<p>they don't expect for everybody to have worked prior to entering law school now do they?</p>
<p>I personally do not wish to work right now [actually never have except for about 1 month]...due to a periah of reasons/problems, so wouldn't they acknowledge that and not hold it against the applicant?</p>
<p>in other words if you have a good Gpa and a Good lsat score...as well as the personal statement...that's all they're basically going to look at in order to determine your eligibility.......is that correct.....I mean if you haven't worked and don't plan on doing so before law school it's not going to impact your chance of getting in will it.</p>
<p>Each law school has its own little quirks in admissions. Some, like Northwestern, practically won't accept anyone who doesn't have work experience. Others are fine accepting a potful of uber-talented 22 year olds.</p>
<p>Law school is not like getting an MBA where most students have work experience. In fact, I know no lawyer that DIDN'T go right to law school after undergrad.</p>
<p>athena, what about something like Columbia...or UCLA...Duke...NYU....Stanford....Berkeley....I mean do all of these law schools require that you absolutely work before entering?</p>
<p>so if an applicant is highly eligible with her/his gpa, lsat and statement, yet has no work experience at all, are you telling me the school will <em>automatically</em> disregard you?</p>
<p>One of my kids and a ton of friends recently went through the process while still undergrads. One or more was accepted to every school on your list. Of the top 14--and the only school on your list that isn't is UCLA--ONLY Northwestern requires weighs work experience very heavily. </p>
<p>Yale's not on your list, but it's the only school I've seen give data on how many students have work experience. One-third come straight from college; one -third take 1-2 years between college and law school (and, of these, a large group got in and then deferred), one-third has more than 2 years work experience. </p>
<p>That doesn't mean it isn't helpful in terms of your actual experience to take time off, but it isn't required to get in.</p>
<p>Go to the law school's website and find the stats on their 1Ls. They will tell you the percentage that worked before entering law school. Some will say "coming directly from undergrad," which is a slightly different statistic. Others, like Northwestern, note that 92% of their 1Ls worked for at least a year, full-time. Now, you can take time off and not work full-time: do the part-time thing, get a masters, travel, write, whatever - but some schools (NW being the classic one) are huge on the work focus. If you see numbers in that range, or an indication that they are really advertising it, it's sort of a requirement. If you don't even see the number advertised, or, say, only 1/2 the people worked, don't worry.</p>
<p>Most law schools do not require any work of their applicants, but I gurantee you that if admitted to law school, you will be doing plenty of work there!</p>