|
|
Work Experience
- In terms of admissions, work experience becomes more important the longer you have been out of school.
- If you are going to law school after another career, law schools may be very interested in what you have done in the workplace.
- If you are a recent grad, unless your experience has been extraordinary, it won't help you much.
- The exception: If you had to work tremendous numbers of hours while carrying a full load of classes, law schools will want to know about that, especially if it has impacted your academics.
- If the work has had real meaning for you, it could be fodder for the personal statement.
- If it has been detrimental to your academic record, it belongs in the addendum.
- Otherwise, cite your work experience in the appropriate place on your applications and resume and don't get over-invested in its usefulness.
- Some work experience does have an intrinsic value, though.
- Lots of students enter law school knowing virtually nothing about what it's really like to practice law.
- That's one reason for the large numbers of lawyers who'd rather be – or are - doing something else with their lives.
- Embarking upon a profession, especially one that's so costly to enter, without knowing anything about that profession is unwise and irresponsible.
- The smart pre-law student will get exposure to what lawyering is all about, either through a job or an internship. That's true even more so for the student who says, "I know I don't want to practice; I just want to go to law school and a law degree is useful for a lot of things."
- Challenge: name five of those things.
|
|
|
|
