Hello Everyone!
This fall I will be a freshman at Vanderbilt University, but I am already looking ahead to the future. I have very specific interests in technology and innovation, building companies, and how law permeates and affects all of these different areas. But until recently I was unable to reconcile all of these areas into a unified plan for the future. Last night I was perusing youtube when I found some lectures by Jonathan Zittrain, and they blew my mind. His research on Internet Law, and what the future holds are extraordinary, and he held me captivated for hours. The way that he was able to weave law and technology together was beautiful!
I’m pretty certain I want to attend a MBA program, but I’m also certain that I want to go to law school.
My current plan for undergrad is to major in Economics. But, other than that, I’m entirely lost. What can I do (besides work to attain a great GPA, and get solid test scores on the GMAT and LSAT) to heighten my chances for admission to a top JD/MBA program? I’m checked out a few programs, namely Harvard’s JD/MBA and the University of Chicago’s JD/MBA program. At Harvard you’re required to apply separately to both programs, and get admitted to both. Quite frankly the odds of getting into both the Harvard MBA program and Harvard JD program seem daunting.
What should I be focused on in the short term? Long term? Specific internships?
Any and all advice and help is appreciated.
Thanks,
LazyBonez
@LazyBonez: I have no idea about the MBA side and recommend you ask in the business school forum. As for law, the only thing you can do in terms of law school admissions is keep your GPA and LSAT high. That said, you should absolutely intern in a few law offices to get a realistic picture of what the practice of law entails. Actual practice is usually very different from what most people expect.
You should also look up the bios of people with JD/MBAs to see what they are generally doing (especially when they graduate), as well finding people who do what you want to do and looking at their educational backgrounds.
@Demosthenes49 Thank you so much for replying! I also posted on the MBA forum, and they said that while applying to Harvard law sounds daunting, HBS requires much more in terms of work experience, while Harvard Law requires “only” a high LSAT and GPA. The main reason that I’m questioning “just” applying to law schools is because of my father. He is a vet, his father was a vet, etc… and has long wanted me to go into medicine. He is adamant that the law “market” is being inundated with graduates and that I “wont get a job” unless i go to a top 5 program. Is there any validity to this statement? I understand that of course top 5 programs will offer many advantages, but is it really this extreme?
If you want to work in the world of tech start-ups, you’ll almost certainly need some level of tech expertise; it’s an extremely competitive field. A CS or engineering degree tends to be a huge asset for lawyers/business-people, if not a pre-requisite. Lawyers and MBAs with Economics/PoliSci backgrounds are a dime a dozen.
Keep in mind that Jonathan Zittrain is a lawyer–not a JD/MBA. You don’t need both a JD/MBA for many very successful careers. A JD/MBA could be too much for working in a startup if that’s what you want; a JD/MBA from a top-tier school will give you a golden ticket to Goldman Sachs, McKinsey or the like, but it could lead you to be considered overqualified for some jobs.
I would focus on getting summer internships in tech companies. There are slews of startups around NYC, Boston and the Bay Area and so getting a summer internship should not be hard, especially coming from Vanderbilt, which is a fine school. Maybe there’s a tech scene in Nashville. Build your resume with short-term jobs in startups and other tech companies while you’re in college and you’ll be golden to a variety of employers.
Also, HLS prefers that you take time off between college and law school, so whether you get an MBA, a JD or a JD/MBA, you should plan on working for a year or two after college. It definitely does not look at just LSAT/GPA unless your numbers are way higher than the HLS medians.
@STEMsupport I do a fair bit of web development as well as IOS development in X-code (just for personal projects though). Would you say that it would be a must to actually get a degree in Computer Science rather than just get a degree in Economics but know how to code/program? Thanks for the feedback!
@HappyAlumnus I hadn’t really thought about seeming overqualified. Would you recommend that I continue to develop my interest in tech even though I’m strongly considering the JD / MBA route? Or would I be better served by just attempting to find internships in the realm of finance, law, etc…? Thanks for the awesome feedback!!!
all top B-schools require work experience. (And truth be told, many matriculants to HLS also have work experience.)
Law school likes work experience, but unlike B-school, its not a pre-req. So, focus on grades and, as Happy notes, target tech firms for internships/jobs.
btw: tech heaven is in the Bay Area, so Stanford is where you want to go (outside of Yale!).
@LazyBonez a solid coding portfolio should be a pretty good stand in for a “formal” CS degree, but I’d suggest looking into doing both Econ (if that’s a personal passion) and Computer Science (as it sounds like a bit of a natural fit). Not sure how Vanderbilt structures dual degrees, but it would be a doable (not easy, but doable) dual degree at the public California universities you are used to.
And as bluebayou mentioned, Stanford is the Mecca of tech entrepreneurship (not to mention very big on interdisciplinary approaches to tech innovation).
LazyBonez, yes, if you’re interested in tech, then by all means keep developing your interest in it.
A JD/MBA (or any degree) is just a means to an end. You’ll be miserable if you seek the JD/MBA for its own sake, and seek jobs that “match” what a JD/MBA graduate is “supposed” to seek.
So if you love tech, do tech, and if a JD/MBA fits into your plan for a tech career, get those degrees.
Unless you’re seeking a high-level job (and there are plenty of them in the tech space, but even more non-high level jobs in the tech space), a JD/MBA from a top school will just cause startups and some employers to say, “well, you could work at Goldman Sachs with your degrees so we figure that you’re not really interested in us, so we won’t hire you”, or the non-super elite employers will think that you’re Albert Einstein and put extremely high expectations on you, not realizing that we’re all human, regardless of our educational background.