What to Think About When Considering Law School (As A Non-Traditional Student)

What to Think About When Thinking About Law School (As A Non-Traditional Student)This week we welcome back guest writer and 1L Stephanie Gregoire to talk about making the decision to transition from the working world to law school.  

Deciding to attend law school meant leaving the career I had since finishing undergrad five years ago. It was not a decision I made lightly – it needed forethought, introspection, and figuring out personal and professional priorities. If you find yourself in similar shoes, here are five things I weighed to figure out if this was right for me, especially as a “non-traditional law student” or someone who didn’t graduate undergrad and go straight to law school.

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Things I’m Stressing About Before Starting Law School (And What I’m Telling Myself)

Things I’m Stressing About Before Starting Law School (And What I’m Telling Myself)This week we welcome back guest writer Julia Gourary to talk about getting ready for law school.

Starting law school is exciting, but it’s also a big transition, filled with lots of new and challenging experiences. While I’m looking forward to embarking on this new adventure, there are also some (okay, a lot) of things I’m stressing about, from all the costs of law school to those infamous cold calls to maintaining mental and physical health and wellbeing through long hours of studying and a high-stress environment.

Read on to find out the five things I’m stressing about most before starting law school, and what I’m telling myself to ease my worries. [Read more…]

What I Wish I Thought of a Month Before Law School

What I Wish I Thought of a Month Before Law SchoolThis week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to discuss what she would have done the month before she started law school, if she had known then what she knows now!

Congratulations on committing to a law school program that you will start very soon! It may feel like a crazy time, with many logistics that need to get done before you begin school.

Aside from the to-do list, here are some potential things to consider—which I personally wish I knew—before law school officially begins:

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Managing Test Anxiety on the LSAT and Beyond

Managing Test Anxiety on the LSAT and BeyondJulia Gourary, incoming 1L, discusses some ideas for managing test anxiety on any exam.

For me, tests have always been accompanied by anxiety: sweaty palms, racing heart, shallow breathing, stomachaches, you name it. It was a rare occurrence if I didn’t feel slightly ill before a big test. Over the years, from high school AP exams to the SAT to college midterms and finals, I’ve learned, if not to eliminate test anxiety, to better manage it.

When it came to the LSAT, which would have a big impact on my law school admissions chances, I knew I had to put all the strategies in my arsenal to work and maybe even develop some new ones. During my first attempt at the test, though, things went sideways in a way I never would have predicted (I was affected by the Great October 2021 Outage). Paradoxically, that experience helped my test anxiety: the worst had already happened, and I had come out the other side. [Read more…]

Five Things I’m Doing Now to Prepare for 1L Year

Five Things I’m Doing Now to Prepare for 1L YearThis week we welcome guest writer and incoming 1L Julia Gourary to discuss how she’s preparing to start law school soon.

As you prepare to start law school, everyone will give you different advice on how to spend your pre-1L summer, from going on a relaxing vacation and not thinking about school at all to taking a weeks long prep course and doing lots of advance reading. It’s hard to know what the “right” way to prepare for 1L year is, but the truth is that there is no one one-size-fits-all approach.

After listening to advice from current and past law students, I’ve decided the best way for me personally to spend these months is a mix of the fun and the practical. Read on to find out what I’m doing now to prepare for 1L year. [Read more…]

How to Keep up with the Law

How to Keep up with the LawThis week we welcome back guest writer Zoila Sanchez to discuss how to keep yourself informed about what’s going on in the legal field.

If you are interested in going to law school, you have likely learned about the various steps you need to take to successfully get there. For example, you must take the Law School Admissions Test (“LSAT”), write a personal statement, and obtain letters of recommendation.

While you are in the pre-law process of exploring the possibility of attending law school and familiarizing yourself with the requirements to be a successful applicant, it can sometimes feel like you are not engaging with the reason why you wanted to attend in the first place. For example, in my own personal experience, I spent so much time carving out hours to study for the LSAT aside from my full-time job and other commitments, that I did not have the time to connect with the social justice issues that inspired me to attend law school. I discovered through an incredible pre-law program that there are easy ways to quickly plug into legal issues in the world today. [Read more…]

3 Lessons From Quarantine I’m Taking to Law School

3 Lessons From Quarantine I’m Taking to Law SchoolThis week we hear from guest writer Cathlyn Melvin to discuss what she’s learned from her time so far in quarantine and what she will be taking the law school as a lesson from that time.

We’re more than halfway through 2020, and I think we can all agree on at least one thing: this has been a year of creative solutions, building new systems, and forming new habits.

After a couple of weeks quarantined alone during Second Winter (Chicago’s third of 11 seasons, which comes just before “Spring of Deception”), I knew I’d need to make some major adjustments to my initial quarantine schedule. (For clarification, my initial quarantine schedule included a lot of snacks. And not much else.)

With a few weeks of experimentation, I finally found a groove that allowed me to tackle tasks and complete projects that had been languishing earlier. Now I’m preparing to start my first year of law school, and there are a few lessons I’ve learned in quarantine that I’ll be taking along with me when I move across the country this fall. [Read more…]

Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing a Law School

Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing a Law SchoolThis week we welcome back guest writer Briana Borgolini to talk about what to keep in mind when making the decision of which law school to attend.

If you’re trying to decide which law school to attend, take solace in the fact that the largest hurdle to law school (admission) has now been cleared. However, the decision of which law school to attend can seem equally imposing. While choosing a law school is a highly personal process, there are a few questions you should ask yourself to ensure you make the best decision possible. [Read more…]

The Dos and Don’ts of a Law School Diversity Statement

The Dos and Don’ts of a Law School Diversity StatementWe welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan to talk about working on your law school diversity statement.

Looking for ways to boost your law school admissions packet? I assure you you’re not alone. During the time I was applying to law school, this was something I was frantic about. My LSAT score wasn’t very high, so I became fixated on assembling an admissions packet that would hopefully be sufficient for the reviewer to simply overlook my score or at the very least not give it too much standing. I mean, a girl can dream right? Ultimately, however, I knew I needed to provide documentation that would support my score and somewhat provide an explanation for why it was so low. Thus I completed a LSAT Addendum and Diversity Statement as the emblems of support I would use to supplement my personal statement and boost my overall packet. [Read more…]

LSAT Prep Options: Odyssey Test Prep

Odyssey Test Prep InfoWe’re excited to initiate a series of interviews with various LSAT prep companies, exploring their approach and getting some tips for success. (If you’d like to be featured, let me know.)

Today, we’re talking with Odyssey Test Prep about how their approach to studying for the LSAT.

Find out more below! [Read more…]