Preparing for Law school

By Tina Coco, Esq., Pre-Law Advisor

SCDC Correspondent

(As originally published in The Ticker – http://ticker.baruchconnect.com/)

While most people were starting to relax and enjoy summer vacation, Baruch pre-law students and alumni were hard at work and focused on preparing themselves for the upcoming law school application cycle and the world beyond. Over a five-day period during last June, 28 students and alumni participated in the Max Berger Summer Institute program. Mr. Berger, a Baruch ’68 graduate, and Columbia Law School ’71 graduate, has built a remarkable career in law. As a member of the Baruch Board of Trustees, his vision is to help cultivate the amazing talent that exists at the school and bring forward the next generation of leaders. He established the Max Berger Pre-Law Program at Baruch as part of that vision.

The program kicked off with a two-day Mock Trial Competition held at, and in conjunction with, John Jay College and their pre-law students. Baruch participants won over $20,000 in scholarships to attend either John Marshall or Suffolk Law Schools. Participants found the experience rewarding and exhilarating. Day three of the Institute consisted of a diagnostic LSAT Exam conducted by Nicolay Siclunov, Senior LSAT Instructor and NYC Development Director, at PowerScore Test Preparation. Participants took a sample law school admissions test under the same time constrains as the real test. Questions and answers were explained in the afternoon portion of the program. Day four included a Mock Contracts 101 law school course taught by Baruch’s Department of Law Prof. Valerie Watnick. Prof. Watnick started the class by showing students an example of the Socratic method still used in many law schools. The class was followed by a special luncheon presentation from Joseph Fan, a Baruch ’09 alumnus, on the topic of “What Law School is Really Like”. Joseph is currently a 3L student at Cornell Law School. The afternoon concluded with “Writing an Effective Personal Statement” conducted by J.Y. Ping, a Harvard Law ‘10 graduate & CEO of PreProBono. Students honed their writing skills through intensive writing workshops focused on assisting them with developing their personal statement and other law school application essays and addenda. On day five, students toured Fordham Law School and had their questions answered by Kate Cunningham, Associate Director of Admissions.

This January, the Max Berger Pre-Law Winter Institute will include a large law firm visit, a LSAT logic games workshop, law school visit and much more. Applications are due on Friday, November 30, 2012 and can be found on the Starr Career Development website at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/careers/law/law_activities.html.

Past program participants have gained entry into the nation’s top law schools including Stanford, NYU, UPenn, Cornell, University of Virginia, University of Chicago and Boston College of Law. For further information on Baruch’s Max Berger Pre-law Program, or to make an appointment for pre-law advising, please contact Tina Coco, Pre-Law Advisor at [email protected].

Making the Most of Your Years at Baruch

By Yahya Khan

Peers for Careers/SCDC Correspondent

(As originally published in The Ticker – http://ticker.baruchconnect.com/)

Freshman year is a transformational time for many college undergraduates. For some, it marks the boundary from teenage to adulthood, for others it signals the opportunity to leave old issues behind and start afresh. Whatever the approach, it is a time of great importance and requires some deliberate planning and execution.

In the first semester of freshman year, it is probably a wise idea to focus a lot on studies and to get a grasp of how the education system works and hopefully achieve high grades. Even though this advice is relevant through the four years of college, it is extremely important in the first semester because a bad first semester, academically speaking, can set you back for the entire duration of the four years. While a good semester will allow a degree of freedom and a cushion for the future, a bad semester will force the student to be always playing catch up and trying to rectify the mistakes made in the first semester. Therefore, the first semester is vital from an academic perspective. Secondly, freshman year should be used to widen your personal and professional network as much as possible and to start thinking about major and career choice. A good idea is to become involved in a student organization on campus and to start attending a few of the professional and networking events held on campus. Freshman year can also be used to join leadership programs such as T.E.A.M Baruch or other opportunities on campus as long as the focus is personal and professional development.

Sophomore year should be focused on maintaining and improving your academic standing, but also making some serious choices about majors, minors and careers. It is a good idea to start attending workshops regarding resumes, interviews, networking, career fairs, etc. at the STARR Career Development Center while also attending corporate presentation and recruitment events held on campus by companies. Furthermore, this is the time when a leadership position should be sought after in an on-campus club or organization. Such an experience will not only allow for a wider personal network, but will also instill the traits of leadership and how to multitask given a wide range of responsibilities. For those looking for a structured professional program, the STARR Center offers the Rising Star Sophomore Program (RSSP). Building upon the groundwork laid in the freshman year, sophomore year should be used to have a fun college experience while still keeping up a robust academic performance.

For many students, especially Accounting and Finance majors, junior year holds great significance. It marks the period when summer internships and leadership programs must be very actively pursued and a lot of time and effort will be spent in the recruiting process. For students trying to obtain a summer position, it is important to participate in the STARR Center’s On Campus Recruitment (OCR) process, as well as, attend a wide variety of corporate information sessions, networking events and generally immerse oneself in the world of recruiting. It is also a time when most students begin to actively pursue their major classes and studies become more challenging. For these reasons, junior year has the distinction of being probably the most stressful academic year. Opportunities are also available to study abroad for a semester and many students do so in order to travel and gain more cultural perspective. Care must be taken as a junior to make sure that all academic requirements are on track to being met and to take any winter/summer classes if necessary. Apart from that, there are several opportunities to be had in this year; the Financial Leadership Program (FLP) conducted by the STARR Center is an extremely prestigious opportunity that becomes a gateway for internship/fulltime opportunities in large financial institutions later. There are also a myriad of case studies happening which can be taken advantage of to gain practice and exposure to a real world work environment. This is also a good time to seek a further leadership role in a campus club and to hone your leadership and time management skills.

Senior year is undoubtedly a time of both nostalgia and hard work. It is the last year of college life for a large number of undergraduates and therefore, the last chance to enjoy the whims and charms of student life before heading out into the work force. For others it is the chance to actively reach out to companies and try to obtain a full time position after graduation. By senior year, professional and personal circles have largely been formed and affiliations with clubs and on campus organizations are coming to an end. This is the time when students transition from college to career.

Freshman Seminar Shows What Baruch Has to Offer

By: Shirley Cheung

Peer for Career, Majoring in Accounting

Class of 2013

If there was only one token of advice I could give to someone starting off college it would be: know and understand what your environment has to offer.

When I started Baruch I had a class called Freshmen Seminar also known as FRO which was a weekly meeting that enabled me to learn about Baruch College.

The topics ranged from the different services offered by the college to how to register for classes. Because it was a pass or fail class some students did not put in much effort.

But when I started Baruch my goal was to know how everything worked to make the most out of my four years. I knew this class would help me accomplish this goal and so I paid close attention in order to take advantage of every opportunity that came my way.

In one freshman seminar class we took a field trip to the Starr Career Development Center and a staff member spoke to us about services the Center offered and about a career leadership program available to students, called Peers for Careers.

Instantly I became engaged. Leaving high school with work experiences as a muralist and volunteer was great, but being a student leader in college seemed to be a solid starting point for my career.

That day I took the initiative to stop by the Center’s office on the second floor of the Newman Vertical Campus. I asked, “How do I become a student career advisor?” They said I would have to apply to this umbrella program called T.E.A.M. Baruch, commit to the training sessions, and later apply to the Peers for Careers program.

Upon completing the T.E.A.M. Baruch training I heard about another leadership position on campus, to lead freshman seminar sessions—the same class where I learned about so many of the resources at Baruch.

After successfully completing the application processes, interviews, and trainings, I became a Peer for Career at the Starr Career Development Center and a Peer Mentor for a Freshmen Seminar class. Working at the Center brought forth many great opportunities to learn about writing resumes and to develop my interviewing skills. I met many new and diverse people while becoming friends with them through my role as a Peer Mentor.

My interest in knowing more about Baruch and becoming a student leader helped lead me down the path of obtaining an internship at a leading Wall Street financial firm. So listen, learn, and discover all you can, because you never know where these opportunities may lead.

Making the Most of a Phone Interview.

By: Robert Smith

Peer for Career, Majoring in Marketing and Advertising

And it was over in the blink of an eye. I just completed my first phone interview in basketball shorts with my laptop open while Facebook was glaring in my eyes. I was left wondering, “Did I answer that question right?

This question holds great weight, especially when you have no real way to judge how well you’ve done. With no real indication of how I did, I was left in limbo until I got a rejection letter a couple of weeks later.

After this phone interview, I have participated in a few other phone interviews with a fair amount of success. Based on my experiences and some of my friends, here are some tips that I believe can help you successfully complete many phone interviews that lie ahead.

Dress for success: I’ve been told to dress up as if you’re sitting in front of the person. You are more likely to act the part. Go all out and dress for the job you want.
Ask for clarification: If you didn’t hear or understand something, respectfully asks the interviewer to repeat the question. Use the handset if possible to have your hands free.
Find a quiet area: Interview in a place where there is no background noise. Also, find an area where there are no cell phone service problems. It can be really frustrating to have 2 dropped calls in less than 5 minutes.
Be resourceful: Have your resume and company information in front of you. Glance at it every now and then to ensure that you are answering the questions in the most accurate way possible. Also, it paves the way to ask really good questions.
Have a written list of questions: You can refer to these during the interview and make notes on the employer’s responses.
Take notes as you go: This will help you remember what was said and it can be information helpful for the thank you note or upcoming in-person interviews.
It’s just an interview: Don’t make it bigger than what it’s supposed to be. Don’t over analyze the interviewer’s long pauses. This pause is normal since the employer is without any visual cues and he or she may need a moment to take notes.