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.
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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: 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.
Categories: Advice, Law School Admission Deadlines, Law School Admission Trends, Low LSAT, LSAT, LSAT Prep, LSAT; Rolling Admissions
Tags: December LSAT, Low LSAT, LSAT Scores, October LSAT score
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LSAT scores came out. Let the panic begin. Right now you’re exhausted, scouring the Internet for anything, ready to grasp the smallest, least credible piece of advice that tells you that your very low LSAT score WILL get you into the school of your dreams.
What is my advice? Sleep on it. Then, when you wake up, read these posts:
Before You Re-take the LSAT
The Post-LSAT Blues (by me, but on USNews.com)
Should You Re-Take the LSAT in December? (by me)
Should You Re-Take the LSAT in December (by MSS blog)
But to answer the easy questions:
1. NO – December is NOT too late to apply for Fall 2012 admission. Why? Because you will still be able to submit apps in early January. Because you’re better off having a higher LSAT score and applying in January than applying now with a lower LSAT score. Because applications are down 10% and this can only help you.
2. NO – You can’t significantly improve your practice exam scores in 5 weeks. If you suck at standardized tests, you’re not going to be able to teach yourself the test. To get a different result, you need to take different actions.
Happy to take questions! And would love your feedback on the new book, The Law School Decision Game:A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers.
Ann
Categories: Advice, Law School Personal Statement, Personal Statement Tips
Tags: law school personal statement, personal statement help
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The following is an excerpt from The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert, page 92:
5 Words & Phrases that Make Me Cringe in Personal Statements:
1. “Personally”- It’s a personal statement. Of course everything you say is your own personal opinion. If it’s not, you’re doing something wrong.
2. “In conclusion….” Blech! Just conclude, don’t announce that you’re concluding.
3. “I believe…” It doesn’t matter what you believe about your ability to succeed in law school or what you believe is important in your application. The fact that you believe it is immaterial. Just state the facts so that the reader independently concludes that he or she believes whatever you’re trying to prove.
4. “Unique…”Very few things in this world are “unique,” especially the use of the word “unique.”
5.”Firsthand experience….” What is a secondhand experience and why would anyone write about it?
Categories: Advice, Law School Admission Deadlines, Law School Personal Statement, Law School Resume Tips, Letters of Rec, LSAT, LSAT; Rolling Admissions
20 Comments »
If you just took today’s LSAT, congratulations on being done. For the next 24 hours make no major decisions and avoid reading any forums or talking to anyone who also took today’s test. You have 6 days to decide whether to cancel your LSAT score and there are no bonus points for rushing to cancel today. Take a deep breath and relax. I always talk to a lot of people who panic on LSAT day, only to feel just fine about their performance the next day. That rarely happens in reverse. However, definitely cancel your LSAT score if any of these things happened to you.
When you wake up tomorrow, decide to be productive. Here are 3 easy things to do this week to move your application process forward:
1. Get out your resume and resolve to polish it up. See this US News post I wrote last year and listen to Chapter 6 of the audio version of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert.
2. Make sure your LORs are in process – being sent to LSAC or already there.
3. Work on your personal statement. Here are some helpful posts about law school personal statement writing and this one about concluding your personal statement.
Lastly, if you end up being disappointed by your score, is it OK to take the December LSAT and apply in early January? YES. Absolutely. It’s ok.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend and, as always, I’m happy to answer your questions.
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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,
