Navigating your way to the right law school (guest post)

By Radhika Singh-Miller,  program manager of educational debt relief and outreach at Equal Justice Works.  

Finding the right law school can be a daunting task, especially since there is no “one-size fits all” approach to determining which law school will meet your needs. Anyone applying to law school must weigh the costs and benefits of earning a J.D. as well as determine what will make your law school experience fulfilling. This is particularly true for those interested in pursuing practical skills training in specialized areas as part of their law school experience. To make the most of your search for the perfect law school, examine three important areas when looking at a law school: experience and training opportunities; professional guidance and support; financial assistance, tuition and fees.

Evaluate specialty, experience and training opportunities
Specialized courses, clinics and professional skills training opportunities tailored to your interests can provide valuable knowledge and lay the foundation for your legal career. Learn about which schools provide valuable hands-on experience, allowing you to work with clients and practicing attorneys. Remember when choosing a law school that it is important to develop additional techniques and skills not taught in the classroom but essential for jumpstarting a successful career. Pro bono programs and requirements often provide opportunities for students to learn outside of the lecture hall.

Look at the specific courses, clinics and internship opportunities available at law schools and use this information to make a more informed decision. These training opportunities, especially in the field in which you hope to work, are ideal for discovering your passion, honing your skills, and making connections with future employers. Think about where and in what field you will want to practice after graduation and allow that to impact your decision on which law school to attend.

Professional guidance and support
If you are the type of person who prefers a lot of career guidance, look at schools’ specialized departments. For example, if you are interested in pursuing public interest law, many schools have a public interest law department; some even dedicate a public interest advisor to counsel students on courses and career opportunities. Smaller schools may not have the same resources, but they can still offer tremendous support. Look at a school’s available resources that you will be able to utilize throughout your experience, including the number and type of student groups as well as career services such as career fairs and alumni networks.

When thinking about future employment, be sure to look at the school’s employment statistics for graduates to see what type of work they tend to pursue as well as the number and type of employers that participate in any campus career fairs.

Remember to consider everything in context. A small school may not have the resources for a full-time dedicated counselor but if it has strong ties to the community in your chosen geographic area, or has a valuable network of graduates in the sector of law you hope to pursue, or curriculum is focused on areas of interest to you, you'll still get the support you need.

Evaluate financial assistance options side-by-side with tuition and fees
When considering law school, cost should be a top priority. Law school is not cheap and often requires you to take out large amounts in student loans. Be realistic! Assess your financial situation and determine the availability of aid as well as repayment options after graduation.

Look for information on tuition and financial assistance programs that will allow you to determine which law school is affordable for you. Not only examine the costs of attending a school, such as tuition and fees, but also look at a school’s financial aid offerings, available grants and scholarships as well as loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) that will help you repay loans after graduation. In addition to academic scholarships, many schools offer public interest grants, scholarships and opportunities for funding that can help with living costs and costs of attendance.

Finding the perfect law school can be a long and tedious journey, but there are tools available to help you make more informed choices. You can start with the Equal Justice Works Guide to Law Schools, which allows you to examine a school’s available curricula, financial aid options, and staff and faculty engagement. While designed especially for students interested in public interest law, this interactive, free online tool provides extensive data on the availability of specialized courses, clinics and externships; financial aid and loan repayment assistance programs; the allocation of faculty and administrative resources; and other information valuable to helping students determine which schools best fit their interests, financial parameters, and future career goals. The Guide allows students to search schools by geography, tuition, and more, and create side-by-side comparisons of schools to learn more. We wish you luck on your journey and hope you’ll utilize the information provided in The Guide to navigate to the perfect school for you.

Radhika Singh Miller serves as program manager of educational debt relief and outreach at Equal Justice Works. In 2008, she served on the student loans team in the negotiated rulemaking for the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) and has extensive knowledge of this landmark legislation. She conducts educational webinars and presentations, advises schools and organizations, and advocates for legislation and policy. Prior to joining Equal Justice Works, Miller was a staff attorney at the Partnership for Civil Justice in Washington. She received her J.D. from Loyola Law School Los Angeles.

Book Review: "The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions"

Last summer, the unthinkable happened; Borders Book Store closed. In an effort to mourn the loss, I decided to peruse the 75% off section of Law Books. I stumbled on The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions by Anna Ivey, the former Dean of Admissions for The University of Chicago Law School. Immediately my interested was piqued. The University of Chicago’s Law School is one of the most prestigious institutions and the country and I’d have to be crazy not to accept the book as Gospel.

Ivey’s book is cleverly organized with each chapter addressing a question that every undergraduate considering law school has asked; what are admissions officers really looking for, “how do I even write an application essay," and “what on earth do I write in my personal statement." Ivey does not shy away from these questions and instead provides a myriad of helpful stories that she has encountered during her time as an admissions Dean.

I believe that this book is helpful for everyone, regardless of one’s place in the ‘law school admissions cycle.’ I purchased this book very early on, but there are later chapters that unveil the mystery behind law school interviews and addendas in an application. This book is brutally honest and doesn’t shy away from exposing the difficulties that are associated with applying to law school. Ivey also provides clear examples of sample recommendations, sample person statements, and “WOW factors.” Her chapter on “WOW factors” is an extremely important read. She addresses the chapter to applicants who are “in the mushy middle” of the pile. Her list of factors includes everything from not so subtle reminders to double, triple, and quadruple check every aspect of your application to ensure correct spelling, to a command to NEVER mistreat anyone on the phone. Ivey’s The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions is a witty, well thought out guide that can help any undergraduate feel as if they have been given the secret to the law school admissions process.

Temple's alternative for those with low LSAT scores

For students who performed poorly on the LSAT, Temple University's Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia offers an alternative "discretionary admissions process which avoids over-reliance on the LSAT or any other arbitrary and abstract measuring factor in the admissions process" called "Sp.A.C.E." I'm not entirely sure what Sp.A.C.E. stands for, but essentially it provides a refreshing alternative for academically strong students who simply could not master the LSAT by making the admissions committee aware, up front, that you believe your full application, not including your LSAT score, should make you worthy of admission. As we all know, many schools look at LSAT score first, followed by GPA, and that they may not even examine your personal statement or work history before making an admission decision. Temple, however, offers this alternative, which expressly requests that the full application be reviewed, and students who aren't pleased with their LSAT score would be wise to strongly consider applying to Temple - an excellent law school with a very strong reputation - through this option.

Not anyone can apply through the Sp.A.C.E. program, however. A description of the program on the Temple Law School admissions page's "Application Procedure" section reads:

"The faculty has identified the following characteristics as priorities in determining whether or not a particular applicant should be admitted under this discretionary admissions process: applicants who have overcome serious long-standing economic deprivation, or who come from working class families historically foreclosed from higher education; applicants who come from racial or ethnic minority groups; applicants whose families are recent immigrants to the United States; applicants who have demonstrated exceptional leadership ability in college, community or career activities, or who have evidenced a commitment to service through Peace Corps, VISTA, military or other service work; applicants with academic honors, graduate or undergraduate degrees of unusual merit, or undergraduate grade point averages of 3.8 or higher and standardized test scores that do not reflect this academic strength; applicants who worked during college to finance their education or support their families;applicants who identify as gay, lesbian or transgendered; applicants with significant or unusual career achievement since graduation from college; applicants with serious physical disabilities; and applicants with other unique strengths and achievements."

So while Sp.A.C.E. is definitely worth considering if you don't think you could be admitted with your current LSAT score, you should carefully consider the criteria before wasting your time. Nevertheless, the fact that Temple Law School provides this option is encouraging in the midst of a cutthroat law school admissions environment, and should lead students to consider applying there who otherwise may not have thought about it.

An important consideration when applying to law school: bar-exam pass rate

Law school applicants usually pick their schools based on admission statistics, reputation, and location, but a recent New York Post article reminds us that we ought to consider other factors - namely, how well our legal education will prepare us for an eventual legal career. This consideration can be most easily seen in bar-exam pass rates, which the Post article discusses with respect to the City University of New York (CUNY)'s law school. Apparently, CUNY's pass rate has dropped from 83% (a respectable percentage, but nowhere near the near-100% rates of more well-renowned institutions) in 2008 to 67% this year. Such a low ranking is not only indicative of lackluster preparation by the school, but it places CUNY in jeopardy of losing its accreditation by the American Bar Association. Furthermore, CUNY's pass rate is now only 9 percentage points higher than the second-lowest scorer in the nation: Pace University.

If nothing else, this article and the statistics it discusses reminds us of one more factor to consider when evaluating potential law schools (as if we needed any more). Yes, you want to apply to and eventually attend an institution that you actually want to go to (based on programs, location, etc.) but what good is the education you are receiving if that school can't prepare you to pass the bar exam? This consideration may seem like a no-brainer, but as someone who is applying to law schools right now, I hadn't seriously considered this factor until now.

"ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools"

The American Bar Association (ABA) and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) publish a report each year called the ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools. This document is exceptionally useful for both undergraduates contemplating applying to law school and law students preparing to take the bar exam. It provides detailed information about the law school application process, what to look for in certain law schools, and valuable application and admission statistics. The report also discusses when to start thinking about and how to approach each aspect of the application process (personal statement, LSAT, etc.) from an authoritative standpoint (this is the ABA providing this advice, not a random website), which can be especially helpful for those of us in the middle (or just thinking about) our applications.

Take a look at the 2012 report:  http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/2012_official_guide_for_web.authcheckdam.pdf

"Liberal arts to law school?"

In this post (http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2006/12/14/law-school/) from another blog, the writer reflects on his decision to go to law school after receiving an undergraduate degree from a liberal arts college. He criticizes the belief that he held, and that was also encouraged by others, that law school is a natural next step - a "default option" - after a liberal arts education, and encourages others who don't have the necessary background, interest, and skills to re-think the law school route.

This is good advice, especially for those of us at a liberal arts college like Franklin & Marshall. We are often told, when we indicate that we have an interest in going to law school, that a liberal arts undergraduate education is a fantastic, if not ideal, preparation for a law degree. While this may true, many of us often extrapolate from this understanding that we are therefore guaranteed to succeed, or that law school is, more or less, an ideal choice for us.

It is important to understand that law school is not for everyone. Just because you enjoy and are good at reading complicated texts and thinking critically (valuable, liberal arts-instilled skills in their own right) doesn't mean that you will like or do well in law school. Law school requires certain interests, skills, and knowledge from its students that not everyone possesses. Whether or not you think you have the necessary background and the desire to go to law school, this is important to consider.

Helpful site for writing your Personal Statement

Top-Law-Schools.com has some great resources for those applying to law school, but their Personal Statement page (http://www.top-law-schools.com/statement.html) is especially useful. It identifies some ideas to think about before you begin, suggests some ways to do your revisions, and - perhaps most helpful of all - it provides some examples of successful and unsuccessful statements. Not only does it provide the examples, but it offers critiques and praise of the elements that worked and didn't work with each. This is a great place to start for anyone who who is even thinking about writing Personal Statements - for any application, not just law school. For law school, in particular, the Personal Statement is one of the most important aspects of the application, because it is the only place where you get to demonstrate your voice, how you think, and what you have done/want to do. It's worth spending a long time writing, revising, and re-writing (sometimes from scratch), and resources like this sight are especially helpful.