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After this upcoming December, I will have graduated with bachelor degrees in History and English at Minnesota. While I maintained a pretty low GPA (3.27), I was able to finish a little early. I got a 164 on my LSAT, but I know these are pedestrian figures compared to most prospective law students.

Here's my question: what should I do with my time from January to August?

Should I find an internship? I currently have a legitimate internship in NYC, so I know that will look good on my resume.

Should I attend another school for a semester? Maybe abroad? I was in France for a summer.

Should I hold off graduation and take another semester in Minnesota?

Should I volunteer? Join some philanthropical organization?


I am asking on here because I was hoping you guys knew of any opportunities or programs out there that look good on a resume. Not asking for connections or favors, just anecdotes you guys might have experienced yourselves or heard from your classmates at law school.

Oh, P.S.: I'm not trying to get an acceptance from schools in the top 20. I am pretty realistic about where I stand. I just want to find something productive that law schools will notice.

tlink1990 wrote:
Oh, P.S.: I'm not trying to get an acceptance from schools in the top 20. I am pretty realistic about where I stand. I just want to find something productive that law schools will notice.

IMO, in general,

Entry level BA reqd job > Typical nonpaying internships/a job where you are under employed > Doing no work

Volunteering is a good idea. Find something you actually care about.

Its interesting that you say you dont want to go to a T20... considering UMN is #19. Why do you not want to go there? If you score a 167+ in Oct, you would have a good shot there.

could you stay an extra year in school, pick up an addition easy major, and boost that GPA up to a 3.5 or higher?

Thats what I would do.

JD Janitor wrote:could you stay an extra year in school, pick up an addition easy major, and boost that GPA up to a 3.5 or higher?

Thats what I would do.

once you complete your first major your GPA is set in stone LSAC wise

MillerTheThriller wrote:

JD Janitor wrote:could you stay an extra year in school, pick up an addition easy major, and boost that GPA up to a 3.5 or higher?

Thats what I would do.

once you complete your first major your GPA is set in stone LSAC wise

It's after you get your degree conferred. Op could add more classes. Once graduating, it's set in stone.

Do everything you possibly can to boost your GPA and LSAT score. Everything else is 100% a matter of personal opinion and preference and will have 0 to a marginal effect on your LS options.

Stay in school and raise that GPA as high is as humanly possible. Study and retake the LSAT.

any work experience you could get would not be nearly as beneficial as a .15 increase in gpa or a 2 point increase in your lsat score.

MillerTheThriller wrote:

JD Janitor wrote:could you stay an extra year in school, pick up an addition easy major, and boost that GPA up to a 3.5 or higher?

Thats what I would do.

once you complete your first major your GPA is set in stone LSAC wise

nope, it's only after you graduate.

emkay625 wrote:

MillerTheThriller wrote:

JD Janitor wrote:could you stay an extra year in school, pick up an addition easy major, and boost that GPA up to a 3.5 or higher?

Thats what I would do.

once you complete your first major your GPA is set in stone LSAC wise

nope, it's only after you graduate.

NICE! Looks like OP is in luck if he/she hasn't matriculated yet

i appreciate the responses.

i know i said that i wasn't looking to get into top 20. i don't really mean that, i just don't want to be audacious and assume i can do better. i know it's splitting hairs. especially since schools in the 30s-50s aren't really respected on here. still, i haven't made the smartest of choices over the years so i kind of want to get this one right. maybe by december my chances for top 20s will be significantly higher.

i am going to take the lsat again in october. realistically, i could see a 167-168. i'm hoping for higher. my friend gave me a schedule of how to practice. he said he got it from an lsat tutor. i didn't really know how to prepare for the test in june, so i should do better.

but about school, i'm not really interested in staying in undergrad another year. kind of the reason why i am graduating a semester early. i could delay my graduation until the spring. but that won't give me enough time to pick up another major/minor or boost my GPA that drastically.

would schools rather see someone graduate a semester early with two majors, or do they not really care?
i wouldn't care if i was in admissions. i know i am going to be on the bubble for a lot of schools, probably some waiting lists. so i think my grades for the fall and what i am doing in the spring should bear some weight.

my options are:

1) delay graduation and take classes that weren't required for my english and history majors like business, psychology, communications. i have taken 100 level courses for those so i can take upper division.

2) graduate early and find an entry level job. either a) i tell them i am going to law school in the fall, which could be in a different state, and then they probably won't hire me, or b) i don't tell them and then announce my 2 week notice after 5 or 6 months on the job. both those scenarios don't sound very promising.

3) graduate early and find an internship in publishing or media.

4) Graduate early and find an hourly waged job working for the the city. i'm sure there is something available in minneapolis or st. paul. or i could volunteer, like really volunteer, for an organization in minneapolis.

5) I could graduate early and live abroad. from like january to july or august. either find a normal waged job in a place like london or, luckily, an internship.

TL;DR all personal things being equal, all you should care about is getting the highest GPA/LSAT combo you possibly can before applying. I assure you, there is absolutely no reason to rush. The legal market is god awful and you need to take as much time as you can to get as close as possible to 4.0/180.

I think 1 is your best option, if it isnt going to cost too much.

Then 2b.