If you're nervous about your admissions chances, you might be considering your options for transferring. Something like: “If I don’t get accepted into my dream law school, can I just do well during my 1L and then transfer up?” In 2019, a total of 2,396 students transferred between law schools, so it isn’t uncommon. But as you can see in the chart below, most of the T14 schools admit very few, if any, transfer students. Georgetown is an outlier, … [Read more...]
Quick Tips: Crafting a Top-Notch Personal Statement
Apart from your LSAT and undergraduate GPA, the personal statement is certainly the most important aspect of your law school application. It's the one part of your file that is solely you. It's your voice, your experiences, your story, told in your words. Every day, as we help students put together exceptional applications as part of our law school admissions consulting programs. Here are some tidbits of personal statement wisdom that we hope … [Read more...]
Why Does It Take So Long for LSAT Scores to Come Out?
Once the LSAT is over, one of the most common complaints is that scores should come out more quickly. Since we live in an era where tests are electronic, it is a reasonable complaint. So, why does it take so long for LSAT scores to appear? Couldn’t they get them out a lot earlier? To best understand what happens once you finish the LSAT, let’s take a look at each phase of the process. Test Administration The first and most substantial delay … [Read more...]
How Do Law Schools View Multiple LSAT Scores?
One of the questions a lot of test-takers ask regards taking the LSAT more than once. "How will the law school I want to go to react to more than on LSAT score? Will it hurt my chances?" Having more than once score show up on your Score Report is a source of stress for many applicants. So, let's shed some light on the subject. First, Some Backstory In the past, when applicants had more than one score, schools used to average all of the scores … [Read more...]
Are Law Schools Extending Their Application Deadlines?
The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed the Law School application landscape. Students are taking the LSAT-Flex at home, school tours are virtual, fall classes may be online, everything is going digital. In an effort to help students navigate these weird times, some law schools are extending their application deadlines. Although some top law school application deadlines had passed pre-pandemic, many have implemented extensions or are making … [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...]
4 Things to Do Before Starting Your Law School Applications
Most would-be law school applicants focus on what they'll have to do once they start the law school application process. But what they don't realize is that there is plenty they need to do before they even start the engine on the law-school-mobile.Here are four things that any law school applicant absolutely should do before they embark on their professional school journey: Determine Your "Why" Why do you want to go to law school? What … [Read more...]
Does Submitting an Early Law School Application Improve Your Chances at Getting In?
Applying Early HypeThere's a lot of buzz about applying early. Everywhere you look online blasts the same mantra: "Apply as early as you can, apply today! Apply yesterday! If you don't all hope is lost." To be honest, having your applications ready to go on day one is not a bad idea. But, that's for reasons wholly unrelated to whether or not it improves your admissions chances.First of all, getting things done sooner rather than later … [Read more...]
Top 100 Law School Application Deadlines: 2020 Edition
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 March 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.This year, it seems that the trend is moving toward a January LSAT deadline for many of the top schools. But, as you'll see in … [Read more...]
What Does Your Transcript Say About You?
Next to your LSAT score, your GPA is the most important thing on your law school application. Like it or not, those numbers hold the greatest weight in your likelihood of getting into a particular school. Unlike your LSAT score, though, your GPA has another facet to it: your transcript. Whether your transcript has a positive or negative effect on your application depends on what's on it.Let's take a look at what your transcript can say about … [Read more...]
Creating an Exceptional Personal Statement for Your Law School Application
Apart from your LSAT and undergraduate GPA, the most important aspect of your law school application is the personal statement. It is the one part of your file that is solely you. In your own words, you express your voice, experiences, and story. Every day we help students put together exceptional applications with our law school admissions consulting packages. We dispense tidbits of wisdom that help students craft a top-notch and unforgettable … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Law School Personal Statement Resource List
In the midst of the application season, one of the most common questions we receive is about crafting personal statements. Over the years, we've assembled an impressive array of free resources for students. If you're still struggling with finalizing your statement, you may find that one of the following tools helps you put everything in place. These tools cover everything from how to select a topic to avoiding common writing pitfalls. Let's take … [Read more...]
Submitting Your Law School Application if You’re Retaking the LSAT
We had an interesting question posed recently that we thought we would share. "When you submit an application to a law school (say, in November), but you are registered to take the test in January (or March), do law schools automatically see that and hold off on making a decision until they receive your score? Or do you have to "remind" them somewhere on the application form?" Heavy on the minds of many applicants is the need to submit … [Read more...]
Your LSAT Scores Were Released… Now What?
A natural and somewhat obvious question arises once scores come out: what's next?The answer to that question largely depends on which of two, or possibly three, categories best describes your situation. Let's examine the scenarios below and discuss what might qualify you for each, and the appropriate actions to take moving forward (one of which inspired my picture choice for this post). 1. Retake The disappointing reality for a lot of … [Read more...]