Do 4 years of work experience & south america origin help? Forum

[NYCgator]

My goal is to end up at a great california law school. I have a 3.9 LSAC-GPA from UF (UF was ranked in the top 40's), have 4 years of finance experience, and was born in South America. I've been reading that most Cali schools only consider mex-american and puerto rican as URM? I'd like to know if my south american heritage and 4 years of work experinece gives me a bump or an edge?

[neimanmarxist]

Being South American doesn't give you URM status anywhere. You can write a good diversity statement about your culture/ work experience. That might help some insofar as it will add another dimension to your candidacy.

[KMaine]

The fact that you can't spell "do" may hurt.

[mhernton]

As a previous poster indicated you are not a URM. You can get a pretty good boost from having lived overseas, but none of this matters if your an empty suit. The Work Experience is a huge factor. All of the people who are within 2-3 years of undergrad are lumped in together. You are just beyond that and could be considered non-tradition especially if your are married. You will be competing against others like you, who are a lot less of a percentage than the kids coming straight out of college. You LSAT usually has more of an impact than your GPA. You are a person that is making a career change by going through law school. You need to have an application that is focused on why you are making this career change. That kind of focus and a professional package will carry you a long way. Just remember that you are applying for a job as a law school student and treat it that way.