Suggestions for getting into law school?

I'm a junior accounting major at the University of Mississippi and I've recently realized what I want to do with my life: I want to go to law school, perhaps to study international law. I know accounting is a little random for undergrad considering this, but up until a few weeks ago I had no clue at all what I was going to do once college was over.

Right now I have a 3.88 GPA and 33 honors credits. As part of our requirements in the honors college, I do a minimum of 10 hours of community service per semester. However, I don't have a lot of extracurricular activities on my resume besides a few random groups that I go to meetings for and sports like soccer and jiu jitsu.

I was wondering if anyone could give me some suggestions as to what I need to do to prepare for law school and also maybe some suggestions as to what extracurricular activities would be good to become involved in. Anything else you would like to share that you feel would be helpful to me would be greatly appreciated.

Also, it has always been a dream of mine to live in California, so as of this moment, my top three law schools are UC Berkley, UCLA, and USC.

Thank you.

P.S. If you don't feel like answering all this right now, please feel free to contact me at guy_on_the_run@hotmail.com with suggestions or other help.

marylandgrl99

The best thing you can do is keep your grades up and start practicing for the LSAT (Law School Admissions Test). Look for practice books and see if your school offers classes or help for taking the test.

Since you already know which schools you would like to go to, now would be a good time to start contacting them for information regarding admissions. Most schools publish stats of their incoming classes. Look at those to see if your grades are in the ballpark. Also check to see if the school talks at all about the extracirricular activities of the incoming 1Ls.

Also, if you call or write to the schools, you will be able to talk to some of their admissions people to discuss your academic record and activities to see if you might be a good match and if applying is worth your while. Also check the schools' web sites. Sometimes schools offer online chat sessions/Q&As with their admissions officers.

If you can, any sort of leadership positions on campus would look good to admissions. Try joining some groups that do public speaking too. Community service is a plus. Sports teams look great too. (But make sure your grades don't slip if you add lots of new activities.)

Good for you for figuring out what you want to do. While the job market is tough, so long as you work hard in law school and get decent grades, you'll find a job. And don't listen to the BS that only people who go to top 12 schools find jobs decent paying jobs. That is a blatant lie (or someone just being very ignorant of the facts.) Again, work hard, and it will definitely pay off! Good luck!

go_dawgsj

Law school admission is all about the numbers. If you are tied with another applicant's numbers, then the school may look at your personal statement, activities, etc. So, really you need to focus all of your energy on your GPA and LSAT score. With the schools you are considering, you will be competing against many with 4.0 GPA's, so you need to do very well on the LSAT.

A little bit of community service and a couple of extracurricular activites are fine. Don't spend time volunteering that could be spent on studying for the LSAT.

Princess Leia

1. The accounting major is fine. If you realize you don't like law school, you always have something to fall back upon.

2. Volunteer for Legal Aid (or your version of Legal Aid). They provide legal services for disadvantaged individuals. You can get a "feel" for what legal services there are (and are not) available.

3. If you are unable to volunteer at Legal Aid, check with your local city attorney, county counsel, district attorney, or public defender's offices to see if they need volunteers. This way, you can get legal experience. They will take free help, but it may take some convincing for them to pay you. ;-) Or a local law firm...

4. Study for the LSAT. You will need to take it and score high to get into a good law school. And don't forget about financial aid/scholarships. Law school is expensive (at least $30K/year) so try to get your finances in order.

5. You might be able to take some international studies classes at your college. Try those out :-)

Good luck!

mailaccount63

Warning: Jobs in the field of Law are drying up FAST!!! This is not a good field to invest in!!! Reasons? very bad economy, there are simply WAY TOO MANY attorneys (look in your phone book in the Yellow Pages under "A"), today too many people think they can do their own legal work thanks to the WWWeb, there are WAY TOO MANY law schools today churning out WAY TOO MANY graduates for the demand and economy (the law schools won't tell you this - law students are easy money).

So.....even IF you do make it through law school, you probably won't be able to find a job.....

Being an attorney is NOT like what you see on TV - TV glamorizes so much. Being an attorney is a LOT of research and paperwork.

Suggestion: Go into the field of Healthcare <<< LOTS of jobs there!!! Especially with your background!!!

Good luck.

yara h

A member of my family went through that and is graduating from northwestern. You must be aware of one thing though - unless you graduate from the top 12 school your chances at finding a good paying job are not very good. Dont be discouraged though. Fir extra curriculum activities things like volunteering to visit or help the elderly would be good - anything to show you are giving back to the community.
An undergrad at accounting is good for law - you can specialize in mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, international mergers etc....
Remember that its not only scores they look for - they look for good writing skills. If you do get an interview dress nicely and whatever you do dont use terms such as Im like or whatever etc... Think before you answer.
You could also try for a job in a local law firm as a secretary etc... and use that to show the school you want to experience real life as a lawyer and get some experience.
You are willing to do pro bono work and mention anything you might have done relating to l aw.
Make sure you write an outstanding cover letter. Dont use an agency becuase the school will know right away you are incapable or unwilling to do things for yourself. If you dont have any extra curriculum activities to show (must be related to helping others) then mention that you were also working while attending school so you didnt have much time.
Rule number one. DONT LIE. You will be caught because you will have to remember what you said to this or the other.
Do some reading on the law - perhaps anything pertaining to the development of law through the ages.
good luck

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