Categories: Career, Law Careers, Law School Location; Law School Rankings, Webinar
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Thursday was a great day for me. I started off with a TV interview (you can watch the 5-minute video about my law school admission consulting business here). Then, I met up with 4 of my former clients. I try to do this whenever I travel. I really enjoy helping people get into law school, and seeing how they are doing and what they’ve learned while in law school is incredibly gratifying.
Of the 4 law students, two are 2Ls and 2 are 3Ls. The first question I asked each of them is, “How do you feel about the job market?” The overall consensus is that people are concerned, however I was thrilled to learn that both 3Ls already have jobs lined up after graduation – one has a judicial clerkship and the other a job in a mid-size litigation firm. Of the 2Ls, one has an internship lined up at the D.A.’s office and another is currently traveling around interviewing for positions with major players in the entertainment industry. This was much more encouraging than the anonymous ranting and raving I’ve been reading on the blogger-sphere.
Three people got their jobs in traditional ways: the formal application process for the clerkship, working as a summer associate at the firm, submitting an application. The fourth person is someone I’ve mentioned previously on the Law School Expert blog – I call him the King of Networking. A big wig from an entertainment company spoke at his law school. Jesse attended the event and introduced himself to the speaker. He then followed up with the speaker, and this weekend will be interviewing with several different departments at the speaker’s company! That, my friends, is networking.
I also want to share something else about Jesse (which, by the way, I am doing with his explicit permission). Jesse’s goal is to work as a lawyer in the entertainment industry. He knew this going into law school. He never waivered. When it came time to choose a law school, I remember him agonizing over whether to attend the law school with the great entertainment program in the perfect location or the law school without even a single course on entertainment law with the better overall reputation (and cheaper tuition).
I felt he would’ve done beautifully at either school. There wasn’t a bad choice to make. I remember telling him, however, that since he’s the King of Networking, he probably wouldn’t need to rely on his school’s entertainment law offerings to build his career. I also mentioned he might stand out more at a school not known for this area of law, whereas entertainment law hopefuls are a dime a dozen at this other school. So, Jesse is now a 2L and I wanted to know – is he happy with his decision?
He is THRILLED. He says he doesn’t feel like he’s competing with anyone else at his school for jobs. Prospective employers remember that he’s the kid from UC Davis. He’s distinctive. This wouldn’t work for non-networking fiends, of course. You need to know what you’re willing to do to reach your goals and keep in mind how much help and coaching you’re going to need. Jesse, of course, has 2,500 Facebook friends…..
I really get to know my clients – we work together intensely throughout the admission process. I learn their stories, motivations, and aspirations. Each of the 4 law students I visited with on Thursday is in the process of reaching his or her goals. They are happy with their decisions to attend law school, even though they wish they didn’t get quite so caught up in law school politics (remarkably similar to high school politics but with more sex).
On a parting note, if you’d like to attend my webinar tomorrow (TUESDAY) on “Crafting a Stellar Law School Resume” please email me at lawschoolexpert at gmail.com. The first 15 people who respond will get to listen in for FREE! (A $60 value).
Categories: Advice, Wait lists, waitlist
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Law School Podcaster just released a great 23 minute podcast with advice for those of you on law school waitlists. I’ll admit, I was among those interviewed in the podcast and I have really enjoyed the content at Law School Podcaster lately, so if you haven’t checked out this site, I highly recommend it.
Categories: Uncategorized
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This post is geared toward current 1Ls thinking about applying to other schools for their 2L year, but it is also a good thing for 0Ls to keep in mind as they choose where to attend this year.
Here’s a great introduction to the pros and cons of transferring law schools and issues to consider.
Here is a very detailed analysis by one person who transferred from Loyola-LA to Boalt - it has a lot of details but I haven’t checked these facts so read it with a grain of salt.
Here’s an oldie (2007) post with credible stats about transferring law schools.
Here are previous posts of mine on the subject of transferring law schools: (Read the comments on these too – lots of good info there)
Thinking About Transferring as a 2L?
A great option: Applying as a Transfer Student
More on Transferring Law Schools (beware law school policies discouraging transfers!)
If you’re planning to apply to transfer after your 1L year and you’re looking for help, please contact me. I do work with transfer applicants and am happy to create packages specific for your needs.
Categories: Uncategorized
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Applying to law school this fall? Then it’s time to start thinking about breaking up the tasks on your to-do list.
I’ll be holding a webinar – the first of my Law School Bootcamp Series – on this very topic on Tuesday, March 2nd at 5:00 p.m. PST/8:00 p.m. EST and I’m opening it up for FREE for the first 10 people who leave a comment to this blog post! It’s 45 minutes of great information, plus 15 minutes of Q&A opportunity, plus a timeline you can download and follow throughout the admission cycle.
Please RT and Share, and leave comments so I can send you the registration link!
Categories: Uncategorized
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It’s official! Sign-ups are open for my new program:
Learning the Rules of the Law School Admission Game:
Early-Bird BOOTCAMP by Law School Expert and Ann Levine
The law school application process is daunting, but by taking control of each piece of your application and making informed decisions you will feel in control throughout the admission cycle. These programs will leave you feeling knowledgeable, armed with the tools you need to succeed, and better prepared to submit top quality applications to the right schools for you.
Enrollment is limited so there will be plenty of time to answer questions on the day’s topic. Every session includes print-out materials to refer back to whenever you need. Sign up today!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Application Timeline, LSAT, LSAT dates, Rolling Admissions, timeline
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Steve Schwartz has a very informative post today about LSAT dates in 2010 and 2011. This information should play a part in your planning for the Fall 2011 application cycle.
The first webinar in my 10-part series will deal with this issue in more depth as we discuss setting up your timeline for Fall 2011 admission. Send me an email to reserve your place.
Categories: Advice, Uncategorized
Tags: law school admission, law school application timeline, law school information, Webinar
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I am really excited to announce my new Webinar series, a Bootcamp for Law School Applicants, “Learning the Rules of the Law School Admission Game.” If you are applying for the Fall 2011 law school application cycle, here’s a great way to start things off on the right foot!
The program consists of 10 one-hour webinars starting the first week of March. The subjects are designed to take you give you information exactly when you need it, so you know what to work on in what order. You will feel less overwhelmed and armed with confidence as you start the law school admission process.
Here are the planned topics:
WORKSHOP 1: Setting Up Your Timeline and To-Do List
WORKSHOP 2: Building a Stellar Resume
WORKSHOP 3: Everything & Everything about Letters of Recommendation
WORKSHOP 4: When and How to Explain Weaknesses (Addenda)
WORKSHOP 5: Law School Personal Statements I (Coming up with Ideas/Brainstorming)
WORKSHOP 6: Law School Personal Statements II (Execution/Do’s and Don’ts)
WORKSHOP 7: Diversity Statements and Optional Essays (Whether, When and How to Write Them)
WORKSHOP 8: Choosing Schools Wisely (Where to Apply)
WORKSHOP 9: Application Tips & Tricks
WORKSHOP 10: Decision Making (The Waiting Game, Holds, Waitlists & Scholarships)
You will leave each session with concrete tips and strategies to implement in your law school applications and you will feel armed with expert advice. All content will be created and presented by me. However, so that I can answer questions, each online workshop is limited to 50 participants, with lots of time for Q&A on the day’s subject. I will offer them in the evenings, but if you can’t make the scheduled time you’ll be able to access the recording at your own convenience. Each Webinar will come with a handout that you can save and/or print for later reference.
You can sign up for one or for all ten:
Buy one workshop: $60
Buy any three workshops and the price drops to $55 each (total $165)
Buy any six workshops and the price drops to $50 each ($300)
Buy all ten workshops for a HUGE savings at $45 each ($450)
I can only take 50 people for each session and the preference goes to those who are purchasing the whole series. Official sign-ups will begin in a week, but I am offering my blog readers a chance to reserve a place on the list simply by emailing me at lawschoolexpert at gmail dot com. Tell me your name, email address, phone number, and which sessions you hope to attend. I will contact you next week with sign up information before sign-ups go live on my website.
Please feel free to ask questions in the comment section of this post in case there’s anything I forgot to mention. My webinars last fall for MSU Law School brought in 200 people and got great twitter coverage and I’m so excited to build upon this to help law school applicants in new and different ways. I really look forward to your feedback!
Categories: LSAT, Multiple LSAT scores
Tags: Cancel LSAT score, cancelling LSAT score
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Did you feel just a bit ill yesterday during the LSAT? Were the desks so small you were in a bad mood the whole time? Did the proctor start the test two hours late? If you’re applying for Fall 2011 admission, and the June LSAT works for your schedule, cancelling and retaking the LSAT in June is probably a great idea. Here’s a collection of some of my previous posts on cancelling an LSAT score:
Deciding Whether to Cancel Your LSAT Score
Considerations in Cancelling Your LSAT Score
For details about how to cancel your LSAT score, click this link.
If you have decided to retake the LSAT but you are not not sure whether to cancel your score on the February LSAT, be informed about which law schools average multiple LSAT scores for their index formula and which law schools count the highest of multiple LSAT scores.
Also, here’s a post that talks about taking the LSAT multiple times.
Be sure to read the comments of each post too because I give advice to readers that might apply to your specific situation.
Categories: Hiring a Law School Admission Consultant, Uncategorized
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If you’re looking for information about hiring a law school admission consultant or coach for the Fall 2011 law school application cycle, here are some resources you might find helpful:
I don’t like to use the blog as a sales pitch, but for those of you applying for Fall 2011 admission to law school and are considering working with me as your law school admission coach, I want to warn you that my rates are going up on February 20th because I will now have a professional proofreader/editor check things in addition to just my eyes checking (although I do think I’m a great proofreader and editor, it never hurts to have back-up and the added confidence that comes with a second reader). If you sign up before February 20th, you’ll be able to take advantage of my Fall 2010 rate, which is a great deal! I will also be adjusting the packages slightly based on recent changes in law school applications, like the common usage of optional essays.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Categories: LSAT, LSAT Prep, LSAT; Rolling Admissions, Low LSAT
Tags: February LSAT, LSAT, LSAT Prep, Taking the LSAT
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For all of you February LSAT takers, here’s the best 45 minutes you’ll spend this week – Listen to my Blog Talk Radio show with four elite LSAT Tutors talking about tips for test day. Listen to it online or download it through iTunes (BTR- Ann Levine)
Also, I’ve been hearing from a lot of people who are just deciding late in the game to apply for the Fall 2010 law school admission cycle and their practice LSAT scores definitely demonstrate that they aren’t ready. I do not advocate a last minute approach to LSAT prep or to the law school application process. To me, it usually means the person hasn’t really thought through the choice and applying to law school with an unknown (but predictably very poor) LSAT score is really throwing good money after bad. Here’s how to know if you’re really ready to take the LSAT.
For those of you who are ready, good luck this weekend!
Categories: Advice, Law School Admission Deadlines, Law School Admission Trends, Rolling Admissions
Tags: law school discussion forum, top law schools, waiting for law school admission decisions
28 Comments »
I’m hearing from a lot of my law school admission consulting clients today about their aggravation with the waiting game. They’ve applied to law school and they just want me to tell them where they’ll get into law school, to devise a mathematical calculation that proves where they’ll be admitted and where they won’t.
I am happy to spend time talking with these clients and to let them know that there are good days and bad days in this process, that one school’s rejection doesn’t mean that every other school ranked higher will also result in a rejection, to tell people they are strong enough to handle this. One of my most professional, business-oriented clients today told me today that this lack of predictability meant the system was messed up, and since I know he reads this blog (he often quotes my own advice back to me) I wanted to share what I didn’t get to say – or think to say – during our conversation:
The unpredictable nature of getting into law school, the fact that your index alone does not dictate your end result, is the reason to LOVE the system. For those of you with a split – high GPA/low LSAT or low LSAT/high GPA, or just those who apply to reach schools, the fact that there isn’t a numerical calculation that mandates your response means you have a SHOT. It means you get the opportunity to show who you are beyond the numbers, it means the hard work you put into your essays, resume, letters of rec, addenda, etc. have the possibility of paying off.
This is the time of year when people start hearing from law schools, and when you start by hearing a rejection it can be deflating, or at least feel deflating. But remember, this is just a bad day. That’s all it is. Use it as an excuse to treat yourself to a movie or mocha mint latte, but don’t start applying to law schools furiously out of fear. Be confident in the fact that you put serious thought into your schools list and hold tight. Thanks to the Internet and cell phone age, you could hear any minute that you’ve been admitted to law school. Just hang tight. And, when that happens, please do celebrate! Another movie! Another mocha mint latte! Don’t just say, “ok, Next????” or “Where’s my scholarship???”
If you let yourself get psyched out during this process, how will you be strong when you’re a 1L surrounded by competitive people who all seem to be more brilliant, more on top of things, and more likely to succeed than you because they claim to know all the secrets of success? How will you deal with waiting for law school exam grades, job offers, bar examination results? Use this time as your dress rehearsal for those future waiting games. You can do this.
Categories: Uncategorized
6 Comments »
I have a GREAT Blog Talk Radio Show about Choosing the Right Law School for You coming up on Monday. I’ll be interviewing 5 successful lawyers, all approximately 10 years out of law school, about why they chose their law schools and how that choice impacted their career trajectories. It’s an incredibly diverse crew:
Tad Dee, who runs a Legal Recruiting Firm and graduated from the University of Miami School of Law where he was the Editor of the Law Review. (a former classmate of mine at UM Law).
Anita Presser, a graduate of Yale Law School who has worked in many legal settings including running her own prestigious family law firm. (a good friend of mine).
Gene Kowel, an NYU Law graduate who works for the Department of Justice. (my younger brother)
Julianna Makler, a graduate of University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law who runs her own Consumer Law firm. (another good friend of mine)
Brent Levine, a graduate of California Western School of Law who works for a mid-size insurance defense firm with 6 offices in California. (my husband)
I feel so fortunate that my friends and family members have agreed to spend 45-minutes sharing their insights about choosing a law school. The career paths of each demonstrate the diversity of our profession and of a legal education. Please plan to spend 45 minutes tuning in on Monday. I will be answering questions via chat room simultaneously. If you are not available to listen live on Monday at 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST, you’ll be able to hear it anytime on Blog Talk Radio-Ann Levine and by downloading it on iTunes: BTR Show-Ann Levine.
Until then, have a great weekend. If you’re on the West Coast, stay dry!
Categories: LSAC Forums
Tags: Bay Area Forum, Campus visit for law school, Houston Forum, Law School Forum, Los Angeles Forum, visiting a law school
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One of my favorite clients asked me about how to use a campus visit effectively. I thought to myself, “Surely I covered this in my book!” I looked at the chapter called “Launching Your Campaign to Get In” and arranging campus visits is suggested, but not really explained. My bad.
Campus visits are important for one really big reason – it’s a great way to demonstrate sincere interest in attending. It also puts you face to face with contacts at the school, people you can follow up with throughout the cycle if you are waitlisted or updating your application.
Here are some tips for your Law School Visit:
1. Dress in business casual. No club wear, no gym clothes, but you also don’t need to wear a suit.
2. Don’t bring your parents. Under any circumstances. Ever. Yes, even YOU. (If your mom insists on going with you, show her this post and tell her she will be forever ruining your chances of becoming an adult). Of course, there’s always an exception to every rule, like if your mom is a graduate of that law school and coming with you so she can introduce you to the Dean and personally deliver a big fat donation to the scholarship endowment : ) — wow, that’s very cynical of me, not at all like me to say such a thing … I blame the hour – it’s 6 p.m. on a Friday.
3. Study the website before you go and ask some questions – what would students say is the thing most in need of improvement at the school (at my law school, it was the parking situation – another great reason to be a night student)? Are there alums who live where you live now whom you could talk to? What would students say the best things about the school are? Totally fine to ask about scholarships and loan repayment. Totally fine to ask how many students find employment on campus versus through their own efforts. Of course, the admission counselor probably won’t be able to give you real answers to these questions unless he/she is a graduate of the school and/or used to work in Career Placement, but these are good starts for questions.
4. It’s a good thing to show sincere interest, that you’ve done your research. You don’t have to swear on your life that you want to participate in the Immigration Law Clinic just because they advertise it – show you are serious about the location, show ties to the area, friends and family nearby, that you made the trip out just to see the school.
5. Get contact info for everyone you meet- when you write a thank-you letter after your visit, mention by name the 2L who told you about the great social atmosphere, the 1L who took time to talk to you about the moot court experience.
6. Sit in on a class, and take the initiative to meet the professor. Follow up with a thank-you to the professor.
If you don’t have the deep pockets to visit schools, consider booking one trip and hitting all the schools at once at the Houston, Los Angeles or Bay Area LSAC Law School Forums in February. I’m even thinking about going to LA. Anyone want to meet for a drink?
Categories: LSAT, LSAT Prep, Low LSAT
Tags: LSAT help, LSAT tutor
4 Comments »
People learn in different ways, and nothing makes that more obvious than LSAT preparation.
Whether you’re attacking the test for the first time or you’re unhappy with past performance, an LSAT tutor might be the answer for you. Big prep companies often take college kids with high LSAT scores and make them tutors. They are pretty much given a script and told what to do, but that doesn’t make them necessarily good teachers. You need to know who you’re getting before you sign on the dotted line. An effective LSAT tutor needs to be someone who respects your learning style and who knows how to get ideas and concepts across to you in a way you can relate to.
I have some suggestions for where to find an LSAT tutor, and I’ve broken them down into 3 categories: Companies that specialize in private tutoring and who hire high quality teachers, LSAT prep companies who also offer private tutoring, individuals who are known LSAT tutors, and websites where tutors advertise their services. Thanks to the wonders of Skype, you don’t even need a tutor in the same city where you live so you can shop around.
Tutoring Companies – My clients have been incredibly happy with these two options for private tutoring. Inspirica offers tutors in Boston, Philadelphia and NY in person, and “Inspirica Anywhere” via skype. Advantage Testing is in 17 locations and I’ve had several clients work with the Los Angeles office and see big payoffs- from high 140s/low 150s on their first LSAT attempts to high 150s after using Advantage. The director of the Los Angeles office and a Master Tutor for Inspirica participated in my Blog Talk Radio show last June on Last Minute Tips for LSAT Takers.
LSAT Prep Companies – I’ve been really impressed with the operations at AtlasLSAT and they do offer private tutoring. Those tutors go through a crazy screening process by prep company standards.
Individual Tutors – Here are some interesting options that came up when I did a google search for LSAT tutors:
Tutor Nation
Manhattan Review
Find A Tutor
Tutor Match
LSAT Blog (Steve Schwartz – I’ve heard from a number of people who had great experiences with him, and I actually quoted him on LSAT prep in my law school admission guide book. )
LSAT Experts
Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a great place to start when searching for an LSAT tutor.
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Ann K. Levine, Esq., former director of law school admissions for two ABA law schools, is a law school admission consultant and owner of Law School Expert,
