focus during undergrad

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• 1 Like

  cooljon525-1-1 Alum Member

  September 2019 edited September 2019 917 karma

  As someone who is still in undergrad, I recently quit my job as an accounting TA to spend more time on LSAT. I believe that LSAT and GPA are the most important things to focus on. There's a reason why people refer to law school as a "numbers game". Extracurriculars are very important also, but I would allocate my time to the things that matter most.

  As far as your situation goes, I think you know yourself best. If you think you can handle LSAT prep, with school, and the internship then go for it.
• 1 Like

  ilovethelsat Member

  September 2019 348 karma

  Hi! This is a great question. I haven't been through the cycle yet, but I've done lots of research on law school admissions, spoken to a lot of admissions counselors, and talked to a lot of my friends who've gone through the process. From my understanding based on all of that, your LSAT and GPA are the two most important factors in law school admissions. Anything that would compromise either one is not worth pursuing. However, the legal internship does sound quite great, so maybe think about if you can figure out a way to do both, if that's even possible. Maybe you could delay your internship start date for a couple of months until you take the LSAT? The tricky part about that is you may need extra time for a re-take, so you don't want to put yourself in a position where you need to start your internship but also need to re-take (or even just delay because you're not ready) the LSAT. Another option is to cut out some of the other activities that you may be involved in that are less important than the legal internship in order to make time for it. Of course, this is assuming that you're involved in other stuff. Yet another option is to do the internship during the summer if it's available then. That way you could still put it on your applications and you'll already hopefully be done with the LSAT. But if you absolutely must choose between the internship and LSAT/GPA, then I would 100% go with LSAT/GPA because those two are literally the most important factors for admissions (especially the LSAT). I know plenty of people who got into top law schools without prestigious legal internships, but I know virtually no one who got into a top law school without a great GPA/LSAT. This is a very difficult decision and I applaud you for sharing your dilemma with others - it's always really great to have a sounding board and consult other people before you make the final decision. Congratulations on getting the internship! And remember, even if you have to drop it for now, there are so many other incredible opportunities that will come along. Learning how to prioritize is part of the undergraduate experience, so you're doing everything right. Hope this helps and good luck!
• 1 Like

  galaxygal Alum Member

  September 2019 edited September 2019 224 karma

  I agree with @cooljon525 - only you know best whether you can balance the internship with studying and achieving good grades. Personally, I always knew that I wanted to take time after graduation to work full-time/study for the LSAT, so I dedicated my college experience to attaining a high GPA and getting involved in extracurriculars/internships. However, if you're set on going to law school right after college, focusing on your LSAT/GPA might be the way to go if you think your internship would detract from that. Good luck
• standardizedcanbelearned Alum Member

  September 2019 310 karma

  @cooljon525 @ilovethelsat @ReginaPhalange Thank you all so, so much. Yeah, it really is an exciting process but nerve-wracking (and I still have a year to go!). "Trust the process," right? I'm going to allocate all of my time to my LSAT/GPA based on all of this.
• 1 Like

  Selene Steelman Free Trial Member Admissions Consultant

  September 2019 2037 karma

  LSAT/GPA are very important to the application process. But showing a demonstrated interest in law by taking a legal internship could benefit your eventual application by indicating to admissions readers that you are serious about pursuing a legal education having actually worked in a legal environment. You would enhance your resume with this experience. You would possibly be able to write about it in your personal statement to show how and why you came to the decision to pursue law. You would also have a chance to build your professional network with people you work with/for/encounter in your internship. It could be a great source for professional recommendations down the road. Lastly, your experiences and how you choose to present the narrative of your candidacy will help distinguish your application from the thousands of other applications with the same or similar LSAT/GPA that an admissions committee will review. Good luck!
• standardizedcanbelearned Alum Member

  September 2019 310 karma

  @"selene.steelman" you are completely right. The one aspect that is keeping me interested is "indicating to admissions readers that you are serious about pursuing a legal education having actually worked in a legal environment." That would put me at a huge advantage. Law school is a numbers game, but unless I am scoring a 175+ on the lsat, I think something such as actual field experience could largely benefit my application. I didn't even think of how it could benefit my personal statement! Wow. Great points... thank you so much for your comment.