What Types of Things Look Great On Your Law School Application?
Coming out of undergrad with no desire to pursue law school, I spent time working jobs that paid well and that I genuinely enjoyed. Honestly, my focus was not on law school until quite literally two months out from application deadlines, so by no means was anything up until that point tailored towards a law application intentionally. So, the other day when a co-worker asked me what sorts of things she should be doing right now to get into law school, I was blown away.
I admired her for being so on the ball, but I also felt sad she was so stressed and confused! When I reflected on the things I referenced in my application, I chuckled to myself and figured maybe sharing them would calm some other hopeful applicants.
I discussed three main things on my application: corn detasseling, managing a local bar/restaurant and teaching English in Thailand. Probably not what you expected, but hey, it got me in!
What I hope you take from this article is that it is important that you focus on what it is you have learned and mastered in your experiences rather than the substantive work itself.
Did I discuss how I am a terminator at detasseling corn and making sure 99.7% of tassels are removed from my row? Absolutely not. Instead, I focused on how I started as a “puller” and worked my way up to supervisor by my third summer, where I managed my own crew and cornfield!
Similarly, did I discuss at length my near-perfect count when making chilled shots? (Bartenders will know what I mean here — so satisfying). No, instead, I focused on my ability to manage a team of employees ranging from kitchen staff to security, to servers, to hostesses.
As for teaching abroad, did I focus on my ability to teach English from lessons in a textbook provided to me? Or did I discuss how I could adapt my lesson plans to different children’s needs based on their proficiency and proceed accordingly?
Do you see what I am trying to say here?
In truth, from my experience, it does not matter what activities you list on your application. What does matter is that you have the relevant skills necessary to be successful in law school. Your personal statement and application are your opportunity to highlight those skills and attributes in your experiences that will get you in. I am by no means the expert on admissions, but some skills that I personally recommend you focus on are:
· The ability to lead
· The ability to work as a team
· Attention to detail
· The ability to multi-task and manage time appropriately
· A strong work ethic
· The ability to adapt and be flexible
If you are lucky and somehow find work in the legal field right out of undergrad, kudos to you! That will obviously look amazing on your application. I am just writing this article to point out that legal experience is not a must. Your focus should instead be on developing the aforementioned skills, and wherever you find yourself doing that, so be it. As I have shared, you can find the relevant skills nearly anywhere, even in a corn field.
