POSITIONING PAPER

Upon completing my studies at Utah State University I plan to apply for the Legal program at Georgetown University. I am choosing to pursue a law degree instead of a career after graduation because it has been a goal of mine since childhood to obtain a legal degree from Georgetown University. I want to attend Georgetown not only because it is has an accredited legal program and is located in beautiful Washington D.C. but also because my father received his legal degree from Georgetown and I want to follow in his footsteps and become his fellow bulldog.

During high school I competed in mock trials as an attorney and expert witness. This experience solidified my desire to pursue this dream. I am studying psychology, public relations, English, and Spanish to help me to have a well rounded and unconventional base of knowledge with which I can offer diverse ideas and views and can build upon once I enter my legal studies. Although I have not yet decided what direction I want to take my legal studies I do know that this is the path I want to pursue and am I willing to do the work to get myself there.

According to their website, Georgetown University Law Center is proud of the diversity of its student body and encourages the expression of that diversity through a variety of activities and organizations. As a leading national law school, Georgetown traditionally has attracted students of demonstrated ability from every section of the country. The entering class in the fall of 2007 represents 205 colleges and universities and 46 states, as well as 13 foreign countries. Of the students matriculating, 44 percent were women and 27 percent were minority students. (http://www.law.georgetown.edu/admissions/jd_general.html#requirements)

The admissions committee takes into consideration both academic factors, personal factors and factors determining the candidate’s ability to succeed at Georgetown. The application into the Georgetown Law Center has seven requirements; the application for admission form, payment of the application fee, registration with the LSDAS (law school data assembly service) and transcripts from an accredited college or university (must posses a bachelor’s degree to be eligible to apply) , completion of the LSAT (law school admission test), a personal statement, Resume including; school attended and degrees awarded, work experience, and scholastic honors including academic awards, scholarships and fellowships, and recommendations.
In addition to examining the applicant's LSAT score and academic record, the Committee also considers the personal statement, letters of recommendations, choice of major, nature and difficulty of course selection, extracurricular activities, graduate work, contributions to the community and professional experience.

Georgetown degrees can be very versatile and the alumni are geared for greatness. For example Mark Murphey of the Law Center class of ’88 is now the new president and CEO-elect of the Green Bay packers, Nora Demleitner of the Law Center class of ‘94 has been named the first woman dean of the Hofstra Law School, and Robert E. Crowley of the Law Center class of ’71 is a Main Superior Court Justice. I want to be able to join these and many other alumni in their stories of success.




OBJECTIVE

Output Goals--

To be able to achieve the high standard of grades to assist me in being accepted into the Georgetown Law program I will attend every class.
This will help me to not miss anything that would be important to learn, give me an opportunity to ask questions and create good habits of attending rather than missing classes.

To achieve the high standards of grades I will also make it a practice to study at least two hours for every credit hour I take.
This will also create good study habits. This time studying will also help me to be able to excel in my courses where I put in the time necessary to have a full understanding of the course material.

To help me understand the different fields of law in order to be able to decide which field to study I will contact ten Georgetown alumni in different fields or using their law degree for different professions one semester prior to my graduation from USU (spring ’09).
This will help me to better understand what I can do with my studies. It will also help me to focus my studies into the field I desire. I will have completed my research deciding what I want to do with my degree prior to entering Georgetown and that I will be able to focus on my studies and specific areas of study.
This will also give me the advantage of networking where I will have created a network of these 10 alumni within the various fields.

I will complete at least one internship in the field I chose before my graduation from USU (fall ’09).
This will give me field experience which will help me to apply my studies to the actual practice and to solidify whether this is the field I want to pursue.
It will also give me the advantage of networking where I will have been able to create relationships and contacts with professionals in the field.

Impact Goals--

To be able to achieve my goal I am willing to work in my undergraduate studies to graduate at least cum laude or magna cum laude if not better.
This honorable standing will give me an advantage showing those handling my admissions that I am a hardworking and willing student.
This will also give me an edge over other applicants with lower grades.
Not only will this help me in my application process it will also help me in my studies. Being able to graduate with honors takes hard work that requires efficient study skills, time management, prioritization and other skills that will help me to succeed in my legal studies as well.

I will have determined my desired field of study.
This will eliminate having to do this while I attend Georgetown and will allow me to focus my studies toward that field. It will also give me an opportunity to have completed research regarding that field giving me a base of knowledge with which to build upon
Also it is important for me to know what program I want to go into before applying because only in extraordinary circumstances will the Admissions Committee consider a request to change divisions once admission to a particular program is granted.


I will have created a network of 10 Georgetown alumni practicing in different fields and of professionals in my desired field.
This will give me contacts to turn to during my studies and after I complete my degree while searching for a starting off point in my own profession.
I will have a base of knowledge within my desired field and will have had an opportunity to work within the field understanding it from the perspective of the field in practice to be able to base my studies of the field upon.
This experience will give me an advantage within my studies to understand the study of the field in its real world application perspective.


TALKING POINTS

HARD WORKING AND SUCCESSFUL STUDENT:
As a student I have excelled in academics and have been recognized and awarded in other areas of extracurricular activities, community involvement, philanthropy involvement, work and in my Greek community.

DIVERSE:
The unconventional education path I followed gives me a wider perspective and different views allowing me give more back to the academic community. My world travels and experience with different cultures gives me a diverse view and whole world perspective. Also being Cuban and raised in the culture I offer a diverse cultural perspective.

DETERMINED:
It has been my goal to receive a law degree from Georgetown University for as long as I can remember. All of my efforts have been toward achieving that goal and preparing myself in every way to be able to do so. I put this determination into all that I do and will continue to do so in order to excel at Georgetown and complete my goal to the best of my ability.