Top Law Schools

I recently was accepted to several top law schools, and I wrote on my applications (the résumé attachment) that I had recently accepted a US Embassy State Dept Internship that will begin this June. This is all true.

However, before the internship can take place I obviously have to first get security clearance. I didn't realize that this process can so difficult and that one can be denied clearance for relatively arbitrary reasons.

My questions: If I am denied clearance, do I need to contact the law schools that accepted me and inform them that I'm not going to do the internship (I am not sure since it's not academic but extra-curricular)? And would this be grounds to rescind my decision if my grades don't go down? I have a 3.91 and I'm at the University of Chicago. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Yes, let them know. Might safe you from a C&F issue later in the game and it costs you nothing.

Thanks mvp99. Might as well. Do you think I could get an offer rescinded from this?

Why did you not get security clearance?

Honestly, I don't think this is anything that would affect your application really. Just send an e-mail saying that your summer employment plans have changed and you have attached an updated resume. As long as you weren't fired, there's really nothing to worry about. One internship is not going to make or break your application.

Don't worry about it, just update them via a resume. They'll likely not even notice.

ChemEng1642 - I wasn't denied. I haven't even applied for it yet. I just know people who have been denied out of nowhere, more or less.

DCfilterDC - Great. Thanks for the reassurance and advice. I really appreciate the input!

sry to hear, but just know that denial is highly unlikely to be "arbitrary". Your app had a flag (or two) that were anything but arbitrary.

http://www.fas.org/sgp/isoo/guidelines.html

This is pretty neurotic. IF you're denied clearance, then contact the schools and say you're no longer doing the internship after all. No big deal.

UChicago123 wrote:ChemEng1642 - I wasn't denied. I haven't even applied for it yet. I just know people who have been denied out of nowhere, more or less.

DCfilterDC - Great. Thanks for the reassurance and advice. I really appreciate the input!

Ah RC fail - hopefully you don't get denied and this will become a non-issue. I agree to updating via resume though. Let the school ask you if they want more info

Agreed with the above, but also, don't sweat the background check. I interned at a federal agency and had to go through a really annoying background check that got even more annoying because one of my parents isn't a US citizen, and it was fine. It just takes awhile, but you really shouldn't worry if there's nothing in your file that would raise a red flag.

People are not denied "out of nowhere." Do you have a ton of debt that you're not keeping up with? Recent drug use? Family in Iran? If no, you're almost certainly fine, especially if you're only up for a Secret. Chill.

There is nothing arbitrary about denials of clearances. If you have nothing to hide and aren't facing bankruptcy you should be fine.

That's a hilarious overstatement but at the SECRET level most of them are pretty predictable. If you've done something that's predictably going to get you denied, don't apply -- the denial unhelpfully stays on your record.

I'm partaking in the internship that you speak of right now. As others have mentioned, things like having a criminal record will more than likely lead to your clearance being denied. With that said, something such as having an extensive international travel history, bad credit history, or a substantial amount of international contacts can slow down your clearance time too. If for whatever reason you don't receive your clearance, I really don't think it's worth reporting to law schools. One of the people who was accepted to my post didn't receive her clearance in time due to her having dual citizenship.

For whatever it's worth, the process of getting through all of the clearance and visa paperwork is an absolute grind. Stay ahead of the game. Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.