Columbia on my mind..

boston1993
Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:50:50 +0000

twinkletwinkle:

It’s great. All this info is just awesomee…really. Thank you. Helps narrow down universities… I’ve pretty much stated in my first post where I stand and all. But anyways, I’d like to know if I were aiming to Yale (or Columbia or any of the first choice law schools you’ve all mentioned) and besides great numbers -i’m working on the gpa and i’ll worry later for the lsats- what else could I do to have a better position?

It’s a little hard to find international internships from where I’m living at currently, locally it’ pretty scarce too (but still available). As I mentioned before, I would think I have a good standing compared to my fellow classmates… and several will be attending big shot schools (as I mentioned before) for LLM’s. But I would like to have an edge before applying for the JD. Maybe there’s threads about this already, but I can’t help but ask.

Yale and Stanford are essentially the only law schools in the country that really review applicants holistically. For Yale, you will need some awesome EC’s. I’m talking about Rhodes/Marshall Scholar, a PhD, an author, a URM that has overcame major obstacles in life, and other amazing EC’s. For Stanford, you’re gonna need some great EC’s as well. SGA President, Peace Corps, Teach for America, etc. I know a couple of years ago, I believe 6 out of 12 Marshall scholars who applied to Yale were rejected. Just don’t try to set your sights on YHS or bust – these schools are out of reach for most people. Though, after Yale and Stanford – law school admissions are almost entirely numbers based (LSAT and GPA). After Y and S, great ec’s won’t help you too much – good/average ec’s won’t affect you negatively or positively – and doing no ec’s will hurt you a little bit, though not a lot. As long as you’re semi-involved in whatever activities you enjoy, and have a great LSAT/GPA, law schools will admit you. Though, there is one school that loves work experience, and it is very hard to get admitted straight from UG – and that school is Northwestern. I wouldn’t recommend you applying to Northwestern if you’re interested in PI anyway.



Would you recommend me seeking a second degree or would this be a waste? Any other sort of masters degree? Or pursuit a language scholarship (which i’d love to get anyways) or just try out right away for law school? I’d like to be as strong prospect as I possibly can… specially to seek FA.

Nah, none of these things will do much of anything for you. Honestly, having a 169 instead of a 168 on the LSAT would help you more than the above.



btw I just read another thread, where numbers are stated as THE most important factor ever in admissions. point taken. Are all T14 schools the same, no holistic approach of the overall student? Yes, I will strive for the best numbers… but if there’s anymore pluses I can achieve, I’d like to know. Specially with my government/public service goal approach.

Yale and Stanford absolutely take a holistic approach. Other than that, the only school that cares about work experience is Northwestern. No other schools out of the t14 even attempt at taking a holistic approach, it’s completely all numbers after the t14. It would be smart to volunteer with non-profits and charities during UG anyway. I don’t think it will help you too much with regards to law school admissions, but it will slightly help you getting an interview with a PI employer after law school. Just make sure that none of your ec’s take away from your GPA.