The Best Book On Harvard Law School Admissions

Want to go to Harvard Law? Current 1L HLS students share stories, strategies and even their applications, giving you a step-by-step plan for admissions.





I’m not worried about the job market. I’ve been told by other classmates that the job market is really picking up. It seems like almost everyone who has wanted a job in the private sector has gotten one.

In terms of setting myself up to get a job, it’s a case of keeping my grades up. That is the biggest factor without a doubt. It’s just your grades – make sure you have that mixture of Honors and Passing.

I also think that having worked for 2 years at a consultancy firm will help. I did litigation consultancy, so it’s relevant.

 

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My top 2 tips for applying to law school:

  • Why do you want to go to law school? Not only is it required on the application, but just in general it is good to think about.
  • Don’t stress out too much.

 

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Undergrad Extracurriculars For Pre-Law

Do what you’re interested in.

Extracurricular activities are something that never goes away. The question is always, “What extracurriculars are important for Harvard Law School?”

I really hate extracurriculars, since you have to do them even if you don’t want to do them. They’re like journals in law school —completely useless. But in college there’s so much you can do. Find something you are interested in. If you are really passionate about it, then do it. It will count on your law school application.

There isn’t anything that you shouldn’t do in terms of extracurricular activities, though being really enthusiastic in sports probably won’t help. Still, you should do it because it’s fun and keeps you in shape. You don’t have to be in ULAC or an organization. You don’t have to be in a political thing or a legal thing – just something that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go.

Law schools like diversity. They are not looking for people strictly pre-law. They want people that are interested in other other areas, like theatre, music, etc.

In college, I participated in sports, political organizations, volunteer work at a homeless shelter and honor societies. Most of it, to be honest, was resume building. I didn’t contribute a lot to those organizations, but I still had fun with activities like soccer and ballroom dancing.

Undergraduate Majors For Law School

Be diverse and don’t default to easy majors.

The major that you chose matters, so again it’s frowned upon to be strictly pre-law, just like political science is frowned upon. I double majored in political science and economics. Any major that looks easy is also frowned upon; psychology and communications are considered easy majors. But I do think you should just major in what you’re interested in. You can’t go wrong if you do something you are interested in.

There are conflicting reports about easy majors. Some people argue that majors matter, but others say that law schools have limited spaces, so they only look at G.P.A. I say that you should just do what you are interested in. Here at HLS, there are film, Spanish and Portuguese majors.

Languages

They don’t matter for law school apps.

Language experience isn’t necessarily an advantage for getting into law school. I was required to do Spanish in college, but it didn’t effect my application. There are certain societies and organizations in college where having a 2nd language helps, but it doesn’t affect your application.

 

 

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HLS Student #4: 3 Tips For Choosing A Law School

There weren’t any specific law school programs that I wanted to join. It was more of the feel I got from the professors and in the classroom. When I went to Stanford’s mock classes, it was all a bit boring. When I went to Harvard’s mock classes, I remember a case about piping labels, and [...]

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HLS Student #4: Why Getting A Job Before Law School Can Get You Into HLS

I grew up in Michigan about 20 miles outside of New Harbour and I always had it in mind that I would go to university. I started out premed but then I realized that it wasn’t for me and I switched to law school. And then towards the junior year of college I thought that [...]

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HLS Student #4: How To Prep For The LSAT

I took the LSAT while I was in college in the summer between my junior and senior year. I didn’t have a full time job or internship. I did some voluntary stuff but I just had a lot of free time so I actually took the LSAT and the GMAT that summer. First I took [...]

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HLS Student #2: Developing and Showing Your Passions

When applying to law schools, such as Harvard, you need to understand about developing and showing your passions. You need to convey these passions in your application and in your essay. Law schools look for talented, driven students and passions are what drive most people. Your passions are what will get you noticed by colleges [...]

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HLS Student #1: Tips For People Who Get a Late Start on Law School Apps

If you get a late start in your application process, there are a number of things you can do to stay on track. I knew I’d apply to law school in June of 2009. At that point, I was still deciding whether to apply to law school or business school. By the time I decided [...]

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HLS Student #1: Tips for Cramming for the LSAT

When I decided to take the LSAT, I had very little time to prepare. I’d gotten a late start on my entire law school application process, and was forced to just sign up for the next exam date and hope for the best. I decided that the best way for me to prepare would be [...]

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HLS Student #2: How To Get Top Level Recommendations

When applying to colleges, as part of the application process, you need to include recommendations. It’s suggested you send three. I wanted to have a recommendation from each of my three fields of study; Arabic, French and International affairs. I had a professor at UGA who offered to write a recommendation for me. I really [...]

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