Categories: Advice, Career, Law Careers, Law School Location; Law School Rankings
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Tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to sit down with students at all 5 Bay Area law schools (Berkeley, Hastings, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Golden Gate) to discuss how they are feeling about job prospects and law school rankings. You can listen live and chat with us and ask questions tomorrow (Sunday 2/27) at 4 pm PST/7 pm EST, or listen to it after we’re done (either online or through iTunes download). Click here for more information about my next Blog Talk Radio Show.
Categories: Letters of Rec, Pre-law
No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome!
I confess, I have a stereotype of pre-law advisors at colleges. This involves an old guy who used to practice law and now teaches a class or two and feels he is doing a good service for students by looking over personal statements. He is well-intentioned but off-base in the advice he gives.
Last night, while speaking to an undergraduate law society, I met a good kind of pre-law advisor. The kind who not only cares, but really knows what he’s talking about and who really wants to go to bat for his students. We had a great talk, especially about letters of recommendation.
Most of his students take 2-4 of his pre-law/political science courses and he is asked to write many, many letters of recommendation for law school. Sometimes it’s a pure pleasure to do so: the student is bright, inquisitive, takes initiative, demonstrates responsibility and maturity, and will almost assuredly succeed in law school and in the legal profession. But, unfortunately, many times the student asking for a letter has done one or more of the following:
- Surfs Facebook or texts while in class. Quote from Pre-law advisor: “You’re not as smart as you think you are, and I’m not as dumb as you think I am.”
- Has excuses for not doing work on one or more occasions. Yes, this includes food poisoning (when you’ve really been out drinking), flat tire (he knows you ride a bike and live on campus), and the vague but ever-present “family emergency” (boyfriend dumped you – it’s all over Facebook).
- Fails to show up consistently for class – or, even worse – for an internship (especially if arranged through the Department) making the pre-law advisor look foolish for recommending you for the internship in the first place.
Because this is a good pre-law advisor, when you ask him for a letter of recommendation, he will say something along the lines of, “I don’t feel I can write you a strong letter.” If you are a smart law school applicant, you will smile, nod, thank him for his time, and run as quickly as you can from his office. But what most law school applicants do instead is say, “But I really need an academic letter and you’re the only professor I took more than one class with.” He will then say, “Well, you asked me for extensions twice and you missed at least five classes per term, and that kind of behavior doesn’t leave me confident that you’ll succeed in law school. But, if you really have no other options, I will write you a letter.” The smart applicant will recognize that he/she hasn’t been that great of a student and acknowledge that a fresh start would be beneficial with a new professor, a new class, a new school, a new program …. However, since this person isn’t that great a student to begin with, he or she will probably say, “Yes, that would be great. Thanks.” And of course, this is the same person who wants the letter done within two weeks.
Those readers of this blog who are proactive, on top of things, and really great law school applicants will chuckle at this. Those for whom it hits a bit too close to home may feel sheepish, or may be unable to recognize themselves in the scenario. The most important thing in putting together your law school application materials is to candidly assess yourself. The response you get from a professor when asking for a letter of recommendation may be your first chance to zero in on your weaknesses and think about how you can grow, change, and improve in the future.
Categories: Financing a Legal Education, Law School Rankings
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I was reading the paper today and learned that the University of the South is lowering tuition by 10 percent. I thought, “Aha! Someone is finally listening to me!” Ok, it’s not a law school, but it is a fairly respected undergraduate school in the South. (I know these things, since I graduated from high school in Alabama). And they are lowering tuition!
Money and Law School: Lower Tuition! – This is something I posted this last year and I’m pretty sure it’s the only time I’ve ever used the Law School Expert blog to give advice to law schools, but I stand by it. If law schools would worry less about spending more (as per this post by a law school dean and this post about the U.S. News rankings’ reliance on expenditures) then lowering tuition would be much more feasible. The amount of support staff per student has skyrocketed and the importance of fancy facilities seems to have eclipsed law schools’ considerations of whether students are really getting a good value. Law students are generally a disgruntled bunch anyway – no amount of free pizza or fancy library carrels is going to change that. But lower tuition, and less pressure to find high paying jobs – now that’s something that could make law students maybe not quite happy, but a lot more satisfied.
See also:
Budget cuts at law schools
Ten Major Changes in Legal Education in the last 25 years
U. Maryland Law Protects Students from Tuition Increases
Keeping Tuition “Low” at Vanderbilt
Categories: Wait lists, waitlist
Tags: law school application on hold
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It can be confusing – you’re not on a waitlist, you’re not just told a simple “yes” or “no.” When your law school application is being “held” it really just means more waiting. There can be a lot of reasons for this. The primary reason is that the school is waiting to get a sense of whether they’ve admitted too many or too few people at this point. In that way, it’s like a wait list. Therefore, you need to decide whether to pursue admission in the same way you would if you were waitlisted.
Here are some things you can do if your application is “on hold.”
1. If it’s feasible to arrange a campus visit, do so. Call the admission office and arrange a tour and classroom visit, and see if it’s possible to speak with an admission counselor.
2. You should absolutely update your application with accomplishments and activities since submitting your application.
3. Let the law school know that you appreciate that your application remains under review.
4. If you neglected to respond to an optional essay prompt for that application, you may wish to submit one at this time.
5. If you only submitted 2 LORs and no evaluations, and the school accepts more, consider adding a new perspective to your application through this outlet.
Here are some helpful posts by others regarding what you can do if your application is held for further review:
http://moststronglysupported.com/blog/law-school-admissions/law-school-admissions-the-waitlist-vs-the-hold/
http://www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa/blogs/entry-detail/index?blog_id=1461&entry_id=10964
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/admissions/2011/01/11/the-meaning-of-hold-2/
http://blog.law.northwestern.edu/admissions_blog/2010/03/just-keep-holding-on.html
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admissions/FAQ/admission_and_preparation.cfm#CP_JUMP_3326
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~csrc/students/gradschool/law/index.html#V <http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Ecsrc/students/gradschool/law/index.html#V>
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,
