Your law school personal statement is your chance to be more than just your numbers, more than your transcripts. This is the substitute for meeting you face to face, this is your opportunity to share your best self, best experiences, best stories. It’s your chance to be impressive. Feeling the pressure? You’re not alone. The most open ended part of
Ann sat down this week to talk to John Rood, an LSAT Tutor and founder of Next Step Test Prep about law school personal statements and making your school choice. In this video, Ann answers two questions: 1. How should you start thinking about your law school personal statement? 2. How should you think about offers from differently-ranked schools? For
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: Law
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
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
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
I know the waiting feels endless, but just think about all of the people taking the bar exam who have to wait three months to find out IF, after making it through law school,they will be able to actually practice law. I do expect scores to come out by email in the next 12-36 hours and I want to keep
Apparently, there is a new trend where employers are asking law students applying for internships and clerkships for copies of the personal statements they used when applying to law school. One attorney told me she does this when hiring and that many of her colleagues do the same. She says: “I feel like there’s so much focus on grades and
I confess, I have a stereotype of pre-law advisors at colleges. This involves an old guy who used to practice law and now teaches a class or two and feels he is doing a good service for students by looking over personal statements. He is well-intentioned but off-base in the advice he gives. Last night, while speaking to an undergraduate
I know you’re sitting down right now, trying to write the most brilliant, persuasive, powerful personal statement ever written but your fingers are paralyzed on the keys. “I hate to write about myself,” some tell me. Others say, “my life has been pretty boring/sheltered/standard/privileged.” Still others say, “I went through hard times but I don’t want to write a sob
Law schools have done away with the traditional “diversity statement” essay prompts due to the US Supreme Court decision abolishing affirmative action practices in higher education. Law schools are now taking a more holistic view of diversity and giving applicants the opportunity to share any aspects of their background that will enable them to bring a diverse perspective to the...
There are three ways to get into law school without taking the LSAT. The key to all of these is that you must not have an LSAT score on record; once you have taken an official LSAT and have a score (within the last five years), then none of these options will apply to you. 1. Take the GRE...
How to Get Into a Top Law School? Top law schools require stellar undergraduate grades, an LSAT score that shows you can compete with their student body, and soft factors which demonstrate experiences that will add to the diversity and knowledge of the law school class. For Top 10 law schools, a ballpark combination would be scoring 170+ on the...
Tips for Law School Applicants with low LSAT scores and low GPAs: Call attention to excellent performance during a portion of your time in college, or in a certain area of study in college. Obtain excellent academic letters of recommendation. Demonstrate that more recent academic accomplishments (in graduate school, or during your later years of college) are a better indication...
If you’ve been considering whether law school is right for you, check out this 15-minute LSAT/Law School podcast interview about what’s important to consider and how to prepare yourself for deciding on a career in law. In the podcast, we discuss: How to explore whether law is the right direction for you; How to choose courses in college to prepare for law...
