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 … [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 … [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 … [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 … [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 … [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 … [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. Let's talk about why you're working so hard to break down the complexities of this test. Reading Comprehension Reading Comprehension is perhaps … [Read more...]
Applying to Law School Early: What’s the Deal?
A lot of students contact us well in advance of the year they plan to attend law school. For some, they merely want to get a head start and fully formulate their admissions plan. Others are even more ambitious and deciding whether or not it's worth applying Early Action or Early Decision to their top 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 … [Read more...]
Over 30 and Applying to Law School?
This comes from 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 … [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 … [Read more...]
The LSAT is Unfair
The LSAT is a great test in many ways, but some students complain that the test is not entirely fair, and they do have some valid points: The LSAT is Not Like Other Tests There are a lot of test takers who are very smart who nonetheless find the LSAT quite a bit more challenging than expected. It can be a very frustrating experience, even for good students (who also often tend to be particularly self-critical). The LSAT tests a set of skills … [Read more...]
Is it Okay to Embellish My Law School Application Personal Statement?
Short answer: No. The long 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. Misrepresenting yourself on your application sets an awfully poor precedent. If an appeal to ethics doesn't convince you enough, let me demonstrate how embellishment is strictly against your own self-interest. When considering a risky … [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 have 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 … [Read more...]
Who to Ask for LORs if You’ve Been out of School for a Long Time
One of the aspects of applying to law school that poses the most trouble for older applicants is obtaining letters of recommendation. This is due to two reasons:Schools stress that they prefer academic letters of recommendation. So, letters that come from someone who has worked closely with you in an academic capacity, preferably in a classroom. Older students typically don't keep in touch with their college professors and/or haven't … [Read more...]