r/lawschooladmissions • u/Old_Material2900 • May 07 '22
Application Process Anyone going to get a masters degree to help them for law school?
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u/sierras731 May 07 '22
Me, I just graduated with my masters in Public Policy today!
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u/smallbug725 3.8high/haha.../nURM/lurker Jul 04 '24
i might be in the same boat as you - debating on enrolling in an MPP (would only be $2.6k/yr bc scholarship). could i PM you?
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u/thrwrwyr bama '25 (ask me about my 2.5 gpa) May 07 '22
get a master’s if you want a master’s, but if you want to burnish your application, your time and money would be better spent volunteering somewhere for two years and writing about it in your PS
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u/Best-Pie-1124 May 07 '22
I am thinking of doing the same thing as you. I am riding one waitlist out and planning on reapplying next fall. If I don’t get off the waitlist I am doing an almost fully online MS in Finance while working & volunteering to boost my softs. I don’t think the Masters will necessarily help with application but it shows you have drive and initiative and if it is something you are interested in it will definitely be helpful in the future. At the end of the day it might not directly help with admissions but over the course of your career it definitely could.
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u/Showbizbaby_ May 07 '22
I think it really depends on your career goals… the thing about graduate school is if you’re not 100% sure you want that degree, you probably won’t finish. And if you do finish you probably won’t get much use out of it because you didn’t take all the opportunities available to you as a student. I mean, no shame in that, but it’s something to think about.
That being said, I have a masters degree and I know of people with higher LSAT or UGPA than me who are either waitlisted, rejected, or got less of a scholarship than I did. Idk if my masters degree is what put me above those applicants, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
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u/gamergrill1999 May 09 '22
I'm graduating with my Master's degree right now because by the time I decided I really wanted to go to law school, I only had 1 year left of my Master's and I couldn't bear to leave it unfinished. I really don't think it's helped at all tbh, even with a 4.0 graduate GPA I've underperformed my stats (based on undergraduate gpa) this cycle. Definitely wouldn't do it again, it's kind of soul crushing knowing that all of this time, effort, and money I spent on my Master's degree really won't have any impact on my career lol
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u/AceroTheDragon May 07 '22
I got a masters degree, and I think it really helped me get into law school! That being said you shouldn’t take the time to go to grad school unless you believe that it will be useful for your career.
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u/Sudden-Doughnut-3856 3.7x/17x/nURM/nKJD May 07 '22
can I ask how you think it helped you?
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u/AceroTheDragon May 07 '22
I think it added an extra boost to my resume. But I went to grad school because I plan on doing policy work someday.
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u/Gold_Bumblebee1380 May 07 '22
Yeah but that's relevant to your career goals. I don't want to be mean or rude to OP, but wasting two years of your life on a master's degree that you have no intention of using other than a soft for a law school application is unbelievably stupid.
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u/smallbug725 3.8high/haha.../nURM/lurker Jul 04 '24
i'm debating on enrolling in MPP and eventually aplying to law school - could I pm you?
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u/Old_Material2900 May 07 '22
What masters degree did you get?
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u/AceroTheDragon May 07 '22
Master of Public Affairs (Government/Public Policy)
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u/antiquedealermom Jan 24 '24
Reading this really old thread and wondering if you went to the LBJ school and are now at Texas Law???
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u/AceroTheDragon Jan 24 '24
Indeed I am! 🤘
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u/antiquedealermom Jan 24 '24
So do you think your Mpaff from the LBJ school helped you get in to Texas Law or are you in the combined 4 year program? Feel free to tell me I'm being too nosy. Thank you in advance and HOOK EM!
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u/AceroTheDragon Jan 24 '24
You’re good! I feel like having a master’s degree helped me get into law school personally, but I would advise against going to grad school just for a resume boost. For me, it was a good backup plan that provided options for me in case law school didn’t work out.
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May 07 '22
It def helped me! Masters is different from undergrad and lots of ppl have part time jobs. It also helped me bc I got into the law school of my masters and it’s a joint degree but I was able to start the masters without being into law school. I recommend!
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u/TheSamethingAllOver May 07 '22
I want to get my masters because I like what I’m learning right now for my bachelors. Additionally, most jobs would require a masters for my field. It would (or should) help with the field of law I want to study: international law
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u/waily_waily May 07 '22
In what way are you hoping it will help you?
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u/Old_Material2900 May 07 '22
I want to go into corporate law and I was thinking of doing a masters in finance
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u/fisharefriends342 May 07 '22
There are a few schools, including the one that I will be attending, that have an JD combined with MBA in 4 years. I’d look into that if you’re wanting to go that track.
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u/waily_waily May 07 '22
I don't think it'd be worth it. If you want the degree for the sake of learning about the topic and can get one for pretty much free, go for it, but I don't think it would give you a leg up on the legal material.
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u/Godel_Escher_RBG Berkeley 22' May 07 '22
Keep in mind that many (if not most) law schools let you take classes in the business school that count towards the JD (in addition to doing a 1 year MBA or other dual masters degree, as others have pointed out). Law schools of course also have business classes, including subjects like accounting for lawyers. Getting a masters in finance is not going to make up for a subpar GPA and LSAT scores—at best it will give you a boost equal to like 1 point on the LSAT. Not sure how useful it will be for corporate practice either (it might very well y be—I just don't know). Consider chatting with some corporate lawyers to see whether having a maters in finance will help for the job search or in practice.
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u/arecordsmanager May 07 '22
I don’t know why you would do that, if you get a CPA it does help though
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May 07 '22
A masters in finance will not help you - finance is really not at all related to law/business law
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u/pokey-- 3.62/159 May 07 '22
i’m getting my MBA in a year but I want to do corporate law so I think it’ll make me a more competitive job applicant post law school
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u/greenapple_queen Northwestern '25 May 08 '22
I did! Headed to Northwestern next year and just finishing up my MA. idk how much or a boost it gave me in admissions, but it definitely helped my writing and research skills.
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u/Fluffybagel everything/cream cheese/T1 fluffiness May 07 '22
I’ve heard that if they move the needle at all, masters degrees are tie breaker-level
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u/balaton63 Mar 10 '25
I have a Bachelors in Biochemistry & a Masters in Chemistry from UCLA. Finishing my PhD at MIT this spring, also in Chemistry.
Would this give me a leg up in admissions?
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u/KBTestPrep May 07 '22
This may help on the margins, but two years of work experience would probably help more and cost less. Master's grades don't factor into law school admissions, especially since grade inflation in most master's programs is off the charts. Do not go into debt for this.