Prelaw

Prospective Law School Students: How to Spend Your Gap Year

For prospective law students who wish to take a gap year, there are many jobs and activities that will improve your resume, provide clarity on your future career path, and ultimately bolster your candidacy in the application process. We’ve listed a few ideas below:

  • Management consulting/investment banking: For future applicants with a passion for business or an interest in corporate law, spending time at a consulting or investment banking group can increase your baseline knowledge, and understanding of the work.

  • Policy analysis/research: If your interests are in constitutional or immigration law, working directly in this space can provide you experience with relevant stakeholders, as well as the ability to speak to your future goals more specifically within your law school application. It may also assist you to more strategically select law school programs that will best position you to do the work you love.

  • Non-profit work: If you have identified an interest in public interest law or just in gaining professional skills quickly, working for a non-profit organization could be a sound next step. Typically, nonprofits have lean workforces and, as a result, even recent college graduates are asked to work outside their comfort zone to acquire new skills. Further, it is important to note that some organizations like Teach for America have relationships and scholarship programs with select law schools.

  • Paralegal/legal assistant/legal administrator: For applicants interested in learning more about working within a law firm, this type of experience will broaden your understanding of the day-to-day life of a lawyer and will also likely show meaningful commitment to both law schools and future legal recruiters.

While it isn’t necessary to take a gap-year between undergraduate and law school, if you do, it is of vital importance to spend your time thoughtfully and productively.  It may seem appealing, in those months after college, to solely focus on LSAT and application preparations.  But remember, admissions committees will be looking very closely. Meaningful and productive work will help you to construct a narrative that will bolster your story as an applicant and positively contribute to your law school class and experience.  

Prospective Law School Students: When to Consider a Gap Year

Prospective law students often wonder if they should take time off between finishing their undergraduate work and applying to law school. While there is no one size fits all answer, the trend shows that many law schools are expecting and even rewarding students who take at least a brief interlude prior to starting school. 

According to ABA data, the majority of 2024 matriculants did report a gap prior to starting law school (65 percent). Among four of the top five ranked law schools by U.S. News and World Report in 2024, the incoming classes showed that between 70 and 90 percent of incoming students took at least one year off before matriculation. At Yale, 89 percent of the Class of 2027 was at least one year out from undergraduate and 46 percent were at least three years out.

While, it isn’t necessary for all students to take a gap year, it can be a beneficial use of time for the following types of applicants:

  • Those with a general interest in the study of law, but without experience in the day-to-day operations of a law firm and/or those who do not yet feel comfortable selecting a career path within the legal industry

  • Those who have a passion they would like to pursue, who can spend some time in the field to confirm law school is the right next step to help them achieve their goals

  • Those who need to enhance the competitiveness of their application with additional experiences and insight into their future goals

  • Those who may benefit from a year of earnings prior to taking on the financial burden of law school

  • Those interested in working at a firm post- law school, as prior work experience can be looked upon quite favorably by hiring managers

Check back tomorrow as we discuss productive ways to spend your gap year. 

Prelaw Priorities: Tips for the Early Birds

Sometimes we'll have clients reach out long before they begin applying to law school. And we love it! It gives us the opportunity to advise them on things they can do now that will save them time later, when things are more hectic. 

Journal Your Experiences. In addition to seeking out high quality and challenging academic, professional, and extracurricular experiences you’re interested in, you should keep a journal. It will make the brainstorming process a breeze. Log details while they're fresh in your mind. Did you have a meaningful conversation with a colleague while volunteering? Demonstrate leadership in an organization you’re involved with? Develop an imaginative solution on a team project? How did those interactions feel? What actions did you take, if any? Are there results to share? Pay particular attention to those experiences that prompted an evolution in your perspective and reinforced your interest in the study of law, as well as those that could show the reader your intellectual curiosity, integrity, and abilities in critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration.

Secure the Right Rec in a Timely Manner. If you're a college sophomore and have a current professor who you'd love to support your candidacy for law school, ask for the letter of recommendation right after the course ends. Your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) subscription remains active for five years and will deliver your reference letter when it's time to submit. Alternatively, if you would prefer to wait or if your ideal recommender says, "I'll write it the year you apply," stay in touch and keep them updated on your accomplishments. 

Start Preparing for the LSAT. A long lead-time before you apply to law school allows you to adjust your schedule to accommodate studying and taking the LSAT. Consider when you can most easily make the time for prep. Will it be during the summer while you participate in an internship or job? Or do you hope to plan for a lighter academic load the semester you plan to take the test? 

LSAT scores are valid for five years. If you can take the test earlier in your undergraduate career, you will have space to focus on strengthening other components of your application later. Additionally, taking the LSAT early leaves you with more options if your initial score doesn’t meet your expectations.

Law School Applicant Volume Up from Last Year

Prospective law students are coming out in droves for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle. The number of applicants for Fall 2024 matriculation is up four percent compared to the same point in the application cycle last year. And the pool is expected to continue to grow based on the registration volume for the January LSAT, which is up 15 percent from last year.

The diversity of the applicant pool has also increased compared to last year, which is notable because last year’s admissions cycle yielded the most diverse law school class on record. According to Reuters, the newly published LSAC data shows that over 43 percent of the applicant pool is made up of minorities and that the number of minority applicants has increased by seven percent from last year. Hispanic applicants have increased by almost nine percent, Black applicants by just over seven percent, and Asian applicants by six percent. The number of White applicants has held stable with growth of just one percent year-over-year. 

Last Summer, when the Supreme Court disallowed the use of race as a component of university admissions’ decisions, many in the legal and academic communities expressed concern that it would negatively impact underrepresented applicants and would discourage students of color from even applying. To counteract this, many schools updated their outreach and even their application components with the intention of encouraging minority students to apply. While it remains to be seen how many of the applications will turn into law school acceptances, this applicant data is encouraging. 

Related: A Compelling Diversity Statement will Strengthen Your Candidacy for Law School

Next Gen Bar Exam: Latest Updates

Last week the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) announced Next Gen Bar Exam updates. Here’s what you need to know. 

Your story set apart.