apply - anything that’s picked up at that point for the purpose of an application isn’t going to move the needle. I agree that you should just be true to yourself and, going off another post above, put something you can talk about enthusiastically and authentically, and call it a day.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

But this is yet another "it depends." For every interest that actually grabbed our attention, we would get one (like "fountain pens" or "fine cigars") that just made us go "huh, that was strange."

Point is, with interests sections, it's a complete roulette barring something truly cool ("NYT bestselling author", etc.). Some judges think they're pointless, some like softball "cooking"-style interests to get a little sense of your personality, and "French pastry baking" runs about equal odds of piquing a common interest and sounding overly pretentious. You have no way to predict what you're going to get, so just follow your gut and make a resume that best fits your personality--90 percent of interview offers will come from grades/school/recs anyway.

Yeah, I agree that you have no way of knowing how any given interest will land (says someone who loves fountain pens! Although I didn’t list it as an interest). So there’s no way to really identify “good” interests or to pick the “right” one for an application. It’s a little like people asking about softs for their law school apps the year before they apply - anything that’s picked up at that point for the purpose of an application isn’t going to move the needle. I agree that you should just be true to yourself and, going off another post above, put something you can talk about enthusiastically and authentically, and call it a day.

I would put fountain pens and fine cigars in different categories. Fountain pens I really dont think for most people would be a red flag—I'm suprised it was for your chambers. Fine cigars is a huge red flag for me and makes the person sound like they are insufferable.

[Anonymous User]

I would be hesitant to list anything that comes off as preppy/old-money—very polarizing, the clerk who went to Exeter might like a crew enthusiast, the clerk from Wichita might trash it for that alone.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

But this is yet another "it depends." For every interest that actually grabbed our attention, we would get one (like "fountain pens" or "fine cigars") that just made us go "huh, that was strange."

Point is, with interests sections, it's a complete roulette barring something truly cool ("NYT bestselling author", etc.). Some judges think they're pointless, some like softball "cooking"-style interests to get a little sense of your personality, and "French pastry baking" runs about equal odds of piquing a common interest and sounding overly pretentious. You have no way to predict what you're going to get, so just follow your gut and make a resume that best fits your personality--90 percent of interview offers will come from grades/school/recs anyway.

Yeah, I agree that you have no way of knowing how any given interest will land (says someone who loves fountain pens! Although I didn’t list it as an interest). So there’s no way to really identify “good” interests or to pick the “right” one for an application. It’s a little like people asking about softs for their law school apps the year before they apply - anything that’s picked up at that point for the purpose of an application isn’t going to move the needle. I agree that you should just be true to yourself and, going off another post above, put something you can talk about enthusiastically and authentically, and call it a day.

I would put fountain pens and fine cigars in different categories. Fountain pens I really dont think for most people would be a red flag—I'm suprised it was for your chambers. Fine cigars is a huge red flag for me and makes the person sound like they are insufferable.

Not a red flag, we still interviewed that person actually, it's just that the reaction was "huh, she sounds weird" (and, confirmation bias or not, she did indeed come across as an odd duck).

We did not interview "fine cigars" guy.

[Anonymous User]

I keep reading on posts about many applicants, particularly for Columbia or NYU having very similar applications on paper (East coast, good GPA, nyc biglaw) and needing interesting WE or extracurriculars to stand out? What kinds of things do chambers find interesting?

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

But this is yet another "it depends." For every interest that actually grabbed our attention, we would get one (like "fountain pens" or "fine cigars") that just made us go "huh, that was strange."

Point is, with interests sections, it's a complete roulette barring something truly cool ("NYT bestselling author", etc.). Some judges think they're pointless, some like softball "cooking"-style interests to get a little sense of your personality, and "French pastry baking" runs about equal odds of piquing a common interest and sounding overly pretentious. You have no way to predict what you're going to get, so just follow your gut and make a resume that best fits your personality--90 percent of interview offers will come from grades/school/recs anyway.

Yeah, I agree that you have no way of knowing how any given interest will land (says someone who loves fountain pens! Although I didn’t list it as an interest). So there’s no way to really identify “good” interests or to pick the “right” one for an application. It’s a little like people asking about softs for their law school apps the year before they apply - anything that’s picked up at that point for the purpose of an application isn’t going to move the needle. I agree that you should just be true to yourself and, going off another post above, put something you can talk about enthusiastically and authentically, and call it a day.

I would put fountain pens and fine cigars in different categories. Fountain pens I really dont think for most people would be a red flag—I'm suprised it was for your chambers. Fine cigars is a huge red flag for me and makes the person sound like they are insufferable.

Not a red flag, we still interviewed that person actually, it's just that the reaction was "huh, she sounds weird" (and, confirmation bias or not, she did indeed come across as an odd duck).

We did not interview "fine cigars" guy.

“fountain pens” is just such a bizzare thing to be passionate about. That’s way weirder than cigars and I would probably trash the fountain pen resume absent great grades and school if I’m just quickly skimming and trying to narrow it down. “Fine cigars” just makes you sound like a tool.

[Anonymous User]

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

But this is yet another "it depends." For every interest that actually grabbed our attention, we would get one (like "fountain pens" or "fine cigars") that just made us go "huh, that was strange."

Point is, with interests sections, it's a complete roulette barring something truly cool ("NYT bestselling author", etc.). Some judges think they're pointless, some like softball "cooking"-style interests to get a little sense of your personality, and "French pastry baking" runs about equal odds of piquing a common interest and sounding overly pretentious. You have no way to predict what you're going to get, so just follow your gut and make a resume that best fits your personality--90 percent of interview offers will come from grades/school/recs anyway.

Yeah, I agree that you have no way of knowing how any given interest will land (says someone who loves fountain pens! Although I didn’t list it as an interest). So there’s no way to really identify “good” interests or to pick the “right” one for an application. It’s a little like people asking about softs for their law school apps the year before they apply - anything that’s picked up at that point for the purpose of an application isn’t going to move the needle. I agree that you should just be true to yourself and, going off another post above, put something you can talk about enthusiastically and authentically, and call it a day.

I would put fountain pens and fine cigars in different categories. Fountain pens I really dont think for most people would be a red flag—I'm suprised it was for your chambers. Fine cigars is a huge red flag for me and makes the person sound like they are insufferable.

Not a red flag, we still interviewed that person actually, it's just that the reaction was "huh, she sounds weird" (and, confirmation bias or not, she did indeed come across as an odd duck).

We did not interview "fine cigars" guy.

“fountain pens” is just such a bizzare thing to be passionate about. That’s way weirder than cigars and I would probably trash the fountain pen resume absent great grades and school if I’m just quickly skimming and trying to narrow it down. “Fine cigars” just makes you sound like a tool.

Fountain pens are awesome. I agree it's niche, but they're still awesome.

[Anonymous User]

Include an interests section on your resume and put your interests there, except avoid including overly vague and general interests. DON'T put something like "cooking." DO put something like "French pastry baking." These things do work sometimes. I've heard of resumes being pulled and interviews being offered for including interests like "flyfishing," "Russian literature," etc.

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

But this is yet another "it depends." For every interest that actually grabbed our attention, we would get one (like "fountain pens" or "fine cigars") that just made us go "huh, that was strange."

Point is, with interests sections, it's a complete roulette barring something truly cool ("NYT bestselling author", etc.). Some judges think they're pointless, some like softball "cooking"-style interests to get a little sense of your personality, and "French pastry baking" runs about equal odds of piquing a common interest and sounding overly pretentious. You have no way to predict what you're going to get, so just follow your gut and make a resume that best fits your personality--90 percent of interview offers will come from grades/school/recs anyway.

Yeah, I agree that you have no way of knowing how any given interest will land (says someone who loves fountain pens! Although I didn’t list it as an interest). So there’s no way to really identify “good” interests or to pick the “right” one for an application. It’s a little like people asking about softs for their law school apps the year before they apply - anything that’s picked up at that point for the purpose of an application isn’t going to move the needle. I agree that you should just be true to yourself and, going off another post above, put something you can talk about enthusiastically and authentically, and call it a day.

I would put fountain pens and fine cigars in different categories. Fountain pens I really dont think for most people would be a red flag—I'm suprised it was for your chambers. Fine cigars is a huge red flag for me and makes the person sound like they are insufferable.

Not a red flag, we still interviewed that person actually, it's just that the reaction was "huh, she sounds weird" (and, confirmation bias or not, she did indeed come across as an odd duck).

We did not interview "fine cigars" guy.

“fountain pens” is just such a bizzare thing to be passionate about. That’s way weirder than cigars and I would probably trash the fountain pen resume absent great grades and school if I’m just quickly skimming and trying to narrow it down. “Fine cigars” just makes you sound like a tool.

I'm sorry but if you trash an application because of the fountain pens interest, you're no better than the asshat that put fine cigars as his interest.

[Anonymous User]

This is a great answer. I screened applications in an SDNY chambers, and one of the ways that candidates stood out among the innumerable T6 applicants with great grades was to share a niche interest with my judge. Assuming they otherwise had the profile, I sometimes pulled candidates on that basis alone.

But this is yet another "it depends." For every interest that actually grabbed our attention, we would get one (like "fountain pens" or "fine cigars") that just made us go "huh, that was strange."

Point is, with interests sections, it's a complete roulette barring something truly cool ("NYT bestselling author", etc.). Some judges think they're pointless, some like softball "cooking"-style interests to get a little sense of your personality, and "French pastry baking" runs about equal odds of piquing a common interest and sounding overly pretentious. You have no way to predict what you're going to get, so just follow your gut and make a resume that best fits your personality--90 percent of interview offers will come from grades/school/recs anyway.

Yeah, I agree that you have no way of knowing how any given interest will land (says someone who loves fountain pens! Although I didn’t list it as an interest). So there’s no way to really identify “good” interests or to pick the “right” one for an application. It’s a little like people asking about softs for their law school apps the year before they apply - anything that’s picked up at that point for the purpose of an application isn’t going to move the needle. I agree that you should just be true to yourself and, going off another post above, put something you can talk about enthusiastically and authentically, and call it a day.

I would put fountain pens and fine cigars in different categories. Fountain pens I really dont think for most people would be a red flag—I'm suprised it was for your chambers. Fine cigars is a huge red flag for me and makes the person sound like they are insufferable.

Not a red flag, we still interviewed that person actually, it's just that the reaction was "huh, she sounds weird" (and, confirmation bias or not, she did indeed come across as an odd duck).

We did not interview "fine cigars" guy.

“fountain pens” is just such a bizzare thing to be passionate about. That’s way weirder than cigars and I would probably trash the fountain pen resume absent great grades and school if I’m just quickly skimming and trying to narrow it down. “Fine cigars” just makes you sound like a tool.

I'm sorry but if you trash an application because of the fountain pens interest, you're no better than the asshat that put fine cigars as his interest.

Why? If I have 200 applications that are almost identical and I need to narrow to 25 how else am I supposed to decide? The process is idiosyncratic and people should realize that decisions are often based on dumb arbitrary stuff like this.