<p>would graduating a semester early do any good towards law school. I ask because I've heard law schools prefer someone with post college experience(s) but since applications to law schools are turned in during the winter, wouldn't that leave render graduating a semester early useless? what is your take onthis?</p>
<p>bump 10 chars</p>
<p>When they get students with work experience, they mean students who graduated normally and went on to work, so they don't expect you to graduate early in order to be competitive. I would not recommend graduating early unless you can do so without hurting your GPA....meaning if rushing means you take to many classes at one time and end up performing lower, then that would be a huge mistake. </p>
<p>Another thing, if you graduate early try to think about your route to the job market. I had a friend who did it as a Computer Science major...and his goal was to get recruited by a large IT firm such as HP, Dell, HP, Accenture, etc. The problem with graduating early is that he was entry level looking for work in December. That level of company is typically on campuses and looking to hire and recruit in the Spring with people starting in June(ish). So he found himself scrambling just to get a regular job somewhere (not that there aren't great opportunities below the big names, but he was not very lucky) and by the time the Spring came around and he would of been going to those college recruiting events he was already outside of the university community and didn't get the exposure that he should of. I may be a little melodramatic about this, but as I and our other friend got picked up by Microsoft and IBM that spring, I couldn't help but think that out of everything that decision was the biggest mistake he made educationally/careerwise.</p>
<p>That is a scary story makalika! My dd is graduating a year early and I am hoping it doesn't hurt her chances with her law school choices. I think she is aware of it but it was a financial decision for her to graduate early. Why stay an extra year and pay the tuition/room/board when you have enough credits to graduate? Yeah, I know the answer to that question already and I know the benefits of staying an extra year. I hope the law schools see her as an extremely motivated student who knows what she wants (law school has been her goal since early high school). I could have graduated a semester early (back in the day) but I wanted to stay around bc I didn't know what I wanted to do. What's wrong with being motivated these days? It's a great quality.</p>
<p>I'm pro graduating early - I chose to graduate a year early from high school...I'm just saying that when you do it at the college level be strategic. The 3 months before and the 3 months after you graduate are key...thats your time to be a "bright, fresh college grad ready to infuse the corporation with new ideas and youthful energy." Before that window, your not near enough to graduation to talk serious offers yet, and after that window they're going to start wondering why you aren't employed already, nobody wants to get the kid that got picked last....and if you are employed already, your going to be somewhat, if not mostly, judged on that work experience...life is just easier if you mind your timing. </p>
<p>If your daughter left a full year early, then she probably is leaving in the <em>spring</em> of her junior year...which means that she will still be graduating at the same time that most organizations are recruiting ---meaning, shes good to go. They typically are not recruiting in December, (becuase they don't expect students to be ready for recruiting yet of course), which is when a student who graduates only a semester early is normally out the door. Thus, these December graduates find that instead of the normal slew of companies looking to find people, they're greeted with companies not yet ready to bring in entry level people and more focused on closing the 4th quarter, enjoying their winter holiday and starting their fiscal years with the normal getting organized and setting yearly goals and such. </p>
<p>So I'm saying it pays to be on campus, about to graduate and ready to enter the job market, at the same time as companies are looking for you - which is in the spring. Of course this does not apply to any specialty schools or situations in which winter graduations are large and companies begin recruiting at that school accordingly (if they exist, I dont know of any). For most instituations though, spring is where its at. </p>
<p>Also, I would never imply that graduating early hurts your chances at admission....I just said it wasnt necessary to do it because you think you must have the work experience they sometimes claim to welcome and your trying to keep some sort of tight deadline to do it....that work experience is their way of saying that they are happy to consider people who have been out of school for a little while and see value in the work experience they've accumulated....versus people who often think that law school is just for people fresh out of their undergrad....</p>