Increasing Your Chances Forum

[Jake_Coulter]

Long story short, I'm an undergraduate at the University of Georgia trying to find an internship or volunteer program at a law firm. Did you (the current law students) have anything like this before you applied to law schools? If so, what did you do? If not, what did you do to increase your chances other than have a killer GPA and LSAT?

ALSO what are some other ways to increase my chances of getting in T-14 school other than GPA and LSAT?



Thanks!
-Jake

[rad lulz]

It won't increase your chances in a measurable way.

[Jake_Coulter]

It won't increase your chances in a measurable way.

Well I havent really done anything else to improve my chances. All I have is a descent GPA and hopefully a good LSAT. Did you do anything else? Any clubs, groups, organizations..etc?

[francesfarmer]

It won't increase your chances in a measurable way.

Well I havent really done anything else to improve my chances. All I have is a descent GPA and hopefully a good LSAT. Did you do anything else? Any clubs, groups, organizations..etc?

Clubs and stuff don't really matter. Work experience looks good, and also makes you seem like a more mature applicant. But it will never make up for what is lacking in your GPA and LSAT.

Edit: you could join the military. That would help you TONS.

[Jake_Coulter]

It won't increase your chances in a measurable way.

Well I havent really done anything else to improve my chances. All I have is a descent GPA and hopefully a good LSAT. Did you do anything else? Any clubs, groups, organizations..etc?

Clubs and stuff don't really matter. Work experience looks good, and also makes you seem like a more mature applicant. But it will never make up for what is lacking in your GPA and LSAT.

Edit: you could join the military. That would help you TONS.

When you mean work do you mean any job or do you mean at a law firm or law-related career (Ex court house)?

[francesfarmer]

Any job.

[francesfarmer]

working for a law firm or in the legal field in some other capacity is nice experience to have because it makes you more comfortable around lawyers (which is useful when interviewing with alumni) and also helps you decide if lawyering is something you would like to actually do. So in that sense, working for in the legal field is beneficial over other fields. But it doesn't really matter to admissions committees.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Softs generally have very little affect on the application process, unless you have amazing softs. You're better off concentrating on maximizing your LSAT score. That said, there are reasons to join clubs, intern at a law firm, etc. that don't depend on them helping your application package. Pursue stuff that interests you and do the internship if you think it would help you gain a perspective about the legal field. (I could see some law firm internships being helpful in gaining some perspective, but others might just be a waste of time.)