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6 Steps to Powerful Law School Recommendation Letters

By on August 23, 2012 in Law School, Law School Admissions, Law School Application, Letter of Recommendation

LSAT blog, Law school application, law school admissions, letters of recommendationRecommendations play an important role in the admissions process, and it is also one of the pieces that is out of your control once an individual agrees to write you the letter.  Follow these 6 steps to ensure that you get the best letter possible:

  1. Ask early.  Give each recommender as much time as possible before the deadline.  If you are asking a professor, do so in the early fall before midterm pressure looms.  Nothing guarantees a ho-hum letter like giving someone 2 days to write it.
  1. If at all possible, ask for the letter in person.  Ideally, try to set up a time to chat with your recommender so that you can explain why you are applying to law school.  It is also helpful for the recommender to put a face to a name – especially if it is a professor from a large lecture style class.  If you are not able to request the letter in person, be sure to provide each recommender with a package of information about yourself.

    2. … Read full post

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Law School Scholarships: Applicants Negotiating Now More Than Ever

By on August 9, 2012 in Law School, Law School Admissions

Since the 1990’s, me and a few of my closest friends have been quietly advising law school applicants on the basic talking points of Negotiating law school scholarshipsnegotiating law school scholarships.  We were happy in our own little world, knowing that our clients were sometimes getting at least a little more money, simply by following a few pointers.  Then, something started to change.

It seemed (to me at least) that more and more applicants were winning scholarships and more were successfully getting them raised.  What was happening is that due to a combination of factors – including a vastly decreased pool of law school applicants nationwide, continually rising tuition rates, the greatly increased cash consciousness of law school aspirants, and the need for schools to maintain their various applicant numbers lest they decline in the US News rankings – more and more applicants were asking for scholarships and scholarship increases, and more and more law schools were competing for their business with greater financial awards nationwide.… Read full post

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Your Personal Statement: What not to put in.

By on August 7, 2012 in Law School, Law School Admissions, Law School Application, Personal Statement

People always want to know what they should write about in their law school personal statement but sometimes it is just as important to law school personal statementknow what not to put in it.  The people looking at your essay read thousands upon thousands of them all on the same topic so you want your essay to stand out for all the right reasons and not be skimmed over for all the wrong reasons.  Let’s start with what seem to be the more obvious things to avoid.

The personal statement is a sample of your writing which is an important facet of a law education.  Do not send an essay with misspelled or auto corrected words and please do not send an essay with the name of another law school.  Read your essay out loud and have someone else read it aloud before submitting it to the law school.… Read full post

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How Do law Schools View Multiple LSAT scores?

By on July 24, 2012 in Law School, Law School Admissions, LSAT, LSAT Score

LSAT BlogYou are trying to figure out how each of the law schools to which you are thinking of applying will view your multiple LSAT scores.  There is no set standard for this and you will need to research it for each school.  There are two very helpful resources to help you.

The first that I recommend is the NAPLA/SAPLA Book of Law School Lists written by Edward Stern and Gerald Wilson.  It compiles the results from self-reported surveys and gives a very good break down of law schools and their responses to how they use multiple LSAT scores (you will want to reference pages 366-372).  You will see from the examples below that the majority of law schools tend to use the highest score but make it clear that they do review all scores:

American University Admission Committee reviews all scores, but typically considers higher score for admission purposes.… Read full post

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Applying to Law School? Stressed? Find help here…

By on July 19, 2012 in Law School, Law School Admissions, Law School Application, Letter of Recommendation, LSAT, LSAT Score, Personal Statement

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You’re carrying a full class load and studying extra hours to keep that GPA up and score well on the LSAT. You’re involved in community/volunteer service and extracurricular activities, finals are coming up, you have a part-time job that’s looking more and more full-time, or you have a full-time job that’s asking for more and more overtime. You have friends and a family, oh yeah, it would be nice to sleep sometime and, you’re taking the first step toward your lifelong dream of going to law school. No wonder you’re feeling stressed!  Ignoring that feeling won’t make it go away, instead, look it straight in the eye and show it you’re in charge.… Read full post

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Retaking the LSAT in October – Part Two

By on July 10, 2012 in Law School, Law School Admissions, Law School Admissions, LSAT, LSAT Score, LSAT Test Prep

The previous discussion covered questions you should ask yourself regarding your previous performance, now we’re looking toward the future …

As you contemplate whether you should retake the test, you need to consider your past performance but you also need to consider:

Will you have the time and peace of mind that you need to effectively prepare for the October administration of the LSAT? LSAT Blog

After all, some of you who significantly underperformed on the June LSAT did so primarily, if not simply, because you needed more LSAT preparation or you were not in the right mental state on or around test day.  So while perhaps you really should retake the exam again, if you’re probably not going to be able to get what you need in terms of preparation and peace of mind for the October test, there’s a real question as to whether this will be the right time for you to retake the exam.… Read full post

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You’ve taken the June LSAT – should you retake the LSAT in October?

By on July 5, 2012 in Law School, Law School Admissions, LSAT, LSAT Score, LSAT Test Prep

To retake or not to retake the LSAT in October?

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Every summer – without fail – this turns out to be one of the most often-asked questions that I get from my law school applicants.  (Actually, it wins out by only a hair over the, I’ve taken the October LSAT – should I retake it in December, question.)  It can also be one of the most challenging questions to answer correctly.  Indeed, although some decisions to retake the LSAT are no-brainers, many situations result in the closest of judgment calls.  For that reason, even as a law school admissions expert, I’ll often have an applicant forward questions to his or her LSAT instructor before weighing in with a final opinion.   And in many cases, I may not even offer a final opinion, but instead a carefully reasoned list of advantages and disadvantages.… Read full post

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Transferring after your first year of Law School

By on June 27, 2012 in Law School, Law School Admissions, Law School Application

-You’ve had a great first year and now want to transfer to your dream school-

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Even if you weren’t initially accepted to your dream school, that doesn’t mean your dream is dead. Having a stellar first year of law school, may get you the acceptance you dream of. For this to happen, you still have to make the very best impression, and sending in the same Personal Statement, Resume, and Diversity Statement that accompanied your initial application is practically guaranteed to end in rejection. Here are some tips for upgrading your transfer application:

1)  Resume – Even if you haven’t had a paying job there are ways you can strengthen your Resume.… Read full post

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Updating Law School Applications

By on March 22, 2012 in Law School Admissions, Law School Admissions

If you have been placed on a law school waiting list or still have not heard back from some of your schools, now is the time to update your applications with any new information.  The easiest way to do this is by emailing the admission office of each school and you can also follow up with a hard copy in the mail if you choose.  Keep your updates brief, factual, and to the point.

Be selective in the information you send to the law school – only include information that was asked on the original application.  Always update contact information – especially if you are leaving a college address at the end of the semester.… Read full post

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How to Avoid Law School Rankings Tunnel Vision

By on March 12, 2012 in Law School & Legal Life, Law School Admissions, Law School Admissions

Are you that guy?  You know, the guy who says, “I’m going to go to this law school which is ranked at #37 because this other school that I got into is ranked lower, at #56.”  Worse yet, are you that gal who says. “I can’t go to this school ranked at #12 – not when I can go to this other school ranked at #8.  After all, this other program is in the top ten!”

If either of these people sounds like you, it’s important that you take a step back and recognize that basing the decision to attend a school solely, and oftentimes, even primarily on its rankings – including the US News rankings – can be hazardous to your educational and career well-being.  There are many ways in which focusing too heavily on the rankings can come back to haunt you.… Read full post

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