Weinberg senior Colin Rolfs sent his law school applications in November. And then the nail-biting began.
“You can hassle the mailman on a daily basis and monitor online status checkers religiously,” Rolfs said. “I admit I did a few of these things at first. However, I quickly realized this was detrimental to my sanity.”
Rolfs eventually learned the importance of relaxing during the waiting process and focusing on other aspects of his life that he can control.
Although there is no specific program for prelaw undergraduates at Northwestern, devoted students are taking the Law School Admission Test and working hard throughout their four years to have a high enough grade point average to get into a reputable law school.
Prelaw students are advised to take classes that focus on writing and public speaking, said Tracie Thomas, assistant director for programming at University Career Services. Law schools value leadership experiences and passion when looking at extracurricular activities.
“Major in something that you enjoy, because if you enjoy it you will do well at it,” Thomas said. “They also look for people who are well-rounded. It’s better to get involved with three or four students groups and really be involved than to join 10 that you are just marginally a part of.”
Each year’s graduating class takes a survey in June that asks of their future plans, said Lonnie Dunlap, a counselor at career services. However, not everyone took the survey in each school. The class of 2007’s survey report showed 16.9 percent of 178 Weinberg graduates planned to go to law school. For the School of Communication, 15.4 percent of 39 people planned to attend law school as well. Medill had the largest percentage at 31.3 percent although only 16 people took the survey.
A student’s GPA and LSAT score are the most important factors of getting into a good law school, said Weinberg senior Sarah Whitney.
“Certainly standardized tests will always be part of the game and are needed as a tool to select students from a highly competitive pool, but I wish the admissions process was more holistic and placed more emphasis on other factors,” she said.
Once the tests have been taken, students search the Law School Admission Council Web site. It allows students to apply to any law school they want by sending out a resume, giving their GPA and LSAT scores, writing a personal statement and sometimes writing an additional essay.
Most applications cost between $60 and $90, in addition to a $12 processing fee.
Prelaw students can also gather information from specific professors, friends who are already in law school or books and Web sites.
Law school is a good idea if students have assessed their investment in practicing law, Thomas said. But there are many reasons why a student should not attend law school. Among them is post-graduation uncertainty and hopes of becoming “more marketable.”
“I often say that (law school) is the most expensive procrastination in the world,” she said. “Law school is very expensive, and you don’t want to be in the position of paying for the degree that you may discover later that you really don’t want to use.”
Students also should not be afraid of taking time off after graduation and exploring different careers, Thomas said. This can be seen as evidence of “maturity and direction.”
Some of Weinberg senior Jessica Wash’s friends took time off after graduation to participate in Teach for America or work at consulting jobs, Wash said.
“The growing trend in law schools, much like business schools, is to accept students who have taken a couple of years off,” she said. “Applying to law school as a senior in college is a bit of a disadvantage because we haven’t had real jobs between college and law school,” she said.
Andrea DePaoli of Harvard Law School’s Juris Doctor Admissions office said that it is encouraged for students to take time off between college and law school. However, Harvard Law School doesn’t have any bias against students coming straight from college, she said. Students need to do well in their classes as undergraduates and try to use their time well during the school year and in summers.
“It’s not like college, it’s a full-time job,” Wash said. “You show up in the morning, you go to classes, you leave at night and you go home. I guess I’ll have a hard time getting myself into that mindset.”
