Looking Toward Law School--The Soft Side

When you are applying to law school, you have to show that there are more dimensions to you as a person than the numbers that appear on your short sheet to the law school.  That is something that people easily forget when it comes to having a well-rounded application.

Your Resume

One of the easiest first steps is to clean up your resume.  It should include all of the positions that you held in undergrad and the organizations in which you were involved.  The emphasis should be placed on the initiatives that you started yourself.  If you were a member of the student government, then you should make sure to point out any projects that you started yourself.  This reveals that you can take charge, and you are able to be a strong leader.  Keep your resume as updated as possible.

Organization

A lot of the "oomph" of your resume can be lost if you have a poor organization.  The first thing to focus on is putting your accomplishments into categories.  A lot of schools have a typical format that they expect their students to use.  I recommend starting with this first--it is what law schools and employers expect from a student coming from your undergraduate program.  Usually, resumes are one page long.

The one universal element that holds true for every format, is that every point listed on your resume should be placed in order of importance.  One way to gauge this is a simple one--from the accomplishment you are most proud of to the least.  It is always a good idea to use your campus career services, older sibling, or parent as a second set of eyes on drafting your resume.

Resumes should always have a header.  The header should contain your full name, email address, phone number, and a mailing address.  This allows the admissions counselors to easily file your information in case they need to contact you.  (In the worst case scenario, if you are placed on the waitlist, they can quickly and easily get in touch with you.)

Font

The best kinds of fonts to use for your resume are serif ones, like Times New Roman, Constantia, or Cambria.  If the serif font doesn't allow you to fit your entire resume on one page, then there are a few sans serif fonts that are still acceptable.  Calibri is one that is safer--it is actually smaller than the serif options, along with Segoe MDL2 Assets.  Remember, using bold is very important when making headers for your sections.

Personal Statement

Personal statements are where a lot of people's voices fall flat.  They have an exciting personality shown through their resume, then their personal statement leaves something to be desired.  The personal statement may seem daunting because it is such an open-ended paper, but it is truly an opportunity for you to show the law school what you can add to their next class.  If you have a funny story about starting weekly programs in your dorm, that is the one you should tell.  If you ended up dancing on stage with a celebrity, that is the story you should tell.  All you need is the ability to tie this back to your talents and qualities.

The best way to find a topic that is enticing and exciting for the admissions counselor to read is to find something that is NOT listed on your resume.  You do not want the two documents to mirror each other.  The resume and the personal statement give you the opportunity to express yourself in two different ways.  Show them that you are the mulifaceted person that they are looking for.

Good luck and much love,

Looking Toward Law School--The Hard Numbers

Looking at Your GPA

Now, this is where every single person initially starts their freak out.  Not very many people receive the perfect grade point average that they are used to in law school.  Either you had the typical "first semester adjustment period, or you chose a difficult major that led to a few speed bumps.  All of this is okay--you are not just your GPA.

I myself had a pretty middle of the road GPA following undergrad.  I majored in accounting with a minor in international studies.  Accounting at my school was known to be quite the competitive choice.  I had some difficulty in some of the more advanced classes, and I had to balance that with writing weekly papers for my International Studies classes.  Luckily for me, I was able to take most of my minor's classes during study abroad programs, and it is true what they say--studying abroad is a more relaxed environment in regards to grades.

If you do want to do a study abroad program, but you are worried about finances, I suggest going to speak to people in your study abroad office.  There are often scholarships available to students who have a strong interest in participating in their programs.  (Schools often want the study abroad statistics when they are advertising to students.)

But most of all, do NOT let your GPA drag you down.  If you are one of the lucky ones with an extremely strong GPA, congratulations.  Either way, the next step is to look at the LSAT.

Tackling the LSAT

The LSAT is a necessary evil for everyone that wants to get their JD.  Some people need to do it on their own, others need a multitude of help.  If you have trouble with testing, the LSAT actually offers quite a few options for testing accommodations if you fill out the necessary paperwork.  A lot of it needs to be notarized, so my suggestion is to look into these with significant time before you intend to take the test.

Prep Courses

I know that is hard to admit that you need help, especially if you are a Type A personality like most of us law students, but sometimes it can make a large difference.  There are quite a few LSAT prep courses that you can enroll in.  They vary quite a bit, in both structure and offerings, so what I did was "screen" the programs to one that fit my learning style.  The companies may interview you, but there is nothing wrong with practicing your legal skills early and interviewing them and finding what you need.

If the price tag is an issue, you can definitely negotiate packages with the different companies.  Sometimes, if you get lucky, some tutors will even work with you "off the books" for a reduced price.  Also, some tutoring services offer competitive pricing if you tell them about the prices of other packages.

The Test Itself

The only way to truly be prepared for something so systematic is practice, practice, practice.  I know it sounds cliche, but logic games do not come naturally to anyone.  They are meant to trick you.  But, the best part is that you can trick them right back with having some techniques up your sleeve.

A must is to complete some practice exams under "true testing conditions" with a time limit and all of the sections.  If you run out of time on some parts, you should still complete the questions, but mark where you stopped with a line, so you know if you need to train to pick up speed.  The LSAT is a marathon, not a sprint.

Much luck and much love,