<p>Alright, so the ultimate goal is to land a job in one of the megafirms here in NYC in business law. However, I'm not entirely sure how I want to get there and that's where the problem comes in. Obviously I know I need to aim for T-14 or one of the other top hired law schools.</p>
<p>If you couldn't guess I'm an NYU undergrad and I'm doing a double major in politics in philosophy. I have an internship with my county prosecutor already under my belt. NYU offers an accelerated masters program in International Politics and Business that would only take me an extra year to complete. So my question is should I stake out the extra year and complete the masters? Or would it be better to graduate on time and move right on into law school? I'm a year ahead for my graduation date as it is already (e.g. I should be graduating in 2014 because of my age) thus my parents are willing to pay for a 5th year of college (Although the 5th year is only 1/2 tuition.) Some may ask what my motives for wanting to get my masters are: (1) In case I decide law school is not what I want, I have that to fall back on (2) In case I decide to work in any sort of politics, I feel that a JD + MA boosts my credentials in some way shape or form.
Suggestions? Opinions? Feedback really appreciated.</p>
<p>Graduating young might hold you back in admissions, so let’s provisionally rule that out.</p>
<p>In my view, I think you’d be better off with a year of work experience (e.g. as a paralegal) before starting law school. If you have political interests, the best alternative would be to simply volunteer for a political campaign. Even if it’s not well-paying, it’s surely better paying than an extra year of school’s negative income.</p>
<p>Like the above post states, I’m paying no cost for schooling. Would you still recommend taking the year off and gaining more work experience? I plan on holding internships either at the Prosecutor’s office again or other firms/corporate business departments over the summers until I graduate.</p>
<p>Your post states that your parents are willing to pay, which is not the same thing as school being free.</p>
<p>In any case, yes. I maintain that work experience is more valuable than a master’s degree for (1) law school admissions; (2) post law-school career options; (3) the law school experience itself.</p>
<p>The MA as a fallback is a worthy reason to pursue it. If you’re doing it to enhance your law school admission chances or boost your resume for big law, it’s not worth it. I doubt anyone in politics will care about a MA if you have a JD, but I have no way of proving that.</p>
<p>I don’t think a Master’s in “International Politics and Business” will be particularly helpful as a fallback. Again, the extra year of work experience will help more.</p>
<p>The advantage of grad school, of course, is that it’s easy to figure out how to go there: you send in applications, they tell you what they need, etc. The chaos of the job market is a deterrent. But actually working will be more valuable in almost every respect.</p>
<p>have your parents save the money and use it toward your 1L year (minus some for a good LSAT tutor/class/book). Much better investment. I agree that working is just as impressive, less costly, and a better way to find out if law is right for you. The degree is a decent fallback if you can’t get a job. But honestly, I’d rather travel someplace awesome and do something interesting…that’s hard to do after law school, and will have a similar impact on your admissions chances.</p>
<p>I’d even go so far as to suggest that if push really comes to shove, spend the year learning a second language, preferably a cool one (Arabic, perhaps). Again, much more valuable.</p>