If so, what are some examples?
I don’t think so. The first cut is going to be made on LSAT and Gpa, so volunteer work may be a thumb on the scale way down the process. Doesn’t hurt.
Where it may help you is in class the first year. If you have volunteered in a courtroom or worked in a law firm, you may be exposed to things others haven’t been. In the first weeks of law school there are a lot of new terms. Another student asked what the difference was between an affidavit and a deposition. Since I had worked as a paralegal I’d read and written both so I could glide through that stuff (and time is everything in school). Another student worked for a business in shipping and knew all about the UCC and documentation needed. Little things like that help. For a few weeks.
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@Djmex2001 my daughter just submitted 10+ law school applications. The two most important things are LSAT and gpa. Strong resume comes in a close 3rd-leadership positions held, clubs & org membership, awards received, etc.
Volunteerism won’t hurt, but it’ll be way down the list, won’t be a deal breaker or set you apart.
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I would have thought working as a paralegal would be a good idea in that it could help you figure out if law is a good idea or not. Similarly if you think you want to go into something other than corporate law, human rights law, for example, or environmental law, working/volunteering at a refugee group, or the natural resources defense council e.g. would be a good idea.
Not so much to make you “stand out” as to help clarify your thoughts (it would also make a potentially more compelling case for admission). Know that a very high percentage of lawyers are unhappy with their career choice, so it is important to know that being a lawyer is really what you want to do.
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I think if you are out of college & have 3-5 yrs working in a law firm, that’s just as strong, if not stronger than GPA. Yale has accepted students with LSATS as low as a 150, because the applicant has a great resume. I think a GPA of 3.5 & LSAT score of 166+ is good, coupled with an outstanding resume, recommendations & personal essay, for a top 10 law school. However, GPA & LSAT score alone w/o great recommendations/essay/resume won’t cut it. Just my opinion based on five people I know that got into Harvard, Yale, Stanford & NYU. Good luck!
You can think whatever you want but the metrics suggest that you are wrong. 3-5 years of working in a law firm is nowhere near as “strong” as GPA. And you need to check your facts on that “great resume” that got a 150 into Yale.
Once every 5 or 6 years, an applicant with a score that low gets into Yale. An Airborne Ranger with a decade of military experience, numerous promotions, and significant exposure to the legal systems overseas. An applicant who grew up unhoused and has significant, personal experience with housing court, close relatives who are incarcerated, etc. An applicant who was a named litigant in a significant court case that made it up through the federal court system.
It is not usual, it is not to be expected, and is certainly NOT working as a paralegal for a few years or a volunteer gig. You need to check your facts before posting. And you can ask the five people you know at Harvard, Yale, Stanford and NYU to find out just how hard it is to be accepted to one of these schools with a 150 LSAT. They will be happy to educate you.
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Or, the Olympic champion (2 Olympics), or the professional skydiver, or the rockstar who toured worldwide after college and brought in millions, or published author (NYT best seller list).
Extremely unique individuals. Working as an admin for a few years at a law firm is not even worth one point on the LSAT to Yale.
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@hanna any ideas?
Yeah, I hung out with a lot of alternative-path students at my “top” law school. You had people with graduate degrees from top programs, high-level military service, real business experience . . . and they still all had the grades/LSAT scores.
I think this is one of those things where if you are in the range where your numbers get you to a maybe yes, maybe no, then these other things could potentially help.
But if you are hoping to make up for low numbers with this stuff–might happen on rare occasions, but not often enough to be significant.
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Sure, all kinds of experiences can help you stand out against other applicants with similar numbers. Your job is to do the best you can with what you have. You are unlikely to come up with something to do that’s impressive enough to counterbalance a deficiency in your numbers. It would likely be something you’ve been laying the groundwork to do.
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Some examples are service to low income individuals (legal aid clinics or free tax preparation for low income earners clinics).
If you want to attend a law school to further a specific area such as animal rights law, then volunteering for animal shelters wold be a plus.
Basically, volunteering is a way to demonstrate interest in a particular area of law.
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It won’t offset less-than-optimal LSAT or GPA, if that’s what you’re asking. It would have to be IN ADDITION to high LSAT and GPA.
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So I’ll clear up your conflation & misstatements of things I wrote. I cant let it go unchallenged. I said Yale (nowhere else) has taken some students over the years (no one I know) that scored 150 (to 157) per one of their Admissions Consultants who spoke at a Law Forum. She stated the person had an outstanding resume that made up for the low score (not everyone can afford LSAT Prep). Grades (below median) & resume were outstanding enough that they took a chance on the first gen applicant.
I dont see anywhere in my post the word “paralegal.” Are you assuming that’s the kind of job I’m referring to? It’s not. The ppl w/work experience I know were 4-6 yrs post grad, from top universities in rigorous prgs who worked on Wall St & law firms in investment banking, leveraged finance, private equity. Others worked at consulting firms McKinsey & Booz Allen. They parlayed their skills to Big Law as financial analysts in debt restructuring, M&A & other positions at top law firms. Every one of them had stellar recommendations from partners, adjunct law professors, and/or MDs. Finance is a new area law firms are implementing & the pay is high. Those positions inc bonuses so they were all making six figures. They did work that overlapped w/associate attorneys. Some law firms offered to reimburse law school tuition if they return to the same firm. Most got half-full merit scholarships. One friend was offered a position in the Houston office of the firm she was with. She had to break it to the partner she wasnt an atty. She had worked on deals w/him from their NY HQs. The whole time he assumed she was an atty.
Their unique & varied work experiences proved they were perfectly qualified for law school (their scores ranged from 167-173 NOT 150 as you misinterpreted).
So that’s what I meant by law firm work experience. I shouldve been clearer. Another point is a few worked all 4 summers during undergrad in marketing, private wealth & real estate at big firms (Douglas Elliman).
There’s a lot more each did but dont want to die them putting out too much info. You can also check essays & where ppl applied w/their stats on any of the top law s hool admissions consultants websites like Spivey, 7Sage, Sharper Statements, et al. Many have easily gotten into T15 law schools w/sub 170 & sub 3.6 GPAs. Spivey Consulting has current blogs & podcasts addressing law school admin topics & on Sept 11, 2023, they talked about how work experience is: Podcast: How Important is Work Experience in Law School Admissions? | Spivey Consulting
Realize work experience doesn’t have to be in finance or law, but it helps. One person came out of undergrad w/hotel experience & had a great essay shout dealing w/all kinds of people. Harvard thought he’d make a good lawyer, bc you need to be flexible & compassionate in the job.
Hope this elucidates my post.
Someone with a 173 LSAT with a few years of McKinsey experience is hardly a hardship admit.
You seem to be moving the goalposts with your clarification!
The LSAC has a nice feature where prospective students can plug in their GPA and LSAT score and come up with a percentage chance of admission to individual schools. Some of the very top T14s don’t provide that data, but several of the slightly lower down T14s (and a few not quite in the T14) do. With a 3.5 and a 166, here is the predicted chance of admission to the following schools:
Northwestern: 7%
Duke: 6%
Michigan: 7%
Cornell: 5%
USC: 7%
Texas: 6%
Columbia: 5%