It's hard, given how much of your law school application rides on your LSAT/GPA combo, to see the forest for the trees. Many students with excellent LSAT scores and GPAs are lulled into a false sense of confidence about their application: I already have an awesome profile. I can just wing the rest of this application stuff, and I'll be fine. Sure, you'll be fine with some schools, but not with all--and if you're looking to get into an elite institution (as all of you should), you won't be fine at all.Pretend you're a law school AdCom. Whom would you rather admit to your school: Someone … [Read more...]
When and How to Ask for Letters of Recommendation
Highly-regarded law school admissions expert, Peg Cheng, is the author of The No B.S. Guides for applying to law school and the founder of Prelaw Guru, where you can find law school admissions tips, videos, books, and more.Because fall always seems so busy for everyone, I recommend asking for letters of recommendation (LORs) for your law school application during the summer, September at the latest.Make an effort to meet with each potential recommender in person to ask if he or she would be willing to write you a good LOR. This person is going to spend two to four hours writing a … [Read more...]
GPA Addenda Effectiveness Against the T14
We're now entering application season, and one question that often comes up is at this time of year is: should I submit an addendum to explain my low GPA or LSAT score? And if so, how long should it be? Our resident law school admissions expert, Dave Killoran, talks with a student about her addendum, and provides some handy rules for putting together an explanation. Here's a quick preview. Make sure to check out the full thread to read the entire explanation Dave provided to this student: The Forum posts selected for this series are chosen because they have a universal quality to … [Read more...]
Should I Choose a Part-Time Law School Program?
Ah, to attend part-time or not to attend part-time. That is the question. For many students, the decision is a no-brainer--attending a full-time program is the only way to go. But what happens when you don't have the time or need/want to continue working full-time while you attend law school? That's when part-time programs start looking very attractive.Many students, however, are reticent about even considering a part-time (sometimes referred to as PT) program: Are they considered lowlier than full-time programs? How much longer will that stretch out getting a JD? Can you really work … [Read more...]
Personal Statement Advice from our LSAT Discussion Forum
This PowerScore LSAT Forum Post of the Day comes from this past weekend (found here). One of our students posted a second draft of her personal statement, and PowerScore LSAT Bible author Dave Killoran weighed in on that draft in detail (and lots of it!). The link above leads to her second draft, and Dave’s extended comments immediately follow her post. If you are working on your personal statement or your applications in general, his post gives some insight into how to think about the message you are sending in your essay, and it also gives you a glimpse into how our Admissions … [Read more...]
I Messed Up One Semester… Can I Still Get into Law School?
We get a lot of questions from students on our forum and in our law school admissions counseling programs. Many of these questions sound something like this. My freshman year of college I had a 3.87 GPA. Then, my first semester of sophomore year, my grades suffered and I ended up with a 2.73 for the semester. If I were to achieve great grades (straight As) for the rest of my undergraduate career, would I still have a shot at a decent law school? This is a question many, many students ask themselves every year. Students who have 4.0s are few and far between, despite what you may tell yourself … [Read more...]
What Are My Law School Admissions Chances?
A genie appears and grants a law school applicant one wish. What do they wish for? Chances are, wanting to know their chances of getting into a certain law school is near the top. It’s likely followed by having a stellar GPA, LSAT score, and personal statement. Unfortunately, there isn’t a magical genie that can help you figure out your chances. Although it’s almost impossible to predict with any certainty your chances, there are things you can look at to ballpark probabilities. LSAT and GPA percentiles Applying to law school is largely (although not solely) a numbers game. Knowing the … [Read more...]
The LSAT: Why Those 3 Sections?
When students begin their preparations for the LSAT, their questions generally concern how to go about maximizing their scores. Given the importance of the LSAT in their law school applications, this is completely understandable. But it can be worthwhile to understand the perspective of the test makers, and to see why you are working so hard to break down the complexities of this test.Reading Comprehension is perhaps the most readily understandable--if you’re taking the law track, your reading ability is going to be an important factor, in law school and beyond. While this is clear to most … [Read more...]
Should You Add a Conclusion to Your Law School Application Personal Statement
This blog is brought to you by PowerScore Law School Admissions Consultant Jeff Gardner I recently helped a student cut a 4-page personal statement down to a lean, mean, Oh-Wow-I-Can't-Believe-We-Squeezed-It-Into-Two-Pages essay. She needed a 2-page statement for several schools that required it and, although this client had a number of experiences we agreed showed some tremendous personal qualities, I felt one of the experiences needed to be removed because there simply wasn't enough room.It was one of the toughest editing jobs I have done in a while. Once we were done, the student told … [Read more...]
Apply to Law School Early: What’s the Deal?
If you're like many of the applicants contacting me right now, you're starting to plan your fall around your law school application. And, if you're like some of the applicants contacting me right now, you're wondering if it would be worth it to apply via Early Action or Early Decision to your top school or schools.Many schools offer the EA and ED options--candidates often don't take advantage of them because they don't really understand them, but they can be incredibly beneficial if used appropriately. It can definitely get confusing, though: Neither follows the standard Regular Decision … [Read more...]
Over 30 and Applying to Law School?
This blog is brought to you by a special guest, Ann Levine. Ann is the former Director of Admissions for two ABA-approved law schools and the author of the bestselling law school admission guide The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert. Since starting Law School Expert in 2004, Ann has personally helped over 2,000 law school applicants, providing supportive and candid law school admission coaching.Some of my favorite clients to work with are those who are applying to law school in their 30s, 40s, and – yes, even 50s. The reasons I enjoy working with these individuals are the … [Read more...]
Reasons to Become a Judicial Law Clerk after Law School
While an increasing number of attorneys are taking clerkships after a few years in practice, the traditional model has been for law students to apply for clerkships beginning at various points in their law school careers. The last decade has seen considerable flux in this area. Many federal judges banded together to establish a unified law clerk hiring plan and then abandoned the system. The turbulence in the clerkship application process is really a function of competition.As you can imagine, federal judges tend to be high-achieving, type-A personalities who want to hire the best possible … [Read more...]
Is it Okay to Embellish My Law School Application Personal Statement?
This blog is brought to you by a special guest, PowerScore Admissions Consultant Jason Crandall Short answer: No.Longer answer: Law school prepares you to serve as an advocate and representative of the legal system. You will be expected to abide extremely high ethical standards throughout your career and misrepresenting yourself on your application sets an awfully poor precedent.If an appeal to ethics is not sufficiently convincing, let me demonstrate how embellishment is also strictly against your own self-interest. When considering a risky decision, there are at least three … [Read more...]
Help! My LSAT Scores Were Held!
We've heard our fair share of panicked LSAT takers all with the same frenzied query: "LSAC says that my LSAT scores are on hold! I don't know how I did on the test! What happened? What can I do?" Thankfully, with a little research, we found out what was going on--and can give you a little guidance on what to do.Let's first start with how LSAC defines "held" scores: [A] hold will prevent the release of your LSAT score(s) and all LSAT and Credential Assembly Service (CAS) reporting to you and to law schools. If you order publications, shipping delays may also result. If the balance due is … [Read more...]