I applied to quite a few law schools. I was accepted and graduated. I used extracurricular activities in my application.
Extracurricular activities are not mandatory for law school admissions. Law schools focus their admission policies primarily on LSAT scores and undergraduate GPA numbers.
But extracurricular activities on law school application reveal strong personality and character traits. Thus, academic achievements can be an extra positive factor considered by law school admissions.
Note that you can be admitted to law school without any extracurricular activities with a solid undergraduate GPA and LSAT score.
Although, extracurricular activities may be that additional factor pushing the scales in your favor among other similarly situated applicants.
Let me explain few essential things to consider whether or not to put extracurricular activities in the law school application. And how to do it.
How much do top law schools care about extracurriculars?
All law schools, especially top law schools, focus heavily on students’ ability to excel in a highly intense law school academic environment and build a career after graduation.
Therefore, law schools are more interested in previous academic accomplishments than anything else. Consequently, they are looking for high grades and strong LSAT scores.
What some top and other law schools do is perform a “holistic review” of applications. That means that besides LSAT and GPA, they look at some additional factors which may add points to the applicant.
Said that those extra factors could be helpful, rather than decisive, because they carry only so much weight.
Such factors can be helpful for those who lack just a little bit of GPA or LSAT (one of the two). They can also be beneficial when law schools select among a large pool of equally excellent candidates.
Extra weight from small factors may persuade the admissions officer to choose applicants with enjoyable extracurricular activities.
Note that in top law schools, admissions usually prefer some previous elite experience.
So, being a president of a student club in the top 10 undergraduate colleges will play a much more significant role in law school admissions than being a president of a student club in the local college outside of the top 100.
Just saying, this is the way it is.
Any internship or anything to do with a top elite company can be a big plus.
For example, an internship at Facebook or a leading consulting company will play a more significant role than being a founder of a student newspaper or being an active member of student government.
Law schools want to see success. Elite law schools want to see the ability to connect and succeed in the privileged environment.
Are extracurriculars important for law school?
Thus we came to a general conclusion that extracurriculars are not necessarily crucial for law school admissions. But they may play a positive role as one of many smaller factors.
Another reason for that is that many bright law school applicants have had extracurricular activities in college.
Since there are so many of them in each admission cycle, it is hard for admission officers to distinguish among all students who was better at what.
Law school applicants who want to stand out in the personal statement should possess something unique, different from all other applicants.
It is tough to say which unique experience will appeal to the admissions rep. Still, those mentioned in the section above should play a role.
Military, active combat experience does stand out, as far as I know, especially if an applicant was an officer leading other service members in complex combat situations.
Previous police experience may stand out as long as a police officer is a somehow distinguished one.
Say, they busted major drug rings with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of narcotics seized and a few primary drug dealers imprisoned. That could stand out, don’t you think?
Other significant factors may be working in a top company or firm before applying to law school.
What are the best extracurriculars for law school?
The best extracurriculars for law school are anybody’s guess. If you ask different people, you will get other answers.
But I think I explained above in detail what stands out in law school application in terms of extracurricular activities.
Any extracurricular activity that shows good academic performance should be good. Success and leadership activate well.
Other areas to deliver your excellence are excellent writing skills, analysis, debates, anything that has to do with researching, writing, and publishing papers or articles.
Writing skills are essential for law applicants because law exams are based on written exams. A law career requires lawyers to write clearly and concisely.
Showing extra higher-end writing skills can be a plus in the eyes of an admission officer.
Another often cited activity includes any debate clubs or activities like public debate.
Then, student government or leadership positions in a student organization or outside of college may also present the applicant in a favorable light.
If you already achieved success without law school, they may think you are a good chance of succeeding after you get your law degree.
Because law schools want their students to be able to advance to improve law schools ranking upon graduation
Anything pre-law is debatable. Many applicants took some pre-law classes. Therefore, pre-law societies or clubs may look fine.
Still, they will not be a significant factor even among secondary factors, in my opinion. But it depends on the individual admissions officer.
Volunteer work may look good, too, primarily if you work on projects related to general justice, helping people, or even animals.
From what I know, any extra activity looks good if you were involved in some leadership position.
For example, I created a student newspaper and was actively involved in student government activities.
Unfortunately, that did not help me get into top law school because I did not have a stellar LSAT score.
But I did get into law school and succeeded more or less decently. So, who knows, maybe that was a bit extra factor in the admissions process.
Can you get into law school with no extracurriculars?
You can get into law school with no extracurriculars. Even more so, you may get into top law schools without extracurriculars. You need to show your academic capability by having a solid GPA and a good LSAT score.
But if you did have extracurricular activities, then it would be a shame not to tell about them in your statement or admissions essay.
Because when law school evaluates several applicants with almost identical academic credentials, an extracurricular activity may be that a tiny factor that tips the scales in your favor.
Use anything you can to show yourself in good light on your law school application. But please, never lie and never exaggerate too much.
If you were a student club leader consisting of 5 members in a local college, do not say it was a national club to make the admissions officer think it had thousands of members. Once the truth comes out, it may hurt your reputation.
Is it worth spending time showing extracurriculars for law school?
I think that everything may count in law school applications. Extracurricular activities are no exception. So it is worth spending time honing how your activities look on a resume or personal statement.
Please do not do it at the expense of LSAT preparation, of course. But make sure to make time for that.
Because you may never know what will attract the attention of law school admissions. I repeat this in several articles on this blog: make sure that you present yourself in the best light.
But not in the falsely best light. Puff a little bit, if necessary, to show that you were active in college. Show that you can succeed both academically and professionally.
Show that you can communicate with important people and get ahead in your career.
Law schools want to see applicants who will succeed beyond hiding in the corner of a library.
They want to see that their students go ahead and make their way into employment after graduation—good employment numbers after graduation help law school’s ranking.
Law schools also want successful alumnae whom law school could bug for money donations in the future. It is all about success winning, and money.
And only so much about justice. Get ready – the above is a feature of the legal profession.
