Law School

Madeline Chandler

Name: Madeline Chandler
Major (s): Political Science & History
Minor (s): None
Certificate (s): None

My Pathway:

Freshman year:

  • Joined CWA Politics & Media Committee
  • Got an on-campus job in the PSCI department
  • Joined , the pre-law fraternity
  • Took intro classes in PSCI to fulfill degree requirements

Sophomore year: 

Junior year:

  • Finished all the PSCI UD requirements and the major, began working on HIST
  • Continued working on campus and with CWA
  • Studied Abroad in Uppsala, Sweden during the Spring semester

Senior year: 

  • Took HIST classes to finish up my degree 
  • Added a second job in the ISSS office as an International Student's Guide
  • Took the LSAT in September & November
  • Began applying to law schools

Freshman-Sophomore: Worked on campus.
Sophomore-Junior: Took classes to work through degree requirements and worked on campus
Junior-Senior: Recharged and traveled

  • After high school. I participated in debate and knew I wanted to go into a field that required public speaking and organized argument. Law school was the best next step for this career.
  • Focus on gaining skills in public speaking and communication and take classes with a lot of writing. The best way to prepare logical arguments is through oral communication and practice writing them down.
  • No electives or classes that directly benefit your path can be taxing, so I would have spread out my PSCI requirements instead of cramming them in the first three years.
  • CWA was incredible practice in communication, meeting organization, and leadership skills. It required you to work with people from across the spectrum and communicate and negotiate which is an incredible skill when law school is the goal. Study Abroad was also great because it either confirms that your path is the right one or makes you change your mind since it opens your eyes to all the possibilities.
  • I really only participated in CWA for the last four years, but I was also a member of which is the pre-law fraternity.
  • Find an organization that you are passionate about and spend your time focusing on that one organization. Sometimes it can be good to have a million different things on your resume, but it can also be good to show that you can commit to one and succeed within that organization. By focusing on one, you also gain more experience as you rise through the ranks whereas staying a member in a broad set of things doesn't give you as much experience.