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I am a Junior at UT, 3.75 GPA, Linguistics Honors major, 162 LSAT (taking again in June aiming for a 170+) and on course to graduate May 2011...

my dilemma is as follows:
I have an opportunity to Intern with the European Union through a school program BUT BUT BUT that would delay my graduation one semester.

So my question is, does this opportunity's benefits outweigh the possible costs of delaying my graduation? I have a strong interest in international/comparative law and I feel this fact supported by an Internship overseas would compensate for any deficiencies in grades or LSAT... what do you guys think about this? worth it? Is there a significant drawback to applying to top law schools for the spring? Or should I work a semester and then apply for the fall of 2012? Any commentary on this would be GREATLY appreciated! My top choices are: UT Austin, UC Berkley, Columbia/NYU, Georgetown, Chicago, and a few others.

I am not an URM but I am going to try to justify being hispanic since I have bloodlines to spain lol... just assume I'm not an URM >:-(

If you delay graduation by a semester, you'll be delaying law school for a year until 2012. Law schools don't take spring admits. This definitely is not worth it for something that won't raise your GPA or LSAT. Don't get caught up in the internship hype - it's virtually worthless for admissions.

Your grades won't change?

If your grades will be the same regardless, take the opportunity. It sounds incredible, and going to law school one year later than you otherwise would have is a small price to pay. Pay no attention to people who judge everything by whether it will be helpful for admissions or not.

Take it from someone several years older than you...in 20 years, you won't remember applying to law school for 2012 instead of 2011, but you will always remember having such an incredible opportunity.

I wouldn't even think twice, I would sign up as soon as I could.

Not worth it for law school, but definitely worth it for the experience.

thanks for the input... so in that case what if I spent the spring after graduation doing philanthropic work like find a good charity to work for or work in a law firm or something? spending an extra semester to benefit my chances for admissions?

kalvano wrote:Your grades won't change?

If your grades will be the same regardless, take the opportunity. It sounds incredible, and going to law school one year later than you otherwise would have is a small price to pay. Pay no attention to people who judge everything by whether it will be helpful for admissions or not.

Take it from someone several years older than you...in 20 years, you won't remember applying to law school for 2012 instead of 2011, but you will always remember having such an incredible opportunity.

I wouldn't even think twice, I would sign up as soon as I could.

Kalvano is wise.

palarmon wrote:thanks for the input... so in that case what if I spent the spring after graduation doing philanthropic work like find a good charity to work for or work in a law firm or something? spending an extra semester to benefit my chances for admissions?

Do something that means something to you. If your grades are good (and a 3.75 is) and you pull a few more points on the LSAT, you'll be fine.

Take that extra semester and do something that is important to you. Personally, I would go volunteer at Best Friends Animal Shelter in Utah, or Villalobos Pit Bull Reacue in Cali.

Maybe Habitat For Humanity is your thing, or manning the soup kitchen at your local shelter. Don't do something solely for the purpose of bettering your chances at law school, that's what re-taking the LSAT is for.

My best advice? Travel and volunteer at something near and dear to your heart. But go see something of the world. Be a bartender at a beach in Jamaica, spend a couple months bumming around Europe, go see London, go sailing on a schooner in Maine.

With a 3.75 and a good LSAT, you're going to a good law school. You've got the rest of your life to do stuff because you have to. Take a few months to do stuff because you want to.

palarmon wrote:I have a strong interest in international/comparative law and I feel this fact supported by an Internship overseas would compensate for any deficiencies in grades or LSAT... what do you guys think about this? worth it?

kalvano wrote:If your grades will be the same regardless, take the opportunity. It sounds incredible, and going to law school one year later than you otherwise would have is a small price to pay. Pay no attention to people who judge everything by whether it will be helpful for admissions or not.

RC fail

He doesn't have any deficiencies. He already knows he needs to retake the LSAT. That and a 3.75 are all he needs.

what does RC fail mean?

reading comp... do it, in my opinion taking a year off is worth that experience for sure.

+1 to what's been said by Kalvano and others.

It's not going to make up for any deficiencies. There are precious few soft factors that matter. However, law school will still be there, and if you're interested in international law, then this seems like it would be something you would love. Do it because you'd love it, especially if you're a traditional student. If you were 25 or 26, I can understand being worried about putting off law school a year, but if you're 21, no problem. Plus, it gives more time for the market to recover before you enter the workforce.

Trav you raise a really good point, it might not hurt to let the economy recover a little more and again thank you all for your input this is really helpful!

go to EU. i personally think that while it may not be an amazing soft, doing something worthwhile after u-grad is a significant boost. Most law schools are not keen on stacking their classes with people straight from undergrad.

The trip will look good on your future resume even if it doesn't help you with admissions.

do it...its a great experience, so you'll be 25 instead of 24 when u graduate from Law School...your still ahead of the curve, age wise

Maybe it won't help you actually get in to law school, but with your numbers (and their potential) you really don't need help with that. Having a solid experience like that will, however, give you something to talk about on cover letters, in interviews, etc, and should make finding internships (in law school) and jobs significantly easier. Easily worth the year it will delay you from graduating.

Oh sorry. I was going to give my input until I saw the qualification that it must be intelligent. Cheers!

Apply to law school. Get accepted. Defer your admission. Go to Europe. Return from Europe and work for 6 months while living at home. Attend the law school you deferred/

yeah most have already said it but...

do it for the experience, not for law school. prob wont help for law much at all. would have to wait to start law school a yr later, but do something else for that empty semester like, iunno score higher on the LSAT or something lol.

nice resume boost, but not particularly for law school. oh and URM isnt just being hispanic, you have to be like mexican, etc. -- not spanish (?)

and the economy will be better the later you start = better job prospects haha