Categories: Hiring a Law School Admission Consultant
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Law School Expert has a whole new look and feel. Please check it out today!
Also, for all pre-law students (applying for Fall 2009 and beyond) I have launched a brand new website and consulting service PreLaw Expert and invite you to check it out. I am going to start dedicating a certain amount of time to assisting college students in building their experiences to help them become the kind of quality, well-rounded applicants sought by law schools.
I have a bunch of people to thank for their help in launching LawSchoolExpert and PreLawExpert :
First, the “Law School Expert” Team:
Lorrie Thomas (my web marketing genius), Michelle Shapiro (creative director), Dane Jacobsen (perfectionist web guy)
Second, my former clients that agreed to be featured on my new web site:
Shirley, Judd, Naomi, Brian, Peter and Jessica (see their smiling faces and success stories)
The dozens of clients who happily supplied testimonials about the law school admission consulting services I provide as their law school application coach.
Thank you to all LawSchoolExpert blog readers for your support, comments, and continued readership. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about my new websites.
Have a great day – and good luck on Saturday’s LSAT exam!
Categories: Hiring a Law School Admission Consultant
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After getting past the LSAT, many law school applicants then look to hire a law school admission consultant. Here are some things to keep in mind when hiring a law school admission adviser:
1. Have you previously served as director or dean of admissions for any ABA law school? Or, were you merely a committee member or student recruiter? Do you have any experience making admission decisions?
2. How many years of experience do you have in law school admissions?
3. Do you have references from former clients? Can I contact 1-3 of them who are from the same area, who have the same LSAT/GPA credentials, who come from a similar background, who are applying to similar schools?
4. Have you ever practiced law? Why did you leave the practice of law? Are you a member of any state’s Bar?
5. Do you have testimonials from former clients?
6. What kind of track record do you have of helping people get into schools where their numbers are at or below the 25th percentile?
7. Is this your full-time job?
8. How accessible are you? Do you guarantee 24-48 hour turnarounds?
9. Can you be reached in the evenings and on weekends in addition to normal business hours?
Applying to law school is stressful and overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. With the right expert and coach at your side, you will feel supported and confident. For more information, here are additional posts on hiring a law school admission counselor and a law student’s account of what’s important in a law school admission coach.
Good luck to all December LSAT takers!
Categories: Hiring a Law School Admission Consultant
No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome!
I just put down the new issue of preLaw magazine, featuring an interview with three people giving admission advice for law school. I have to admit, the article makes me a little mad and I rolled my eyes more than once at the advice being given. At least two of the people interviewed are law school admission consultants and all 4 have written books on the subject.
One person (and I’m not sure whether she has ever evaluated a law school admission file) said if you have under a 3.0 you may want to re-evaluate applying to law school. WHAT? I’m shocked at this advice. Lots of my clients have GPAs under a 3.0 (and closer to a 2.0) and they get into fine law schools. What if people reading this give up on their goals because of this one purported “expert’s” comment? That’s one of the comments that makes me mad.
#1 So, the first thing to ask a prospective law school admission consultant is: “Do you work with other applicants in my situation, or only applicants applying to “Top 20″ schools?” You need to find someone who is excited to work with you and help you through this process, no matter what your goals or where you hope to attend.
Another person, whom I think is one of the great legal minds in our country but not a great law admissions theorist says (loosely): “Get good grades. Do well on the “law boards.” And get professors who will write you letters of Rec.” Wow. Genius advice ; ) – And I’ve never heard anyone else call the LSAT the “law boards”….
A lot of the advice in the article seems geared toward the person trying to go to a Top 5 law school, but in reality only 2% of all law school applicants are going to attend these schools. There are 200 law schools in this country for a reason and everyone who graduates and passes the bar is a lawyer. #2 Will the law school admission consultant you work with realize this and place the same importance on each piece of your application that they will on the applicant applying to Harvard?
#3 Also, how much time does the consultant have to work with you?
#4 Is the person also helping people applying to MBA programs? Giving career advice to recent grads? Doing a book tour? Practicing law? How high up will you be on the priority list of this very busy person? I’ve had clients who started working with two of the individuals interviewed in this article who then stopped and started working with me instead because helping law school applicants is all I do, full time.
#5 How responsive will the law school admission counselor be to your needs?
#6 Does he/she have someone else do editing? Who will actually be picking up the phone and giving you advice?
#7 Do you need to make an appointment or do you feel free to call and have an open discussion whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, confused or down?
#8 How does the person charge? If it’s by the hour, is that conducive to you really taking advantage of the individual’s expertise and asking every little question that comes up?
#9 How fast will your e-mails and phone messages be answered? How quickly will your essay drafts be turned around?
#10 Does the law school admission advisor give the same advice to everyone – does everyone fill out the same questionnaire or does he/she really take the time to get to know you and give you the advice and timeline that applies to your specific situation?
#11 Is the person willing to give you references of current/former clients with similar goals, credentials, and geographic region?
#12 And, MOST IMPORTANTLY, Has the person actually made law school admission decisions?
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,
