After Undergrad, strategy for admission into LAW, graduate and MBA schools??

Applying to College
1

I already know that work experience is vital to gain admission into the top MBA programs like Umich and Penn.

But what about law school, is work experience important here or do most who to apply to Law school, apply a few months after they complete undergrad? TO add to that, what about general graduate school, is work experience important here. Say you discover you wont gain admission to one of the top MBA programs, so you decide to obtain a masters in Economics or Finance, do you need work experience then??

THANKS

2

<p>Law school is just a matter of decent in your undergrad years and scoring high on the LSAT (unless you are shooting for Yale or something, then you need to stand out)</p>

3

<p>How would one have to stand out for Yale Law School?</p>

4

<p>^ i think standout means the undergrad application all over again.</p>

5

<p>So the grades based on undergrad, and one's LSAT. Correct? Nothing else? Extracirrcular activities, clubs, etc., would they help?</p>

6

<p>Not correct. Leadership experience, work history, strength of recommendations, and the essay all make a difference for ultraselective schools like Yale and Stanford -- PROVIDED that you have the numbers they're looking for.</p>

7

<p>"Leadership experience...work history..." can you be more specific?</p>

8

<p>Well, some examples might be if you worked at an investment bank for a couple of years after college, or you were in the Peace Corps, or you were a congressional intern, or you were president of the Harvard Democrats.</p>

9

<p>How do you know?</p>

10

<p>Its a given consensus and also its been stated in Montauk's how to get into the top law schools where he interviews many top law school admissions directors-they all basically say that GPA and Lsats are the main factors with other things being very minor. Of course with Yale and Stanford, since the classes are so small, they require grades and other things that you can contribute to the class such as WE (Work Experience is usually looked more highly upon than clubs, sports...)</p>

11

<p>Thanks! Is that all Law Schools look for? Academic excellence, and experience in the aspiring field?</p>

12

<p>I went to a selective law school--had academic excellence, great LSATs and work experience (7 years) in a completely different field from law. Experience in aspiring field not necessary.</p>

<p>Law school is different in that state or national recognition in an EC isn't required. GPA and test scores are heavily weighted.</p>

<p>Also, great writing ability on the application is a must.</p>

13

<p>What Law School did you go to?</p>

<p>"Also, great writing ability on the application is a must."</p>

<p>How would one go about improving one's writing ability?</p>

14

<p>How to improve your writing ability?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Read and reread "The Elements of Style" by Strunk & White. (That book tells you to underline the titles of books, but doesn't tell you how to do it on College Confidential.)</p></li>
<li><p>Read books that are well written.</p></li>
<li><p>Take classes that require you to write a great deal.</p></li>
</ol>

15

<p>Thank you.
Is there anything else that I should know?</p>

16

<p>get used to reading dense material
get over your fear if you have any of speaking in front of people
and I agree that writing is super important</p>

17

<p>Give me some examples of dense material. And how can I get used to reading them in college (undergrad.). What courses -- offerend in undergrad. -- entail reading dense material?</p>

18

<p>ALot of english classes will polish you reading ability- classes that are offered undergrad would be Lit classes, short story classes, History classes- i have had history classes already that you must read 10-15 books for the semester and the tests are based on that.</p>

<p>Im not a great reader and what you are reading can help alot, if the subject content is boring, then you will not be motivated to continue. Like me, i could never take A english Lit class, and read X amount of books on something thats completely unpratical. Try to find something you have interest in, that will motivate you to read.</p>

<p>I never read alot precluding college, and i took a Facism/Nazism class, which i had to read 8 books for the class , the book dealth with how Germany and Italy enabled this form of radicalism, so instead of playing victim, they should own it. Now you might not agree with that, but they do provide evidence on why they have these beliefs. Stuff like this interests me.</p>

<p>Some things that i like reading is Wall Street, Sports and Entertainment Section of NEwspaper, and History and Sports related books. Start with this, master that and then when stuff like legal case studies arrise in law school, it wont seem overwhelming</p>

19

<p>Good advice, I will take it.</p>

<p>Thank you, all of you who contributed.</p>

<p>If there is anything that I am missing, feel free to add. I am subscribed to this thread. Thus, I will be notified via e-mail whether this thread recieved a new post.</p>

20

<p>I just finished my second yr at Penn ST university, majoring in Finance and have grown interest in law since i have taken 2 business law courses and found them interesting. I exceled in these classes because of interest and praticality. </p>

<p>Like i mentioned before, im by no means a great reader, which you at least need for law school, so i have a way to go even though my GPA would probably warrant admission, at this point, i would not be prepared.</p>

<p>One important skill you must have to do well in law school and eventually become a good lawyer is good problem solving skills. I cant tell you how many people in my class stated that they memorized the notes and book by heart and knew everything, yet they got a 55 on the test. WIth law oriented classes, first you must master the content and then BE ABLE TO APPLY THAT KNOWLEDGE, THIS IN MANY WAYS IS WHAT DECIDES IF YOU CAN HANDLE LAW OR NOT!!</p>

<p>There are many people who have the inability to apply the things they learned, you must build on concepts. THe tests in the business class i mentioned where many people got 50's were very challenging. First, you must completely understand definitions and concepts because there were questions that dealt with this but i would say over 60% of all the tests in this class were scenerios the prof posed to you. </p>

<p>TO give you an example. </p>

<p>A question on the test would be- A buyer came into a store and ordered a unique item from a seller that costs $500. When the buyer realized that the seller didnt place an invoice with the item, the buyer stated he never ordered it. The seller then sued the buyer for the amount of the item. Who would recover? WOuld the seller be able to collect?</p>

<p>Now, here comes the problem solving- In Code, if the item in the transaction exceeds $500, you must have some sort of evidence, this means invoice, confirming letter, the Common Law is more conservative requiring a signature. SO since there is no evidence of the transaction, you would think the buyer would win because he can claim Statue of Frauds defense, which means if item is $500, there must be concrete proof. But in this case the Special Manufacturers Rule would apply- this means that if the seller can prove that the item is so unique and would not be able to sell the item in the course of everyday business, then this is sufficient. SO just by looking at the problem on the surface, you would think that the seller would have no case but there are all sort of special laws that have influence on cases. So even though the Code states you must have some evidence of transaction to recover damages, in this case since the SPecial Manufactuerer comes into affect, the seller can infact recover without any sort of evidencel.</p>

<p>I did not look at a book while typing, i specifically remember this type of essay type problem on the most recent test...</p>