Last Minute October LSAT Prep

By: Raquel Hagan and Morgan Smith

There is not that much time left before the October LSAT and we know that many of you are probably getting antsy (and/or nervous, freaking out, ready to get it over with and never see another logic game as long as you live, etc.)! From some of us who survived the LSAT here are some last minute pointers to help get you through this day.

1. Take tests! You hopefully have been doing just that but for the next 2 weeks take lots of tests (or just timed sections of what area of the LSAT is the hardest for you). Make yourself as comfortable with the testing conditions as possible.

2. Know what works for you. You have been the one prepping for this test and you know what your best testing style is. Raquel did not want to look at any tests the last couple of days before the test. She felt like it was training for a marathon and that training time was up where so few last minute runs would only make her tired on the big day. By contrast, Morgan wanted to wake her brain up before the test so she did a few questions before the test as a warm up. Figure out what you want to do the week and day of and stick to it!

3. Get everything together for the day of. Have your ticket printed. Have your zip lock bag ready to go with pencils, a pencil sharpener, tissues, ear plugs, etc. Figure out transportation and directions. If you are taking public transportation or getting dropped off you cannot have your phone with you because you cannot bring it into the test. Figure out if you want to bring a watch with you or not and make sure its ready to go. Think of anything and everything that you would want with you AND that it is allowed in the testing center so that you ready and not be scrambling the morning of (I promise you will be stressed enough). Get yourself prepared with what you will need to deal with the inevitable distractions in the testing center so that your time is spent on problems!

Good luck everyone!

Where you should be in the Application Process!

By: Raquel Hagan, 2L USC Gould School of Law

Law schools have made their applications available and you may be wondering what stage you should be at in the process. We recommend getting your applications out no later than Thanksgiving. Here are some suggestions:

LSAT – if you already have your LSAT score great! If not, and you are planning on applying this admission cycle, then you should probably be taking the October LSAT. Focus on studying!

Personal Statement – You should be thinking about what you want to write in your personal statement. It should give the law school some idea of who you are and what you are all about. If you have a draft that you want reviewed you can send it to the pre-law advisors at prelaw@usc.edu. If you need help thinking of an idea you can come meet with us to discuss potential topics! (Walk in hours: M/W 11:30-1:30)

Letters of Recommendation – Hopefully you have asked professors for Letters of recommendation already. They should be a Professor of a class you did well in and that knows something about how you are as a student. While you can get letters from other people besides professors (employers, TA’s, etc.) remember that law schools are thinking of you as a potential student and so they are most interested in what type of student you will be when you get there. If you haven’t asked for letters of recommendation yet do so ASAP. You don’t want to be waiting for your professor to send in their letter in December, when all the other aspects of your application are ready to go!

Resume – remember that most Law Schools ask for a 1-2 page resume.

Good luck! And if you have any questions email prelaw@usc.edu!

The Summer Before Law School

Morgan Smith, 2L USC Gould School of Law

Are you starting law school this fall?  First of all, CONGRATULATIONS.  You worked very hard to get to this moment, and you should be proud of yourself.  If you are wondering what to do during the summer before you start law school, here are some tips:

Necessities

1. A computer: Law school exams are almost exclusively administered on laptops.  The exam software, called SofTest, works with both PCs and Macs.  It is important to make sure your computer will be under warranty for at least three years.  It’s even better if you can get a warranty that will cover you until you take the bar exam, which will happen the July after you graduate.  That way, if you suffer a “technology tragedy” during law school or during bar prep, your warranty will cover you.  Many schools have a “Laptop Loan” that allows students to borrow additional money to pay for a laptop.  This loan is only available once during the three years of law school and amounts will vary by school.  Check your school’s policy for details.

I’ve Been Accepted: Law School Rankings and Reputation

Jacob Griffith, 3L USC Gould School of Law

Those of you pre-law students who applied in the 2011-2012 law school admissions cycle have started to receive some decisions, hopefully including some acceptances. Many law schools have sent out the majority of their decisions by now, so you may be looking at a wait list decision if you haven’t heard yet. Last post, we discussed the seriousness of choosing a law school to attend. Remember that it is at least 3 years of your life and costs as much as a home, so treat it like an investment.

For many pre-law students, the most important consideration in deciding where to attend is the law school’s ranking and reputation. Generally, as in many graduate schools, students look at the rankings compiled by U.S. News & World Report. The USN&WR rankings are listed online, but to gain details about the school’s scores in various categories requires a paid subscription. The categories include several based on student quality, such as LSAT and GPA. The rankings also include factors such as students employed after graduation and the selectivity of the school, measured through acceptance rate(lower is better). One large consideration is the bar passage rate for the school’s biggest legal market. Finally, one of the biggest categories is the school’s reputation assessed by practitioners and judges.

I’ve Been Accepted! Now What?

Jacob Griffith, 3L USC Gould School of Law

Hopefully, by now, most of you seniors and alumni who are 0Ls (that is to say, those of you applying to, waiting to hear from, and deciding between law schools) have started to receive your first acceptances. If so, congratulations! Your first and subsequent acceptances are important milestones on your way from being a layperson to a journeyman studying the law to finally becoming a lawyer.

Once you’re received your first few acceptances, it’s sometimes easy to decide which law school is right for you. Maybe one jumps out at you, is higher ranked, or dad(or mom!) went there. Maybe you always wanted to go there for undergrad, but didn’t get in, couldn’t afford it, or didn’t like the idea of moving across the country when your friends and family are local and now nothing interests you more than attending that school.

On the other hand, many 0Ls struggle with deciding where to attend law school. Especially for those who applied to many schools, the number of options can seem bewildering. What do you compare? Bar passage rates? The size of the library in a digital age? How about the student/faculty ratio? Or is the overall U.S. News and World Report ranking the only thing that matters?

Can I Afford Law School?

When considering law school, one of the first questions that may come to mind is, how will I be able to afford it?  Students are often surprised to find that they have several options to avoid debt.   A common misconception for students is that their only options are federal, state, and private loans.  Free money to obtain your J.D. sounds too good to be true, but it is out there.  PreLaw magazine (Vol. 15, No. 3) examines some frequently asked questions about obtaining the money you need to pay for law school.

1. How much is law school really going to cost me?

It depends.   Where you choose to attend law school will factor into the overall cost during and after graduation.  The cost of legal education could exceed $150,000, according to the Law School Admissions Council.  Tuition alone can range from a few thousand dollars to more than $50,000 a year.  When calculating the total cost of attending law school, you also have to include the cost of housing, food, books, transportation, and personal expenses.  For more information, go to lsac.org.

Spring Semester Brown Bag Series

Dear Pre-Law Trojans,

We have an exciting series of Brown Bag discussions coming up every Wednesday in February. That’s five (5), count ’em, five sessions designed to help you figure out whether law school is for you, and if it is, get you in! It all starts next week with “Is Law School for Me?” co-hosted by current USC Gould School of Law Students Jacob Griffith and Morgan Smith at 5 P.M, Wed. Feb 1st in THH 214.

Wednesday Brown Bag Series

“Is Law School for Me?” 2/1 5 P.M. THH 214

Tackling the LSAT Workshop 2/8 5 P.M. THH 214

Life as a Law Student 2/15 5 P.M. THH 106

Alternative Careers after Law School 2/22 5 P.M. THH 214

Navigating Law School Application Process 2/29 5 P.M. THH 214

JusticeCorps Volunteer Opportunities Perfect for Pre-Law Students

California JusticeCorps Program

JusticeCorps will be ON-CAMPUS Tuesday, January 24th @ 4 P.M. Location University Religious Center (URC) Rm. 205, please RSVP prelaw@usc.edu!

Applications can be found here:

Summer Application: https://sites.google.com/site/justicecorpssummerapplication/

Part Time Application: https://sites.google.com/site/justicecorpsapplication1/

Graduate Fellows Application: https://sites.google.com/site/losangelesfellowapp/

*Deadline for Full Time/Summer Application: February 10^th

*Deadline for Minimum Time Applications for USC: February 27^th

Please fax or mail ONLY TYPED applications to the LA JusticeCorps Program

Fax: (213)633-5057

Address:              111 N. Hill Street, Room 428J

Los Angeles, CA 90012

** Please note: February 10^th and February 27^th are PRIORITY deadlines; we will continue to accept applications after these dates have passed.

The Bar?!

The bar may seem like a long way off, and it is.  But it is still something worth considering when applying to law school.  An important statistic to think about is the percent of each graduating class that passes the bar exam the first time around.  For those of you interested in taking the California bar, here are the most recent passage rates for ABA approved California law schools.  The average passage rate among ABA approved California law schools was 76%.

School	Pass Rate
USC	91%
Stanford	89%
UC Berkeley	87%
Pepperdine	86%
UCLA	85%
Loyola	84%
UC Hastings	80%
Chapman	79%
Cal-Western	79%
Western State	77%
Santa Clara	76%
University of San Diego	76%
UC Davis	74%
University of San Francisco	74%
McGeorge	69%
Golden Gate University	66%
Southwestern	64%
University of LaVerne	56%
Whittier	56%
Thomas Jefferson	33%

The average passage rate among ABA approved out-of-state schools with ten or more students taking the California bar exam was 66%.  The following out-of-state schools have a California bar passage rate at or above the California average.

School	Pass Rate
University of Texas	95%
Notre Dame	92%
University of Virginia	92%
Georgetown	91%
Harvard	91%
Yale	89%
NYU	89%
Vanderbilt	89%
University of Michigan	88%
Northwestern	87%
Duke	86%
University of Pennsylvania	86%
Columbia	85%
University of Minnesota	83%
George Washington University	82%
Boston University	80%
Emory	80%
Washington & Lee	78%
Cornell	77%
University of Chicago	76%

New Spring 2012 Pre-Law Freshman Seminar Added!

Interested in the great trials of history? Hoping to become a famous litigator or trial advocate? USC is offering a new freshman seminar out, FSEM 180, Ideas on Trial!

Offered through the Philosophy department, this historical survey of famous trials discusses the relationship between important ideas and the trials that decided their fate in the world community. Science and religion, duty and morality conflict throughout the ages in the court room in this topical discussion of ideas on trial.

Ideas on Trial
Edwin McCann, Philosophy
Monday, 3-4:50; Section 34663

Great trials in the past have been important indicators of social and cultural attitudes.  We’ll study some of these trials, usually through actual transcripts, to see how they not only crystallize but help to shape the attitudes regarding the duty of obedience a citizen owes to the state, the conflict between science and religion, the morality of war, and other issues of fundamental concern.  There is a rich variety of such trials to choose from:  the trial of Socrates, the trials of Joan of Arc, the trial of Galileo, the Salem witchcraft trials, the Scopes trial, the Nuremberg trials, the Eichmann trial.  We’ll select several to discuss in the course.