While transcripts, grades, and recommendation letters are given significant weight and importance by admissions committees and law schools, your personal statement essay can help increase your chances of getting admitted. The importance of that single document can be seen in the number of sample law school personal statement essays you can find on the Internet, as tons of student look for guidance to come up with a well-crafted essay.
While the grades will show your academic skills and intellectual prowess, some admissions committees of law schools look for applicants’ ability to relate with, and contribute to, the academic community they belong to. The extracurricular activities you engaged in during college shows the areas or fields you’re interested in, thus giving the committee a glimpse of who and how you are as a student and as a member of the academic community.
School publication
Excellent communication skills is required AND valued in law school. This is why having held a position in your school’s publication can give you an edge over the other students applying for law school. Membership in your college or university’s publication also shows that you’re interested in discussing the views and opinions of other people, as well as interest in the pressing issues that your academic community faces.
Joining the staff of your school publication, or having your articles published therein, also shows that you can eloquently express your thoughts and principles in writing — an ability that will prove to be useful in law school and in your post-graduate legal career as well. You can check sample law school personal statement essays to see how contributing to your school’s publication can increase your chances of getting admitted into law school.
Non-profit and community organizations
Membership and participation in non-profit and community organizations dedicated to specific causes can also help increase your chances of getting into law school. Especially for those planning to specialize in environmental law, gender equality, human rights, and the like, your involvement in related organizations speak of commitment and passion. If you read through sample law school personal statement essays, you’ll also see how applicants dedicate a part of their essay to discussing their extracurricular activities and involvements.
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If you read through sample law school personal statement essays, you’ll see that passion for a certain field or profession is among the top reasons why people go to graduate school. Just by reading sample law school personal statement essays, you’ll also see that many people also go to graduate school because of the promise of higher income once they have that MBA degree slapped onto their CVs and resumes. But what if you’re passionate about law and business administration and equally want to pursue them both? The solution is to pursue a joint degree, which in this case is caled JD-MBA degree.
What are JD-MBA programs and how does one apply?
As mentioned, JD-MBA is a joint degree in the fields of law and business. Those who successfully complete the program’s requirements and graduate are awarded with a Juris Doctor degree in law and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. The pursuit of a JD-MBA degree is ideal for those who are interested in practicing law within the context of business and the corporate world.
Graduate schools started offering JD-MBA programs because of the growing number of people who wish to pursue both fields after undergraduate school. Considered by many as two of the most lucrative fields and industries, the existence of a graduate program that combines law and business administration is advantageous not only to business and law schools, but also to students. Harvard, Stanford, and University of Memphis are just three of the schools that currently offer JD-MBA programs to their students.
Common requirements in applying for JD-MBA programs include scores to applicable tests, college transcript, recommendation letters, and a personal statement essay. For the latter requirement, you may have to structure it differently because you’re pursuing a joint degree and not just any Master’s degree. It’s advisable you browse through sample law school personal statement essays and look for those tailored towards joint degrees.
What are the benefits of studying law and business at the same time?
One obvious benefit of pursuing a JD-MBA degree is the time and money you’ll save. By enrolling under a JD-MBA program, you basically halve the time you’ll spend in graduate school if you pursue both fields separately. A JD-MBA degree is also beneficial in that it provides a kind of safety net for individuals should they fail to succeed in any one of the fields. If you feel that practicing law isn’t your forte, you can pursue a career in business and finance because of your MBA.
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So you’ve already passed the entrance exam and have submitted letters of recommendation. You’re also done browsing through countless sample law school personal statement essays that helped you come up with a well-crafted personal statement essay. But the admissions process for law schools does not end there. You’ll still have to strap yourself up for the personal interview that the admissions committee will conduct. Here are a few tips to help you gear up for the interview:
Confirm, inquire, and prepare
Once you receive the invitation for an interview, confirm your attendance as well as the details by calling the school. Inquire about the details of the interview; the time and venue, who the interviewer will be (if they’re allowed to disclose that information), and if you have to bring any personal documents. Take note of specific instructions. Sometimes this can also be used a test of your keenness and attention to detail. One way of preparing for the actual interview is by doing your research on the interviewer.
You can do this by visiting websites of school forums. Ask people if your interviewer has certain pet peeves that you should avoid. But more than the interviewer, you should spend considerable amount of time reading up on the law school’s history and the current developments and issues in the institution.
Do an ocular and review your personal statement
If you’re not at all familiar with the school’s grounds and the town where it’s located, you might want to do an ocular inspection prior to the interview. Familiarize yourself with the campus, as well as the building and area where your interview will be held. Then, you should review the documents you submitted, especially your personal statement essay. As you know, admission interviews will be based on what you’ve written in your essay. You will be asked to expound on the details of your transcript as well the bits of information you wrote in your essay.
Check out sample law school personal statement websites which provide tips and tricks on how the things you say in your interview can complement or contradict the stuff you’ve written in your essay. If you’ve lost the copy of your essay, and accidentally deleted the file in your computer, don’t worry. You can read sample law school personal statement essays to help you remember the things you’ve written about yourself in your personal statement.
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Students who wish to make the most of their law school education know that securing internships is part of the grand schema of law studies. Every year, students clamor to get internships at the country’s top law firms. Below are some tips on how you can land your dream internship:
Explore your options
Before you start gathering brochures and visiting various law firms’ websites, you can consult your law school’s career and placement service department. They may be able to recommend law firms that are affiliated with your institution and make it easier for you to get in. You can also check out your school’s alumni network, and seek the help of someone currently employed or has tie-ups with top law firms. Exhaust the resources within your reach to score information and help on applying to your desired law firms.
Apply for pre-internship apprenticeship
If you have free time in your hand and your school work load isn’t that heavy, you may also want to consider applying for pre-internship apprenticeship. Some students apply for apprenticeship before the law school requires a law firm internship to increase their chances of getting an internship at a reputable law firm. Small law firms are ideal places for you to secure an apprenticeship because it will be easier for you to know and understand the ins and outs of law firms. By the time your school requires you to intern for a law firm, you’d already have an idea of what to do and a sense of the professional culture in law firms.
Take time to write your resume
While it’s considered standard procedure to list your achievements, skills, and educational background in your resume, going on and on about your awards and achievements for three or more pages will only bore the employer. Resumes should be concise and informative. List all the skills and qualifications you have that you think are relevant for carrying out the tasks of an intern. If you’ve engaged in non-profit and charity work, include the details of these in your resume as well. This is because some law firms look for well-rounded students who are into the practice of law not because of monetary gain, but their passion for seeking equality under the law.
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Quality law education does not come cheap. This is why many students avail of scholarships, grants, and other forms of financial aid to help them finance their studies. Below are some of the financial aid options available for law students:
Student loans
Law students can apply for student loans from the federal government, as well as from companies, organizations, and private institutions. A lot of banks and other financial institutions also offer student loan plans, programs, and packages, that have low interest rates.
Merit-based financial aid
As the name implies, merit-based aid is granted to individuals who have good grades and are thus deserving of financial assistance to pursue their studies. Schools such as Duke University give grants to their applicants who meet the requirements for financial aid. Students can also apply for scholarships from foundations, organizations, and private individuals, who are dedicated to making education available to people from all walks of life.
Need-based financial aid
This type of financial assistance is granted to students who can prove that they can’t pay for their law education solely through their own means. In need-based financial aid programs, the amounts given to students are computed according to their documented and proven monetary needs. To compute this, institutions and schools take into account the student’s family income, nationality, etc.
Post-graduation service
Some companies and schools also grant financial aid to students in exchange for certain lengths of service after graduation. Harvard Law School, for one, has announced that it will pay for students’ tuition on their third year under the condition that these students will do post-graduation public service for five years. Similarly, students who applied for federal loans may also get loan forgiveness in exchange for service to government entities, charity organizations, army and military, etc. The length of service required varies depending on the school or institution, so make sure you read the loan terms and agreements before you sign up and apply.
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In the US, virtually all ABA-accredited law schools offer the same courses to freshman students. These subjects or courses comprise what is considered as the general core curriculum. But by the time they reach their second year, law students get a wider range of course options to choose from and are allowed to then tailor their curricula according to their desired specialization. If, for example, you want to specialize in human rights laws, you should choose courses and electives that are directly related to human rights issues and topics.
The course and program offerings is one of the main things that students should consider and look into before applying to a particular law school. Most law schools regularly maintain their websites, where they post curriculum guides and outlines, so browsing through various schools’ curricula shouldn’t be that hard. To make things even easier for you, below we’ve provided an outline of, as well as links to, the courses offered in top-ranking law schools in the US.
Yale Law School
Yale Law School remains as one of the most exclusive law schools in the US because of their highly selective admissions processes. Yale only admits under 200 students per school year, but offers a wide range of options for courses, lectures, and seminars especially for business law.
Georgetown University
One reason why many students flock to Georgetown University to study law is because of their updated course offerings that tackle the latest legal issues and matters. Georgetown is one of the few law schools that have jurisprudence updates on Bioethics, as well as Internet crimes and cyberspace laws. The school is also known for the wide array of specializations they offer.
The New York Law School – International and Comparative Law
The New York Law School boasts of curricula that span international interests and concerns to cater to students who wish to pursue legal careers in a highly globalized and transnational setting. The school also offers advanced courses on Human Rights, Business Law, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution.
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