When you start work on your applications, you want to keep your goal in mind: Differentiate yourself from all the other thousands of law school applicants. Top grades and an excellent LSAT score are two things that will do this. Your extracurricular activities, in particular community service, are another.

An overwhelming majority of law schools single out community involvement as one of several influential factors in their admissions decisions. The reasons for this are multi-faceted.

First, law schools would like to admit applicants who show a long-standing commitment to something other than their own advancement. Law schools want to see what you have chosen to do in your "spare" time and how you have chosen to apply your individual talents. While you can certainly write about your desire to help mankind and do something for others in your personal statement, it will carry a lot more credence if you have proof to back it up. It is understandable that law schools would wish to determine the level of such commitment before admitting an applicant, particularly since so few law students go on to practice public interest law.

Second, community service provides applicants with a way to demonstrate leadership, involvement, and commitment - all qualities desired by admissions committees. Community service plays an especially important role as the majority of applicants to full-time programs have limited work experience.

Be forewarned, however, that nothing-nothing--is so obviously bogus as an insincere statement of a commitment to public-interest issues. It just reeks. Admissions committees are well aware that very few people take the time out of their lives to become involved significantly in their communities. If you aren't one of them, trying to fake it can only hurt you.

Also, remember that your undergraduate GPA and LSAT score remain the most important factors in law school admission. Don't take on more involvement than you can handle-especially if your academic performance is jeopardized as a result. Your record of community service may be what lifts you above other applicants with similar academic achievements, but it will rarely lift you above other applicants with better academic records.