Although the majority of law school applicants are coming straight from college, there are many that are just coming out of graduate school or have a graduate degree in addition to their Bachelor's. For those students, their grad school degree and grad school grades can sometimes be a source of discomfiture. How are these grades considered? Are they included in your GPA calculation? Can they make a not-so-great undergraduate GPA better? Do they … [Read more...]
Why Are the “Top 14” Law Schools Called the Top 14?
A lot of chatter surrounds the excellence of the "top 14" law schools, also known as the "T14". However, many current students and law school hopefuls don't know why they are called "top 14". They must be the top of something, right? So what are they the top of? T14 Defined The "top 14" are the top 14 law schools in the U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings. The U.S. News rankings are the most widely used (if oftentimes debated) law … [Read more...]
Law School Personal Statements You SHOULDN’T Write
I've been working with law school applicants for years. Every year I see some absolutely unique essays and I see essays that I swear I've seen before (sometimes many, many times). Some of them are strikingly good, while others are jarringly bad. In an effort to shed some light on essay topics that could quickly go from mundane to radioactive, I've compiled a list of a few of the topics that I wish would go away—or, at least, get done by fewer … [Read more...]
Useful Resources for Law School Applicants
If you're thinking about applying to law school, you should also be thinking about your applications. If apps are on your mind, you may also be researching schools and quickly overwhelming yourself with the multitude of websites and publications out there that give out (sometimes not-so-reliable) information. To that end, here's a list of some of the best, "must-have" resources for applicants. We regularly help students with their applications! … [Read more...]
The Value of Work Experience to a Law School
Work Experience on Your Application LSAT score and GPA generally constitute the most important factors in law school admissions decisions. Historically, post-college work experience has not been emphasized, and students often go directly from college into law school. Over the past few years, however, many top law schools have increased their focus on work experience when making admissions decisions.Dean Martha Minow brought this type of … [Read more...]
Hoping to Apply to Law School Early? What Actually Is Early?
Many people know that law schools use a rolling admissions process, which means that schools consider applicants in batches as the applications arrive. Thus, when an application comes in at the beginning of the application period (in the fall of each year), there are the fewest number of competing applications completed and the greatest number of available spaces in the class.As time goes on, more applications come in. Towards the end, there … [Read more...]
Still Waiting to Hear from Your Dream School? You’re Not Alone
Still waiting to hear back from your dream school? You are not alone. This year, “rolling admissions” can just as well be called “crawling” admissions. We can only speculate as to the reasons why schools are taking longer than usual. One plausible explanation has to do with the relatively unpredictable size (and qualifications) of the applicant pool. We all know that applications have been dropping since 2010, but there is a strong indication … [Read more...]
What to Do if You’re Waitlisted at Your Top Choice and Accepted at Another
For most, the whirlwind of the law school application process is over. The waiting is over and decisions are in your inboxes. You open those emails, answer those phone calls, and rip open the envelopes. Are you in? Are you out? Or are you waitlisted? If you applied to more than one law school, chances are you'll have a myriad of answers to sort through. If you're reading this, chances are you're in a most beneficial position: you've been accepted … [Read more...]
Do I Have to Wait Until After I Take the LSAT to Get My Letters of Recommendation?
There's a big misconception students have about the law school admissions process. Many believe that in order to do anything application/admissions-related, you have to take the LSAT first.Now, don't get us wrong. Taking the LSAT before you do anything else is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it's a great starting point. Your LSAT score determines so much when it comes to your application:Where you'll have the best chance of … [Read more...]
What Does My Law School Application Result Mean?
During law school application decision time, letters, emails, and phone calls are sent out of admissions offices around the nation, letting applicants know of their fate. Of course, everyone knows what the big fat envelope and "Congratulations!" email means. They require no explanation. Although the most desirable application result is certainly that of an admission, that is not always what you may see.It is important to be familiar with … [Read more...]
Why is the Law School Personal Statement So Important?
It's that time of the year. Everyone is scrambling to get their applications done and submitted before the deadline. And, of course, since the part of the application students struggle with the most is the personal statement, they've left it to the very end. Now is when we start getting stressed-out phone calls and emails: What should I write about? Does the statement really matter if I have great numbers? How long does the statement have to … [Read more...]
Scholarship vs. Prestige: When to Take the Money and Run
Update! We have two podcasts around this article: Episode 5 and Episode 53 of the PowerScore LSAT PodCast. I wrote a blog titled, A Law Degree Is Worth over $1 Million. Can You Get It for Free? Predictably, we received several questions from former students who have the opportunity to attend law school on a full-ride scholarship. If you think their decision is a no-brainer, think again. Oftentimes, the choice is between attending a higher-ranked … [Read more...]
What Are Splitters, Reverse Splitters, and Super Splitters?
If you are applying to law school, you will come across an unusual and somewhat confusing term: Splitter. And no, it has nothing to do with baseball pitches, cutting trees, or a certain San Antonio Spurs/Philadelphia 76ers basketball player. A "splitter" is someone who has LSAT and GPA numbers that are split between high and low marks. Often, the medians for a law school play a role in determining if one is truly a splitter. While this concept is … [Read more...]
Which Law Schools Accept February LSAT Scores?
With the February LSAT and many law school application deadlines right around the corner, it's worthwhile to know which schools accept those results, which don't, and which ones accept it but wish you'd taken an earlier one. Here’s a list of law schools with January to March application deadlines, along with their take on Feb LSAT scores.Schools are separated into four categories:Ones that accept February LSAT scores Those that … [Read more...]