Maybe. Or, it might confirm the student is from a state which has a judicial outreach system specifically designed to educate high school students about the court system using appellate law. As such, the OP’s story may not be the unique or rare hook that it first appeared to be: http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/factsheet-civics-outreach.pdf.
California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan and Oregon appear to have these judicial outreach programs, possibly other states do as well – which might explain the OP’s deep interest in such a specific subject matter.
@gibby Thank you for finding that. I actually am not a part of that program, and my school apparently doesn’t participate in it, either. Would that detract from any prospective applications?
@BKSquared@sherpa I didn’t realize that appellate law, unlike moot, is tedious and dry. If, when the time comes for me to decide what to do with my life, I still want to do appellate law, I will definitely keep that in mind. I guess SCOTUS cases must be pretty extraordinary. Just how rarely do those fascinating constitutional cases come about?
Also, something that I personally see as a major issue with my transcript — I took Journalism last year (grade 9), and am not planning on returning. My school cut funding to the magazine, and now it’s all online, many articles are grammatically unsound, and the they have lost the depth they used to have. It’s almost as if the soul of the paper was taken away, and because of that and the scheduling issues resulting from it, I had to leave. How much of an impact will that have, and could I turn that into a positive?
With regards to diversifying my application, a field I’m interested in from a more academic perspective is math (and also the thoroughly impractical aspects of physics like relativity and QM). I would like to take Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, or Differential Equations at some point at the local community college, and I’ve been going a few years ahead in math on my own ever since 7th grade. Would it be a good idea to have a couple EC’s in math, to show that I’m not just another one-dimensional applicant that’s not particularly extraordinary? How deep should I go so as not to detract from the appellate “spike?”
Thank you again for commenting on this thread! I really appreciate all of the responses and perspectives — your guidance means a lot to me. Happy New Year!
Not in the least, however as your EC may not be as unique as you first thought it was, you’ll have to spend a bit more time investigating the same question many other students do: How does YOUR interest and YOUR experience with appellate law differ from other students applying with the same EC – especially when multiple states have students studying the appellate court, possibly in more detail and depth than you do? It’s the exact same question a student participating in speech & debate, student council, student newspaper, yearbook, drama, music, art, computer science, robotics, moot court, model UN, and athletics must also answer – and it requires self-reflection. How do you standout from the crowd when hundreds, possibly thousands, of other students are doing the same activity? What lesson(s) have you learned about yourself from this activity? The key will be in the specificity of the story you choose to tell about yourself and NOT necessarily anything related to appellate law itself or your interest in the subject. It’s the exact same thing @BKSquared just wrote
@BKSquared - welcome to the forum fellow Yalie - especially one from our era, as you say. Your post was very informative and on point. Looking forward to reading more of them in the future.
SCOTUS hears on average only about 80 cases a year. They take great care in selecting which cases they will hear, so in that sense, each case relates to some significant constitutional (or federal law) issue. However, if what we are talking about are truly landmark cases that have wide public impact, those are indeed rare, as they should be.
I would also add that the more relevant/important decision you will make is not whether you want to practice appellate law, it is whether you want to go to law school after college and then if you want to even practice law after you get your law degree!
On your other questions, there are other posters who may have keener insights based past experience, but I will give you my two cents from the perspective of an alumni interviewer for Yale for the past 25+ years.
Journalism Class: I think it will become an issue only if you make it one. You run a major risk of sounding like you are making excuses or are a “complainer” when you make detracting comments about a perceived deficiency in your school.
Math/Other EC’s: I agree 100% with other posts throughout CC, it is always a mistake to try to shape your “resume” to what you think a school wants to see. Let your interests and passions dictate how you spend your time, and then spend your time and efforts well. Yale and other selective colleges admit spikey kids as well as rounded ones. The common denominator is that they excel at what they choose to do and can demonstrate that through their grades, awards/recognition, rec’s, essays and, if applicable, supplements. Admissions and the more experienced interviewers are pretty good at ferreting out manufactured resume fodder. One of the worst things I can say in my interview report is that the candidate was shallow or superficial with respect to an interest or topic they chose to talk about.
See, I do not think it’s a mistake to shape, any more than one wanting to work for Google vets the requirements and expectations and builds the right experiences and skills. And thinking, creativity, resilience, other attributes. The difference is that a hs soph is at the foot of the mountain, not half way up. But it’s good openly seek out the right info and try out forms of expansion. Not dilettante
Of course, OP can add math-sci ECs. It can show a willingness to explore and broaden and if math is a secondary interest, which was stated, it makes perfect sense. And he should work on the rest of the rounding. It’s not fakery, if done well.
Spikey doesn’t mean odd. It can mean, (somewhat,) “advanced.” Not in the sense of more APs or winning contests or moving that 740 to a 750 (all pretty limited thinking.) Rather in the nature of the choices and challenges, the stretch and the fulfillment. The awareness and the thinking skills.
Those kids who only let their “interests and passions dictate,” risk missing the wealth of opportunities. See it all the time. Real life’s not like that, we know it isn’t.
Judging by what I’ve said so far on here, would you guys say I’ve presented my interests as being superficial or authentic? What’s your read on me — honestly?
Also, what was it like for you/your kids at Yale from an academic, social, and extracurricular perspective?
IMO, it’s a premature question. Next step is to process the advice given here, scour what Yale, itself, says it looks for, until you truly understand that, then work on what you do and how, over the next year, including summer, including outside the realm of typical hs activities, sponsored by the school, district or local orgs. It’s in your hands.
My impression from your posts is that you are genuine and earnest. What will matter when it comes to your college application at a selective institution is whether or not your record, recommendations and essays portray a compelling candidate that your readers want to advocate and support. @lookingforward gives you good advice above.
I had a great Yale experience. Contrary to popular wisdom, I did well academically, had a great social life and participated in a lot of EC’s (student groups and intramurals) and was not sleep deprived. The social life and EC’s are facilitated by the residential college system which makes it easy to make a close group of friends and to participate in organized (and sometimes disorganized – @Tperry1982, you might remember the impromptu Berkeley North Court vs. South Court water balloon wars we had in the spring) student activities. I am also sure I would have had a great (but maybe different) experience anywhere else I went. It’s a question of making the most of the opportunities offered to you. DS was fortunate enough to get accepted EA a couple of weeks back. I hope he takes and makes the most of this opportunity offered, but he has other options and maybe more come April 1, and he might decide he wants a different experience and that would be totally all right with me.
Thank you so, so much for all the advice! I can’t say how grateful I am for the guidance, whether it be gentle or constructive criticism. Your various perspectives really helped illustrate what the AO’s want in an applicant, and your responses helped me to map out a path up that mountain that I’m still only at the base of.
In the coming weeks, months, and years, I will definitely try to go deeper into the areas I’m most interested in, not so deep as to narrow my vision, nor so broad as to dilute my efforts. I will certainly try to keep being academically competitive. And, as I go forward, I will stay true to myself — I don’t want to become someone I’m not just in the hopes of getting into one school or another.
Whether or not I get into Yale (if in two years I still want to), or if I still want to go into appellate law, the guidance I found here has shown me how to take advantages of the opportunities before me in ways I didn’t think of. Thank you to everyone who posted!
@dragonfury29 - I’m not one who is easily impressed but you’ve shown me you’ve got the “stuff” to do well. Keep up the good work and know that I’m wishing you the best as you move forward. You seem very serious so please remember to “enjoy the ride”.
@BKSquared - I was at Yale when they still did Bladderball and you could drink at 18! I know disorganized. Having a kid there now gives me a whole new perspective though. It’s still a great experience, but you’re right, it has to be the right fit. It’s definitely not for everyone.
@Tperry1982, speaking of Bladderball, when I first got on campus and saw people wearing JE Sux t-shirts, I though it was some French thing.
Sorry @dragonfury29, didn’t mean to digress on your thread, but maybe this also gives you a sense of the type of banter Yale alums who don’t know each other can engage in based on tradition and lore.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
As I have stated many times on these boards, when a student (or parent) asks a specific question, replies should deal with the question. There are plenty of threads in the various cafes where your inner Walter Mitty can come out; this is not one of them. Let’s move on from bladderball and confine ourselves to the question at hand please.
@BKSquared@sherpa The “digressions” were actually helpful in illustrating what Yale might actually be like!
Also, I’m going to be volunteering at an event for the local Democratic Club, where I might get to meet the mayor, re-meet my congressional representative, and hopefully talk to my city councilman or state assemblyman about an internship. Thanks again to everyone for giving me the incentive (and advice) to actually start taking what I care about and making something out of it!
Sounds like a plan. If you have questions on law school or the practice of law or careers outside of law with a law degree in a few years, just throw me a shout. Good luck!