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: Law School Admission Deadlines, LSAT, Rolling Admissions
Tags: Applying to Law School with a December LSAT score, December LSAT
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We’re two weeks away from the December LSAT. This is make it or break it time. If you aren’t hitting in the range where you need to be hitting, you might want to consider waiting and taking the February or June LSAT and applying early in the next admission cycle rather than late in this one with a score you’re unhappy with. As I write more extensively about in The Law School Admission Game, February is a less than ideal time to take the LSAT for admission the same year. Of course, applications are down overall this year so it is less lethal this year than in others, but only for those who have scores that schools will find competitive. It’s not the way to get into a reach school.
For those of you who take the December LSAT, here’s how you should plan out your time in the next 6 weeks:
In late November: make sure transcripts and letters of rec are on their way (hopefully received) by LSAC/CAS.
December 3: LSAT
December 4-25: work on and finalize your personal statement, resume, optional essays and addenda (just not an LSAT addendum because you can’t explain your LSAT history without knowing your most recent score).
Late December: once you have your score, finalize your schools list and start filling out applications. There is no rush over winter break: law schools are closed and no one is moving your file around to review it.
Early January: submit applications. Aim to be done in the first two weeks of January.
This is absolutely a strategy for success – people get into amazing law schools on this timeline, so don’t panic. This post should put you at ease about your decision to take the December LSAT if you are confident you can raise your score (or if you need a score on the board, of course). Let me know if you have any questions.
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 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.
Categories: Advice, Application Timeline, Law School Admission Deadlines, LSAT, LSAT; Rolling Admissions
19 Comments »
It’s September. What on earth should you be doing? Obviously, if you aren’t taking the LSAT in the future and you are keeping a past score, now is the time to get your Letters of Rec, personal statement, resume, addenda, applications, optional essays underway. If you haven’t started, what are you waiting for?
If you are taking the October LSAT,the next four weeks are all about that – put everything else to the side except perhaps requesting transcripts and letters of rec. Also, read this post about my top 3 LSAT tips to know if you’re going to be ready to take the test and this Countdown to the October LSAT post. If you’re not happy with your LSAT practice performance, read this post about Not Hitting Your Goal LSAT score.
If you are heading to a LSAC Forum or recruiting event at a law school, here’s a post with tips about what to ask the law school representatives when you see them. The most important thing is to keep their contact info so you haven’t someone to follow up with throughout the application cycle.
If you’re considering taking the December LSAT, that’s perfectly ok. Just read this post first so you undertand admission cycle timing. Just start working on your application materials now so you can really concentrate on the LSAT for most of October and November.
I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend!
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: Advice, Application Timeline, Law Careers, Law School Admission Deadlines, Law School Admission Trends, Law School Location; Law School Rankings, Law School Rankings, Law School Resume Tips, Low LSAT, LSAT Prep, Uncategorized, Wait lists, waitlist
Tags: applying to law school, insider secrets getting into law school, law school podcast, LSAT Preparation
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I recently did a podcast interview for Insider Secrets : ”Getting Into Law School” - you can listen to it or read the transcript. In it, I discuss how to choose an LSAT prep program, choosing a law school, taking on debt, putting together your applications, resumes, wait lists, low LSAT scores, and about a thousand different things related to law school admission. I’m happy to take questions here and/or entertain your comments and thoughts.
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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,
