Travel experience on application

[prefuse73]

Hi
I'm thinking of applying to law schools in the next application cycle(05-06) and was wondering if travel experiences are worth mentioning on the application. I don't have much ECs other than my full time work experience(2yrs) and some volunteer stuff I did in undergrad years. But I love to travel and have travelled quite a bit, probably more than the majority of people. Travelled to Europe for 3 months in college, 5 months in S. America right after my graduation, and another 7 months in SE Asia and Middle East after I quit my job. It's not like I did all this travel to get into a law school, but I figured I could use it to my advantage if it helps. Any thoughts?

[Eegahh]

Don't put it in your resume or use it on the Extracurriculars/accomplishments part of your applications. 

What you should do is pick one particularly memorable trip or experience and write your PS about it.

[InVinoVeritas]

a lot of schools want to know what you've done during academic breaks.  so, if, for example, you spent a summer during college travelling through europe, you should put that on application.  schools will wonder if there are significant time gaps in your application; you should account for these as best as you can.

[NothingSpecial]

How ever, or wherever you mention it, don't come off sounding like a richbitch.  A lot of people's essays that I have read about traveling, or doing a semester abroad have not been very good or added any value to the application, IMHO.  Now if you did volunteer work, or something that had more substance, that's a different story. HTH

[Paperback Writer]

I had to travel to Europe on business.  I included it on my resume and my PS.

If it's just another vacation, I doubt it will do you much good.  My travel was part of working for a law-oriented publishing company, and I learned a little bit about English common law.  For me, it was very relevant to the soft factor approach.

[hilljack]

Should I include country club membership in my application?  I was in a very exclusive country club, I think this might set me apart in "soft factors."

[the REAL desi]

irrelevant 

[prefuse73]

Country club membership? Like I said, I travel because I love to and I worked hard to finance all my trips. I worked my ass off in the first three summers of my college to save enough money to finance my first two big trips and I worked another two full years to finance my last one. So I don't exactly understand how this "country club membership" sarcasm works here. Hilljack, some people actually do things because they like to, not because they look good on the law school application.

No, I did not volunteer or did study abroad while I was traveling. I understand how I could come off sounding as a "richbitch" because travel does cost a lot, so I'll be careful not to sound like one.

Thanks everyone for your input.

[linquest]

Agreed, unless you're centering your PS on what you learned on these trips, just list in your Interests/Activities section of your resume the dates and regions visited.  The other option is a short addendum to explain the time gaps on your application.

[maka nani]

How ever, or wherever you mention it, don't come off sounding like a richbitch.  A lot of people's essays that I have read about traveling, or doing a semester abroad have not been very good or added any value to the application, IMHO.  Now if you did volunteer work, or something that had more substance, that's a different story. HTH

that is what I was thinking...I WISH I could have travelled more...I love to travel too just can't afford it.