Top-notch grades, internships key for law school acceptance

Dear Mr. Bradshaw,

I am a freshman in college, and I hope to pursue a career in law. What advice can you give me about preparing for law school? Sincerely,

College Freshman

Dear College Freshman,

If you want to be accepted into law school, you must concentrate on your studies and build a top-notch grade-point average from Day One. If you think that as a college freshman you can afford to kick back and blow off your grades for a year, then make up for it during your sophomore, junior and senior years, be forewarned: There never will be enough time to overcome a weak first-year GPA. It is possible that you might even need a fifth undergraduate year to bolster your academic record.

Poor grades can devalue your transcript by as much as 25 percent. Some students think the freshman year is a time to experiment with classes and find out where their true intellectual and creative selves lie. As a result, they struggle with subjects that do not support their career aspirations.

Although your last three years in college may show evidence of what well-meaning academic advisers call a “showing of improvement trend,” it won’t pull any weight with potential law, medical or business school officials as they sift through transcripts of undergraduates who aced their first-year classes.

If you want to pursue a law degree, take courses that relate to the area of law in which you might wish to specialize. The biggest mistake I see freshmen make is not having clear career direction. When you do not have the slightest idea about a major, you end up taking a hodgepodge of classes, selected for you by academic advisers more interested in filling open classes than in helping you define a career strategy and building your GPA.

Typically, the hardest classes to earn an “A” in are the so-called required or general education subjects that must be taken to fulfill degree and graduation requirements. Some of these classes must be taken in sequence but can be postponed until your junior or senior years when you have built a solid GPA and are better equipped to handle them. As to your choice of law school. It would be helpful if you can talk with some practicing attorneys or law school alumni to find out what educational path they took. Do you want to work in the private or public sector or for a non-profit organization? Trial work or research and where do you want to live? All of these factors can help you determine where it would be best to attend law school because it is a good idea to practice in the same location as your school where there is a strong alumni network and where your school is known.

A law degree from a school that is not ranked in the top tier of schools will not open the same doors as a degree from a highly ranked school. Remember that law school is not cheap, and you will not be making a steady salary for the three years you are in attendance.

You should consider applying for an internship in a career interest area during your summer breaks. Some of the most successful business and professional people I know enhanced their education and professional acumen with summer employment and employers are more interested in people who have real world experience.