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Pre-Law Summer Program worth it?

nanabillannanabillan Member
in Law School Admissions 347 karma

Hi all. I am 31, graduated over 10 years ago from an undergrad in architecture. Since then I have worked in the real estate sector and have lived abroad teaching English (also got TEFL certified). I want to go into Real Estate law. I have no background in law whatsoever.

I plan on taking the LSAT in August to apply for fall 2021. My GPA is a 3.2. Should I focus my studies on the LSAT or should I take an online 5-week summer pre-law program (only 3 hours a day), to spruce up my resume. I feel like I am competing with people who are paralegals or have pre-law backgrounds and so wanted something to make me more appealing to an application board.

I am a single mom and finding time to study quietly is hard enough as it is. So worth doing this online pre-law course? Would never have been able to do it in-person so thought of taking advantage of it being offered online.

Pros, cons? Thanks a lot guys and good luck with your LSAT studies.

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Comments

  • btownsqueebtownsquee Alum Member
    1207 karma

    Hello! You have truly an amazing background and it does not matter one iota that you have no experience in the law. It looks like you have customer service and business experience - I think these are even more important skills to have developed compared to being a paralegal. I say this having been a paralegal and as someone who's headed to a top 10 law school. In fact, I believe it so much that I'm doing a business development internship this summer to develop those skills myself. I believe my opinion is consistent with admissions officers - you can confirm this by doing research online/emailing them. :)

    I recommend you put your limited time towards studying for the LSAT and getting as high a score as possible. This will help you get into the best possible school/get the highest amount of scholarship that you can.

    For your own personal goals, you can certainly do informational interviews with attorneys to figure out if you want to go into the legal sector and make sure this is the path you want to go down.

  • DINOSAURDINOSAUR Member
    edited June 2020 591 karma

    I think you don't need to worry about not having background relating to law. I've attended some 7sage admission webinars and the consultants said they appreciate diverse educational background and job experience. You don't need to have work experience relating to law in order to go to law school. Besides, law schools appreciate those who overcome their personal circumstances but still manage to study for the LSAT and apply to law school. They think such people are more responsible and mature than those who just graduated college. You just need to explain why you are interested in law, why you want to go to law school in your personal statement. Since your time is very limited, I would recommend you to focus on the LSAT. That would help your application most directly and significantly.

  • DarklordDarklord Alum Member
    586 karma

    I don't think this pre-law summer program sounds worth it (assuming it is just a class that doesn't give you any hands-on legal experience). However, what I would add on is that, even if law schools don't really need legal experience in your resume to apply, legal experience is important for another (and probably even more critical reason): making sure you know what being a lawyer is actually like so you truly understand why you want to be a lawyer. Because I think that, if there is one not-often-talked-about risk of law school besides the monetary debt that law school gives you, it is the possibility that you may find that the career of law may not be enjoyable for you.

    In addition, having legal experience to help you understand exactly why you want to become a lawyer will give you a leg up in motivating yourself to study for the LSAT, which can have huge implications when the going gets tough. I can attest to this because it certainly has done so for me.

  • studyingandrestudyingstudyingandrestudying Core Member
    5254 karma

    Maybe look at free programs first. They're out there if you look.

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