Law School Zone

Just type in “law school” in any search engine and you are sure to be swarmed with sponsored links offering you the opportunity to earn your law degree “100% Online,” through a process described as “Fast & Easy!”  Compared with the horror stories of full nights spent wired on caffeine in law libraries and teachers publicly embarrassing ill prepared students, earning a law degree from the comfort of your own home seems like the perfect solution to sidestep the stresses plaguing most traditional law students across the country.  But bear in mind, picking a law school is an important life decision that will play a major role in your future prospects, much like picking a long term significant other.  As some of you may have found out through failed relationships, picking the fastest and the easiest option might be fun for the short term, but has serious drawbacks not too far down the line.  After all, practicing law is a particularly time consuming and tedious endeavor, it’s highly unlikely taking exams in your pajamas could adequately prepare you for the strenuous nature of the profession, or even to pass the bar for that matter. Read the rest of this entry »

With the suffering job market a byproduct of the economic recession, law schools across the country are seeing more and more applications flooding their admissions offices.  For many college graduates, impending unemployment or the dire prospect of living at home is enough to at least thinking get them thinking about spending a few more years in post-graduate education.  Law school, though not easy to get in to by any means, is more open to applicants of any educational background as opposed to say medical school, generally only admitting students with science heavy course history.  Prospective law school students are judged primarily by their LSAT scores, many believing the test constitutes approximately 75% of an acceptance decision.  Certainly at Ivy Leagues and other top flight law schools this is less the case, as they can afford to be more selective, but the general perception is that if you do well on your LSAT you can go to law school.  It might not be Harvard, but it’s still a Juris Doctor degree, which will give you employment options. Read the rest of this entry »

Law school can be a pricey endeavor, though the cost of post graduate education does not always match the reward reaped.  There are quite simply a lot of different law school options out there, with many topping the 40,000 dollar a year tuition mark.  Tuition typically varies depending on the overall prestige of the law school itself.  Whether or not the institution is public or private might also have a large bearing over its cost to attend, with public schools generally providing cheaper alternatives.  Due to the high costs, it might be best for some prospective students who already know what field of law they want to practice to seek out programs at universities that aren’t as highly ranked on the whole.  Here is a look at some of the elite law specialties housed less expensive, albeit less renowned schools. Read the rest of this entry »

The Law School Admissions Test is administered 4 times a year at designated test sites worldwide.  The standardized test is highly regarded by a consensus of legal professionals and law school admissions offices, believed to be the most accurate quantifiable assessment solution for predicting a student’s success both in Law School and later on the bar exam.  Unlike GPAs, which can be inflated or deflated depending on the quality of undergraduate institution attended and the course of study completed, the LSAT presents every test taker with the same types of challenging questions, derived from the natural skill set necessary to make an effective attorney.

The test is comprised of five 35-minute multiple choice section, 25  questions each. Only four of the total five completed sections actually go towards the final score, with the remaining section, commonly referred to as the “variable section,” being used for analytical and pretesting purposes by test officials.  The test concludes with an additional 35 minute writing section, which also remains ungraded, however writing samples will be included when scores are sent out to schools the student has applied to.  The graded portion of the test features three different types of multiple choice questions, each assessing different qualities believed to precede a promising legal career. Read the rest of this entry »

For prospective law school students, the LSAT, or Law School Admission Test, is the most important assessment they will come across in their educational careers, perhaps only rivaled by the bar exam upon completion of their education.  An extremely high LSAT score can erase slightly low GPA’s, underwhelming extracurricular activities and even mild character issues in one fell swoop, in some cases giving mildly lackluster students second life.  Even undergraduates at the top of their class should be intimidated by the influence the LSAT has over their post-graduate options.  Just as easily as it can make a decent application into a great one, a poor score can turn excellent into mediocre as well.  Keep these tips in mind as you approach the big test date because you can never be too prepared for such an important crossroads.

Study Hard the First Time – Though you can retake the LSAT, approach the test as if there were no tomorrow.  Students who play it by ear, looking at their first LSAT as a practice run, often either do not score well and get discouraged, or score higher than expected and do not take the test again.  For students with unexpectedly high scores, they are limiting their long term potential by selling themselves short, thus settling for less in terms of the quality law of school they might attend.

Sign Up for a Prep Class – A lot of students think they can do their own preparation work with just a book and a desk.  Unless you are very naturally gifted and disciplined, budgeting time consistently in the months leading up to the exam, many test takers are disappointed with their self-tutored results.  A class allows you to stick to a set out plan, proven to work by years of legal minds before you, without having to interpret your own strategies for a test you’ve never personally taken.

Cramming Does Not Work – No matter what kind of questionable study habits may have served you well in your undergraduate studies, waiting until the last minute before the LSAT is the kiss of death.  The test is not built around memorization or formulas; it requires you to learn how to think in a way that may seem unnatural, which cannot be accomplished overnight.

While any law school graduate may possess the marketable qualities and abilities to secure a job in today’s job market, not all law schools were created equally.  The top law schools in the world enjoy perfect or near perfect job placement, partially due to their longevity, prestige, quality of education and network of alumni.  Law degrees may hold varying weight from graduate to graduate depending on one’s undergraduate background, emphasized course of study in law school, internship/work experience and class rank, but generally speaking, any alumnus of these prestigious law schools should find employers welcoming them with open arms and high pay checks (unless of course non-profit is your bag).

1. Harvard – Why would someone expect anything else?  The top dog of undergraduate education and arguably the most famous name in academia also boasts a premiere law school.  Though in a rough economy, graduates face tempered expectations as compared to years past.  A Harvard law degree, especially one with good class standing, will still net a promising job somewhere, it might just not be the high end New York City job grads had come to expect.
2. Yale – Just like rival Harvard, initial job searching could lead slightly less rewarding than one might anticipated, but there is absolutely no reason to show any concern over the long term prestige and value of a Yale law degree.  There will always be a market for legal services, even if lawyers are at a surplus, and coming from such an elite program, graduates will always be in desire.
3. University of Michigan – Michigan, though a public school, has been among the top overall 10 law schools for decades, but particularly excels in the area of job placement.  Grads venture to a wide variety of destinations across the country from New York to Chicago to California.  Outgoing Wolverines enjoy a consistently high ranking for “Best Career Prospects” by the Princeton Review.