The LSAT you take—or retake—can have a great impact on your admission chances. Some of you may be asking, “Is the January LSAT too late? Are the February or April LSATs too late?” We survey top law schools yearly with those exact questions to find out admissions deadlines and the latest LSAT each school will accept.Many of the top law schools are still requiring a January LSAT deadline. But, as you’ll see in the chart below, the February and … [Read more...]
2023 US News Law School Rankings Released!
The 2023 US News Law School Rankings are out! We’ll break down some of the big news from the new rankings in a moment. But first, here’s our standard disclaimer about rankings. Please keep in mind that these rankings are just numbers put through an arbitrary formula that was created by a magazine that makes millions of dollars off of them, so use them at your own risk!The list below is numbered according to the new rankings, and the order … [Read more...]
Law School Job Placement: Top States and Portability
This blog is brought to you by a special guest, Ana the Analyst. The ABA job reports show an important facet of outcomes: job locations. The location information can have a big effect if you have a preferred city where you want to work. In these cases, than recruiting networks of many schools matter more than their arbitrary ranking. For instance, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to go to #25 Alabama if the only place you’ve ever wanted to live … [Read more...]
The Diversity Rankings That Almost Were
This blog is brought to you by a special guest, Ana the Analyst. As you may have heard, USNews originally intended to release new “diversity rankings” with the 2022 Law School Rankings. The diversity rankings were to be stand-alone rankings that analyzed a school’s demographic break-out and rated schools on how diverse they were. However, due to several controversies (discussed on The PowerScore LSAT PodCast), these rankings were delayed until a … [Read more...]
Top 50 Schools for Public Interest Jobs
This blog is brought to you by a special guest, Ana the Analyst. There can be a tendency, on the internet, to focus on a school’s BigLaw + Federal Clerkship numbers (discussed in the first post of this series here). However, many students tend to self-select into public interest jobs. ABA employment reports breakout public interest and government jobs into two different categories. Since many jobs in the public interest are government jobs … [Read more...]
Top 50 Schools for BigLaw & Federal Clerkships
This blog is brought to you by a special guest, Ana the Analyst. Law school employment reports are out! We’ll be digging into some of the more fun details in a series of posts, but I wanted to start with everyone’s favorite topic: Big Law & Federal Clerkship amounts. What Are ABA Employment Reports? Each year since 2010, the American Bar Association has asked law schools to publish employment reports. These reports provide detailed … [Read more...]
Using Rankings to Decide Where to Apply to Law School
Rankings are everywhere. Whether it's law school, business school, college, or even high school, chances are there’s someone out there who’s come up with a ranking system. Their sheer ubiquity means that rankings are the one aspect nearly every applicant consults when making application decisions. These numbers certainly have their use, particularly at the start of the selection process when you need solid indicators to help you narrow down your … [Read more...]
LSAT Podcast Episode 82: The 2022 US News Law School Rankings
The 2022 US News law school rankings have been released, setting the “official” standard by which schools will be compared to one another for the next twelve months. In this episode, Jon and Dave offer their take on this year’s rankings, including the controversial metrics and weighting involved, the most prominent winners and losers as schools rise and fall, and—above all—exactly what these rankings mean to you as an applicant! … [Read more...]
Why Did the 2022 US News Law Rankings Change?
This blog is brought to you by a special guest, Ana the Analyst. It is ranking season! One of the biggest questions that always comes up during this fretful period of US News change is, “Well, why did so-and-so rise? What terrible horrors befell Princeton Law that caused their drop of one whole place in the ranking?” This spreadsheet attempts to answer those questions for you with a category-by-category break-out of publicly available changes. … [Read more...]
Which Law Schools Offer Part Time Programs?
Part-time programs can be a great option for students who need to continue working full time while attending law school. If you’re trying to decide if this is the right move for you, check out this blog post here that lists the pros and cons of attending a part-time law program. Looking for the right fit? The following law schools offer part time programs:American University (Washington) Brooklyn Law School California Western School … [Read more...]
Which Law Schools Offer Spring and Summer Starts?
January and February is deadline season, which means that many law school applicants are getting all their ducks in a row and submitting their apps, eyes aglow at the thought of starting law school in the fall. But what if you're not one of them? You don't want to start this fall, but you don't want to wait until next fall to start. You're still glowing with the thought of starting law school, but you'd like to start in the Spring or Summer next … [Read more...]
10 Bad Reasons to Go to Law School
There are a lot of great reasons to go to law school, but there are just as many bad ones. Below we list some of the top ten bad reasons for going to law school. If you find yourself saying, "But that's my reason!" you may need to take time to re-evaluate if law school is the best path for you. Parental Influence Although having the support of your family is certainly important, following a parental wish in this case is misguided. Dealing with … [Read more...]
LSAT Podcast Episode 53: To Debt or Not to Debt? That is the Law School Question
Dave and Jon turn their focus away from the ongoing LSAT-Flex saga to tackle another pressing consideration looming over many applicants these days: how to navigate multiple acceptances and choose the school that’s right for you! In particular, they explore several applicants’ unique circumstances, from school rankings and prestige to estimated debt to ultimate career goals, and offer detailed advice on what they believe is the best decision for … [Read more...]
Should I Take the LSAT Before Deciding Where to Apply to Law School?
When applying to law school, timing is everything. You need to know which LSATs you should take and when to submit your applications. Getting your letters of recommendation on time is completely dependent on when you ask for them. Same with getting your transcripts. As you can see, timing is a big factor in the admissions process! Below is an ideal timeline for getting into law school. Before & During the Admissions Process Before we get … [Read more...]