Does Teach for America enhance one's ability to be admitted by top law schools?

The June 29, 2006 Wall Street Journal published an insightful column by Sue Shellenbarger that discussed the idealism of recent college grads, tempered by their parents' concern about their finding "real work". "Doing Well vs. Doing Good: Parents Struggle With Their New Grads' Idealism" revealed the story of a recent University of Pennsylvania grad, Rachel Kreinces, who chose two years of Teach for America rather than her parents' goal of an immediate start to law school.

As a long-time consultant to law school applicants, there is good news for both Ms. Kreinces and her parents in this situation. Top law schools welcome veterans of Teach for America. It is one of the most powerful ways to interest elite law schools in one's application (along with the Peace Corps). And as demonstrated by Ms. Shellenbarger's account, the learning experience on the job in Teach for America can be positive and profound, for the graduate and her entire family.

I once had as advisee an ivy league graduate who chose a tough inner city school as his Teach for America job. Despite circumstances so difficult that he found himself in a war not of his choosing with the school's principal and in trumped-up litigation, he persevered, eventually telling the story in his application to his target law school, an elite institution ranked in the top ten. He was welcomed there and is flourishing, all the stronger because of the real-world experience he earned on the job in Teach for America.

So America's current generation of idealistic college graduates shouldn't worry a bit about a period of public service before professional or graduate school. They, their families, their communities, and the nation will all be stronger for such service, and their ability to apply, gain admission, and succeed in elite settings like top law schools will only be enhanced by such work before law school.

Get solid answers to your tough questions about law school admission at www.PrelawAdvisor.com.

Should rising college seniors take the LSAT this fall?

Many college students aiming for law school feel pressure to take the LSAT during the fall of their senior year. In general, I oppose this. Seniors in college should be focusing on the unique opportunities of their last year of college. College will come to an end--forever--for these undergraduates, in May of their senior year. But the LSAT will continue to be available four times a year, every year, on and on into the future. Seniors, make your final year special, in terms of: (1) academic excellence; (2) extracurricular activities; and (3) creative use of the community around your college. Do not be pressured into a premature LSAT. It can have a highly negative impact on your ability to reach top law schools in the future. If you put a low LSAT score on your record as a senior, you've damaged your record before top schools. Even a later high LSAT is somewhat diminished by an initial low LSAT (though the law schools are now permitted to report only the highest LSAT of each enrolling law student, rather than the average LSAT score. This change was announced during the summer of 2006.) Thus if you get a mediocre 150 as a senior, and then two years later a brilliant 170, for law school admission purposes, while you are still a 170, your record is not as persuasive if you had earned just the brilliant 170 alone. Therefore, consider the timeline I provide at my website PrelawAdvisor.com.

Law schools consider as many as 54 factors in reviewing an application: Do you know them?

While your LSAT score (or average of multiple LSAT scores) and your undergraduate GPA (as officially determined by LSAC) are by far the two most important factors that a law school admissions committee considers, there are actually 54 factors that you should consider in crafting your application. Do you know them? See the full list at my website http://www.prelawadvisor.com/.

Application submission timing: "I made the deadline by two days, but I was rejected. Why?"

I often hear this complaint from new advisees. In a last-minute frenzy to move towards law school, they submit applications just before the schools' official deadlines. Almost always, such applications fail. Unless you are bringing stellar numbers and experience to a school, and unless it really still has admission slots open, the last-minute application says, "This is a hasty, ill-considered effort from someone who just doesn't have his or her act together." Don't associate yourself with such negative mental images. Your goal should be a brilliant, perfectly complete application, submitted as early in the cycle as possible. Then you are perceived as on the ball, focused, organized, and effective. For more information about my recommendations, see my website PrelawAdvisor.com

Is an applicant's LSAT score really all that important to the law schools?

Many law school applicants grossly underestimate the importance of their LSAT score in the law school admission process. They reason, "Certainly, who I am and what I've achieved in my life so far is vastly more important than my performance on a single standardized test." This is rational, but wrong, because of the enormous market impact of the US News & World Report ranking system. Law schools feel great pressure to produce entering classes with high LSAT scores. Thus, extraordinary weight is placed on one's performance on the LSAT. I caution all of my advisees to first construct a developmental path that maximizes the probability of high official LSAT performance. For more information about my recommendations, please see my detailed advice on top LSAT performance at PrelawAdvisor.com.