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Should I work a few years or go right to law school?

rvinarcik-1-1rvinarcik-1-1 Free Trial Member
in Law School Admissions 14 karma

I currently go to a top 100 undergrad, but my specific college within my university has a good reputation with many of the top law schools since many students go on to succeed there. I've heard a lot of different things, some people say going right through is easiest since you don't have as many responsibilities, but others say that work experience is becoming far more important for T14 schools. My GPA is a 3.8mid and I'm registered for the August 12th LSAT. My scores have been 16mid but I'm showing fairly steady improvement as I get better at focusing on the test for the entire duration. My goal score is a 175+ and I am fairly confident that I can get close to it as I keep practicing.

However, I'm worried that my age will make it difficult for me to find work experience, since I am graduating from college at 19 since I'm doing my undergrad in 3 years. I think if I have a few more years before I get into the "real world", then it will be a lot better for me. I have 2 internships so far, 2 e-board positions in school organizations, I mentor for 2 different organizations, and I'm a researcher for my school's Human Rights Lab. I hope that my school involvement can make up for my lack of work experience, and I hope that the leadership positions will show maturity and ambition despite my age. My GPA was also a 3.8high before this past semester, but I have heard that you can include an addendum to explain a slight drop in grades, since this was my first fully in-person semester of college and many of the facilities were not fully operational, making the semester especially difficult.

I would really appreciate any thoughts!

Thanks :)

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Comments

  • Matt SorrMatt Sorr Alum Member ⭐
    edited June 2022 2245 karma

    Let me start by saying that whether or not you work before law school is a highly personal decision. I wouldn't advise that you base your decision to work solely on how you think it will affect your law school admissions odds. With this being stated, I'll say a few things:

    First, don't feel like there's a "right" or "wrong" decision here. During my junior year, I was torn on whether or not to go straight to law school. I did quite a bit of research on the matter and, for what it's worth, I can confidently say that work experience is only a marginal factor at most schools. To be sure, there are some exceptions to this rule; Northwestern places a lot of emphasis on students working before matriculating and Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, because of their prestige, are able to place a lot of emphasis on "soft" factors (like work experience). Far more times than not, however, your LSAT and GPA are what will control you being accepted or rejected from a school. Even at Northwestern, Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, numbers are king. Additionally, as your post indicates, you've done some internships and have solid extracurricular experience. While those factors may not be extremely "competitive" against someone who, say, held a high-ranking position at a company or who served in the military, they offset the damage that may be done if you had nothing on your resume. Admissions offices understand that when you apply straight from undergrad, you're not going to have the same experiences as someone in their 30s. Your GPA and LSAT will serve to almost totally level this playing field.

    All of this is to say that if you have the desire to work before law school, then I'd encourage pursuing it. Perhaps you'd like to save some money, perhaps you're aiming for a school like Northwestern that places a lot of emphasis on work experience, or perhaps you'd like a bit of a "break" from the college environment before attending law school. There are a ton of reasons one may choose to work before law school, and almost all are valid. If, however, you have no desire to work before law school and you're begrudgingly considering it because you feel you'll be at some sort of disadvantage without work experience, I'd advise that you go straight to law school. While there may be some truth to the idea that T14s are placing more emphasis on work experience before law school, admissions always have been and, as far as anyone can tell, will continue to be a numbers-driven game. An extra point or two on the LSAT will benefit you far more than a couple of years of work experience.

    Regarding whether or not your age will affect your work chances, I wouldn't think so. I have a couple of friends who graduated extremely young and they both obtained great jobs. One went into a more corporate setting while the other went into a more public interest-oriented field. When interviewing for jobs this year (my senior year of college), I was never asked about my age, and as long as you don't come across as extremely immature (and I'm sure you won't!), I don't think a company will bat an eye at you being 19 rather than 20 or 21.

    Also, while I may not be of much help, if you'd like to chat about searching for jobs I'd be happy to! I just graduated from college and will be starting my first job in August, so I'm fresh off of the job search. It's likely that we don't live near each other or have the same interests, but many of the jobs I applied for and received offers for were virtual/not confined to a particular geographical area.

    Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Again, there is no wrong decision to be made. It all depends on your unique interests and desires.

  • Juan23vrJuan23vr Alum Member
    304 karma

    LOL top 100? what does that even mean

  • sgriffgorsgriffgor Member
    98 karma

    It's really up to you and it's a personal decision. When I graduated from my alma mater
    (top 10 undergrad) with a 3.9, I wasn't at all concerned that I'd be able to succeed academically at law school. However, I felt that I had little experience in corporate/legal work environments and felt that I'd benefit from some practical work experience before heading into law school. I also had dreams of living abroad for a year or two. So, after graduating, I taught English abroad for 2 years and now have spent two years working as a paralegal/legal analyst in New York, where I hope to practice. I am VERY glad I made this decision -- I've learned so much about what it means to be a successful attorney and have grown as an individual. I am applying to law schools this fall and whereas my work experience might only help me so much when it comes to law school applications, I know it has totally changed my understanding of the legal field. This will benefit me in internships, clerkships, and my first full-time job as an attorney.

    In short, I'd advise you to base your decision on what you want out of life and your career, not just law school admissions.

  • rvinarcik-1-1rvinarcik-1-1 Free Trial Member
    14 karma

    @"Matt Sorr" said:
    Let me start by saying that whether or not you work before law school is a highly personal decision. I wouldn't advise that you base your decision to work solely on how you think it will affect your law school admissions odds. With this being stated, I'll say a few things:

    First, don't feel like there's a "right" or "wrong" decision here. During my junior year, I was torn on whether or not to go straight to law school. I did quite a bit of research on the matter and, for what it's worth, I can confidently say that work experience is only a marginal factor at most schools. To be sure, there are some exceptions to this rule; Northwestern places a lot of emphasis on students working before matriculating and Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, because of their prestige, are able to place a lot of emphasis on "soft" factors (like work experience). Far more times than not, however, your LSAT and GPA are what will control you being accepted or rejected from a school. Even at Northwestern, Harvard, Yale, and Stanford, numbers are king. Additionally, as your post indicates, you've done some internships and have solid extracurricular experience. While those factors may not be extremely "competitive" against someone who, say, held a high-ranking position at a company or who served in the military, they offset the damage that may be done if you had nothing on your resume. Admissions offices understand that when you apply straight from undergrad, you're not going to have the same experiences as someone in their 30s. Your GPA and LSAT will serve to almost totally level this playing field.

    All of this is to say that if you have the desire to work before law school, then I'd encourage pursuing it. Perhaps you'd like to save some money, perhaps you're aiming for a school like Northwestern that places a lot of emphasis on work experience, or perhaps you'd like a bit of a "break" from the college environment before attending law school. There are a ton of reasons one may choose to work before law school, and almost all are valid. If, however, you have no desire to work before law school and you're begrudgingly considering it because you feel you'll be at some sort of disadvantage without work experience, I'd advise that you go straight to law school. While there may be some truth to the idea that T14s are placing more emphasis on work experience before law school, admissions always have been and, as far as anyone can tell, will continue to be a numbers-driven game. An extra point or two on the LSAT will benefit you far more than a couple of years of work experience.

    Regarding whether or not your age will affect your work chances, I wouldn't think so. I have a couple of friends who graduated extremely young and they both obtained great jobs. One went into a more corporate setting while the other went into a more public interest-oriented field. When interviewing for jobs this year (my senior year of college), I was never asked about my age, and as long as you don't come across as extremely immature (and I'm sure you won't!), I don't think a company will bat an eye at you being 19 rather than 20 or 21.

    Also, while I may not be of much help, if you'd like to chat about searching for jobs I'd be happy to! I just graduated from college and will be starting my first job in August, so I'm fresh off of the job search. It's likely that we don't live near each other or have the same interests, but many of the jobs I applied for and received offers for were virtual/not confined to a particular geographical area.

    Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Again, there is no wrong decision to be made. It all depends on your unique interests and desires.

    That makes a lot of sense, especially the part about just working because I think it will help my admissions chances. Thank you so much!

  • rvinarcik-1-1rvinarcik-1-1 Free Trial Member
    14 karma

    @Juan23vr said:
    LOL top 100? what does that even mean

    I know that's not really a thing, I just meant that I go to a university that's in the top 100 in the country instead of some small college or something lol

  • acsalsa10acsalsa10 Core Member
    2 karma

    This reply is not going to be about law school admissions.

    It looks like you have been super busy in undergrad and working really hard. I'm wondering if taking some time after undergrad might give you some time to make sure that law school is really what you want to do. Obviously I don't know you or how you came to the conclusion that you'll apply to law school, but some time away from school can definitely help clarify what you want to do. I commissioned into the army after undergrad and I definitely chose the wrong job for myself and was able to spend my active duty time exploring what I wanted to do next. In my experience, it's just really hard to know exactly what is going to be fulfilling in the long run, especially at 19. Self reflection and passion is great, but so is real world experience in the field you're looking to enter.

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