Strong Softs? Forum

[BM_1993]

What does this mean I've had quite a bit of internship experience

Worked at an immigration firm in NYC for almost two years
Internship with Manhattan District Attoneys Office in the summer
Working with Orleans Public Defenders this summer
Research project with Harvard this summer

Double majored in Economics and Humanities at a T35
I am Pakistani and Indian which is a discussion in and of itself.

Does this count as strong softs?

[Rigo]

Nah. They're not weak softs, but strong softs are more so elite programs like Fulbright, Peace Corps, being a veteran, etc.

[CanadianWolf]

Strong softs if you want to practice in the field of criminal law because you've seen both sides & immigration issues are frequently involved with criminal cases.

[Skool]

In the spectrum, I'd say these are good to great softs, but you need to create a compelling narrative about yourself and what in your background motivated you to try these paths and what you took from them.

I think these can be truly great softs if you can leverage them into a full time job for a year or two. If you do that and put together a solid narrative and solid lsat/gpa, you could easily be a Root finalist at NYU.

Edit: I would add it's not just criminal law, you can get into poverty and racial justice stuff too from where you are (think about OPD's post Katrina work). Think big picture, systematic in your application. I think that's the path to PI success these days.

[bretby]

Strong softs if you want to practice in the field of criminal law because you've seen both sides & immigration issues are frequently involved with criminal cases.

I'm going to disagree here. So many applicants have a few years experience working at a firm as a paralegal or whatnot that this won't make the applicant stand out. If anything, I think working for a few years at a firm (and that being your only/the bulk of) your WE is going to get you lost in the crowd. I'd call these average-weak softs.

[Skool]

Take a look at the profiles of current Root Scholars. Beyond them having a year or two of work experience, there isn't a ton seperating them and OP, assuming OP has the grades.

Lots of people take time off to paralegal or whatever. But how you talk about it, why you do it, and what you took from it really do matter. That's where candidates get stratified.