Scroll Top

Phone: 1.800.296.9656        Email: circulation@cypressmagazines.com 

Law-related experience has no effect on admission, survey finds

Related Articles

Undergraduates and young professionals toiling in legal-related internships and jobs may be gaining valuable knowledge to prepare them for a career in law, but such experiences may not have much effect in helping them get into law school, according to a new Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions survey.

Admissions officers from 152 law schools were surveyed during July and August 2009. More than 60 percent reported that experience interning or working in the legal profession gives applicants any advantage in the admissions process. Only four percent responded that legal experience offers “great advantage,” while 36 percent responded that it offers “some advantage.”  Conversely, nearly one in five admissions officers say it gives applicants “no advantage at all.”

Jeff Thomas, director of preLaw programs for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, said the competitiveness for law school admission has dramatically increased. But, he adds, the findings of the Kaplan survey should not indicate that work experience isn’t important.

“Law schools are looking at work experience. [They] just want to see that you are passionate and can make a big impact,” he said. “Spending some time in the legal field can do wonders, along with great letters of recommendation.”

Factors that haven’t changed at all are the LSAT scores.

“What’s clear from our survey is that admissions officers continue to consider an applicant’s LSAT score to be the most important admissions factor, followed by undergraduate GPA, the personal statement, letters of recommendation and professional experience,” said Howard Bell, executive director of pre-law programs for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions. 

Other key results of Kaplan’s survey of law school admissions officers:

  • 48 percent say that they or a fellow admissions officer at their school have received a “friend request” on Facebook or MySpace

  • Only 21 percent say the LSAT should be changed in some way to help them better evaluate applicants

  • 82 percent report that they have no plans to increase the number of seats for their school’s entering class

  • 65 percent report an increase in applications compared to 2008

 

By Michelle Weyenberg, associate managing editor for The National Jurist

National Jurist Editors

National Jurist Editors

Digital Magazine
Newsletter Signup
OUR SPONSORS

Get unlimited access

Get a premium subscription to the National Jurist for less than $2 a month.