Law by day/Acting by night?

Graduate School Law School
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<p>I don't even know how I got here... but I like what I've seen so far! Thus, I have a few questions for you guys. </p>

<p><em>Disclaimer</em> This post is much longer than I intended for it to be, so for your convenience I italicized my questions. I ask only that you read the italicized headings, and that you answer only if you feel comfortable responding to that topic. PLEASE don't read the whole thing if you don't want to, but if you do then.... :)</p>

<p>Preface: My situation</p>

<p>I am going to be pursuing a lot of drama-related activities in college and I actually have ambitions of acting professionally. However, I also have a profound passion for politics and so I'm planning to apply to Law school with intent to defer 2 or 3 years should my acting goals not be realized. </p>

<p>Questions:
- In selecting Law schools, what factors do people mostly consider? </p>

<p>I based my college decision on the environment of the school (campus, people, events, quirky traditions), but I realize that graduate school is a completely new ball game. So I ask, what factors did you guys primarily look at when deciding which Law schools to apply to/ultimately attend?</p>

<ul>
<li>Is Law school admission similar to undergraduate admissions?</li>
</ul>

<p>I was lucky enough to be accepted to some great undergrad institutions this past spring and I think it's because I pursued what I loved throughout high school. I hope to do the same in college (like I said, many drama-related activities), but are artsy activities conducive to getting into Law school? I have other passions and intend to work on my college's economics/environmental review publications in addition to pursuing big brother mentoring type things, but acting will definitely be my primarily extracurricular and I'm wondering if that will fly with law admissions committees. </p>

<ul>
<li>Yale/Harvard</li>
</ul>

<p>It's presumptuous of me to assume that I'll be accepted at either, but since these are the top two law schools I figured I'd ask about them.</p>

<p>I've heard rumors that Law schools aren't partial to accepting students that attended their undergraduate institutions. This isn't something I really considered when I decided to attend Yale and it's actually not something I'm too worried about. However, I am curious about this because it would be unfortunate to be denied the chance to attend such a great school.</p>

<p>In deciding to go to Yale, I turned down Harvard thinking that maybe I could go to the latter for graduate level work. However, from reading the posts here on the Law School forum, it seems that many of the factors that drew me to Yale (philosophical, theory based, more theoretical approach to learning) and away from Harvard (pre-professionalism, preoccupation with making money and success) continue to exist for even their graduate schools. To what extent are my observations true? Like I said, I've gleaned this only from an online forum so PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong.</p>

<ul>
<li>Is there time to have a life at Yale/Harvard (LAW)?</li>
</ul>

<p>Ideally, in Law school I'd like to participate in local community theatrical productions and have time to mentor youth. Are these things possible in addition to successfully pursuing a JD at a top school? </p>

<ul>
<li>JD/MBA and JD/PhD</li>
</ul>

<p>My dad introduced me to the possibility of obtaining one of these degrees and they look extremely enticing. I've searched online for the top programs in each of the fields but did not have much luck locating the best schools for each of these. Can someone help me out?</p>

<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to look through this!</p>

2

<p>1.) Ranking plays a dominant role, but campus feel matters too, within fairly narrow tiers.</p>

<p>2.) No, law school admissions is much more numbers-based.</p>

<p>3.) While it’s true they don’t substantially favor their own, they also don’t disadvantage their own. At HLS, it’s a numbers game. Yale’s a little more fluid.</p>

<p>4.) Yes, especially at Yale.</p>

<p>5.) You’d want to essentially look at rankings on this one, too. Harvard, Stanford, and Penn are probably the top programs.</p>

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<p>thanks bluedevilmike!</p>

<p>Your answer to number 4 is a bit unfortunate, but frankly it doesn’t surprise me. I suppose my “top choice” for law school would be either Penn or Harvard seeing as they’re in very large cities with lots of opportunities for community theatre acting. But I think College Confidential has shown me over these past few years that Yale is pretty much the best place in the world.</p>

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<p>It seems like NYU would be a logical choice too.</p>

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<p>I was actually considering NYU as well!</p>

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<p>eating food, are you talking about acting as an extracurricular activity or are you seeking to have professional training in acting as part of your college curriculum perhaps as a double major or a minor. Are you envisioning a career in acting or will it be an avocation.</p>

<p>Also, I’m a little unclear from your post; are you attending Yale as an undergrad in September or are you now starting to search for colleges that will give you both an exposure to professional training in acting and the credentials to apply to law school?</p>

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<p>Sorry for the confusion MichaelNKat.</p>

<p>I will be a freshman at Yale (college) this fall. As it stands now, I will be pursuing a double major in Theatre Studies (with a focus on acting) and a unique major called Ethics, Politics and Economics. After college, I plan to pursue acting full time. However, I will also be applying to law schools while in college with intent to defer a few years as a back up option, just in case acting doesn’t work out.</p>

<p>Should I go to law school, I will pretty much give up professionally acting and study law full time. However, should this happen, I would prefer to go to a school where I can do some local community theatre on the side while studying law.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the clarification. Something to think about is whether you should apply to law school with the intent of deferring. Law schools can be tough on deferrals and view a request based on career interests as a negative. Your purposes may better be served by not applying until you are ready to attend.</p>

<p>As to doing community theatre once in law school, coming from my perspective as a lawyer whose daughter is in a BFA program and does a lot of community and regional performing, you may find it tough to juggle a full time law program with the demands of rehearsals which will generally occur at nights and on weekends and can last for 6 weeks straight before opening. Your best bet would probably be summer theatre opportunities. Once you are out in practice, you would have more opportunities to perform; I know many lawyers who perform as an avocation in local community theatre.</p>

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<p>I agree that deferring 2-3 years will likely be impossible. It could also be to your advantage to apply at least a year after graduating from college, so you have your full record available.</p>

<p>For JD/PhD programs you have to be accepted into both separately. Your PhD interests will likely determine your first choice institution. On the other hand, there’s minimal (if any) overlap, so you will basically be doing both programs in full. You could do them in two different institutions if you wish (though it is less convenient, and can have some serious financial ramifications). I would guess that the same is true for JD/MBA.</p>

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<p>Since you haven’t started college, I suggest this is a topic you think about over your 4 years. If I had to bet, I’d say your choice of direction will be much clearer by your junior year.</p>

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<p>LOL!! I have to admire your self-confidence. </p>

<p>First, I wouldn’t walk into Yale announcing that you’re going to double major in theatre studies and EP&E. You might not be accepted to EP&E. I assume you know that it’s one of Yale’s few selective majors. The # of participants is usually capped at about 40. Usually, at least twice that number apply. Lots more people who are interested don’t even bother applying because you need a certain gpa to be seriously considered. It requires a lot of courses–not sure of the exact number, but I think it’s about 14 or so. </p>

<p>Meanwhile, theatre studies is pretty time intensive too. I think it requires about a dozen courses. </p>

<p>So, assuming you are admitted to both and want to major in both, you’d probably have to take some extra courses in order to meet Yale’s distribution requirements. I doubt you’d actually be able to fill them with the 10 courses you’ll have “left over” after meeting the course requirements for both majors. (The minimum # of courses you need to graduate is 36.) </p>

<p>My understanding is that most of the Yalies who want to act professionally spend a lot of time outside of class rehearsing and performing, so you’ll need to leave time for this as well as your course work. </p>

<p>Deferring two or three years for law school while you try to make a go at acting isn’t an option, as others have explained. (Obviously, you can wait and apply later, but usually two and three year deferrals after acceptance are reserved for Rhodes or Marshall scholarships, etc.) And, quite seriously, I think the only acting you’d have time for at either Harvard or Yale Law would be the annual law school revue. There are programs at both law schools in which students mentor local youth, but it would be rather difficult to pull off acting and mentoring and law school. I think it might be easier though than double majoring in theatre studies and EP&E.</p>

<p>Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t do it–you may really be extraordinary. However, you should be aware that it would be very difficult.</p>

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<p>jonri, I have to disagree here. I think a YLS student could handle a few hours a night for community theater. They wouldn’t be doing a journal or a clinic or whatever, but I do think you could handle the courseload while being an actor.</p>

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<p>I defer to your expertise, Mike.</p>

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<p>Ok. So before I respond to this, I’ve been told that I have a distinctly arrogant way of speaking on CC… so just know that I appreciate your time in helping me out with this and that I am really not trying to sound arrogant!!!</p>

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<p>I’m aware that it’s going to be difficult, but I’ve actually met many people who have double majored in Theatre Studies and something else. I’m also aware of the competitive nature of the EPE major. I’ve made a general outline of the courses I will be taking throughout my college career and there is room for me to complete both majors (along with Yale’s distributional requirements which would be fulfilled by completing the EPE major alone). Obviously though, I have yet to speak to a Yale adviser about my academic interests so right now my choices for academic concentration are VERY tentative. Especially since I’ve heard that many actors do not major in Theatre Studies.</p>

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</p>

<p><3 This is actually why I made this thread. I know I have lofty ambitions so I’m trying to stay realistic. I’m going to be honest – I knew nothing about law school admissions prior to a couple days ago (when I first visited the Law School Forum). I’m just trying to get some advice/insight into what I can do to get a strong and informed start in college, which is something I didn’t have going into high school. It’s actually kind of funny because my dad went to two ivies and my sister is at Georgetown Law right now, but I’ve never really received any advice from them on stuff like this – thus, I turned to the internet :).</p>

<p>Also: Jonri, did you attend Yale?</p>

<p><a href=“Obviously,%20you%20can%20wait%20and%20apply%20later,%20but%20usually%20two%20and%20three%20year%20deferrals%20after%20acceptance%20are%20reserved%20for%20Rhodes%20or%20Marshall%20scholarships,%20etc.”>quote</a>

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</p>

<p>Actually I was thinking about possibly doing a fellowship (Fulbright) at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Which would be me “pursuing” acting.</p>

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<p>If everything goes as planned, you can sell the movie rights to your law student by day, actor by night scenario!</p>

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<p>Here’s to you finding your way as an actor so you don’t have to worry about the law school scenario!</p>

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<p>eating food, as the mom of one D who is a professional actor and another who just finished 1L, (and as the wife of a lawyer), I admire your ambition. :)</p>

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<p>I love the idea that you’ve gone through the bulletin to look at the classes you’d take to fulfill all your requirements.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys! I hope my acting plans work out too… but alas, the world is not known to be the kindest place.</p>

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<p>When I attended Penn Law, there were a number of law students who were involved both in university theater productions (in fact, the law school’s Law School Light Opera Company was a popular activity) and in community theater productions. Like anything else, there are only so many hours in a day, and you would have to decide whether to spend those hours studying, participating in a journal, participating in moot court, doing an internship or whatever else you might imagine yourself doing.</p>