<p>So, I've learned that the LSAT and GPA matter most in law school admissions. But I'm curious about what weight adcoms give to letters of rec. and work experience. </p>
<p>Like if you have decent (not awesome, but not bad either) LSAT and GPA, could REALLY great work exp. (maybe working at a law firm as an assistant... or something?)....or really great letters of rec. really put you over the hump?</p>
<p>Or is it still primarily a numbers game? If work exp. counts or letters of rec. count...how AWESOME do they have to be to count? What would be considered "amazing" work exp.?</p>
<p>There's one guy in my philosophy class who has several relatives who work for the same law firm and he gets a serious advantage being able to work their during summers and winter break as an office clerk. (I'm sure he'd get hookups too later if he graduated from law school). But does working for a law firm help a lot? ....</p>
<p>It’s primarily a numbers game. Really great letters of recommendation help out a little bit, as does legal work experience, but the 3.5/165 with great softs is still not likely to beat out the 3.7/170 with mediocre ones.</p>
<p>That’s what most people seem to suggest. But that’s why I also wonder if there is a type of SUPER LOR or SUPER work experience that WOULD vault a person above another with better GPA/LSAT. </p>
<p>Like suppose we take your example above…Could someone who …for example…interned at a legislator’s office …a local Senator’s office, e.g. …get enough of a boost from that experience to bump him up and above the hard stats guy?</p>
<p>There exist things like that, but they’d have to be law related and they’d have to be truly impressive. </p>
<p>The problem is that law schools are not ranked based on your recommendations. For you to be admitted above a guy with higher stats, you have to convince them you’re so incredibly awesome that you are worth taking a hit in the rankings for.</p>
<p>In most cases, it takes 5 or more years of work experience to make a real difference. There are exceptions–Teach for America, the Peace Corps, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps–or whatever, it’s called (similar to Peace Corps), military experience–especially in a combat zone… you get the idea. </p>
<p>Working in a field and then deciding you need to get a law degree can help. For example, my kid’s top law school class included a union organizer with about 10 years experience who decided that the only way to advance the cause was to get a law degree. Having someone who has on the ground, real life experience as a union rep in your labor law class is a plus. The class also included an Olympic medal winner. That’s not work experience, but I’ll bet it made the app stand out. Someone else had won an Oscar–not for acting, for writing a screen play. </p>
<p>Working for a law firm for 2 years as a paralegal is great experience and may convince you you’d like to be an attorney, but so many people do it that it really doesn’t help much, though it could be the basis for a good personal statement.</p>
<p>Hmmm, yeah it may not be worth it then. I’m not planning on going out of my way to GAIN work exp. just for law school if it’s really just GPA/LSAT. I’d rather go straight to law school. </p>
<p>I guess it’s diff. from an MBA then. Because my MBA friends do say work experiences is needed and the norm. But that makese sense for an MBA. </p>
<p>Other than paralegal work…I’m not sure there’s much work experience that would really help you in law school over someone else.</p>
<p>Northwestern LS is the only one that essentially requires work experience.</p>
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<p>Boring, run-of-the-mill work experience. Contrast that with a couple of years of working at McKinsey…or a couple of years in the military, or FBI.</p>
<p>p.s. Thanks for all the help guys. Am done using the forums for now, because school starts for me soon. But have written down all the key points people have brought up and I’m gonna craft my pre-law years very very strategically to prepare the best for law school (or maybe a Ph.D.). </p>
<p>What…?
Why would being legal related even help?</p>
<p>Are there even any respectable legal related positions you can obtain without a law degree?
Or would you consider something like m&a advisory to be legal related?</p>
<p>But also, you could work at a government type of office: legislator’s office…volunteer for a Congressman…etc. …things of that sort. An undergrad dormmate of mine (a she) volunteered in D.C. for some legislator’s office. I’m pretty sure that looks good. But hers was only a summer gig and she’s not sure she wants to do anything with it law related, b/c she’s thinking of business school right now and that direction instead. But just saying…you can definitely do stuff that’s related to law and not have a law degree. </p>
<p>I think I even read a story of someone majoring in music and playing in a symphony and THEN applying to law school…either it was law or medical. But the point was that law and medicine don’t have fixed paths. I think if you just do well in school and distinguish yourself in an area and just do well in it and take the required courses and exams to apply, then you can do lots of stuff before applying to med and law school.</p>