| Topic Name: |
beating a dead horse GPA/LSAT |
| Message Name: |
You're somewhat right. |
| Date Posted: |
11/04/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
applying to law schools, being asian will not hurt you. it probably wouldn't help neither, especially in the top tier schools.
do not paralegal! go to law school directly if you can. taking a year off and work will shrink your law school financial aid package significantly. That's something to think about...
besides, OH SO MANY paralegals apply to law schools. it's not going strengthen your app.
oh, the 3rd thing, most people para at BIGLAW hoping that the same firm will hire him/her back as an associate. that doesnt happen often unless you have like AMAZING people skills. (Plenty of my friends from law school didnt even get courtesy callbacks from firms they've worked for prior to law school.)
p.s. if you dont get into a top tier law school, dont even bother attend. good luck.
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| Message: |
It's true, being a paralegal will shrink your law school grants. Being a paralegal will, however, give you some perspective on things, and let you relax a bit before 1L. Never hurts.
Now, as for whether being a paralegal helps your application, you need to look at it in the context of two applicants being compared. Two applicants who are equal in terms of academics (gpa/lsat, because we all know that's the only thing that gets you in the door). After your scores get you in the door, the rest of your application (resume, community activities, etc) can make the difference. So, if your point was that being a paralegal will not make up for poor or moderate LSAT scores, you're absolutely right. But having that experience can be attractive when you are neck and neck with someone who has a 3.7 and 172, and a similar academic background.
With respect to your third point concerning being a paralegal, you are absolutely correct. You may as well forget about ever working when applying to BIGLAW firms, because all they care about is how well you took your exams during 1L.
as for your postscript, you're funny; I laughed out loud when I read that. I wasn't laughing with you, though ;)
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