Non-Trad applicant here! And I have...a lot of questions.

[studysaurus]

Hello there!

For context, I'm not applying during this current cycle, but am planning to for entry in Fall 2022 (I'm a planner and yes, COVID has been a nightmare in this regard!). Apologies in advance, this could be rambling - I have so many thoughts!

I'm 10+ years out of undergrad, have a Master's degree, and I have no idea what to focus on as a non-trad student. Is there something admissions reps expect from me as someone with that status? For example, is it expected that I'll talk about why law and why now? And if I don't address that it's an automatic point against me? I suppose that really applies to something like the personal statement. Do I talk about me being non-trad? Could I talk about a hobby? If so, how do I connect it to law school/do I want to or should I connect it to being non-trad? Does everything come back to being non-trad?

I'm also wondering how to approach the resume. Given that I should really stick to one page, what should I focus on keeping there? For example, do I leave all of my education info since that'll be on the application? Do I include college activities/internships? Or do I only include my current job and internships/fellowships I've had since graduate school?

And finally (though I'm sure there's more), did I mention that not only am I a non-trad (have I mentioned that at all?), but I'm also a likely reverse splitter? That being the case, what's the best way to approach the application cycle aside from trying to get a rocking LSAT score (which is also...a struggle. A real struggle.).

Thank you so much in advance for your help! You're all rockstars for what you do!

[Jeremy Press]

Hi studysaurus,

Great questions!

I was also a non-traditional applicant (had been out of undergrad for 7 years when I applied), so I know what you're going through. By far the most important, objective, thing you can do is to get your LSAT as high as possible. That takes some pressure off the other parts of the application. You're not a reverse splitter yet, so don't resign yourself to that at this point in your process! Design your study schedule appropriately, given that you have plenty of time for it. Check out our self-study options if you haven't done so (https://studentcenter.powerscore.com/self-study/) and consider speaking with a tutor (even if just for a couple hours) to make sure you're off on the right foot with your LSAT studying (https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/tutoring/).

On your specific questions, your personal statement is just that: personal. Even in a non-trad application, the personal statement doesn't have to address directly the why law and why now questions. My personal statement was focused on an aspect of my background that wasn't addressed in my resume/transcripts. It had a tangential connection to what was motivating my academic pursuits, but making that connection wasn't the top priority of my personal statement. And it doesn't have to be the top priority in yours. In fact, you should look into school-specific requirements for personal statements, because there are some schools that explicitly don't want you to take your personal statement in that direction.

You should know, though, that every employer (especially law firms) that you interview with for a first position is going to expect a succinct and convincing answer to those questions. It's not a bad idea to craft those answers now, even if they don't make it into your personal statement.

Your resume doesn't need to include as much from your undergrad experience. You do need to include every institution from which you earned a degree, but there's no need to include all the volunteer and service-type activities you did at those institutions. You should include significant academic awards, if any. Include significant internships only if there's space for them.

You also need to include all significant, full-time employment since graduate school. You do not need to include short-term or less-significant internships. If your resume has to bleed onto a second page (mine did), it's not going to be a killer (unless a school insists your resume not exceed one page--in that case, be ruthless about cutting it down).

Best of luck in the application cycle, and let us know if there's anything else we can do to help!