According to people I know involved in the process, not very. Unless you come off as a lunatic or a moron.
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Originally Posted by CantSeeColors
Depending on the school, it can go unnoticed or be as important as your GPA and LSAT scores. I just sort of rambled on mine, which miraculously worked.
I'm not sure where I fit, my GPA is pretty mediocre (I was around 60th percentile at college), but I did pretty well the LSAT (not to sound like a d-bag), so I'm definitely aiming for a top-20 school. So I feel like a good/bad personal statement might be the making/breaking of the app, but I suck at writing like this, just give me facts to write about.
This whole process is just freaking stressful, I'm hoping real-world work experience might give me a leg up. I mean, I've heard the law market sucks, but I'm betting a lot of that is people that went to JD factories and are then shocked that they can't find a 6-figure job.
Is it me, or is it getting darker than it usually does this time of year? I know the days are shorter, but I seem to remember there being at least some daylight left when it got to around 7:00 in early-mid October.
I'm not sure where I fit, my GPA is pretty mediocre (I was around 60th percentile at college), but I did pretty well the LSAT (not to sound like a d-bag), so I'm definitely aiming for a top-20 school.
I'm about the same, I think, in that my LSAT was great, but my GPA was terrible, probably (read: absolutely; ******* skiing) worse than yours, and I did not end up at a top 20 school, not remotely. The ****** job market is forcing kids who otherwise would get good jobs to go to law school.
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Originally Posted by FlyHigh
So I feel like a good/bad personal statement might be the making/breaking of the app, but I suck at writing like this, just give me facts to write about.
It really isn't. **** like good recommendations and experience are way more valuable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyHigh
This whole process is just freaking stressful, I'm hoping real-world work experience might give me a leg up. I mean, I've heard the law market sucks, but I'm betting a lot of that is people that went to JD factories and are then shocked that they can't find a 6-figure job.
It's not just "JD factories." The market is abominable right now.
Apple is supposedly going to have some huge Mac update late this month, but with the iPhone and so on, who gives a **** for most? I'm sure there are some that don't even know what a Mac/MacBook is. But yeah, in general, I just don't like Apple. Doesn't mean I'm everything MS or Google either.
Apple is supposedly going to have some huge Mac update late this month, but with the iPhone and so on, who gives a **** for most? I'm sure there are some that don't even know what a Mac/MacBook is. But yeah, in general, I just don't like Apple. Doesn't mean I'm everything MS or Google either.
I'm about the same, I think, in that my LSAT was great, but my GPA was terrible, probably (read: absolutely; ******* skiing) worse than yours, and I did not end up at a top 20 school, not remotely. The ****** job market is forcing kids who otherwise would get good jobs to go to law school.
Yeah, I've been thinking about that too, not sure how much these guys are willing to expand class sizes.
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It really isn't. **** like good recommendations and experience are way more valuable.
I should at least get some solid recs which would be good, I cultivated that my last semester.
It's not just "JD factories." The market is abominable right now.
I just graduated from Rutgers (not a JD factory, I think). As of graduation date, 5% of my class had secured a permanent job. We place well for clerkships, but that still left roughly half of my class - including me - without a job as of that date. A fair number of people locked stuff up over the study, but it's just a general **** show right now. I'm looking to switch careers already just to get some damn health benefits.
edit: if we're talking about GPAs and whatnot, I had a terrible GPA from a well regarded engineering school and a mediocre LSAT. Didn't get into a top school, but I basically had my pick of the bottom half of the top 100. This was before the market **** the bed, though, so I would have said you've got a great shot at a top 20 FlyHigh, but who knows at this point? Gotta try though.
Is it me, or is it getting darker than it usually does this time of year? I know the days are shorter, but I seem to remember there being at least some daylight left when it got to around 7:00 in early-mid October.
Not just you GKJ; it seemed to go straight from late summer, light outside until almost 9 to get dark just after 6.
edit: if we're talking about GPAs and whatnot, I had a terrible GPA from a well regarded engineering school and a mediocre LSAT. Didn't get into a top school, but I basically had my pick of the bottom half of the top 100. This was before the market **** the bed, though, so I would have said you've got a great shot at a top 20 FlyHigh, but who knows at this point? Gotta try though.
It's tough to say though, I don't think I'm the only 23 year-old who's working a job 5x ****tier than what I would have been working 5 years ago and thinking, "I need to go to law school."
I think there's still a strong feeling that even if a law job sucks, they're still out there and you'll still get paid. I don't think of myself as a particularly avaricious person, but I don't want to make 40K a year for the rest of my life and then not have Social Security.
It's tough to say though, I don't think I'm the only 23 year-old who's working a job 5x ****tier than what I would have been working 5 years ago and thinking, "I need to go to law school."
I think there's still a strong feeling that even if a law job sucks, they're still out there and you'll still get paid. I don't think of myself as a particularly avaricious person, but I don't want to make 40K a year for the rest of my life and then not have Social Security.
I haven't even noticed those jobs, but then again I'm really only interested in doing patent stuff, which doesn't have much of the low paid stuff. I sent resumes to basically every firm I could find that did that stuff though and nothing panned out. Frustrating as hell.
Speaking of GPA, do most companies even look at GPA anymore? Or do they look at what you majored/minored/certified in?
If you've met the person in the department making the calls GPA matters a lot less than the impression you left. If you're just applying cold GPA seems to be a huge deal just to filter out half of the resumes they're getting.
My personal statement did four things:
1. Described my background
2. Highlighted what I did in college, with a focus on working in a non-traditional field (maintenance), fraternity leadership involvement, and bilingual cultural exposure
3. My personal and career goals
4. How my goals fit into the program paradigm
Is it me, or is it getting darker than it usually does this time of year? I know the days are shorter, but I seem to remember there being at least some daylight left when it got to around 7:00 in early-mid October.
My personal statement did four things:
1. Described my background
2. Highlighted what I did in college, with a focus on working in a non-traditional field (maintenance), fraternity leadership involvement, and bilingual cultural exposure
3. My personal and career goals
4. How my goals fit into the program paradigm
If you'd like, I'll post an abridged version.
I'm going from a "why do people hate lawyers, what lawyers really offer to society, and why my personality and gifts make me want to be a lawyer" angle.
I'll incorporate some resume stuff, but I hate writing about accomplishments and etc., so I figure I'd go from a different angle.
edit: if we're talking about GPAs and whatnot, I had a terrible GPA from a well regarded engineering school and a mediocre LSAT.
So what made you switch from the single best job market (and highest average starting salary) to go to one of the worst (and lowest average starting salary).
So what made you switch from the single best job market (and highest average starting salary) to go to one of the worst (and lowest average starting salary).
.
