Posted on 01/07/2011 2:34:07 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
My son is in his last semester at Georgia Tech. He scored in the 99th percentile on his LSAT and his GMAT and he wants to go to law school with a possible double major in business (he said that would take him 1 extra year). He is obviously intelligent and motivated.
Unfortunately he's reached a point where intelligence and motivation doesn't count for much. He's trying to get into a top-tier school and it seems like if you don't have a parent who graduated before you or some incredibly good connections the odds are stacked against you no matter how well qualified you are.
Have any of you who have beat the odds and made it into a graduate program at one of the elite schools any tips to share on how he can increase his chances of getting accepted? Is it the way you write your application letter, or if you can find a judge to clerk for, or some internship that will make you stand out? I don't have money or connections, all I can do is pray for his success. Last I heard he was applying to Stanford, Duke and Emory. TIA for any advice.
Check
Race: BLACK
on all college applications.
______________________________________
Seriesly. I wonder if schmoozing your local congress critter still works?
But, keep in mind, there are what schools think are the top schools, and there are what employers think are the top schools. One tip is to find out which schools the firm(s) he wants to work for usually hire from and apply there.
Good luck.
Find out how many years the scores are generally accepted as “fresh,” and then have your son consider taking that much time “off from school,” i.e., in the real world. I realize this may seem an unconventional suggestion, but graduate/ professional schools LOVE applicants who have not simply gone right from college and have seen the non-Ivory-Tower world a bit.
A sack full of money?
My son has the same aspirations and I am trying to convince him to ANYTHING but law school. Few jobs, outrageously expensive. Unless he wants to be a politician ...
Its ALL about knowing some judge, law partner, etc. Very rigged game.
One of my best friends is a non-practicing attorney. Hated the work, decided to become a chef.
Overcrowded field, the scramble to be a partner is brutal. And lawyers deserve the reputations they have for cold-hearted, ruthless thugs.
Apply at as many schools as possible. It’s a numbers game sometimes.
See, “No Wonder We’re Failing: Our Power Elites’ Sole Expertise Is Being Privileged” posted on the site today.
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Something to show that he's using his gift of intelligence. Grades, reference letters from employers or others (charity work, etc.).
LSAT counts counts twice as much as his college grades.
Apply Apply Apply!
Stanford is a fine school.
I felt smarter just wandering the campus.
Good luck to your Son.
My son went to Yale.
He wasn’t his high school’s valedictorian, but the guy who was didn’t even get into an Ivy League school.
He got great SAT scores, but the Ivy League only ranks that around 7th or 8th on the list of what’s important to them.
Volunteer work. Extra-school activities. AP credits. It’s the above-and-beyond stuff that those schools look for. A well-roundedness, so to speak.
Grades alone won’t get it done.
And also, we checked off Disabled, American Indian, Chinese, Midget and Black on the application.
(Only kidding about that last part.)
((Or am I?))
You didn’t mention what his grades were. Georgia Tech can be used to get into top tier with both grades and LSAT.
Just as an anecdote,
My wife passed her LSATs with flying colors. She got excellent grades in college.
Her father, a partner in a law firm, talked her out of going to law school. He said the profession was oversaturated and really going downhill fast. He was a very upstanding man and hated to see a once proud profession turned into a bunch of ambulance chasers.
That was 25 years ago.
Give some thought to getting into a 2nd tier school that might offer him a full scholarship. They look for students with high LSAT marks so they can average them into their median acceptance standards.
“Unfortunately he’s reached a point where intelligence and motivation doesn’t count for much. He’s trying to get into a top-tier school and it seems like if you don’t have a parent who graduated before you or some incredibly good connections the odds are stacked against you no matter how well qualified you are.”
I am not sure about the source of your information. I do not know much about law school admissions but I doubt that your assertion is true. Here is my assessment. Both law and business schools look beyond test scores and grades somewhat. They want some level of community involvement, leadership, and other intangible characteristics. Your son is well positioned with his high grades and test scores. If he also has some intangible characteristics, he will be very competitive. The reputation of his undergraduate school and program is also a factor but his high test scores will alleviate doubts if there are any. Top business schools (especially MBA programs) look heavily at work experience. They generally want students with perhaps 5 years of work experience.
Both business and law schools practice racial preferences. If your son’s qualifications were somewhat lower, he would perhaps be victimized by double standards in admission.
Applying to the very top schools is competitive so it is difficult to say if your son will be admitted. I doubt that connections will be the reason for non admission, however.
Your son may want to consider doctoral programs. A law degree will enable him to apply for law school teaching positions. The market is not great for most areas of business professors with the exception of accounting. In most other areas, business doctoral graduates are having a hard time finding jobs.
He needs to have massive volunteer work to show he is interested in the community, and not just money. No matter if he plans on making money in the future, for now, his time is his coin.
Best advice I have, and I’m working with my daughter for med schools. Same thing, different school.
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