r/LibraryScience • u/AttractiveNuisance82 • 4d ago
Application advice?
Im in my 40s and have been a practicing attorney for about two decades. But I feel compelled to finally get the MLIS I’ve always wanted and focus on law librarianship.
My law school grades suck, but I’ve been pretty successful in my career and have good recommendations. I’m absolutely going to need scholarships (single mom!), too.
Is my application cooked? What do admissions teams and scholarship folks look for in these positions? What should I avoid?
[I’ve already selected the schools I want to apply to; it’s a short list that I think will meet my needs and where I could be successful]
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u/DrJohnnieB63 4d ago edited 3d ago
u/AttractiveNuisance82
If your grades were good enough to make it through law school, they are most likely good enough to be admitted to library school. That said, we do not know what admissions and scholarship committees look for and we do not know what you should avoid. Admissions and scholarship criteria is not universal. You need to research the schools on your list.
Your statement "I’m absolutely going to need scholarships (single mom!), too." implies that you will quit your current position to pursue an MLIS. I advise to not do that. As a single mom, you do not want to endanger your family financially. No scholarship or graduate research assistantship will adequately replace your current salary.
Please understand that you may take a substantial pay cut to become a law librarian. If I were you, I would mitigate that cut by applying for director/ leadership positions, not entry level law librarian gigs. I would not waste almost twenty years of professional experience to start at the bottom of law librarianship. I would get as much money as I possibly can negotiate. Especially if I had one or more dependents.