Categories: Financing a Legal Education, Scholarships
Tags: cost of law school, cost of MBA, is law school worth it, law school debt, law school loans
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Forgive me, but I was almost happy to see this article today on CNN.com talking about how MBA students are taking on too much debt before finding there are no 6-figure jobs waiting for them. Yay, law schools are not the only evil graduate program accused of bilking poor, innocent ambitious students and forcing them to forgo financial security and quality of life for the next 25 years.
Ok, I’m being a bit overly dramatic. But you have to understand: I’ve spent the last 8 months exploring whether law school is worth the cost anymore, whether lawyers regret their careers, and what advice they offer to the next generation following in their footsteps given what they know about the current economy. Next month, my new book is coming out. It’s called: The Law School Decision Game: The Prospective Lawyer’s Playbook.” As part of my research for this book, I surveyed and interviewed 300 lawyers in order to pass their advice onto those of you (1) considering law school and (2) already in law school who are trying to build careers as lawyers. After reading the CNN article this morning (before my coffee) I felt I shouldn’t hold out on you – it’s important to share one of the many facts I learned while writing the book:
Although prospective lawyers believe the rank of a law school is more important than the cost of attendance, ACTUAL PRACTICING LAWYERS BELIEVE THE COST OF ATTENDANCE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN CHOOSING A LAW SCHOOL.
As you move forward to create your schools list for this year, I urge you to include schools where you will be in scholarship range or that will be cheaper to attend because of cost of living, in-state tuition, etc. You don’t have to make the choice about where to attend right now, but please at least give yourself the option because you might have a change of heart about spending the money when it comes time to make the decision. Loans can feel like play money, but it’s not fun anymore when you are paying them back.
For more information read these previous blog posts about Financing a Legal Education and listen to my Law School Expert Blog Talk Radio Show where I interview Derek Roberti, PhD, JD, about his book: Should I Go To Law School? The $100,000 Gamble.
I promise to share more little tid-bits from the book in the coming weeks.
Categories: Advice, Application Timeline, Hiring a Law School Admission Consultant, Law School Admission Deadlines
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Law school applications will be released on September 1st. That date should motivate you to create a timeline to follow throughout the application cycle. Some key points:
1. You don’t have to apply the minute applications are available. That’s not what it means to take advantage of rolling admissions. Law school admission officers spend most of September traveling to recruiting events, they aren’t moving through applications quite yet.
2. I consider anything submitted before Thanksgiving to be taking advantage of rolling admissions.
3. Early Decision and Early Notification Deadlines are usually around 11/1 and 11/15, so that goes to show you that law schools consider applications submitted in October to be early in the profess.
4. If you are sticking with an LSAT score you already have, aim to apply to law school by early to mid-October. That gives you 6-7 weeks to really concentrate on your application materials and make sure they are the best they can be.
5. If you are taking the October LSAT, aim to submit applications in the first two weeks of November. Work on things a bit now, but give the LSAT priority until October 1. Then spend October solidifying your materials. Just make sure your transcripts and LORs are underway in September in case any hiccups arise.
6. If you cancel the October LSAT or don’t feel ready for it, December is a perfectly fine option. I repeat, the December LSAT is NOT the end of the world. Just spend time now getting your application materials together so that you can submit applications in early January. (No one is reviewing them over winter break, so no reason to rush to submit them by the end of the year).
7. When to hire a law school admission consultant? If you already have your LSAT score, now is the time to look for the right law school admission coach for you. If you know you are applying to law school for Fall 2012 no matter what your upcoming LSAT score is, then start comparing consultants now and make your decision since the best admission consultants can only take on so many clients per cycle. If you are not sure you will be applying because you’re waiting to see your LSAT score, then it’s fine to wait until then to hire a consultant but just be ready to really get a lot of work done in month after getting your LSAT score. Read this for more about hiring a law school admission consultant and what a law school admission consultant can (and can’t) do.
8. Check out the great price for unlimited consulting on my website – available only until September 15th!
Categories: LSAT Prep, Multiple LSAT scores
Tags: LSAT self study plan, LSAT self study program, Manhattan LSAT, Manhattan LSAT tutor, self study for LSAT
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If you are getting ready for the October LSAT and studying on your own – without help from a tutor or prep course – you need to make sure you’re following a strategy and not wandering aimlessly. I asked Noah Teitelbaum from Manhattan LSAT to share some tips for how to know whether you’re self-studying the right way. His suggestions follow:
Some people choose to go it alone with their LSAT prep. Understandable – if you can be successful studying on your own, why not? If you’re going this route, here are some ideas to help guide you.
1. LSATs are not enough for the LSAT
Every LSAT season we see a few poor souls wander into our door a few weeks before the LSAT with some version of this sad tale: “I have done every single LSAT ever released in the entire history of human existence, and I’ve been stuck at a 150 for the last 3 months.” Unfortunately, the truth is that there’s not much to do to help these particular folks. What they should have done – and what you should do – is a comprehensive program. This includes a) learning some strategies – from a book (we like our guides), b) practice them using sets of questions that are broken up by type, and c) doing full preptests. If you want to get serious, do deep review of your work. Here are some ideas on how to review your work .
2. Get a map
Somewhat less sad than the soul described above is the LSAT prepper that buys some books and some LSATs and then just starts reading. For some folks – particularly those who have a knack with standardized tests – this is just fine. But for us mere mortals, it’s great to have a more organized plan. There are a few free self study plans out there (e-mail us <mailto:info@manhattanlsat.com> and we’ll send you one). The idea is to attack the question types in an organized manner, and push yourself to keep to a schedule. If you want some serious structure, you can buy a self-study program and follow the videos and other resources – that can be an inexpensive way to benefit from the wisdom of LSAT geeks.
3. Have an escape plan
Not everyone can find success with a self study plan but it can be hard to know that until you’ve given it a try. So set some benchmarks that will help you decide if it’s working. For example: “I need to have improved 5 points by August 20th.” If you miss your goals, start up your other prep options (join a class, get a tutor, go to med school instead, etc.). Don’t corner yourself by waiting until the last month to reach out for some help.
4. Be mean
There are plenty of horror stories of folks who end up scoring 5-10 points worse on the real LSAT than their incredible preptests. Why? Nerves is one explanation. But, there are also a lot of students don’t take realistic practice exams. Even though the published LSATs have 4 sections, the real ones you take on test day have 5 (there’s an extra experimental section thrown in an undisclosed location in your exam). So, make your practice tests real – here’s an online proctor <http://www.manhattanlsat.com/LSAT-proctor.cfm> to keep you honest. Turn off that cell phone, don’t drink water except for during your one measly break, and don’t check your answers between sections!
5. Be nice
If you haven’t taken a practice LSAT yet, you’re probably in for a surprise, it’s a tough test! Don’t freak out if you’re used to acing every test – this one is set at a higher level of difficulty than the SATs and other tests you might have taken. This allows law schools to differentiate between lots of really smart candidates (let’s face it, a lot of brainiacs become lawyers). To keep your sanity, be sure to set realistic goals – baby steps. If you score 2 points higher on a practice test, awesome! That’s how people generally improve on the LSAT, a sprinkling of points at a time. So, set your sights a few feet ahead of you, and celebrate each time you hit a slightly higher score (and expect a few dips along the way).
Good luck with your self-study program! Reach out if we can be helpful – info@manhattanlsat.com – we have self-study programs , and we host some online self-study groups (yes, that seems very much like an oxymoron).
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,
