Graduate School GPA

michael_theodore

How much consideration does law schools place on academic performance in graduate school?

Alex

@michael_theodore said:
How much consideration does law schools place on academic performance in graduate school?

They definitely consider it, but a good graduate GPA matters in the same sense that working for a year/two does -- it is a soft. Overall, uGPA/LSAT is what is going to matter most because those are the stats they report.

TheMikey

they won't count it toward your LSAC GPA. to my knowledge, a graduate degree in general is kind of just seen as a soft factor.

Mellow_Z

@TheMikey said:
they won't count it toward your LSAC GPA. to my knowledge, a graduate degree in general is kind of just seen as a soft factor.

+1. It matters more if you want to go into patent law, where you pick up a graduate degree or doctorate in whatever field of science you're looking at representing. In other fields it likely has a very slight degree of importance on your app.

Freddy_D

They will definitely look at the GPA, and, like others have said, the grad degree can help differentiate you from other applicants (outside of GPA/LSAT of course), and, all else being equal, differentiation is pretty important

source: Mike Spivey (admissions god)

michael_theodore

Thanks everyone!

10000019

@Mellow_Z said:

@TheMikey said:
they won't count it toward your LSAC GPA. to my knowledge, a graduate degree in general is kind of just seen as a soft factor.

+1. It matters more if you want to go into patent law, where you pick up a graduate degree or doctorate in whatever field of science you're looking at representing. In other fields it likely has a very slight degree of importance on your app.

I thought a graduate degree was only necessary if you were in a soft hard-science (e.g. biology)? Are you suggesting it is necessary/big + for everyone? I'm a EE, and I no want school no more :'(

Alex

@USER123456 said:

@Mellow_Z said:

@TheMikey said:
they won't count it toward your LSAC GPA. to my knowledge, a graduate degree in general is kind of just seen as a soft factor.

+1. It matters more if you want to go into patent law, where you pick up a graduate degree or doctorate in whatever field of science you're looking at representing. In other fields it likely has a very slight degree of importance on your app.

I thought a graduate degree was only necessary if you were in a soft hard-science (e.g. biology)? Are you suggesting it is necessary/big + for everyone? I'm a EE, and I no want school no more :'(

Wait, can you explain that again. I'm not exactly understanding what you are asking?

10000019

@"Alex Divine" said:

@USER123456 said:

@Mellow_Z said:

@TheMikey said:
they won't count it toward your LSAC GPA. to my knowledge, a graduate degree in general is kind of just seen as a soft factor.

+1. It matters more if you want to go into patent law, where you pick up a graduate degree or doctorate in whatever field of science you're looking at representing. In other fields it likely has a very slight degree of importance on your app.

I thought a graduate degree was only necessary if you were in a soft hard-science (e.g. biology)? Are you suggesting it is necessary/big + for everyone? I'm a EE, and I no want school no more :'(

Wait, can you explain that again. I'm not exactly understanding what you are asking?

" if you want to go into patent law ... you pick up a graduate degree or doctorate in whatever field of science you're looking at representing"
Most of what I know is based on the words of others. My impression:
A ton of majors are eligible for the patent bar, but big firms have a preference for certain majors. Most undergraduate engineering degrees are good enough, while something like a undergraduate in biology doesn't cut it.

I was told that while a doctorate was a plus, just the title goes a long way, that my time was better spent going straight into law school.

Alex

@USER123456 said:

@"Alex Divine" said:

@USER123456 said:

@Mellow_Z said:

@TheMikey said:
they won't count it toward your LSAC GPA. to my knowledge, a graduate degree in general is kind of just seen as a soft factor.

+1. It matters more if you want to go into patent law, where you pick up a graduate degree or doctorate in whatever field of science you're looking at representing. In other fields it likely has a very slight degree of importance on your app.

I thought a graduate degree was only necessary if you were in a soft hard-science (e.g. biology)? Are you suggesting it is necessary/big + for everyone? I'm a EE, and I no want school no more :'(

Wait, can you explain that again. I'm not exactly understanding what you are asking?

" if you want to go into patent law ... you pick up a graduate degree or doctorate in whatever field of science you're looking at representing"
Most of what I know is based on the words of others. My impression:
A ton of majors are eligible for the patent bar, but big firms have a preference for certain majors. Most undergraduate engineering degrees are good enough, while something like a undergraduate in biology doesn't cut it.

I was told that while a doctorate was a plus, just the title goes a long way, that my time was better spent going straight into law school.

From what I know, I believe that is correct. Whether or not you'd be better off just going to law school all depends on what you really want. What type of patent law are you interested in?

10000019

@"Alex Divine" said:

>

From what I know, I believe that is correct. Whether or not you'd be better off just going to law school all depends on what you really want. What type of patent law are you interested in?

Nothing is set in stone, but I figure I'd like to do prosecution. I have a background in electronics/computers, so I figure I'd be put on stuff like that. While I can definitely see the advantages of PhD when it comes to hardware design, I don't see how it would be relevant to software.

partyondudes

@USER123456 this is probably a good question to ask lots of patent attorneys (or hiring managers) as you might get a variety of answers, even if they're in the same field. Also, try looking through the job posting sections of websites such as patentlyo.com or ipwatchdog.com to get a feel of the qualifications that firms are looking for.

I think the answer to your question depends on what kind of IP law you're looking to practice. Patent prosecution would, I expect, favor people with advanced degrees as having an advanced degree correlates with greater knowledge of the field the invention is in. Greater knowledge of the field makes understanding what's out there and what's not a little easier, that understanding being crucial to drafting a patent application. That's probably why there are many PhD patent agents out there--they focus on specific technologies that they know very well from personal experience.

That said, in my limited experience (I work in patent searching, which is one step in the patent prosecution process), I'd say that advanced degrees are more important for people focusing on biology or chemistry. An advanced degree in engineering doesn't seem to be necessary, but again, it probably depends on what you're trying to do. If you're a civil engineer that wants to draft patent applications about semiconductor fabrication, which you have no experience in, an advanced degree specifically focused on semiconductor fabrication would probably be helpful and maybe even necessary.

My guess, though, is that you're probably fine with a EE undergraduate degree. I've heard of law firms paying for their attorneys to get an advanced degree to meet the firm's needs so maybe getting an advanced degree is something to worry about later.

partyondudes

@USER123456 said:
Nothing is set in stone, but I figure I'd like to do prosecution. I have a background in electronics/computers, so I figure I'd be put on stuff like that. While I can definitely see the advantages of PhD when it comes to hardware design, I don't see how it would be relevant to software.

Agreed. If it was a PhD focused on software, that may be very helpful. PhDs focused on other subjects would probably just be a waste of time.

Alex

@USER123456 said:

@"Alex Divine" said:

>

From what I know, I believe that is correct. Whether or not you'd be better off just going to law school all depends on what you really want. What type of patent law are you interested in?

Nothing is set in stone, but I figure I'd like to do prosecution. I have a background in electronics/computers, so I figure I'd be put on stuff like that. While I can definitely see the advantages of PhD when it comes to hardware design, I don't see how it would be relevant to software.

Sounds like I would take @partyondudes advice here. Seems to make the most sense. I know very little about that area of patent law.