<p>My career goal is and has always been to practice law. I am very interested in the field of corporate law and will be looking at the top tier of schools for admission when I do apply.</p>
<p>That said, I would love to use a year or two before law school to pursue public service or, depending on the job market, gain private sector experience which would help me decide on the type of law I want to practice.</p>
<p>Do law schools look down upon not applying senior year? When should I take the LSAT if this is the case? Taking the October test would be very stressful with full-time job recruitment then.</p>
<p>Your LSAT score is valid for 5 years after you take it, so do it as soon as you have a bit of free time to study, unless you plan on taking more than 5 years off.</p>
<p>My d is in a similar situation. She just graduated from Cornell- plans to work a year or two and will apply to law school. She took her Lsat's in her junior year.</p>
<p>From everything I heard and read, there does not seem to be a disadvantage in applying a few years out of UG. Many people think it is helpful. In fact, I recently became aware of info from Cornell (thanks Jonri) which showed that the breakdown of graduating seniors and Cornell alum applying to law school is split 1/3 UG and 2/3 alumni apply each cycle. I really was surprised that most Cornell grads
( 2/3's) apply with a few years work experience instead of directly out of college. </p>
<p>Now this is a mom's opinion- so take it or leave it!!<br>
-Go through the recruitment process. It's usually done early in the fall (I think), so hopefully it's over with by December. Don't think about law school or LSAT's yet.
- You gotta keep your GPA up, as law schools will definitely consider both semesters.
- Find a less stressful time to study and take LSAT this year. Do you have a long winter recess? Can you study Dec. through Feb. and take the LSAT in Feb (or whenever it's given in winter)??
- Last semester of college can be emotional. My kid was sorta zombie like. The reality of leaving college and becoming part of the adult world was a bit much for her to comprehend. Trust me- I saw that same look from alot of her friends. So I am suggesting that you may not want to take your LSAT later on in your senior year.
- my d got her recommendations and registered with LSDAS. She also requested all her transcripts.<br>
My d will be starting a job in July. I will assume it will be a great opportunity and she'll put off law school for 2 years and will apply Fall 2009.</p>
<p>Don't put too much on you plate senior year, it's a bit more trying than you may think.
Good luck!</p>
<p>I want to stress one point Marny made--get your recommendations lined up. Many colleges have a "bank" where they will save rec letters and will send them out later when you request it. This is usually part of the career services office. </p>
<p>It can be hard to get recs a few years later. Profs die; profs move; profs have hundreds of new students and don't remember you as well as they do right after you've taken their classes. So, if at all possible, get them before your graduate or immediately thereafter. </p>
<p>If your school doesn't have a "bank" you might want to consider registering with LSDAS and filing the recs with them. The downside of this is just that if you later want to go for a MBA, grad school, etc., you may not get access to them. </p>
<p>My daughter worked abroad for a year after undergrad before entering law school, and everything worked out fine. She got into many top-ranked schools and is very happy at the one she picked. Many, if not most, of her classmates there took a year or more off between undergrad and law school. I don't think it hurts anyone's chances in the least and in fact may enhance them.</p>
<p>As advised by others, she studied for and took the LSATs her senior year -- I think a winter date, which gave her time to study over the Christmas break.</p>
<p>And -- VERY IMPORTANT -- she got her letters of recommendation before she graduated, while the profs still knew her well and could speak to her in person, and (again as others have said), had them filed away at her undergrad dean's office for use during the following year's admission cycle.</p>
<p>"Hot off the presses"
Seems like some T-14 Law schools truly value work experience. Northwestern is starting a 2 year accelerated JD program. You'll need to have at least 2 years work experience for consideration into this program.
It would be interesting to see if other T-14's go this route.
There isn't too much info on the NW website as the announcement of the program was made today with further info to follow....</p>