You’ve gotten in! Congratulations! Read on for posts on choosing a school, figuring out finances, and making sure you’re ready to start when the time comes.
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Choosing the Right Law School
- Personalized Admissions Packets: What's in a Name? Not sure which law school to go to? A personalized admissions packet can actually help you decide which school is the best fit for you.
- Selecting a Law School? Don't Overlook What's Outside the Classroom It’s easy to get wrapped up in rankings and application details, but don’t overlook what’s outside the classroom. In my experience, that’s where a lot of the real learning takes place.
- On the Dreaded Law School Waitlist? 7 Tips for Getting In Let’s face it, being waitlisted isn’t a lot of fun. Here are some tips for getting in!
Affording Law School
- My Federal Debt and Me: The Truth About Income Based Repayment Do you know about Income Based Repayment (IBR)? If not, don't miss this first-hand account of how it really works (or doesn't).
- Law School is Expensive, Not Impossible: How to Navigate Student Aid Law school is expensive and applying can be financially intimidating. Here's some advice on how to look for loans and various student aid options, in order to make law school happen.
- Which Law School Offer Should You Accept? A Lower Ranked School With a Scholarship or Full Price at a Top School? It's a classic law school problem: Take the money, or chase prestige? Ian E. Scott, author of Law School Lowdown, weighs in with some advice.
- How Do I Keep From Declaring Bankruptcy After Law School? An Interview with Bankruptcy Lawyer Jeena Cho Let’s face it — law school is expensive (very expensive) and most students graduate with a ton of debt. Pair that with a lousy job market, and it’s easy to start thinking about ways to make your student loans go away, but bankruptcy is not a simple solution.
Preparing for Law School
- Should I Take a Gap Year Before Law School? Is taking a year off before starting law school a good idea? We weigh the pros and cons.
- Advice for First-Generation Law Students Are you a first-generation law student? Wondering what extra challenges you might face as a result? Here's some advice from someone who's just a little further along the same path as you!
- Are You Going to Law School Because You're a Good Writer? A law school tutors explains how writing for law school and law practice differs from writing students have done before, and how important it is to go in with an open mind - even if you've been told how great your writing is previously!
- Minimalism in Law School: How Paring Down Can Help You Succeed Minimalism is about decluttering your life, and Jennifer Warren looks at how this could apply to law students and help them succeed. This could apply to all areas, from physical space to budgeting to time management.
- Advice From the Trenches For Incoming 1Ls: On the Rigors of Law School If you'll be starting law school soon, you may be experiencing anxiety, confusion, and uncertainty. Kala Mueller talks to some more experienced law students and gets their thoughts on 1L year so incoming 1Ls can learn from their experience.
- How to Transition From a Career to Law School - It Doesn't Have to be a Painful Experience! It can be difficult and jarring to transition from a life of full-time employment to the student life of law school. But there are things that can make this change easier, and Mark Livingston is offering his best advice.
- Kicking Up Your 1L Reading List Natalie Holzaepfel talks about some books that can get you in the right mindset the summer before 1L year.
- Essential Law School Supplies You Never Thought You Needed Part of being prepared for law school is finding the right supplies! Christen Morgan is looking at all the essentials you'll need as a law student, no matter where you are in school right now.
- Having It All in Law School - At Different Times! Elizabeth Knox discusses her experience starting law school with a child and family and how she was able to balance it and prioritize things as needed - and ask for help!
- Five Things I'm Doing Now to Prepare for 1L Year Julia Gourary discusses how she's getting ready for 1L year with the last few weeks left of the summer.
- What I Wish I Thought of a Month Before Starting Law School Zoila Sanchez looks back at her time before starting law school and reflects on what she wishes she had known.
- Things I'm Stressing About Before Starting Law School (And What I'm Telling Myself) Julia Gourary talks about what she's thinking about leading up to her starting law school.
- The Ultimate Guide to the Law in Pop Culture Part 1: TV Shows Want to unwind, but feel guilty about binging more lowbrow reality shows instead of studying? No problem. We have you covered with the ultimate list of legal entertainment to mitigate that conscience-stricken feeling.
- The Ultimate Guide to the Law in Pop Culture Part II: Movies & Documentaries For law students who either prefer full-length films to hour-long episodes, or are simply looking for some good legal entertainment during a law school break, the second part of our series focuses on the law found in the forms of movies and documentaries.
- The Ultimate Guide to the Law in Pop Culture Part III: Travel Media In our final installment of the ultimate guide to the law in pop culture series, the focus is on forms of media for law students that are easily transportable and non-intrusive, making them great for either travel or those lulls in-between classes.
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