The Girl's Guide to Law School®
Get In, Get Through, Stay You
This week we hear from law student Justine Huang about what she’s learned in her first semester of law school about what law school really is.
The main expectation I had going into law school was that it was going to be a lot of reading. While that turned out to be true, life as a law school student wasn’t exactly as I had imagined. Having been through one semester of law school, I hope to give you a sense of what 1L year is like.
This week we welcome new guest writer Zoila Sanchez to talk about her experience as a first generation law student.
You made it past the LSAT and now you are taking law classes! It seems like a dream come true as you have come so far as the first in your family and/or community to pursue a legal career journey. Maybe your journey has been especially challenging and you left your home country to pursue an LLM, or you are a non-traditional law student. Sometimes the initial excitement deflates at certain points in law school, when you are overwhelmed, struggling to keep up, and/or find students who come from a family of attorneys or have siblings that provided them with tips or outlines. Being a trailblazing law student can be discouraging at times. Here are encouraging tips to embrace being a leader in this respect: [Read more…]
This week we welcome back guest writer Shirlene Brown to discuss how to get back into school mode after a summer off.
Summer is the best time for law students. You can earn money through your summer jobs, catch-up with family and friends, and just relax! Unfortunately, summer went by so fast and the Fall semester is just around the corner. Now that the summer is winding down, it is time to get prepared for the school year to begin! I have been through three years of law school and thus I have lots of experience transitioning from summertime to school time. I have created a list of some tips that helped me get through the summertime sadness and get ready for the grind of a new school year. I hope these help you feel prepared for what another year of law school brings! [Read more…]
This week we welcome back guest writer Cathlyn Melvin to talk about finding a personal mission and figuring out your values as a law student and future lawyer.
Standing at a gas pump, your eyes glaze over at a posted paragraph about the fuel supplier’s mission to be “the world’s premier petroleum company.”
Okay.
Corporate mission statements, according to former Forbes contributor Len Sherman, “all say the right things about management’s deep concern for customers, employees, shareholders, communities and even planet Earth.”
Since they all sound kinda alike, and we’re all kinda jaded, business mission statements just don’t matter that much to consumers. [Read more…]
This week we welcome guest writer Rigien Bagekany-Jackson, a recent law school graduate, to talk about how she has balanced motherhood and law school the last three years.
Do you ever reflect on how you got to where you are now? I do.
Sometimes you can pinpoint that moment or decision that brought you to where you are. For me, that moment was in June 2016. I was 35 weeks pregnant with my first child working at a bank when an armed man walked in and held me up at gunpoint. This was the point when I decided to start law school. I had initially thought to postpone my offer of acceptance, but at that moment, I knew that there had to be a way to make law school work with having a newborn child. [Read more…]
This week we welcome guest writer and tutor Ariel Salzer to talk about disconnecting somewhat from media coverage of the coronavirus.
“The Coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” “the Rona” if you’re trying to make light of things, or, even scarier, just “the virus”… It’s all anyone is talking about. And it makes sense, right? We are worried—worried for our friends and family members who staff hospitals, worried for elderly relatives and kids with health problems. Worried about our own lives and futures. And you know what? This pervasive and all-consuming uneasiness is skyrocketing our stress levels. And worse, it’s affecting all of us. [Read more…]
We’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…]
This week we welcome back guest writer Briana Borgolini to talk about how to position yourself in your law school applications when you are not a “traditional” candidate.
Applying to law school can be intimidating for anyone, let alone someone who may have been out of a school setting for a few years, or more. Those who studied something seemingly unrelated to law, or spent a significant period of time working between undergrad and law school may be considered “non-traditional” compared to their counterparts applying directly from undergrad with more traditional pre-law majors. While non-traditional applicants may have to do some extra explaining to convince an admissions committee that they will be a successful law student, there are a number of things that can be done to make the application process a bit easier. [Read more…]
Please welcome guest writer John Passmore, assistant managing legal editor in Houston, Texas, who interviews Ann Levine, expert on law school admissions.
Talking with Ann Levine, author of The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert (3rd ed.)
The law school experience begins far before you sit down for your first class. First comes the law school admissions process. With a to-do list including the LSAT, your personal statement, letters of recommendation, scholarship applications, and much more, the process can quickly become daunting. If the process has you looking for some expert advice, you may be looking for lawyer, law school admissions consultant, and author Ann Levine. Formerly a law school admissions director, after founding Law School Expert, Ms. Levine helps students navigate the admissions process as an admissions consultant. She has recently published the third edition of her popular title The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert. We were able to ask Ms. Levine some questions about her work and why her book The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert could help you on your law school admissions journey.
Today we welcome Christen Morgan, guest writer and foreclosure attorney, to discuss taking a year off before starting law school.
Should You Take a Gap Year Before Law School?
Well, it depends. Taking a gap year before beginning your law school career can certainly be a beneficial alternative as opposed to jumping right in after four years of college. Although I highly recommend this alternative venture, taking a gap year will only be worthwhile based on your current situation. If you’re a non-traditional college student, who perhaps started college later in life after already receiving some work experience, or a student who worked full time during college and completed their bachelor’s degree on a part-time basis, then taking a gap year before law school may not be in your best interests. A gap year is a perfect opportunity to gain full-time work experience, to travel or to complete a fellowship. These are all experiences that should be completed with the intent of enhancing your resume for post-graduate legal employment. If you’re a non-traditional student, chances are you may have already amassed a wealth of the above experiences to enhance your resume. Therefore, jumping right into law school after college without taking a gap year should not hurt your chances in the legal job hunt.
