You are born, you go to school and then you work for the rest of your life if you are not fortunate enough to afford retirement. That is pretty much the path for most Americans — work until you are gray and sell your soul to the bourgeoisie unless you are the top 1% of the 1%.
As a child, your life is vivid and bright. You have your whole life ahead of you. Your summer vacations are spent going on family trips, playing in pools and drawing with chalk. Your free time is spent on video games, at soccer practice or hanging out with friends. For many of those who do work in high school, it is often low-stress and only a few hours a week.
And then you get to college, strolling up thinking everything is going to be the same. You only have five classes taking up less than 15 hours a week, and sure, you have homework and papers to write, but outside of midterms and finals, it is ultimately not too bad. You can sleep in, stay up late, party with friends and engage with your hobbies like never before.
Life is good, free and boundless until someone tells you that your whole life has to revolve around you wanting to go to law school. Suddenly, every decision you make has you questioning if this will help you get into your dream school — if the classes you’re enrolled in will impress adcomm, if you can squeeze one more club or leadership position into your ever-overflowing schedule. Not every pre-law student gives up their free time for a marginal difference with adcomm, but the pressure to do so is very much real.
Your free time becomes inundated with law-based clubs and your summers lost to internships in an attempt to pad your resume. Losing your free time doesn’t mean you hate what you’re doing — I would hope you all love it — but it is definitely a stark difference to what you thought your college experience would be. Long gone are the nights sitting on the dorm floor with your closest friends, hello late nights walking back in the Pittsburgh chill from club meetings and professional socials.
Before I proceed to recommend extracurricular activities and internships, I want to say first and foremost that you don’t have to relinquish every last second of your life to perfecting your law school application. Firstly, it is important to remember that there is no such thing as the perfect applicant. There are people who apply to law school padded with an Ivy league degree, a White House internship, a Department of Justice internship and leadership positions in all the pre-law clubs at their university. But there are others who have a fraction to none of that and go to law school. There are people who decide years later in life to go to law school — they can’t redo their undergraduate experience and join all those clubs and work all those jobs. But secondly, as I said above, you have the whole rest of your life to work. Enjoy that time with friends and take every opportunity to sleep in. College will be done before you know it.
But the unavoidable truth is that this stuff is important. Participating in clubs and working topical internships proves you are committed to a future career as a lawyer.
I don’t know the perfect recipe for a law school acceptance. There is no instructional guide to ensure you a spot at your dream school. But I think everyone would agree that staying involved on campus is a great ingredient for success. Joining legal-based student organizations or professional fraternities is a great way to prove your commitment to the legal profession. But other passion clubs show that you are multifaceted. If you love animals, join a club for animal rights or one that goes to shelters each week. If you are an avid crafter, join a knitters circle or a club that sews personal hygiene items.
Don’t be afraid to look outside your university as well. Church groups, club sports and advocacy are also great options for people looking to get involved outside of the classroom. And if you have the opportunity, pursue leadership, but only if you really want to. We’re told time and time again that leadership positions look really good on a law school application, but as a member, there is nothing worse than a leader half-assing their duties. So if you go for it, really go for it and give it your all.
As for internships, there is a lot to say, but I will keep it brief. Having an internship or internships is great, yes. It is important to pad your resume and get some great experience, but use those opportunities for you and you alone. Keep your mind open to the kind of work you are completing, as there is no better way to know if something is for you than if you spend a whole summer slaving away doing it.
Personally, I have worked four major internships, five if you count my job here at The Pitt News. My position in a prosecutor’s office affirmed that I wanted to be a lawyer, but that I had no interest in criminal law. My legislative internship opened my eyes to state politics but made it abundantly clear that world isn’t for me. Writing and editing for The Pitt News has completely shaped me as a person and writer, and while I know I want to be a lawyer, journalism is something I never want to stop participating in.
Every last internship or work opportunity doesn’t have to be legal — in fact, legal internships and jobs are not the easiest to come by as an undergraduate student. Keep your mind open to new experiences and know that there is no mold you have to perfectly fit. You never know, you may find out that the law isn’t for you but something else is. Or, if you are like me, it will only make you more sure that law school is the right next step for you.
If I had a handbook on how to be the ideal law school applicant, trust me when I say I would share it in a heartbeat. I would’ve read it cover to cover and followed it to a T. But nothing like that exists, unfortunately.
I ultimately do not know if I did anything right, and I won’t know until I get every last one of my decisions back. But, as a senior graduating in just a few short months, trust me when I say that no school is worth sacrificing your undergraduate experience. If I could go back and do it all again, I would give so much more time to my friends and to myself than to an application and an answer to “what if?” I could get in there.
