It was my junior year in undergrad and at this point I was balancing a full-time job, a full-time class schedule, and was still able to make it to parent-teacher conference for my daughter, who was receiving nothing but praise from her teacher for being so well-behaved and studious. Why couldn't I handle law school? That was the question I'd been grappling with for more than a year. After seeing all that I had accomplished thus far, I could not come up with any reason why I couldn't handle law school. So, I decided to pursue a J.D. degree. Making the decision was by far the easy part. The things that came next, not so much.
LSAT
This test, in my opinion, is ABSOLUTELY horrible! I'm sure taking 17 credit hours that semester, ON TOP of trying to study for the test, didn't bode well in my favor. Studying for the LSAT was usually relegated to my lunch hour at work and on the weekends I didn't have my daughter. Needless to say, the day of the test was the second most horrible day of my life. I literally fought back tears as I marked in the little bubbles. That should have been the sign I needed to cancel my scores and move on. I didn't....and so the worst day of my life arrived along with my LSAT scores via email. The tears I fought back the day of the test now flowed down like a river.
I was not going to let a standardized test defeat me. I took a bit of time to heal mentally and emotionally, went back to the drawing board, and revamped my plan. I shelled out the cash for the Kaplan Prep Course. For four months, I spent every Sunday and one Saturday a month "learning" how to take the LSAT. I also had lots of practice tests and study guides, so most Saturdays I could be found in the library practicing away. I suffered from LSAT burnout approximately two weeks before the actual test, but in the end, it was all worth it. The second time around I was cool and confident. My test scores showed tremendous improvement and I was glad to say my dreams had not yet been crushed.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
I can honestly say that it took over one year to complete my personal statement. I brainstormed for many months, keeping a notepad close to my bed because it seemed the most profound thoughts would appear while I was trying to sleep. I compiled about three file folders of different drafts I created and shelved- but refused to throw away. Once I arrived at something that was intelligently written, concise, and reflected what I felt I would bring to a law school class, I handed the draft over to three individuals- two attorneys, who in my opinion have impeccable legal writing skills, and a friend of the family who is an Assistant Dean for Admissions at a law school to which I had NO intention of applying. One of the first things you are told when writing a personal statement is "know your audience." I picked these individuals because they were as close as I could get to my actual audience.
CHOICE OF SCHOOL
This was tricky, mostly because you don't want to sell yourself short, but you also don't want to reach too high outside of what you can realistically achieve. So, again, I devised a plan. First, I went to the Law School Admission Council website where they provide a UPGA/LSAT school search option. I entered my undergrad GPA and my LSAT and voila! It provides somewhat of a gage, based on last years admissions profile of where you could possibly stand at any law school based simply on your numbers. This doesn't take into account any "soft" factors, (i.e work history, socioeconomic background) but it provides a decent starting point. I had a list of my desired schools already, but was able to add more and remove some after researching each school's program. I was able to narrow my list down to about 10 schools.
I honestly didn't pay much attention to the U.S. News and World Report rankings when choosing my desired schools, for a couple reasons. First, by this time I had the pleasure of working with attorneys who graduated from T1 thru T3 schools. All of them are highly respected and capable attorneys who made the most of the education at the institutions they chose. I plan to do the same. Second, my ultimate goal isn't to be a six-figure partner at any law firm, and the rankings, in my opinion, would be more useful to a person who may have that goal. I chose schools in the region I plan to practice (Midwest), schools that had specialization programs I might be interested in, and some schools were chosen at the recommendation of the attorneys who were alumni. In the end, I applied to eight schools.
LSAT
This test, in my opinion, is ABSOLUTELY horrible! I'm sure taking 17 credit hours that semester, ON TOP of trying to study for the test, didn't bode well in my favor. Studying for the LSAT was usually relegated to my lunch hour at work and on the weekends I didn't have my daughter. Needless to say, the day of the test was the second most horrible day of my life. I literally fought back tears as I marked in the little bubbles. That should have been the sign I needed to cancel my scores and move on. I didn't....and so the worst day of my life arrived along with my LSAT scores via email. The tears I fought back the day of the test now flowed down like a river.
I was not going to let a standardized test defeat me. I took a bit of time to heal mentally and emotionally, went back to the drawing board, and revamped my plan. I shelled out the cash for the Kaplan Prep Course. For four months, I spent every Sunday and one Saturday a month "learning" how to take the LSAT. I also had lots of practice tests and study guides, so most Saturdays I could be found in the library practicing away. I suffered from LSAT burnout approximately two weeks before the actual test, but in the end, it was all worth it. The second time around I was cool and confident. My test scores showed tremendous improvement and I was glad to say my dreams had not yet been crushed.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
I can honestly say that it took over one year to complete my personal statement. I brainstormed for many months, keeping a notepad close to my bed because it seemed the most profound thoughts would appear while I was trying to sleep. I compiled about three file folders of different drafts I created and shelved- but refused to throw away. Once I arrived at something that was intelligently written, concise, and reflected what I felt I would bring to a law school class, I handed the draft over to three individuals- two attorneys, who in my opinion have impeccable legal writing skills, and a friend of the family who is an Assistant Dean for Admissions at a law school to which I had NO intention of applying. One of the first things you are told when writing a personal statement is "know your audience." I picked these individuals because they were as close as I could get to my actual audience.
CHOICE OF SCHOOL
This was tricky, mostly because you don't want to sell yourself short, but you also don't want to reach too high outside of what you can realistically achieve. So, again, I devised a plan. First, I went to the Law School Admission Council website where they provide a UPGA/LSAT school search option. I entered my undergrad GPA and my LSAT and voila! It provides somewhat of a gage, based on last years admissions profile of where you could possibly stand at any law school based simply on your numbers. This doesn't take into account any "soft" factors, (i.e work history, socioeconomic background) but it provides a decent starting point. I had a list of my desired schools already, but was able to add more and remove some after researching each school's program. I was able to narrow my list down to about 10 schools.
I honestly didn't pay much attention to the U.S. News and World Report rankings when choosing my desired schools, for a couple reasons. First, by this time I had the pleasure of working with attorneys who graduated from T1 thru T3 schools. All of them are highly respected and capable attorneys who made the most of the education at the institutions they chose. I plan to do the same. Second, my ultimate goal isn't to be a six-figure partner at any law firm, and the rankings, in my opinion, would be more useful to a person who may have that goal. I chose schools in the region I plan to practice (Midwest), schools that had specialization programs I might be interested in, and some schools were chosen at the recommendation of the attorneys who were alumni. In the end, I applied to eight schools.
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