We paused our updates as the admissions season heated up. Now that it has wound down and we had time to reassess this blog, we realize our time is best spent focusing on our clients and other endeavors. That said, please make use of our search function to the right, there is ton of great information in our archives!

- C & J

Submitted Question:

Corey:

One of the biggest missteps most law school applicants make is turning their personal statement into a giant sob story. Admissions committees are far more interested in reading about you overcoming your obstacles than you wallowing in them. It sounds like you should slightly alter the focus of your personal statement to better frame your accomplishments.

Submitted Question:

Corey:

You should take a year and a half off, not to gain work experience (though you should obviously work during this period), but to focus on improving that LSAT score. Spend the next eight months mastering the test and take it next June, leaving the September test as a final backup. Start taking untimed practice tests now, focus on accuracy. Gradually work in a timer and take a prep course in late Spring, one that finishes just before the June LSAT.

Rushing into law school because it was always your next step is a mistake. Take the time to give yourself the best odds for success and, in the meantime, gain some life experience that might help flesh out your rather generic personal statement topic.

Submitted Question:

Corey:

Yep. Most law schools have language in their disclosure section that excludes parking and traffic violations, such as speeding tickets and redlight tickets. Some schools, though, ask for you to list and describe EVERY violation. Don’t worry about listing a few speeding tickets, they shouldn’t have any impact on your admissions chances at any school. Leaving them off your application, though, could result in bar application problems.

Submitted Question:

Corey:

Call the school(s) ASAP and inform them of your situation. Some law schools do not consider an application “reviewable” until it is “complete” – meaning every required item is submitted. I’ve already had one client overnight a letter of recommendation this cycle to meet an ED deadline when LSAC was having processing issues. If the school warns you about submitting an incomplete application, you should consider contacting your professors for a copy of your recommendation and doing something similar.

Submitted Question:

Corey:

You definitely have a great shot at better law schools – in fact, schools in that 30-50 range are safeties for you. Assuming you apply to ten law schools, five should be in the top 14, three should be in the 15-35 group, and two should be in the 36-65 group. Try to keep the same ratio if you apply to additional (or fewer) law schools. URM admissions cycles are unpredictable, hence the huge spread, but if this cycle is anything like the past few, you should be attending at top 14 law school at this time next year.

Submitted Question:

Corey:

These essays allow the applicant to explain why they are serious about attending the law school. If you truly want to attend a school with one of these essays, it is imperative that you submit one. When the law school is deciding between two similar applicants, and one has submitted a “Why Us?” essay and one hasn’t, the school will obviously favor the former.

You should approach these essays in a practical manner. Why is practical for you to attend the law school? Focus on the location of the law school and any family nearby. If you have a special connection to the school, tell them about it. Do not simply research the school on the internet and rehash the information.

Submitted Question:

Corey:

Over five-thousand attorneys have been laid off by major law firms in the past twelve months. Further, in this same time period, law schools minted thirty-thousand new attorneys. I’ve spoken with third-year students at both Harvard and Stanford who are confident that, despite their best efforts, they will graduate without securing legal employment. Jobs are scarce and, assuming you apply now, ~100,000 new attorneys will be dumped into the market before you graduate. Now, I don’t presume to know what the future holds and maybe the economy will expand in such a way that legal hiring will return to 2004 levels, but attending law school with this expectation seems like an insanely expensive gamble.

All of that said, I still think you should send out applications this cycle. Your situation calls for a carefully targeted, cost-efficient application strategy. Budget about $350 for applications and pick the five schools in your range that you are most serious about attending (aim for one safety, two targets, and two reaches). Once you have the decisions in hand, re-evaluate:

• If you are accepted to a school you want to attend and the economy is picking up – attend.
• If you are accepted to a school you want to attend, but the economy is still sluggish – ask for a deferral. If refused, reapply next year.
• If are are not accepted to a school you want to attend – reapply next year.

This method seems give you the greatest amount of flexibility should things turn around.

Submitted Question:

Jane:

Your law school admissions chances will depend almost entirely on your LSAT score. A score of 150 will give you a fighting chance at Golden Gate, with higher scores bringing more schools into range. Spend as much time preparing for the test as possible.

Still, you can somewhat mitigate the GPA damage with a Grade Addendum. Plan on submitting a 500-1000 word letter to each school. This letter will put a positive spin on your GPA situation – maybe something about how your lack of passion for your first-year pre-med courses resulted in a depressed GPA. Make sure to focus on your improved grade performance once you found a subject that ignited your passion. Connect the courses you performed well in with skills that are particularly useful in law school (analytical thinking, writing, etc).

Submitted Question:

Corey:

Do you really want one of your first acts within the legal profession to be fraudulently submitting two exclusive applications? If either school finds out, it’s an automatic rejection. Further, when you apply to take the bar in any state, they will request various materials from your law school and LSAC. If this information reveals you submitted two exclusive applications, you are looking at serious character and fitness issues. Like you said, your odds are slim at either school, is this really worth the potential? Pick one for ED and apply regular admission to the other.