The Observer

Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: News

Akshaya Annavajhala conducts a phone interview. "It is becoming harder than ever to gain entrance into graduate school due to huge increases in applications. It's more important than ever to be able to explain why going to graduate school is so important," explains Tom Matthews, director of the CWRU Career Center. [Click to enlarge]

When Reem Asaad was starting classes as a freshman at Case Western Reserve University, her older sister was entering her first year at law school. Asaad came in as an English major, hoping to go into journalism. Law school, initially, wasn't part of the plan, but Asaad said that watching her sister made her wonder if it should be.

"Starting undergrad when my sister was starting law school, I sort of got to go through the process with her," said Asaad. "Law school wasn't something I grabbed onto right away, but seeing everything she was going through, I kind of found that it aligned with my interests."

Asaad began thinking more about applying to law school, but her interest solidified during her second year, when she switched her major from English to anthropology and international Studies.

"I was trying to fulfill a lot of general requirements., so I signed up for an anthropology class and I discovered that I really liked it," said Asaad. "I took the intro class for the Child Policy Initiative and I was hooked. I loved it - it was so practical."

Asaad parlayed her interest in the Child Policy Initiative into a year-long externship with Voices for Ohio's Children, where she got the opportunity to work on juvenile justice policy. Her experiences both in and out of the classroom led her to start thinking about a career in public interest law.

Taking the LSAT and applying for law school has made Asaad one of the record-setting number of students to do so this year. The October 2009 LSAT saw a 20 percent hike in registrants when compared to October of 2008. With a stagnating job market and the prospect of employers hiring nearly 22 percent fewer graduating seniors than last year, this pattern seems to be a sign of the times. Universities are noting an across-the-board spike in graduate school applications. The GRE has seen an increase in test takers, with the number of students taking the test rising 13 percent from the previous year in 2009.

Continued...

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