Find Smart Ways to Reapply, Get Involved in Law School

Welcome to the latest installment of Law Admissions Q-and-A, a monthly feature of Law Admissions Lowdown that provides admissions advice to readers who send in questions and law school admissions profiles.

If you have a question about law school, please email me for a chance to be featured next month. This week, I will address questions about the challenges candidates face when considering applying to law school the second time around, as well as activities to focus on once you get into your school.

[Determine the best time to apply to law school.]

Dear Shawn: I was wondering how law schools look at students who are applying for the second time. If I decide to reapply, should I avoid applying to the same school twice? -Second Chance

Dear Second Chance: In the past, I have discussed the fact that there is no problem with reapplying to law school.

Although reapplying to the same school is not a problem, you will certainly want to do an extensive retooling of all your materials so that the schools you reapply to can see that you are a different applicant from the one they rejected previously. In your new application, you will want to incorporate all the ways that your profile has changed since you applied previously, including additional job experience and academic work, be it undergraduate or graduate.

You should also have your recommenders rewrite their letters of recommendation. I also strongly encourage my clients who reapply to write an addendum that explicitly discusses all the aspects of your profile that have improved since you last applied. The key is to show schools that you are a different and better applicant than you were when they rejected you.

In addition to revamping your application materials, strongly consider retaking the LSAT if you believe you can get a higher score. Increasing your LSAT score by even just a few points is often the difference between acceptance and rejection, and schools that see a reapplicant with an improved LSAT score will certainly look more favorably on the second application than the first. -Shawn

[Learn three common reasons law school applications are rejected.]

Dear Shawn: I have a question regarding what else to get involved in outside of the classroom during my 1L year. Obviously clubs and the like are not too much of a time commitment, but I was wondering more about skills competitions, particularly alternative dispute resolution. Should I take advantage of this opportunity? If not, what are some other good activities to do? -Getting Involved

Dear Getting Involved: When considering extracurricular activities during your first, or 1L, year, the most important thing to remember is that your first-year grades are by far the most important factor in creating future opportunities, both as a 2L and 3L and in the beginning of your professional career.

The first thing I tell 1Ls to consider when choosing extracurricular activities, therefore, is the time commitment and whether participating will take too much time away from getting the best grades you can. Most students find time for both study and extracurricular activities, but make sure any activity you choose doesn't burden you, especially toward the end of each semester, when you should be focusing exclusively on preparing for exams.

[Get seven tips to survive the first week of law school.]

As you mention in your question, most clubs and less formal activities tend to be less of a time commitment than competitions, so only commit to a competitive activity if you know that it won't encroach on your study time.

Another important factor in choosing an extracurricular activity is how that activity fits into your larger career goals. If you hope to find a job that focuses on mediation or arbitration, doing an alternative dispute resolution skills competition makes a lot of sense. Employers who value that skill will look favorably on that part of your resume, and your experience participating in the competition will provide you with great talking points during interviews.

So, if the ADR competition doesn't interfere with your exam preparation and it dovetails with your professional goals, it sounds like a great choice for an extracurricular activity. -Shawn