<p>does being a girl help at all in law school admissions?</p>
<p>Short answer - no. In fact, nationally, there are now more women than men enrolled in law schools.</p>
<p>Really? I thought that it was still slanted a bit towards men.</p>
<p>Close enough to 50/50 so that it doesn't really help you; however, some schools have much different ratios.</p>
<p>I heard the split would move toward 70/30 and that law schools were essentially going to have to institute admissions preferences for males. Just a rumor...</p>
<p>I knew a very smart woman convinced that it helped at least somewhat. What about affirmative action for previously underrepresented groups? I find it hard to believe that women aren't considered part of the group.</p>
<p>How about at the top 14 schools?</p>
<p>According to Anna Ivey (Former Dean of Admissions at the Univeristy of Chicago Law School- her book is really a good read as jumping off point)
Women have used an affirmative action advantage in admissions, but the numbers have shifted enough that women now make up a slight majority at many law schools. They no longer receive admissions preference unless a school is try to work its way up to 50% representation</p>
<p>Hmm. 44-46% women seems to be the most common amongst the top colleges whose profiles I viwed on the princeton review. </p>
<p>Yale - 44%
Stanford - 44%
Harvard - 45%
Columbia - 45%
NYU - 46%
U Penn - 45%
U Chicago - 45%
Boalt (UC Berkeley) - 59%
U Mich - 46%
Cornell - 48%
Northwestern - 47%
Georgetown - 45%
U Va - 41%
UCLA - 49%
Duke - 45%
UT Austin - 44%</p>
<p>Boalt is GPA dependent and women field better GPA's on average than men.</p>
<p>Does that explain the discrepancy between the UC's and other top law schools?</p>
<p>It's probably one main reason why Boalt is so high. But does UCLA have the same policy?</p>
<p>How does gender work when being interviewed and offered a job at a big firm ?</p>
<p>im assuming they hire more men and women if those respective genders are at low numbers at a particular firm ?</p>
<p>In most jobs, it depends on looks more than gender... or so most experiments have shown.</p>
<p>Hell, I'd even hire a good looking guy over Steve Buscemi. Who wants to look at Steve all day?</p>
<p>whew, UCLAri, you sort of answered my question; I was afraid I'd sound immature if I asked: do looks help in getting yourself hired, granted you have excellent credentials ? Like, would a male/female interviewer be more biased to hire the better-looking candidate of the two if both had similar credentials ?</p>
<p>I think for a lawyer it would definitely help to be good looking, especially if you wanted to make partner because you'd be interacting with clients often and let's face it, nobody wants to hang out with Mr. or Mrs. Ugly.</p>
<p>I know with banking they prefer people who are attractive, I imagine similar would occur at Big Law firms.</p>
<p>hahaha. dcfca, true.</p>
<p>Many people will say, "No, of course not, it's all about your credentials and how hard you work."</p>
<p>That's rubbish. Taller men get hired over shorter men. Bustier women get hired over flat-chested women. It's unfair, but it's the way things work.</p>
<p>My impression has always been that at top law firms, men are tall and handsome, short and overweight, and everything in between. Confidence is what matters most in the hiring of men, so to the extent that a man doesn't feel good about himself and his appearance, that will come across in an interview.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you look at the women who work in top firms, for the most part they are more attractive than average. Perhaps that is because of the confidence factor, or perhaps that's just what happens when men comprise the vast majority of partners who are making the hiring decisions.</p>
<p>Sally - ah, so I wasn't imagining that a lot of women lawyers are really, really thin! I've met a lot of these women and thought... yeah, I'm somewhere between a 4 and a 6, and have 20 lbs on most of them.</p>
<p>
[quote]
On the other hand, if you look at the women who work in top firms, for the most part they are more attractive than average. Perhaps that is because of the confidence factor, or perhaps that's just what happens when men comprise the vast majority of partners who are making the hiring decisions.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The "thin-factor" is a fact of the chain-of-life; I was think the other day: why is it that I never see an obese woman driving an expensive car? Why is it that healthy, attractive women are abound in the upper echelon of society? I think that thinner women are to be found, for the most part, because of their upbringing. Think of it this way: if you are born in a wealthy family, odds are you will be able to afford trainers, healthier food (think shopping every weekend at Whole Foods rather than, say, Safeway), do more leisurely activities, and so forth. The quality of life is just better.</p>
<p>Also factor in how overweight females are treated in high school; I am almost positive that the stigma attached to their weight influences their grades. I am interested in reading statistics regarding the average weight of females in top schools.</p>
<p>Confidence really means everything: it helps you maintain a high self-esteem, such that you can sincerely work for what you want. The attractive, popular girl did not have to try to make friends while in high school; she had one less thing about which to worry. The overweight female, however, had to worry more than about her grades.</p>
<p>I am not trying to be derisive. These thoughts were just brough about by a House episode on a morbidly obese teenage girl who probably attempted suicide. It is awful what society can make us do at the times in which we are most vulnerable.</p>
<p>Safeway... (shudders). Whole Foods, by the way, is just as (in?)expensive as Giant or Safeway - at least comparing Capitol Hill area Giants and Logan Circle Whole Foods. </p>
<p>There is a correlation between athletics and eventual success - obviously also a correlation between athletes and who ends up thin. I'm not sure if the women lawyers are very athletic, per se - maybe spending a lot of time on a treadmill and drinking a lot of diet Cokes, but I've met a lot of ones with very small frames who don't look very strong.</p>
<p>The gender divide in height also comes into play - tall men, for the most part, but short(er?) women. I have at least three inches on almost every big-firm woman lawyer I've run across. Petite and physically unintimidating. </p>
<p>Nspeds, there's also the expectation of being thin. People tend to eat like those around them. If you grow up with thin people, you're not going to let yourself get fat. Your social norm is to be slim.</p>