Weinberg senior Colin Rolfs sent his law school applications in November. And then the nail-biting began.
"You can hassle the mailman on a daily basis and monitor online status checkers religiously," Rolfs said. "I admit I did a few of these things at first. However, I quickly realized this was detrimental to my sanity."
Rolfs eventually learned the importance of relaxing during the waiting process and focusing on other aspects of his life that he can control.
Although there is no specific program for prelaw undergraduates at Northwestern, devoted students are taking the Law School Admission Test and working hard throughout their four years to have a high enough grade point average to get into a reputable law school.
Prelaw students are advised to take classes that focus on writing and public speaking, said Tracie Thomas, assistant director for programming at University Career Services. Law schools value leadership experiences and passion when looking at extracurricular activities.
"Major in something that you enjoy, because if you enjoy it you will do well at it," Thomas said. "They also look for people who are well-rounded. It's better to get involved with three or four students groups and really be involved than to join 10 that you are just marginally a part of."
Each year's graduating class takes a survey in June that asks of their future plans, said Lonnie Dunlap, a counselor at career services. However, not everyone took the survey in each school. The class of 2007's survey report showed 16.9 percent of 178 Weinberg graduates planned to go to law school. For the School of Communication, 15.4 percent of 39 people planned to attend law school as well. Medill had the largest percentage at 31.3 percent although only 16 people took the survey.
A student's GPA and LSAT score are the most important factors of getting into a good law school, said Weinberg senior Sarah Whitney.
"Certainly standardized tests will always be part of the game and are needed as a tool to select students from a highly competitive pool, but I wish the admissions process was more holistic and placed more emphasis on other factors," she said.
2008 Woodie Awards
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