Career Exploration Research Essay

The reality that education systems have changed significantly over time makes people work extremely hard to obtain exceptional credentials that will set them apart from other people enrolled in the same educational programs. Law courses, which require students to continue their education even after receiving a bachelor’s degree, are among the educational programs that have undergone substantial changes. Given that I am a law student, I hope to enroll in law school after completing my undergraduate degree because doing so will give me the chance to gain additional legal knowledge and credentials, which are crucial for developing my future job. To gain significant skills, I believe that choosing the best law institution is necessary since for one to excel significantly in the law field, they ought to have more competitive abilities. After thorough research, I settled on The George Washington University (GW Law) as the institution to enroll my graduate program come the spring of 2018.This presentation will, therefore, focus on the factors considered in choosing the given school, requirements needed, the interview used in evaluating the institution, its findings and how this step is vital to my future career as a law student.

Explanation of Interest of Graduate Program Schools

Before settling on The George Washington University as the best option for this program, I had another alternative consideration which is the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America (CUA Law), also located in Washington DC, District of Columbia. My interest was directed towards choosing a highly competitive institution with credible acceptance rates, an outstanding median LSAT, a competitive median undergraduate GPA, promising employment rates of its previous students and a bar pass rate that motivates students to strive for excellence. Examining the above features, I found out that the GW Law has an acceptance rate of 38.9% an indication that only highly qualified undergraduate students make it to the institution. The Median LSAT is 165 while the required mean undergraduate GPA for entry is 3.71 which further support the fact that only excellent students get an opportunity to study in this facility. Moreover, the employment rate of the institution’s graduates is 89.9% while its bar pass rate is 80%. Evidently, the GW Law is a competitive law school, and that is why it was one of my considerations.

The CUA Law, on the other hand, has an acceptance rate of 51.2% which is higher compared to that of GW Law which indicates that the school admits quite a high number of students yearly. Its Median LSAT is 154 which is lower than that of GW Law showing that the latter performs well, a fact that is also evident from the low CUA Law’s median undergraduate GPA of 3.26. Besides, the employment rate of CUA Law’s graduates is 81.9%, and its bar pass rate is 53.2% which are both lower than GW Law’s. Unmistakably, GW Law has more outstanding capacities that will offer me a chance to build my law career efficiently and be among the best persons in the legal job market, and this is the reason why I finally chose it over CUA Law. Moreover, I believe I have all the requirements for me to join the institution. For instance this year, I will be completing my undergraduate degree in law from the University of Houston Downtown which is an accredited law university, and currently, my undergraduate GPA is 3.75, yet GW Law only requires a GPA of 3.7. Apart from these qualifications, I will just be required to present a recommendation letter and a personal statement which I believe I can offer on admission. Besides, the university requires that undergraduates pass the LSAT and I am confident that I can perform well in the test. Therefore, I believe I made the right choice selecting GW Law.

Summary of the Interview

Moreover, I had conducted an interview before choosing the GW Law as the best institution for my law school program, and it played a significant role in helping me gain essential and detailed information regarding the organization. My interviewee was Michelle Austin from the George Washington University, undertaking her graduate program in the institution since February 2017.The interview took place within the university’s premises, in one of the lecture halls from 1.00 p.m- 1.30 p.m on Monday, November 6, 2017.I acquired adequate information from the interview since Michelle was well composed, confident and thrilled by the whole interview experience. I took the initiative first to request her to introduce herself including details of her education and how long she had studied in GW Law. She also offered reasons that made her chose the GW Law over other outstanding law schools in the District of Columbia and whether she had entirely made the decision to study in the institution by herself or another party was involved in the decision making process.

Michelle also explained about her experiences in the school since her enrollment, how she learned to adapt to the change of environment and how the lessons have impacted her coexistence ability. I also had to inquire whether Michelle had experienced any substantial challenges in the school and how they have shaped her behavior, skills, and approach to solving various difficulties. Since the success of the students and institution as a whole depends on daily interactions between the students and the tutors, I had to confirm on how this relationship works in the system and what motivates, unites or divides both parties. Additionally, I inquired about the facilities and resources that are available within the institution and whether they are adequate and accessible to all students.

Moreover, Michelle gave an overview of the activities that the students engage in during leisure hours and the support that the administration offers regarding nurturing and developing students’ talents. Not forgetting health services, Michelle explained on the strategies set by the school in dealing with emergency cases and the reliability of the school facilities during a health emergency. The interview was a success, and Michelle played her role well as an interviewee since her responses were detailed and satisfactory.

Connection of the Findings and Actual Concepts

From the interview, Michele mentioned that she had been in the GW Law for eleven months now and that she had chosen the GW Law because of its essential attributes regarding academic results. As mentioned earlier, the bar pass rate for GW Law is 80% while its employment rates of its graduates are 89.9%. These factors gave Michelle a reason to chose the institution since an academically competitive school offers students high chances of being successful in future due to the skills and abilities that the students are equipped with as they study. From Michelle’s experiences in the school, he confirmed that the interactions within the school had boosted her self-confidence, esteem and the desire to embrace diversity since the institution admits individuals from diverse backgrounds. During employment in many organizations, confidence, and ability to embrace background differences in a particular setting are among the key features that employees consider during interviews. The rate of employment among students from GW Law is 89.9%, an indication that indeed the institution equips the students with adequate and beneficial skills that favor them during interviews and considerations of employment opportunities.

Like any other institutions, challenges are inevitable, and Michelle expressed that it requires hard work, commitment, and determination to maintain the GW Law’s bar pass rate of 80%. This pass mark cannot be achieved quickly; the students have to strain and study extremely hard which is a challenge at times since human beings tend to give up easily. It was also realized that the school has adequate facilities and study resources including a well constructed, spacious and fully packed library that has numerous legal research materials and that the relationships between students and tutors are healthy which makes it easier for them to interact well, a factor that is reflected in the school’s performance. Healthy student-teacher relationships create a friendly learning environment which motivates the students into studying well.

As much as the school focuses on academic excellence, Michelle confirmed that there are hours set aside for leisure activities and talent display, and these sessions are usually compulsory for everyone. Games like table tennis, hockey and swimming are among the activities that many of the students often engage in during their free time while others participate in dances and cultural plays displaying the existence of various beliefs, customs, and traditions of different communities. Engaging in such activities is one of the ways to replenish the mind and becoming fit; factors that are essential in helping the students develop peace of mind and allow them to concentrate on their studies adequately. The GW Law administration supports these activities since they understand their long-run implications on the students’ learning and academic performance abilities.

Finally, GW Law believes that healthcare is crucial and the students deserve to have quality healthcare facilities. The institution thus has a large hospital within the school that is well equipped and has numerous health facilities including the emergency section, over 100 nurses and approximately 50 qualified doctors. The well being of the students helps them to study well; hence the institution is equipped to even deal with emergency health cases. Michelle’s responses concerning the interview questions on GW Law further inspired and motivated me into desiring to join this particular institution. Moreover, she affirmed that she is the only one who made a choice to study in the GW Law and she has never regretted making this decision. Plainly, the school is well equipped academically, socially and health wise which are among the crucial aspects that one should consider when choosing an educational institution.

Conclusion

From the discussion, it is evident that it is crucial for an individual to be vigilant when selecting a university for graduate law program. The academic foundation that an institution offers a student determines the type of person that they are going to be in their future careers. Bearing this perspective in mind, I saw GW Law as the best institution to start my graduate program after completing my bachelor’s degree. This study has offered sufficient information regarding the GW Law and the reasons why I settled on this particular university. I, therefore, hope to enroll in GW Law next year, and I believe this will be a start and a hope of a successful career in the law field

Works Cited

Meier, Joan. “Teaching Lawyering With Heart in the George Washington University Law School Domestic Violence Project.” Violence against women (2016): 1481-1495.

Michelle, Austin. Personal Interview on Law Grduate Program Wayne Rachel. 6 November 2017.