Ask Noah About First Year of Law School, Getting inTop 10%, Law Review

[XXXNoahXXX]

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the journal I did join was seriously one of the least fulfilling experiences of my life.

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pretty sure this is standard. I avoided the journal thing. of course now I can't cite for [censored], but we'll see how that goes.

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When interviewing do people ask you why no journal?

I'm afraid of them saying "you're top 10%, why no journal?"

I was going to do moot court, which could have been the answer, but I still think having it on your resume is too important to pass up. Maybe less important for the top schools.

[eviljeff]

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the journal I did join was seriously one of the least fulfilling experiences of my life.

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pretty sure this is standard. I avoided the journal thing. of course now I can't cite for [censored], but we'll see how that goes.

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When interviewing do people ask you why no journal?


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Out of ~60+ OCI/callback interviews with attorneys I got asked this 2-3 times. my response was (1) I'd heard that very few people valued the experience (true) and (2) I wanted to focus on my classes/activities. of course, I could have gotten dinged for it plenty of times without them mentioning it.

[XXXNoahXXX]

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the journal I did join was seriously one of the least fulfilling experiences of my life.

[/ QUOTE ]

pretty sure this is standard. I avoided the journal thing. of course now I can't cite for [censored], but we'll see how that goes.

[/ QUOTE ]

When interviewing do people ask you why no journal?


[/ QUOTE ]

Out of ~60+ OCI/callback interviews with attorneys I got asked this 2-3 times. my response was (1) I'd heard that very few people valued the experience (true) and (2) I wanted to focus on my classes/activities. of course, I could have gotten dinged for it plenty of times without them mentioning it.

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Makes sense. I just knew that part of my going to the lower ranked school and getting the scholarship money was going to be sucking it up and doing law review for the resume boost.

for me:

Lower ranked School + Law Review - $100k debt > higher ranked school


of course planning on making law review is a pretty huge assumption and a bad plan, but im a gambler.

[emon87]

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This is kinda OT but why are so many people so reluctant to post where they go to school?

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WHERE DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL HUH?

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Northwestern University undergrad. (Could be really obvious from my location too)


To noah - That is kinda what I figured, but just don't really care at all. I don't think that people on 2p2 knowing who I am after digging a lot is going to matter at all.

To bruin - you should be proud you go to Stanford, it was your accomplishments that got you in in the first place (unless you are a legacy or big minority? then I guess you might feel like you didn't deserve it).

[eviljeff]

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To bruin - you should be proud you go to Stanford, it was your accomplishments that got you in in the first place (unless you are a legacy or big minority? then I guess you might feel like you didn't deserve it).

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oops!

[bruin]

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To bruin - you should be proud you go to Stanford, it was your accomplishments that got you in in the first place (unless you are a legacy or big minority? then I guess you might feel like you didn't deserve it).

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oops!

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lol.

A huge percentage of the people who are at Stanford are legacies/athletes/minorities or some kind of hook anyway, so I don't think any of us feel bad. Variance is such a huge element, plenty of other people also deserve to get in but don't--it's just a fact.

I'm definitely proud that I go to Stanford; that's not the issue. It just gets annoying after a certain point when people invariably cream their pants and think that I'm some amazing genius when they hear that I go to Stanford.

[lippy]

Great thread. Nothing to add, but it warrants saying.

[DemonDeac]

I don't know where you're from, but how much did location factor into your decision of choosing which school to go to?

You got money from a lot of places, where was location ranked in determining which school to attend?

I ask because location of law schools, especially the non-top tier ones, is important because of the connections around the area. Where one goes to law school is usually where they are located for a couple years after graduation.

[Bad Beat Maker]

What's the lowest GPA you have heard of going into law school. Supposedly nearby UF accepts 2.8 with a great LSAT?

[XXXNoahXXX]

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What's the lowest GPA you have heard of going into law school. Supposedly nearby UF accepts 2.8 with a great LSAT?

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I mean it depends if you want to go to law school or get a job as a lawyer if you know what I mean. There are certainly some diploma factories, but i think a 2.8 is still above that, especially if you have a great LSAT score.

The LSAT is the great equalizer and many argue, and it seems to show, that it factors more heavily than GPA. Most of the top tier schools are numbers whores, looking to boost their averages, so a low GPA will definitely hurt, so I'd look to balance it out with other factors.

Did you work a lot during UG?

Did you have any sort of a positive upward grade trend?

What about extracurriculars?



I think probably the best way to counter lower GPA would be to take a year or two after graduation and get a job in the legal field. Not only will this get you a sense of whether or not you want to be a lawyer, a decision that many make all to quick, but it will also boost your resume.

This way, you can say, yeah I had a low GPA, but that was a couple years ago, I've gotten a lot of work experience since then, I've matured, and I did well on the LSAT. This might not get you into Yale, but it certainly would give you a good shot at some schools where you will actually be able to land a decent job after graduation.

And remember, by and large you start over at law school. So if you get into some lowwer ranked school, you can bust your ass, get good grades, and transfer up.



Or you could go to Detroit Mercy School of Law who somehow places their top students at the best firms in the country.

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