Presenter:Kyra YoungSCS Program Coordinator

Law SchoolTo Be or Not to Be?

SCS Pre-Law Webinar Series

How to Participate in the Webinar

1) Chat & Questions. If you do NOT have access to a mic and do not call in with a phone, you can use the Questions feature to type a question that you want to ask to the presenters. At the end of the presentation, the facilitator will read out loud any questions that come through this feature.

2) Raise Hand. For most of the webinar, all participants will be in listen-only mode, meaning that they will be muted. When the presenter opens the floor for questions, people will not be unmuted unless they use the Raise Hand function.

3) Surveys. After the webinar ends, a link will be emailed to you to participate in a survey. We encourage ALL participants to participate.

Agenda

Pre-Law Prep Suggestions Preparing for Law School Law School Application

LSAT Personal Statement Letters of Recommendation

Resources Q&A

Pre-Law Prep Suggestions

1) Determine if law school is the right path for you

o Visit your Career Center, attend a workshop, conduct informational interviews, and talk to a counselor.

2) Studyo Visit the Math Resource

Center, the Writing Center and the Academic Achievement Center.

Pre-Law Prep Suggestions

3) Get involvedo Join a club or organization;

write for your school’s newspaper; get involved with the Student Senate; participate in community service; get to know your instructors.

4) Graduate with Honors

5) Research law schoolso Visit the 

Law School Admission Council.

Preparing for Law School

GPA & LSAT = MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS!!

• Extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, personal statement, rigor of academic coursework, work experience

NO preferred majors• Focus on communication and analytical skills• Your interest = better academic success• Double majors won’t increase your chances of getting into law

school

NO required courses• Take courses that challenge you to write, think critically, and

expand your knowledge of different cultures, social and religious philosophies

• Learning a foreign language can sharpen analytical skills and increase your understanding of the English language (study abroad)

Common Pre-Law Majors Business Political Science English History Biology Psychology Economics Engineering Journalism Communication Studies Sociology Social Welfare Spanish

Art History Computer Science Environmental Studies Philosophy Anthropology Chemistry Education French German Mathematics Physics Pre-Med/Health Women’s Studies

“You can major in finger painting as long as you get great grades!”

Law School Applications NO grammatical or spelling mistakes

anywhere! Submit Early (more time) – Oct. 1

1) Rolling admissions – limited # of spaces2) Discretion occurs early3) End of the process is most competitive4) You only need 1 advocate from law school committee

(60% numbers, 40% committee)

Apply for fee waiversCall Law Schools and ask

Fill out 15-20 school appsAcross all tiers, across the countryNegotiation – geographic diversity, financial aid, facing

challengesApply to all UCs & big out-of-state schools

Check law school data service Keep professional communication

Tiers 1-4 Law Schools

Tier levels - based on law school’s reputation of legal scholars and legal resources

Tier 1 = Top 50, 3.5, 161Tier 2 = Top 51-100, 3.2, 155Tier 3 & 4 = not top 100, 2.8, 135Rank, Lowest GPA Median, LSAT

Think of law school rankings as a hierarchy, in which the top % has the best resources that are exclusive to certain people. The bottom tiers have resources but because they are more tangible, they are less valuable.

See U.S. News and World Report annual college rankings for

2014 Best Law Schools

T1

Tier 2

Tier3

Tier 4

Components of Law School Application

Online or Paper Application Transcripts (GPA) LSAT Personal StatementAddendum Letters (if allowed & necessary) Letters of Recommendation Resume

LSAT Facts

LSAT – Law School Admissions Test Cost: $160 (other fees not included)

Offered 4 times/year: June, October, December, February

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes 4 sections: 1) Logical Reasoning, 2) Analytical Reasoning aka

Logic Games, 3) Reading Comprehension, 4) Essay

Scoring: 120 min, 180 max, 150 avg

LSAT Tips Practice, Practice,

Practice! Take a LSAT prep

coursei.e. Princeton Review (SCS

discount), Blueprint, TestMasters, Kaplan

Private tutoring FREE: LSAT prep books

at library, study at bookstore

TIME is KEY!!! Seek experiences of

law students, ASK questions

Logic classes (philosophy)

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Practice makes perfect!!!

LSAT Tips continued

When to take LSAT?

o June after junior yearo Fall (October, December)

during senior year; may conflict with midterms

o Right after completion of prep course/tutoring

o Take a year off to work and study; June before you apply to law school

o DON’T take it more than twice

Personal Statement

Cornerstone Goal: rich portrait of

who YOU are 2 pgs, 1” margins,

double-spaced What to write about:Who are you? What are your goals? Why do you want to go to law

school? How is law school going to get you

to where you want to be?

Personal Statement Rules

1) Nothing weird (complete sentences)

2) No typos3) No procrastination4) Short, sweet, & to

the point5) Edit6) Don’t put things that

they already know7) Don’t include law

school’s name

8) Don’t summarize9) No family struggles

– YOUR struggles10) No quotes, rephrase11) No history,

sociology, anthropology essays

12) Open statement with narrative/story

13) Provide addendum if allowed and necessary

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of Recommendation Most law schools require at least 1 letter of

recommendation and may ask for up to 3 letters. The strongest letters come from faculty who are familiar with your intellectual abilities, leadership potential and other skills relevant to a law school admissions committee. Employers and volunteer Organization Reps are good, too!

Don't seek a recommender with a fancy title who doesn't know you well enough to speak to your attributes. Letters from members of Congress, judges, ministers and family members do not carry any weight and can have a negative impact. 

You don't need to prepare a file of recommendation letters until shortly before you apply for law school, but you should begin building rapport with instructors or faculty advisers early in your undergraduate career.

Other Application Tips

If AB540: o Apply with more rigor (scholarships, CA

Dream Act, etc.)

If Waitlisted:o Fire off letter (letter of continuance) –

email, fax, walk it in- If true: my top choice, more extracurriculars,

other awards/achievements since applyingo Alumni of schools support (advocacy)

Resources Online Resources

Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) - http://www.lsac.org/

FindLaw - http://www.findlaw.com/American Bar Association - http://www.americanbar.orgFor People of Color, Inc - http://forpeopleofcolor.orgNational Association for Law Placement -

http://www.nalp.org/

Law ProgramsCLEO - http://www.cleodivercitynetwork.orgTRIALS - http://trials.atfoundation.orgUCLA Law Fellows - http://bit.ly/HU0Pm2Capital Fellows - http://bit.ly/3W7qbHSee other programs at MTO, UC Irvine, Snell & Wilmer,

UC Davis

THANK YOU!!!

If you have any other questions, comments, or concerns, please feel to contact me:

Kyra Young kyra@southcentralscholars.org SCS Office - (310)833-1670