Break Into Law School®

With July coming to an end, it's time to think about registering for the September LSAT. For today's episode, Alice addresses a common concern: Is September too late to take the LSAT? Don't fret and listen in as she also shares some valuable insights about timing your law school application.

For today’s episode, we dive into the recent Supreme Court ruling on race-conscious admissions policies, often referred to as affirmative action. The ruling prohibits schools from explicitly considering race as a factor in admissions decisions, leading to potential changes in the application process. If you’re a student of color applying to law school this cycle, you might be wondering about these potential changes. Don’t worry, we have you covered in this week’s episode, and are here to help you understand the implications of it all. We delve into the arguments made by the court and examine the impact on schools and their efforts to promote diversity. We also address the potential impact on law school essays. So listen in as we provide insights on alternative factors schools may consider and offer guidance on crafting strong law school applications in light of the ruling. 

Today, Alice discusses the concept of soft factors in law school applications. Soft factors refer to all the elements of an application that are not the undergraduate GPA and LSAT score. For this episode, we focus on three key soft factors: the resume, letters of recommendation, and essays.

In this episode, Sydney dives into the topic of law school financial aid, specifically on loans. We discuss the importance of having a plan when it comes to handling law school loans and how to approximate your loan payments. For this video we use AccessLex Student Loan Calculator (but you can also look into SmartAsset Student Loan Calculator), and show you how to use it to calculate your finances at home. We hope this video can help you in your decision-making process for programs and schools you plan to attend, and estimating your current student loan situation and living expenses. We also touch on factors like income, savings, and potential scholarships or grants.

In this video, we will be discussing the new US News and World Report rankings and what they mean for you. If you've been following the news or listening to other podcasts, you may have heard about the recent changes in the rankings. But should you care? Does it affect your admissions or application cycle? What if you've already decided on a school? We'll address all of these questions and more.

Today, Alice shares some of the most common questions she received while working as the assistant director for law school admissions at West Virginia University College of Law and the University of Kentucky Law School. She's heard it all from "Why should I go to your law school?" to "Can I have an application fee waiver?" Alice provides some honest and practical answers to help prospective law students navigate the admissions process. Whether you're waiting for decisions or just starting to research different law schools, this video has something for everyone. Tune in to learn more about the dos and don'ts of law school admissions and get some valuable insights from an experienced admissions professional.

For today's video, we have Yolanda Ingram, the Director of Access to Law School Education Programs, Admissions and Financial Aid at Penn Carey Law to talk about the best practices for BIPOC law school applicants. Yolanda talks about her experience as a first-generation college and law student and shares some tips and advice on writing a successful personal statement for law school applications. We also hear more about the various programs Penn Carey Law has in place to increase access for underrepresented students, including high school outreach programs and virtual college outreach programs.

Today we are joined by Ann Gemmell, the Vice President for Enrollment at Mitchell Hamlin School of Law, who talks about the unique opportunities for enrollment at the school. We talk about the blended program, which is a mostly online program that allows students to learn both online and in-person. Ann describes the program's structure and how it works, as well as the various types of students that can benefit from this program, such as those with work or family obligations, those who live far away from a law school, and those who want to have a more flexible schedule. We hope that this video provides valuable information for anyone considering enrolling in law school and wanting to explore their options.

Today, we discuss the anxiety and uncertainty that comes with being on a law school wait list. While there's no one magical answer for dealing with waitlist anxiety, we offer a few universal tips to help you navigate this challenging time. Most law schools will ask how long they can make you wait, so it's important to consider how important the school is to you, what your alternatives are, how comfortable you are with uncertainty, and what other responsibilities may require you to make a decision by a certain date. We can't stress this enough that being on the wait list does not mean that you failed.

In this video, we have Sydney and Alice here to discuss scholarship negotiation, a topic that can be confusing and overwhelming for many applicants who have received offers. We'll answer questions such as what exactly scholarship negotiation means, who you will be negotiating with, and what you can negotiate for. We'll also address common concerns and myths surrounding scholarship negotiation. If you're trying to figure out what school to choose and how to get the most out of your scholarship offers, this video is for you.