Categories: Public Interest/Pro Bono, Scholarships
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This is a Law School Expert exclusive! If you are committed to working in the public interest and you want to attend a law school that supports that endeavor with innovative programs, proactive placement in job opportunities, and a generous scholarship, my alma mater (The University of Miami School of Law) might be the perfect place for you.
The program includes mentoring sessions with upper-class scholars and public interest lawyers, monthly meetings, and individualized course advising and career planning. In addition, Miami Scholars are awarded a partial (significant!) scholarship. Marni Lennon, Assistant Dean for Public Interest and Pro Bono, Lecturer in Law, runs the program and told me this morning that they are looking for dedicated public interest folks with top academic credentials.
“Our Miami Scholars are top students from across the nation who bring with them extraordinary experiences and a passion for advocacy and justice. They are leaders in and out of the classroom and are supported by a team of four lawyers at the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center, which was named the ABA Public Interest Program of the year in 2011. ” said Dean Lennon.
While the Miami Law Scholars website says the deadline officially passed on January 6th, we have an extension for Law School Expert readers. THE EXTENDED DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 1 and Miami is offering a fee waiver to the first ten people who apply based on this blog post! To get the fee waiver, email Therese Lambert, Director of Student Recruiting, at tlambert at law.miami.edu and mention the Law School Expert blog. You can read more about this opportunity at the Miami Scholars website.
Categories: Advice, Career, Hiring a Law School Admission Consultant, Law Careers, Law School Admission Trends, LSAT, Uncategorized
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The Law School Expert team is constantly working to bring you all the news you need to know about law school admissions. We wanted to let you about some new and easy ways to keep the good advice and information coming your way.
With a debut issue in January 2012 Law School Expert has started a monthly newsletter that can be delivered right to your email inbox each month. Be sure to get your name on our mailing list.
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Categories: LSAT Prep, LSAT; Rolling Admissions
Tags: February LSAT, February LSAT; LSAT Prep
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FREE PODCAST tomorrow (Wednesday, January 4th) where I’ll be interviewing Nathan Fox of Fox Test Prep, a UC Hastings Law Grad and author of Cheating the LSAT, about everything you need to do in the next month to be ready for the February LSAT. Listen in and find out how to win Nathan’s LSAT Prep books!
If you’ve never listened to one of my Blog Talk Radio shows, you are in the minority: the free podcasts are almost as popular as the Law School Expert blog!
All you have to do is listen live tomorrow online by going to Ann Levine – Blog Talk Radio at noon PST/3 pm EST – and if you listen live, you can use the chat room to ask questions and I try to incorporate your questions into the show. The show is 30 minutes. If you can’t make it live, you’ll be able to listen to it anytime, and even download it from iTunes if you’d like at absolutely no charge. And you can leave questions as comments here and I’ll try to get you answers during the podcast.
P.S. December LSAT scores will be out any minute now so if you’re contemplating a February re-take don’t miss the LSAT Tips in this Podcast!
Categories: Advice, Law School Admission Trends, Law School Location, Law School Location; Law School Rankings, Law School Rankings, Scholarships, Yale Law School
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Your go-to source for straightforward answers to law school admission questions brings you a new tool for your journey. Law School Expert has teamed up with FindTheBest to bring you all the need-to-know information to compare law schools and find the best one for you. Just as the Law School Expert blog provides you the best advice and seeks to empower and educate you in making the best law school admission and law school decision choices, the FindTheBest team is dedicated to providing information stripped of marketing influence. FindTheBest has created an unbiased, data driven comparison tool that presents facts in easy-to-use tables with smart filters so you can make informed decisions. Whether you are deciding on schools, or still wondering if law school is for you, this law school comparison is a powerful tool you can use to make an informed decision. Check it out in the Resources section of lawschoolexpert.com, and please let us know what you think!
Oh, and while you’re at it, Law School Expert finally has a page on Facebook! Don’t miss any news, updates, or useful information! “Like” Law School Expert today!
Categories: Advice, Law School Admission Deadlines, LSAT; Rolling Admissions, Rolling Admissions, Starting in January
Tags: applying to law school in December, applying to law school in January, law school application, law school application timeline
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For those of you who just took the LSAT, or those of you who have simply been procrastinating, here is a plan to help you move through the application process as speedily as possible without freaking out that you are late in the game.
December 5,6,7: Brainstorm ideas for your personal statement. Review the following resources before getting started:
December 8,9: Make sure all letters of rec are received by LSAC or in the mail. Same with transcripts.
December 10 – 16 Fine tune your personal statement draft. This may include using the services of a law school admission consultant, but if not then be sure to at least have someone proofread it before you submit it. December 17-19 Revisit your resume.
December 20-23 – If you are going to need an addendum to explain a moral character infraction or undergraduate GPA or other episode, work on it now. Here is Chapter 9 of The Law School Admission Game, which covers how to explain weaknesses in a way that doesn’t open up a can of worms. If you plan to write an LSAT addendum, you should wait until you have your December score. Otherwise you don’t know how to spin your argument.
Late December/early January – when LSAT scores come out, come up with your schools list and create a spreadsheet of each school, the essay prompt(s) and requirements, and start working your way down them. I generally recommend doing the easier ones (those without optional or secondary essays) first. Aim to do 2 applications per day. Again, make sure to proofread them – especially the first one you fill out – so that errors don’t sneak in and ruin all of your hard work on everything else.
I’m happy to take questions!
Categories: Law School Admission Deadlines, LSAT, Rolling Admissions
Tags: Applying to Law School with a December LSAT score, December LSAT
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We’re two weeks away from the December LSAT. This is make it or break it time. If you aren’t hitting in the range where you need to be hitting, you might want to consider waiting and taking the February or June LSAT and applying early in the next admission cycle rather than late in this one with a score you’re unhappy with. As I write more extensively about in The Law School Admission Game, February is a less than ideal time to take the LSAT for admission the same year. Of course, applications are down overall this year so it is less lethal this year than in others, but only for those who have scores that schools will find competitive. It’s not the way to get into a reach school.
For those of you who take the December LSAT, here’s how you should plan out your time in the next 6 weeks:
In late November: make sure transcripts and letters of rec are on their way (hopefully received) by LSAC/CAS.
December 3: LSAT
December 4-25: work on and finalize your personal statement, resume, optional essays and addenda (just not an LSAT addendum because you can’t explain your LSAT history without knowing your most recent score).
Late December: once you have your score, finalize your schools list and start filling out applications. There is no rush over winter break: law schools are closed and no one is moving your file around to review it.
Early January: submit applications. Aim to be done in the first two weeks of January.
This is absolutely a strategy for success – people get into amazing law schools on this timeline, so don’t panic. This post should put you at ease about your decision to take the December LSAT if you are confident you can raise your score (or if you need a score on the board, of course). Let me know if you have any questions.
Categories: Advice, Law School Personal Statement, Personal Statement Tips, Reasons for Going to Law School
Tags: law school personal statement, optional essays for law school applications, why law school
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An increasing number of law schools are asking you to address your reasons for attending law school, and their law school in particular, as part of your personal statement or in an optional essay. After all, my recent survey of 100 law school applicants showed that 39% felt they “knew nothing” or “only a little” about the legal profession.
After interviewing and surveying 300 lawyers for The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers, here are some things that I learned that can help you answer the questions “Why Law School?” and “Why THIS Law School?”
- The #1 reason lawyers say is a good reason for going to law school is Learning to Think Like a Lawyer. #2 is Enjoying Solving Problems and #3 is Enjoying Research and Writing.
- Lawyers say the top 3 traits for success in their field are: Willingness to Work Hard, Attention to Detail, and People Skills.
- The #1 reason lawyers say you should choose a law school: Location Near Community Where you Hope to Live. #2 was Cost of Attendance, and #3 was Location Near Job and Internship Opportunities.
These responses should help you phrase your responses to the questions being asked by law schools. For more in depth information about reasons to go to law school, what the legal profession is really like, and what you can expect from a career in law, read The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers, now available on Amazon.
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Ann K. Levine, Esq., former director of law school admissions for two ABA approved law schools, is a law school admission consultant and owner of Law School Expert,
