This article was co-written with Mike Spivey of Spivey Consulting.What happened? On Friday, May 11th an ABA council approved a proposal that formally removes the requirement that the LSAT be used for admissions purposes at every ABA-approved law school. In its place is broader language that allows schools to skip using an admissions test entirely if they so choose. Is it final? No, but it’s very close. The next step is for the full ABA … [Read more...]
How Should Freshmen and Sophomores in College Prepare for the LSAT?
There's an adage, a truism in its self-evidence really, that it's never too early to start studying for the LSAT. So compelling and pervasive is this advice that high school seniors often ask how to start their law school journey. Most probably agree with me that it’s a bit premature to start seriously investing energy into hardcore LSAT prep. But, college freshman and sophomores are near enough to test day that it warrants some legitimate … [Read more...]
The Surge Continues: Surprising Trends for 2018’s Law School Applicants
There has been much discussion regarding the state of flux we find ourselves in with respect to the number of LSAT administrations and law school applications in 2018. After five years of declining numbers (2010-2015) followed by two years of anemic growth (2015-2017), LSAT administrations are up significantly throughout the 2017-2018 cycle. Following another big test in February, total administered LSAT’s were up 18.1% over last year. That’s the … [Read more...]
Law Schools With Late Admissions Deadlines
This post was updated 4/6/18. We recently posted a list of law schools in the Top 50 that accept the June LSAT. A number of students wanted to also see the full list of all schools with late admissions deadlines ("late" in this case means a hard deadline of March 31st or later). Because we called every single law school on this list to confirm our data, this took a while to produce! But, we can now present you with a complete and accurate list … [Read more...]
How to Write the Best Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI)
A LOCI is a Letter of Continued Interest. Usually, you send this to inform a school of your interest in attending despite being waitlisted or put on hold. It also offers an opportunity to update the school on new developments in your application. Are you putting together your LOCI? Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know. Why Send a LOCI? If you are waitlisted or held, a school typically wants to make sure you still want to attend … [Read more...]
Non-Traditional Law School Applicants: Old Folks Rule!
This blog is brought to you by PowerScore Instructor & Tutor, Adam Tyson. When I took the LSAT for the first time, I was 31 years old, 8 years out of college, married, with a 2-year-old son, working full-time at a large non-profit institution, had a mortgage, and was the primary breadwinner in the household. I was, in other words, a “non-traditional” applicant. Does This Sound Like You? I was nervous about the process. Would any law school … [Read more...]
Which Law Schools Are Splitter-Friendly? Which Ones Aren’t?
When you discuss law school applications, the question of which schools are "splitter-friendly" comes up pretty often, and it's not really an easy question to answer. Are we looking for schools to which a high percentage of splitters are admitted relative to non-splitter applicants? Schools that seem to value an applicant’s LSAT score much more than his/her GPA? How about schools that are willing to go really low on the GPA scale to nab those … [Read more...]
What 25th and 75th LSAT Score Percentiles Mean for Law School Admissions
With your LSAT score in hand, it's time to consider what that number means for your admissions odds. Everyone knows that an LSAT score is almost universally prized above all other factors. It often counts more towards an acceptance than GPA, letters of rec, personal statement, and resume combined! Often several times more than that collective "other." But exactly what does this number mean to the schools you intend to apply to? Let's … [Read more...]
Do Law Schools View Multiple LSAT Attempts as a Negative?
This blog is from special guest, Spivey Consulting Group. One of the most persistent law school admissions myths is the notion that schools consider every LSAT score – or the average score – for individual applicants when assessing their admissions profile. This is a particularly tough myth to counter because it often originates from the carefully crafted semantics law schools themselves use in describing how they view multiple tests. The High … [Read more...]
How Do You Defer Law School?
The end result of applying to law school is--obviously, some might say--attending once you've been admitted. However, for some applicants, for a variety of reasons, this isn't possible. They may have every intention of attending, but things come up. It could be anything: A once-in-a-lifetime internship in a foreign country, the opportunity to take on a unique one- or two-year assignment, an unforeseen family or personal emergency. In that case, … [Read more...]
4 Commonly Asked Questions About Law School Letters of Recommendation
US News and World Report recently interviewed PowerScore to ask questions about the law school admissions process, specifically about letters of recommendation. Since their magazine article didn’t use the entirety of our answers, we thought we’d post them here for you to use!Below are the four main questions we were asked, with each question followed by two separate responses. The first reply is from Dave Killoran, PowerScore’s CEO. The … [Read more...]
What is Yield Protection in Law School Admissions
In the world of law school admissions, the U.S. News and World Report’s (USNWR) annual law school rankings are always looming, in one way or another, in the background.For better or worse, the USNWR rankings are the most widely cited. For many, they are considered the gospel truth when it comes to law school rankings. They receive heavy criticism along a number of lines. Many criticize them for placing insufficient emphasis on employment … [Read more...]
Do Non-Traditional Law School Applicants Have an Admissions Advantage?
Anyone who has been following posts on the PowerScore blog knows that I’m pretty interested in using data to get insights into law school admissions. For example:What factors might affect law school admissions decisions? To what degree do those factors have an impact? How do different facets of an application package affect admissions decisions at different law schools?So far, I have explored whether the timing of the application … [Read more...]
Why You Should Take the LSAT in June (and Not in September)
When taking the LSAT, timing when you should take the test is a big factor. A lot of students plant to the June LSAT, but when that test swiftly approaches, you may start to question postponing. Maybe you take a prep course, buy the Bible Trilogy, or invest in tutoring. If you see an uptick in your PT scores, that's awesome. If you aren't, then taking the June test becomes daunting. So, you may think that putting it off until September is a good … [Read more...]