preLaw - Back to School 2007 - (Page 37) keep up the payments on the Porsche. But, having said that, anything that looks like it takes commitment and effort is likely to be well regarded. When it comes to working after college, if all somebody is doing is “taking time out,” or “time off,” then it’s not going to So go out, get the work experience, go try out a law firm, go paralegal for a while or work as a case clerk. You might love it, you might hate it, but that’s all good information to have. The GEOFFREY H. PALMER CENTER For Entrepreneurship and the Law “You’re much better off getting a recommendation from somebody who may be, in all due respect, a nobody in the larger world, but who knows you.” — Susan Estrich, author of “How to Get into Law School” be terribly impressive. In other words, if somebody waits tables or walks dogs for the months after law school and then applies, no admissions committee is going to say, “Aha, thank goodness we have a dog walker or a waiter or waitress apply.” On the other hand, if somebody works in a professional capacity, preferably for a couple of years rather than just one, and actually becomes a professional in that field, then that’s looked upon very favorably. So it doesn’t much matter whether this is marketing or strategy consulting, or investment banking, or you name it. Rather, becoming a professional in the field is going to be viewed very favorably. Anna: I encourage [applicants] to go out and get work experience and discover who you are outside of school. When you’re applying right out of college, you have no idea what you want out of your work life, or what kind of work you enjoy – all you know by that point is how to do school, and I think that’s just not nearly enough information yet to make a big decision about investing in a six-figure degree, and a pretty narrow career track. I mean, I think one of the big fictions out there is, “Oh, you can do anything with a law degree.” I think that’s a terrible reason for going into a professional school. I’ve never heard someone say, “You know what, I don’t know the first thing about what engineers do all day long, but I really want to go to engineering school.” You just don’t hear it, and I don’t think you should hear it for law school either. EXTRACURRICULAR preLaw: What about extracurricular and community type activities? When are those helpful? Ruth: They are definitely helpful if you’re involved in an organization where you’re showing leadership. If you’ve created an organization or you’ve done something pretty interesting that is a little different than your traditional leadership stuff. If you’re really trying to get over the hurdle of bad grades, or low grades, showing initiative and creativity is certainly a help to giving a larger understanding of who you are as an applicant. The one thing that I would caution, though, is if a student has sort of average grades from college and they’re trying to get into a school that is more academically rigorous, it’s a really tough adjustment to do well in that school. The grades don’t predict how you’re going to be as an attorney, but college grades do track very well, in my experience, with what law school grades will be like. That’s something for somebody to keep in mind when they’re looking at what schools to apply to. REV OLU TI N THROUGH SOCIAL EN T ER PR I SE September 21, 2007 ACROSS SECTORS, GENERATIONS AND DISCIPLINES, social entrepreneurs are identifying, addressing, and, in some cases, solving many of the major crises confronting our society today through the creative application of entrepreneurial principles. This conference will bring together youth, academics, nonprofit and corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and lawyers from around the world, including the following speakers: BILL BURRUS President & CEO, ACCION USA TERRY MOLLNER Founder, Calvert Foundation ANNE HASTINGS Director, Fonkoze NURJUHAN BEGUM General Manager, Grameen Bank MONTY MORAN President & CEO, Chipotle RECOMMENDATIONS preLaw: How should students go about getting the recommendations and who, exactly, should they try to get them from. For updated information or to register, please visit: http://law.pepperdine.edu/palmer/ upcoming.html. LAW.PEPPERDINE.EDU/PALMER 310.506.4681 Back to School 2007 37 http://law.pepperdine.edu/palmer/upcoming.html http://law.pepperdine.edu/palmer/upcoming.html http://LAW.PEPPERDINE.EDU/PALMER
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