LSAT Blogs

Anyone out there taking the June LSAT?  I’ve written this blog entry just for you.

Maybe you’re in school preparing for finals.  Maybe your company downsized and you’re now accountable not just for your own responsibilities but also for those of your former colleague(s).  What about spending time with your families and friends?  And maybe you want some time for yourself.  On top of all that, you’re studying for that test called the LSAT.

I know you’re eager to start assembling your admissions application and get the process rolling.  For the next few weeks, however, I encourage you to concentrate all of your efforts on the LSAT rather than thinking about what to write for your personal essay(s), or what schools you should apply to.

Consider: What if the time you spent working on your statement could have resulted in your scoring one point higher on the LSAT?  What difference can one point make?  The difference between being accepted…or not.

You’ll have plenty of time after the test to work on your essay(s), research schools and complete each law school’s online application.  Some law schools begin accepting applications on September 1.  Others may not even make their applications available until September 15.  Be sure to check each law school’s website for further information.

Applying to law school this fall? It’s not too early to start thinking about your letters of recommendation.

While most law schools require you to submit letters of recommendation, the quantity (generally around 1-3) will vary from school to school. It is your responsibility to make sure that the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) receives these letters. For more information about how to submit these letters to LSAC, check out the LSAC website at www.lsac.org.

If you are a senior in college, consider asking your professors to write your letters now. Just as you will soon be preparing for your finals and heading off to take advantage of summer (working, traveling, relaxing, etc.), so too are your professors. It may be very difficult to reach them over the summer, so plant the seed now.

If you graduated one, two, five or ten years ago and have chosen to return to the academic environment, you also need to start considering whom to ask to write your letters of recommendation. Your current boss is going to be one of your strongest writers from the schools’ standpoint, but not everyone wants to divulge to their current employer that they are thinking of jumping ship to pursue law school. Consider a former supervisor. Here’s another idea: if you serve on the board for a professional or not-for-profit organization, do you work closely with staff or a fellow board member who might be willing to write a letter on your behalf? In some cases, a personal reference can work well, too. The key is, these people need to be willing to go to bat for you, crafting a convincing case for your candidacy.

How do you know who will write you the best letter? How should you approach writers? With what should you prepare them? Your Kaplan Law School Admissions Consultant will work with you to answer these most important questions.

First, allow me to congratulate you on your law school acceptance(s). The good news is that you are definitely attending law school come Fall 2009; the question now is, where? With first deposit deadlines quickly approaching, you’ll want to make sure you have all the information you need to make informed decisions. Below are the steps you should take before choosing where to put down a deposit:

1. If you have been accepted to School A and are still waiting to hear from School B (and you prefer to attend School B), you should know that you can call School B’s Admissions Office, request to speak to an Admissions Officer, and ask the following question: I’ve been accepted to another law school and am required to put down a first deposit on {whatever} date. I prefer to attend {name of School B) but haven’t yet received a decision. Do you have an idea as to when I might receive one?
2. If you have received your financial aid package from School A and not from School B, call School B’s Financial Aid Office and ask: I’ve been accepted to another law school and have already received my financial aid package from that school. However, I haven’t yet received my financial aid package from School B. Do you have an idea as to when I will? Is there any other information you need from me to complete my financial aid file?
3. If you’ve received a scholarship from School A, prefer to attend School B and have not yet been awarded a scholarship from School B, call School B’s Admissions Office, request to speak with an Admissions Officer and ask: I’ve received a scholarship from School A but School B is my first choice. Can you tell me whether I am being considered for a scholarship?

In all three cases, the #1 rule is to be polite. It is perfectly acceptable to call the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices to ask any questions you may have, but take care to avoid coming across as entitled. While you may not always hear the answers you wish, you can feel good that you took the steps possible to help land your desired outcome.

The LSAT is a meticulously constructed exam that tests one’s ability to analyze arguments, follow rules of logic, and separate fact from opinion. The test includes 35 minutes devoted to playing games, reasoned cases showing the absurdity of illogical claims, and passages on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to mind-reading pigeons. How can you not love it?

Still, year after year, people study for this exam chanting an all-too-familiar mantra: "I hate this test." Unfortunately for these people, that line of thinking leads to frustration and, ultimately, an inability to perform well on the test. Lower performance leads to even more frustration, which leads to even lower performance. It’s a vicious cycle.

It’s time to drop this mentality. To borrow a line from the great Stanley Kubrick, it’s time we learned to stop worrying and love the LSAT. Accept the test for what it is: a fascinating exam that requires one to strip away knowledge in favor of pure, unadulterated logic. It’s that kind of unbiased thinking that will make people the best lawyers.

In the upcoming weeks, I look forward to discussing skills of the test (how do you translate logic with that annoying "unless"), section strategies (why do we recommend reading the question first in Logical Reasoning), and test day issues (what happens if you’re waitlisted for a test site). I welcome all comments and questions and look forward to many weeks (months? years?!) of LSAT conversation.