Is getting into law school hard? depends on where you're aiming. t14? yes. everywhere else? ehhhhh.
What kind of things (other than a high GPA and good LSAT score, which are obvious) make somebody a competitive applicant? the usual bs. good personal statement, personalized recommendation letters.
Any tips? - make sure you really want to go to law school, specifically, and it's not just a placeholder for three years of your life while you figure yourself out. unless you're a supergenius or you're in an incredibly stable position both emotionally and financially, law school stress's nothing to fuck with.
- if you get offers from multiple schools (and you should, b/c you should be scoring high enough to be getting vouchers for a swathe of schools), pick the one that's gonna pay you to attend unless the alternative is like ten ranks higher.
- do not choose schools by how well-regarded their specialised programs (legal writing, ip, international law, w/e) are. look at two stats: (1) job placement by graduation and (2) overall ranking in the USNWR over the last decade. lawyers are (and i say this with equal parts fondness and contempt) fucking snobs about their schools.
- pick your law school assuming that you're gonna be locked into practicing in that geographic region. it's not always true (especially if you place high enough or you already know people in the industry), but it's something that i, personally, wish that i had considered.
- listen to this song, because every lawyer to whom i've ever played this song has listened and nodded glumly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs-UEqJ85KE
Re: ... lawyer (usa)
depends on where you're aiming. t14? yes. everywhere else? ehhhhh.
What kind of things (other than a high GPA and good LSAT score, which are obvious) make somebody a competitive applicant?
the usual bs. good personal statement, personalized recommendation letters.
Any tips?
- make sure you really want to go to law school, specifically, and it's not just a placeholder for three years of your life while you figure yourself out. unless you're a supergenius or you're in an incredibly stable position both emotionally and financially, law school stress's nothing to fuck with.
- if you get offers from multiple schools (and you should, b/c you should be scoring high enough to be getting vouchers for a swathe of schools), pick the one that's gonna pay you to attend unless the alternative is like ten ranks higher.
- do not choose schools by how well-regarded their specialised programs (legal writing, ip, international law, w/e) are. look at two stats: (1) job placement by graduation and (2) overall ranking in the USNWR over the last decade. lawyers are (and i say this with equal parts fondness and contempt) fucking snobs about their schools.
- pick your law school assuming that you're gonna be locked into practicing in that geographic region. it's not always true (especially if you place high enough or you already know people in the industry), but it's something that i, personally, wish that i had considered.
- listen to this song, because every lawyer to whom i've ever played this song has listened and nodded glumly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs-UEqJ85KE