Education section on law school resume Forum

[marshmallowpop]

Hi all,

For a law school resume, is an education section necessary? I ask because the space that the education section requires eats into other sections (awards, other work, publications, etc.) that I feel are more important. Since my GPA, major, and school name are listed elsewhere in my app and will be easily available to adcomms, this doesn't seem too problematic to me - thoughts?
For context - I've graduated and will have two years of work experience when I matriculate (so it's not like I'm moving straight from undergrad to law school) and I have a 3.86 undergrad gpa from a top school (so it's not like I'm trying to hide it). When I applied through my university to scholarships like Rhodes, Fulbright, etc., a few months ago, the fellowships advisor told me not to include an education section because of the space concerns mentioned above - it make sense to me that this advice should carry over to law school apps.

Looking forward to seeing what you all think!

[cavalier1138]

You should include it. It's ok if your resume goes over one page for application purposes.

That said, with only two years of work experience, there's no reason that your resume should be over a page. I'm guessing you can tighten up other sections. You might as well practice that now, because the resume you submit to employers during law school will have to include even more stuff in the education section (because you're adding a school), and you will have to bring it down to a single page.

[nixy]

I agree with cavalier. I also don't think advice for the Rhodes etc. context really transfers to law school - they're completely different settings.

That said, you should be able to get everything in education on two lines max, maybe even one.

[marshmallowpop]

Ah, to clarify, I had several relevant internships throughout undergrad - it wasn't just my current position that I worried would take up too much space!
But thank you, I think you're right... with a little trimming of position descriptions, I should be fine

[cavalier1138]

Ah, to clarify, I had several relevant internships throughout undergrad - it wasn't just my current position that I worried would take up too much space!
But thank you, I think you're right... with a little trimming of position descriptions, I should be fine

That's a good place to trim. But I'm also going to give some advice commonly given to creative writers: "Kill your darlings." You're working in paid jobs now, and whether it's now or a year from now, you're going to have to start removing some (and eventually, all) of your internships from your resume, even the really, really cool ones that you were super-proud to get. That's just the nature of the beast; your resume isn't a CV. No employer will want it to be a comprehensive list of every job you've ever held.