Law School

[aholbert32]

Re: Law School

I'm looking to go into law school when I graduate college in 2010. The costs of books and tution are staggering though, not looking forward to being broke with no promise of passing the bar/ getting a job.

How did you guys go about studying for the LSAT? I took a practice one last semester with no prep and scored a 145 or 150 I forget. I know I need to bring that up alot, so any tips?

Spend the money and take a princeton review course. I did the same thing as you and scored a 145 with no prep. I took it again after taking a prep course and scored in the 160s.

[MassNole]

Re: Law School

Massnole is absolutely correct. Your focus when selecting a school should be job placement percentage and bar passage rate.

And be careful schools misrepresent those stats......

[aholbert32]

Re: Law School

And be careful schools misrepresent those stats......

Great point.

[Brankles]

Re: Law School

Go to FIU over St. Thomas, it will be nearly impossible to find a job out of St. Thomas honestly. I was accepted there as a safety school, but since you are in Florida, Florida Coastal in Jax is a real up and coming school who actually had a higher bar passage rate than FSU or Miami a couple years back. They give out scholarships fairly easily too.

My whole thing was trying to get into a public school over a private one. Since I applied VERY late in the process (May) I was going to take whatever I could get. Florida Coastal and some other schools sent me offers through the LSAC website, but I didn't see any discernible difference between any of the private schools in the state. Florida Coastal is also a for-profit school, so money was definitely an issue there.

Surprisingly, when looking at FIU, I saw they had the highest bar passing rate in the state, ahead of even UF and FSU, which are harder schools to get into. Maybe some schools rig the stat, like one of you was saying, but nonetheless, it can't be a bad sign.

Now... I gotta find a place to stay within the next month. Classes start mid-August!

[thelems]

Re: Law School

Spend the money and take a princeton review course. I did the same thing as you and scored a 145 with no prep. I took it again after taking a prep course and scored in the 160s.

I actually did worse after prep. Timing was the issue. I hadn't focused on it enough so when the actual test came, I felt very hurried. It didn't help the proctor screwed up on one section when he gave us the five minute warning with ten minutes left...I guess that's why they say to bring a non-digital watch (but who has those anymore).

I kind of took the LSAT as something weighing my options a year after undergrad. I did average overall but I'm not sure law is where my heads at. Kudos to anyone going through with it though.

[MassNole]

Re: Law School

My whole thing was trying to get into a public school over a private one. Since I applied VERY late in the process (May) I was going to take whatever I could get. Florida Coastal and some other schools sent me offers through the LSAC website, but I didn't see any discernible difference between any of the private schools in the state. Florida Coastal is also a for-profit school, so money was definitely an issue there.

Surprisingly, when looking at FIU, I saw they had the highest bar passing rate in the state, ahead of even UF and FSU, which are harder schools to get into. Maybe some schools rig the stat, like one of you was saying, but nonetheless, it can't be a bad sign.

Now... I gotta find a place to stay within the next month. Classes start mid-August!

At least when I was in law school, FIU had a provisional ABA approval and was working towards full ABA approval as a law school (which it may have by now or will have within a a year or two) and was building a nice little school. I think some of the smaller schools get a bad rap in general in the US News rankings due to the good ole boys network that determines rankings. So I would say depending on what you want to do, FIU is a very viable option, but from what I have heard from friends in Florida, a lot of the firms are run by UF alumni who give a sickening level of preferential treatment to UF grads. Just a word to the wise....

[Brankles]

Re: Law School

At least when I was in law school, FIU had a provisional ABA approval and was working towards full ABA approval as a law school (which it may have by now or will have within a a year or two) and was building a nice little school. I think some of the smaller schools get a bad rap in general in the US News rankings due to the good ole boys network that determines rankings. So I would say depending on what you want to do, FIU is a very viable option, but from what I have heard from friends in Florida, a lot of the firms are run by UF alumni who give a sickening level of preferential treatment to UF grads. Just a word to the wise....

FIU is a fairly new law school (5 years old, I believe) so it probably wasn't regarded as highly when you were applying. Not sure how it's regarded now, either, but I am glad I got in. It is ABA approved at this point.

Their attrition rate is around 18.2% the first year, which is pretty brutal. FAMU has 27%, then FIU, then Florida with 6% and finally FSU with 5%. I hope it has more to do with them picking poor students than the extreme difficulty or poor teaching of the classes.


And about the UF "good ole boy" system... hopefully my bachelor's degree from Florida will give me a little boost in the hiring process. At this point, I'll take whatever edge over my competition I can get. Gotta get through law school first before I start thinking about that, however.

I'm looking to go into law school when I graduate college in 2010. The costs of books and tution are staggering though, not looking forward to being broke with no promise of passing the bar/ getting a job.

How did you guys go about studying for the LSAT? I took a practice one last semester with no prep and scored a 145 or 150 I forget. I know I need to bring that up alot, so any tips?

Man, to be honest, I didn't go through the whole process the right way. I took the LSAT in February, blind basically. I did a little studying the week before, but that's it. I applied in May and got accepted throughout June and July, the very end of the acceptance process. Because I took the LSAT in February and applied so late, both Florida and FSU wouldn't even accept my applications. FIU put me on their waiting list.

I then re-took the LSAT in June and raised my score by only 3 points, but it brought me up 12 percentile points. I took a prep course, but really didn't study the way I should have. That was enough to bump me into FIU.

Looking back at it... here's what I would have done.

1) Take the LSAT at least a year before you graduate, preferably the February or June before. This gives you time to boost your score if you do poorly the first time around.

2) Study for a solid 6 weeks minimum before the test. Prep courses are very helpful, but also expensive. Really dedicate yourself to doing the exercises and taking as many practice exams as possible if you go that route.

3) Apply as early as you can and to at least 5 or 6 schools. Applications are kind of a bitch to fill out, especially if you want to make your essays look good.

4) Start making contacts. Have at least two academic references (profs/deans preferably) and multiple work/prestige references. I had a Dean, a professor, two lawyers and a high level judge for mine, but only by the grace of God was I able to pull it all together at the last second. Everything I did was last second, and that was a mistake. Also make sure these people genuinely like you as well, or else you'll be getting a half-a**ed reference that doesn't look too good.

5) Boost your resume. Get involved in clubs, get a job, boost your GPA, do community service, etc. This can only help you.


Hope this is beneficial. I basically broke all 5 rules and somehow got into a decent law school, deciding that I wanted to go to school during the last semester of undergraduate school because I couldn't find a job in Advertising. If you follow these 5 things, you'll definitely be ahead of the game and most likely get into a good school.

[ASB37]

Re: Law School

FIU is a fairly new law school (5 years old, I believe) so it probably wasn't regarded as highly when you were applying. Not sure how it's regarded now, either, but I am glad I got in. It is ABA approved at this point.

Their attrition rate is around 18.2% the first year, which is pretty brutal. FAMU has 27%, then FIU, then Florida with 6% and finally FSU with 5%. I hope it has more to do with them picking poor students than the extreme difficulty or poor teaching of the classes.


And about the UF "good ole boy" system... hopefully my bachelor's degree from Florida will give me a little boost in the hiring process. At this point, I'll take whatever edge over my competition I can get. Gotta get through law school first before I start thinking about that, however.



Man, to be honest, I didn't go through the whole process the right way. I took the LSAT in February, blind basically. I did a little studying the week before, but that's it. I applied in May and got accepted throughout June and July, the very end of the acceptance process. Because I took the LSAT in February and applied so late, both Florida and FSU wouldn't even accept my applications. FIU put me on their waiting list.

I then re-took the LSAT in June and raised my score by only 3 points, but it brought me up 12 percentile points. I took a prep course, but really didn't study the way I should have. That was enough to bump me into FIU.

Looking back at it... here's what I would have done.

1) Take the LSAT at least a year before you graduate, preferably the February or June before. This gives you time to boost your score if you do poorly the first time around.

2) Study for a solid 6 weeks minimum before the test. Prep courses are very helpful, but also expensive. Really dedicate yourself to doing the exercises and taking as many practice exams as possible if you go that route.

3) Apply as early as you can and to at least 5 or 6 schools. Applications are kind of a bitch to fill out, especially if you want to make your essays look good.

4) Start making contacts. Have at least two academic references (profs/deans preferably) and multiple work/prestige references. I had a Dean, a professor, two lawyers and a high level judge for mine, but only by the grace of God was I able to pull it all together at the last second. Everything I did was last second, and that was a mistake. Also make sure these people genuinely like you as well, or else you'll be getting a half-a**ed reference that doesn't look too good.

5) Boost your resume. Get involved in clubs, get a job, boost your GPA, do community service, etc. This can only help you.


Hope this is beneficial. I basically broke all 5 rules and somehow got into a decent law school, deciding that I wanted to go to school during the last semester of undergraduate school because I couldn't find a job in Advertising. If you follow these 5 things, you'll definitely be ahead of the game and most likely get into a good school.

Thanks for the tips. My biggest thing is, I tend to put things off till the last minute. I seem to do better when there's pressure on me to finish something. So like you I probably would have put all this stuff aside till the last second, but I'm really going to try to get my stuff together when my senior year at Rutgers starts. I will probably take the LSAT in February using winter break to start studying.

[quaziemoto3]

Re: Law School

i went to law school at Pitt, graduated in the top 10 percent of my class and now work for a large firm in downtown Pittsburgh. However, many of my friends who finished in the top half of my class were still looking for jobs well after the bar exam (and Pitt is a second tier school in a decent market). Honestly, the most important thing to look at when picking a law school when you are outside of the top 15-20 schools is location, job placement, bar passage rate and price. In that order. I would go to a school located in a state you want to live in over a school more highly ranked, but not an elite school in a place you don't plan to live in. Generally, unless you top of your class you will be working near where you went to law school.

[Brankles]

Re: Law School

Thanks for the tips. My biggest thing is, I tend to put things off till the last minute. I seem to do better when there's pressure on me to finish something. So like you I probably would have put all this stuff aside till the last second, but I'm really going to try to get my stuff together when my senior year at Rutgers starts. I will probably take the LSAT in February using winter break to start studying.

I'm the same way, if I don't have pressure on myself to perform I will avoid doing the task until there is actual pressure. My best advice to keep this from happening is to create goals for yourself which in turn puts a little self-directed pressure as the weeks advance closer to the date of the LSAT. Say you started at a 145 in your first practice test, make your goal to raise your score to a 153 in 2 weeks, and then a 156 two weeks after that, a 160, so on and so forth. Also set time aside to really study and focus on practice exams when you take it.

The plan you have is a good one if you're a junior. If you're a senior, and you're taking the thing in February, that's not the best move unless you're planning to take a year off. I would suggest signing up for the December test now and begin studying for it around September. The February LSAT is just too late, it will take a bit of luck like I had to get into anywhere decent if you take it then if your plan is to be accepted and enrolled in a law school this time next year

i went to law school at Pitt, graduated in the top 10 percent of my class and now work for a large firm in downtown Pittsburgh. However, many of my friends who finished in the top half of my class were still looking for jobs well after the bar exam (and Pitt is a second tier school in a decent market). Honestly, the most important thing to look at when picking a law school when you are outside of the top 15-20 schools is location, job placement, bar passage rate and price. In that order. I would go to a school located in a state you want to live in over a school more highly ranked, but not an elite school in a place you don't plan to live in. Generally, unless you top of your class you will be working near where you went to law school.

Those are good tips. Networking seems very prevalent in law school from what everyone is saying here and what other lawyers have been telling me.

What kind of law do you do?

[HungryBologna]

Re: Law School

I've got an old college pal (damn, has it really been 7 years since high school?) I met up with here in Charlotte and he's going to be taking the bar exam within a week or so. He's been strictly business when it comes to studying and what not, not sure which law school he went to though.

Congrats man.

[fishepa]

Re: Law School

If you do end up becoming a lawyer, please do not make it all you talk about in social situations. My wife and I have a lot of friends that are lawyers and when we all get together it's all they talk about. Snooze fest.....

[Brankles]

Re: Law School

If you do end up becoming a lawyer, please do not make it all you talk about in social situations. My wife and I have a lot of friends that are lawyers and when we all get together it's all they talk about. Snooze fest.....

ha I'll try my best.

From what it sounds like, law is the life of a successful lawyer, so I'm not surprised to hear that. I will keep that in mind as I go through law school.

[Watson]

Re: Law School

We had a party for my buddy today. This will be his 8th and final year at LSU and LSU Law School overall.

[Brankles]

Re: Law School

Last day of orientation starting in a few minutes.

What they've told me so far:
1. Law school will become your life
2. Do not be an idiot in your personal life, because it will come back to haunt you the rest of your life. Also, a great quote from an old Miami lawyer... "Do not go to downtown Miami where lewd things happen"

That's about it. Sounds like it will be a lot of hard work and I'm almost in the right mindset for it, just have to start getting those study habits down.

Any words of advice out there for a 1L?