Internships That Will Pop On Your Law School Applications

By Francine Fluetsch on July 2, 2015

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

Is law school your dream? I’m sure after watching “Legally Blonde,” many people think they want this career path, but only few will persevere. Will you be one of them? To heighten your chances of getting into a good law school, there are tons of great internships that would look mighty fine on your resume and would help you compete to get in.

While some schools may claim not to give priority to students who have completed internships, it is always a good idea to have more than less, and a good experience never hurt anybody. When looking for an internship to boost your resume, also make sure it pertains to your likeness so you’ll be able to reap multiple benefits from it.

Let’s take a look at some of them now.

Internship abroad

Get out there and explore the world! Knowledge of diverse cultures is good for any application, especially for pre-law. While knowing the economic, mathematical, and political side of becoming a law student is important, you can’t forget the human behavior and writing aspects.

Many pre-law students major in literature or another related field to show law schools that they have a diversity of knowledge, and studying abroad where you could potentially teach English would be a perfect way to gain insight into a new culture, show your proficiency with the English language, and possibly pick up a foreign language to keep your brain active and make your resume more impressive.

There are many ways to get abroad — just make sure to talk to your advisor first to keep yourself on track.

Internship in public interest

Consider an internship in public interest to learn more and deal with constitutional and civil rights. It’s great to try out different types of law environments if you still aren’t sure which one you particularly want to practice.

The ACLU is a great place to search for these internships in your area, and you can also check out The Legal Aid Society to see if anything tickles your fancy. Many of these will be summer positions, so starting as early as possible would be ideal.

You can also take a look at your local DA or PD office and see if they are offering any internships. It might not always be the most exciting, heart racing work, but you’ll probably get to sit in on some trials, which would be great exposure to your future atmosphere. Get the ball rolling, juniors!

Goldman Sachs internship

Goldman Sachs has an active undergrad recruiting program, which isn’t found all that often. Their internship is a 10-week course that takes place over the summer, and is offered for sophomores and juniors. Graduating seniors can apply for full time positions. Their internship will give you a taste for what it’s like in the highly competitive professional world and will allow you to experience working with an amazing team.

Going through the internship will be a great resume builder, and may even result in a full time position when the time comes. How awesome would that be?

image via Maryland GovPics on flickr.com

Communications Internship (Washington DC)

Just like the internship abroad, the communications internship will help you expand your people skills. This internship will allow you to work closely with the Deputy Director For Government and Public Affairs on a variety of projects.

A wonderful part of this is that it will be paid, and you’ll be able to gain a multitude of skills. Writing skills are a must for this one, so you can kill two birds with one stone by getting the internship and showing potential law schools that you are a master with a pen (and keyboard).

Talk to future professors

Emailing professors at your dream law schools may be a great way to either figure out what internships they would want you to already have done, or possibly see if you could help them out over the summer. Of course, this will take a lot of schmoozing on your part, but if you could meet up with an actual professor and possibly do some work with them over the summer, it would look outstanding on your resume and then you wouldn’t be just another faceless name in a crowd of eager applicants.

Connections are everything, so either email the professor(s) directly, after much thought and proofreading of course, or go through an advisor/current undergrad professor to help you get your connection out there.

Interning with a member of Congress

You may be doing a lot of grunt work for this one like answering phone calls and giving tours, but it’s all about what you make of it. Grunt work is like a right of passage, and who knows, the member of Congress that you are helping out might be able to provide some sound advice for your future endeavors, may be able to give you tips as to which law schools to apply to, and could definitely be your connection when it comes to job offerings and letters of rec.

Good luck out there! And always remember to plan ahead.

Learn more about Kaplan’s test prep options and start building the confidence you need for Test Day.

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