Categories: Advice, Application Timeline, LSAT Prep, 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, 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.
Categories: Career, Law Careers, Law School Location; Law School Rankings, Webinar
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Thursday was a great day for me. I started off with a TV interview (you can watch the 5-minute video about my law school admission consulting business here). Then, I met up with 4 of my former clients. I try to do this whenever I travel. I really enjoy helping people get into law school, and seeing how they are doing and what they’ve learned while in law school is incredibly gratifying.
Of the 4 law students, two are 2Ls and 2 are 3Ls. The first question I asked each of them is, “How do you feel about the job market?” The overall consensus is that people are concerned, however I was thrilled to learn that both 3Ls already have jobs lined up after graduation – one has a judicial clerkship and the other a job in a mid-size litigation firm. Of the 2Ls, one has an internship lined up at the D.A.’s office and another is currently traveling around interviewing for positions with major players in the entertainment industry. This was much more encouraging than the anonymous ranting and raving I’ve been reading on the blogger-sphere.
Three people got their jobs in traditional ways: the formal application process for the clerkship, working as a summer associate at the firm, submitting an application. The fourth person is someone I’ve mentioned previously on the Law School Expert blog – I call him the King of Networking. A big wig from an entertainment company spoke at his law school. Jesse attended the event and introduced himself to the speaker. He then followed up with the speaker, and this weekend will be interviewing with several different departments at the speaker’s company! That, my friends, is networking.
I also want to share something else about Jesse (which, by the way, I am doing with his explicit permission). Jesse’s goal is to work as a lawyer in the entertainment industry. He knew this going into law school. He never waivered. When it came time to choose a law school, I remember him agonizing over whether to attend the law school with the great entertainment program in the perfect location or the law school without even a single course on entertainment law with the better overall reputation (and cheaper tuition).
I felt he would’ve done beautifully at either school. There wasn’t a bad choice to make. I remember telling him, however, that since he’s the King of Networking, he probably wouldn’t need to rely on his school’s entertainment law offerings to build his career. I also mentioned he might stand out more at a school not known for this area of law, whereas entertainment law hopefuls are a dime a dozen at this other school. So, Jesse is now a 2L and I wanted to know – is he happy with his decision?
He is THRILLED. He says he doesn’t feel like he’s competing with anyone else at his school for jobs. Prospective employers remember that he’s the kid from UC Davis. He’s distinctive. This wouldn’t work for non-networking fiends, of course. You need to know what you’re willing to do to reach your goals and keep in mind how much help and coaching you’re going to need. Jesse, of course, has 2,500 Facebook friends…..
I really get to know my clients – we work together intensely throughout the admission process. I learn their stories, motivations, and aspirations. Each of the 4 law students I visited with on Thursday is in the process of reaching his or her goals. They are happy with their decisions to attend law school, even though they wish they didn’t get quite so caught up in law school politics (remarkably similar to high school politics but with more sex).
On a parting note, if you’d like to attend my webinar tomorrow (TUESDAY) on “Crafting a Stellar Law School Resume” please email me at lawschoolexpert at gmail.com. The first 15 people who respond will get to listen in for FREE! (A $60 value).
Categories: Law Careers, Law School Admission Trends, Law School Location; Law School Rankings, Uncategorized
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Thanks to Wei Wang, the first prospective law school applicant to read my book (“The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert”) for interviewing me this morning on a quick 15-minute BlogTalkRadio show about the book. We discussed the chapter in the book about the LSAT and GPA being “Main Ingredients” in the application process and how law schools evaluate LSAT scores and UGPAs that are “mismatched.” We also discussed the reason for the anticipated increase in applications in the Fall 2010 admission cycle.
We’ll be doing a more in-depth version on Monday at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST. Please tune in. I welcome your questions. In the meantime, take 15 minutes to listen to today’s broadcast. I look forward to your feedback on this – our first BlogTalkRadio program.
Meanwhile, my family has been subjected to a mandatory evacuation order due to the Jesusita fires. We are safe and hiding away in Palm Springs. I appreciate your thoughts for all who are being impacted by these scary and unweildy fires in the Santa Barbara area.
Categories: Advice, Career, Law Careers, Law School Admission Trends, Law School Location; Law School Rankings, Reasons for Going to Law School, Salary Trends
Tags: law school and the economy
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Two stories of note today for law school applicants/hopefuls in the WSJ:
New loan from Sallie Mae.
Best Defense? Seeking a Haven in Law School
Applications are up as people hide out from the economy in law school. The best schools are becoming even more competitive and this article offers some tips for making yourself more competitive as a law school graduate.
Categories: Advice, Application Timeline, LSAT, LSAT Prep, Law School Location; Law School Rankings, Low LSAT
Tags: LSAT, LSAT Prep courses, LSAT tutor
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JB left this comment on my old blog and I wanted to share it in a separate post here so everyone could benefit from the response:
Thank you Ann! I decided to take your advice and wait. (about the February LSAT)
I keep on having problems with the argument section in the practice exams, Im not sure how you are supposed to study for those kinds of questions. I also am having some trouble with the RC part of the exam. Is there anything that you can recommend that might help me study for these sections of the test better?
Thanks,
JB
First, this is a good decision. I’m glad you’re going to dedicate yourself to going through the law school application process the right way rather than the “get it over with” way. Here are some resources on LSAT Preparation:
Integrated Learning LSAT Blog
Manhattan LSAT Tutor
Test Prep NY
Also, here’s a link to a previous LawSchoolExpert post on LSAT Advice and here’s one on LSAT Prep Courses.
Categories: Law School Location; Law School Rankings
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So, this week I experienced a “first” since opening lawschoolexpert and becoming a law school admission consultant.
A client, we’ll call him Sam, hired me in July 2005. He wanted a top 25 Law School and was pretty much unwilling to budge from that no matter what I said to enlighten him about other possibilities. He got into one, but part time, so decided to wait a year and retake the LSAT. In 2006, he got into the same school but full time and chose that school over others closer to his home that offered him generous scholarships. And, today, he is a first semester 1L at the “top” school.
So this is where it gets interesting.
I got a phone call this week.
“Ann!” (I knew immediately who it was by the way, but asked just to be sure). “Do you remember 2 years ago you said to me, “US News’ Top 25 isn’t necessarily [Sam's] Top 25?”
That part I didn’t remember, but it sounds like something I would say.
“Well, I’m here full time at this ‘top’ law school and I’m calling to say you were right and I’m withdrawing. I called [my hometown] law school and they said they’d still offer me the scholarship if I apply for Fall 2008. That’s my new strategy! I don’t want to be in debt to impress everyone else with what law school I went to. I finally woke up!”
So, I was pretty proud of him. I was excited he called to share his news with me. And I was happy with the change I noticed in him. Sam’s decision wouldn’t be right for everyone, but considering his goals, ties to home, and absolutely hatred of the idea of taking on any debt whatsoever, he felt this was the right option for him.
P.S. Sorry I didn’t post very much this week. I was bogged down in personal statements and applications before November 1st early decision/early action deadlines. I work hard to turn things around in 24 hours for my clients. I apologize to my blog readers for the delay.
P.P.S. Thank you to all of my readers – I started this blog in July and -3 months later- I have 5,000 readers each month!!! Thank you also for all of your e-mails and comments. I’ve enjoyed getting to know (and helping) so many of you!
Categories: Advice, Law School Location, Law School Location; Law School Rankings, Law School Rankings
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Thanks to Brian Leiter for posting a link to this article in the WSJ. Here is more support for why you shouldn’t shoose law schools based on rankings alone, and a list of factors you should consider when deciding where to apply and where to attend.
I’m thrilled this issue is garnering publicity at this crucial point in the law school application season. Remember, the idea when choosing where to apply is to keep your options open so you have decisions to make in the spring/summer.
Categories: Law School Location; Law School Rankings
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Worth reading this week:
For humor about a very special Yale Law School graduate
And for a great perspective on the recent “how to pick a law school” debate concerning debt and future income, please see the letter to the editor for preLaw Magazine. I was very impressed with this article. In addition to stressing location as being important, Jack Crittenden talks about picking a law school with reaonable tuition. I’m sure he would agree with me about findnig a law school where you are competitive for scholarships as well.
Also in preLaw magazine this week is a good article about Thomas Cooley law school. The law school makes the case that they give people a shot and they do make it sound very noble. I was actually surprised to learn that in 2006, 185 Cooley students transferred to other law schools. That’s incredibly promising; it means that other ABA schools repect Cooley enough to admit students who do well there.
Categories: Law School Location; Law School Rankings
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Please check out another great posting on the Location vs. Rankings topic http://www.lukegilman.com/blawg/2007/08/02/how-to-choose-a-law-school-2/
And another great resource http://nancyrapoport.blogspot.com/search/label/rankings
Thanks to everyone who is speaking out on this to educate applicants about what’s important to consider in the law school selection process.
Categories: Law School Location; Law School Rankings
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I just had the pleasure of finding another blogger who agrees about the importance of location in picking a law school: http://rubyredslipper.blogspot.com/2007/07/tips-on-choosing-law-school-1-location.html
I love her comments about the unimportance of rankings in making this decision. It’s so important to get the word out that people feel this way and I hope you’ll send lots of people to her article on it, and also to my posts about rankings and location.
Categories: Law School Location; Law School Rankings
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New to blogging and completely happy with some of the information I’m finding on the blogosphere for law school applicants! One law school admission committee member wrote this 2 years ago, and I’m only discovering it now but it’s still valid. She has four suggestions for committee members too caught up in the “rankings versus interesting candidate” conundrum, including not counting “old” GPAs and only counting the last 2 years of recent GPAs. Here’s the link:
You’ll see my comment (#19) suggesting Regional Rankings – West Coast, East Coast, Mid West, Southwest and Southeast. After all, Alabama attorneys and judges probably rank Cumberland a lot higher than UC Davis, and for good reason. But California lawyers would be crazy to do the opposite…. Another great reason to recycle your copy of US News and go with your gut when picking law schools. (Can you tell I’m on this tangent this week?)
Categories: Law School Location, Law School Location; Law School Rankings
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Thinking about where to apply to law school? Put the rankings aside. It’s all about location. Where do you want to live your life and practice law? If it’s Los Angeles, then pick Loyola over BU any day of the week. If it’s New York, why go to Indiana-Bloomington instead of Cardozo just because U.S. News says so?
There are so many flaws with ranking logic, that’s a topic for a different day. Of course, you don’t want to go to a 4th tier school when you could go to a top 20, but there are exceptions to this too (like scholarship money!). But, in general, trust local lawyers and law firms over U.S. News every time. You’ll want to work during your 2L and 3L years, and these are the jobs that will lead to your entry-level attorney job.
Don’t be a snob; think about where you want a job.
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Ann K. Levine, Esq., former director of law school admissions for two ABA law schools, is a law school admission consultant and owner of Law School Expert,
