Activities During Coronavirus for Pre-Law Students
If you’re in the process of building your application for law school, the COVID-19 pandemic may not only have disrupted your LSAT plans, but it also could have put a stop to any extracurricular involvement that required you to leave your house or be outside. Even though your grades and LSAT score are the two most important components of your application, how you spend your time outside the classroom is essential for helping you stand out from the competition. So, it’s time to put some thought into activities during Coronavirus that can strengthen your profile.
It’s definitely not easy to work on your application materials when the odds are stacked against you. Remember that law schools are aware of this global crisis, and will be carefully evaluating your file to see how you took advantage of your resources despite the circumstances. To give you some ideas of activities during Coronavirus you could pursue, I have outlined different ways to run club and organization meetings, places that can publish your writing, jobs and internships to pursue online, and finally, initiatives that you can take related to the pandemic to continue building your law school application.
How to Build Your Extracurricular Profile Remotely
There’s no specific formula that allows you to receive that coveted “yes” letter from law schools. Institutions look for students who bring unique perspectives and demonstrate characteristics desirable in a promising lawyer. Just being a member of your school’s pre-law club isn’t enough — especially when there’s a global pandemic and the landscape of society is changing every day. Below, we’ve outlined ways to boost your profile as you look for activities during Coronavirus for pre-law students that can help you differentiate yourself.
Clubs and Activities
Your usual clubs and student organizations may have been disrupted due to the ban on public gatherings. However, since admissions officers want to know how you’ve taken advantage of these circumstances, you need to brainstorm how to run clubs with the resources that you’ve got in your arsenal. Here are a few ideas to get you started on club activities during Coronavirus:
- Continue your pre-existing club operations virtually — take advantage of Zoom, Google Hangouts, email, and social media
- Create a new group with other prospective law students and discuss how regulations and policies have shifted since the pandemic outbreak
- Think about a specific project you can work towards together remotely using online tools and communication services, such as spearheading a fundraiser or creating a collaborative online journal.
- Organize a Zoom lecture series featuring guests who can discuss how the legal field will be impacted by the virus
- Start a Facebook group to help each other through the social distancing period, support one another in the application process, and share resources and information with fellow members
Journal Articles
Law schools look for candidates who display strong skills in writing, research, communication, organization, and critical reading. One of the most effective ways to convey to admissions officers that you possess these traits is by getting published. There are a lot of new and timely topics to discuss due to the pandemic — plus, you might have more time on your hands now to conduct research. If that proves to be the case, it’s useful to know that numerous journals and publications look for writing from pre-law students, some of which are listed below:
Almost every university has law journals, most of which accept writing from pre-law candidates. If you want to write about legal issues but don’t want to venture into a journal-length article, during COVID-19, the New York Times, Huffington Post, and Al Jazeera are all accepting op-ed pieces.
Remote Work
If you’re taking a gap year before law school but your plans got disrupted due to COVID-19, seeking remote employment could be a good use of your time. Below are some suggestions for work that you can pursue at this time:
- Start your own remote non-profit organization and recruit members
- Browse whether any legal offices or departments are hiring for remote positions
- Find a remote job or internship in a non-legal field to pick up skills that could come in handy in law school, such as analytical writing
- Check with your local businesses to see whether they need help with any legal documents or contracts
Lawcrossing.com and the American Bar Association regularly post jobs specifically for pre-law students. You can also use job search websites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Interships.com to seek paid remote opportunities.
Creative Projects or Hobbies
Since you’re primarily indoors now, you could take advantage of the time you’ve got in your hands and invest in a hobby that you’ve always wanted to work on, but weren’t able to execute previously. Some examples include:
- Start a podcast or YouTube channel on a topic of interest
- Create a blog to post your writing and develop a portfolio
- Open an Instagram account to highlight your photography or baking skills
- Learning a new language that can help you as a lawyer
Admissions officers want to know about different sides of you — and if done well, one of these could be a unique way of conveying your background and interests. This can be valuable in the admissions process as people often list their hobbies on their resumés in order to stand out. They can also serve as topics of discussion during your law school interviews and present you as a more compelling candidate.
Independent Projects Related to COVID-19
If you’re looking for activities during Coronavirus beyond the ones mentioned above, it could be strategic to start a project relevant to your specific interest within law and the current pandemic. The legal field could be heavily impacted by the situation, especially once the situation improves and policies require updates. The following table includes ideas to help immerse yourself in how various aspects of society have already changed, divided by field within law:
| Interest Within Law | Project |
|---|---|
| Policy | Examine how regulations for the current pandemic differ from previous ones; consider how different countries have adjusted policies |
| Immigration | Explore how immigrant communities in your area have been affected by the situation; take a look at how a pandemic impacts immigration flow |
| Environment | Research the positive and negative effects of social distancing on the environment; initiate a project that predicts how the rate of climate change could vary with social distancing |
| Healthcare | Analyze how medical providers in different countries are reacting to the pandemic; examine the relationship between pandemics and laws around healthcare |
| Business | Reflect on how businesses in your area have made changes during COVID-19; collect information on how the legal teams at different firms have reacted to the Coronavirus outbreak |
| Employment and labor | Explore how labor laws shift at the face of a pandemic; analyze the unemployment rate across different nations as a result of COVID-19 |
| Entertainment | Look up how different areas of the entertainment industry (theatre, film, etc.) have reacted to the Coronavirus; explore the copyright laws behind creating a piece of media on a pandemic |
| International Relations | Examine the ways in which relations between different countries are shifting in the aftermath of the pandemic; take a look at how trade has been impacted and how it will play out post COVID-19 |
Tailor your projects according to your interest within the legal discipline and the rest of your profile. Present your results in the form of a paper, video, article, or podcast so that you have something concrete to show for your work. Even if you don’t pursue these exact projects, hopefully they inspire you to think about ways to take on a personalized initiative that can set you apart.
It might be overwhelming to decide how to spend your time productively in the midst of canceled classes and uncertain test dates. But it’s also important to remember that law schools will expect you to use this time in meaningful ways. Use these ideas to get started on your activities during Coronavirus so that you can present schools with a strong application when the time comes. Good luck!
