Aside from proving yourself through an exceptional admissions essay and high LSAT scores, you may still be expected to go to an interview. When you are called for an admission interview at your dream law school, take it as a good news. This is because the interview is one more opportunity for you to show them what you’ve got and convince the admissions panel that you deserve a slot at your dream school.
Prepare yourself
Just like when you read sample law school personal statements as preparation before writing your own essay, you also have to prepare for the interview. When you get an invitation for an interview, make a confirmation as soon as possilbe. Jot down the instructions, such as the place and time of the interview. Another tip is to ask who the interviewers will be. Knowing who the interviewers will be can help you prepare better; you could research about these interviewers and know something about them before the actual interview.
Practice
Practice in front of the mirror so as to give you the necessary conditioning. When the interview day comes, dress accordingly. Formal business attire works best for both men and women. For the women, minimize the perfume as some people get distracted by strong scents.
Do some research
Doing some research about the school’s history is a good preparation for an admission interview. You can also research some biographical bits about the members of the interview panel. Checking out the latest issues concerning the school is also a good way of preparing for the interview. When you were writing your admission essay, you most likely read sample law school personal statements to prep you up. Exerting the same effort when preparing for an interview can work wonders on your chances of getting admitted into your dream school.
Review your law school admission essay
It’s possible that some of the interview questions will be based on your submitted admission essay. So, it’s best that you review your admission essay, much like when you were reading sample law school personal statements to give you an idea on what to include in your own essay.
Do an ocular inspection
It is best to go to the school grounds itself days or weeks before the interview and learn where the interview venue is. Knowing where the interview venue is in advance is beneficial especially if you easily get lost when you’re in an unfamiliar location.
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As a lawyer, you can choose from two main tracks — public and private practice. Depending on your interests and preferences, you can work for corporations, private firms, or companies as a private legal counsel. But if you wish to work for the state or government, then being a public lawyer is the path for you. Depending on your preferences and goals, each track presents various options for you as a legal defender.
In private practice
As a private attorney, you can set up your own law firm, or work for a firm or corporation as a legal counsel. Cutthroat competition and politics are more felt in private law firms, especially if the usual cases they handle involve rich, powerful, and influential figures. If you plan to set up your own firm, your salary will depend on the client base you have and the number of cases your firm plans to handle. Practicing law in private is of course, more lucrative. The higher your position is in a company or law firm, the higher your salary is.
In public practice
The government or state employs lawyers, and if one is a public lawyer, he or she would usually be given the responsibility of giving legal counsel to those who could not afford a private attorney. Majority of cases shouldered by a public defender are criminal cases, but quasi-criminal cases could also come up. The salary of a public lawyer is the responsibility of the state or government. There are times when one would be called upon to perform pro bono work. Being a public lawyer may not be as lucrative as compared to being a private lawyer, but benefits such as civil protection continue to attract many lawyers to go in public practice. If you wish to enjoy a higher salary, such as those working at the US Attorney’s Office, you can join the Federal Public Defenders.
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Just like other colleges and universities, those recognized as the best law schools in the nation put so much importance in grades when they assess the performance of a student. Because of the recent grade inflation, which refers to the increase in number of students getting high GPAs, the grade percentiles of several institutions of higher learning were also raised. This is to ensure that what they get are only the top students who made the cut. And because many law firms also see school grades as factors in employment, a raised grade percentile would mean a more selective process of choosing students and applicants.
Non-Grade based law schools
For these institutions, they do not use the traditional percentage-based system. Take for example Berkeley Law’s Boalt Hall. In this school, they use the following ranking system:
HH – High Honors
H – Honors
P – Pass
PC – Substandard Pass
NC – No Credit
This system is based not just on the academic performance of a student but also on other factors too. Non-grade law schools give recognition to students who don’t necessary excel in every subject but are have good performance in other activities or aspects.
In these law schools, students are more relaxed as opposed to those in grade-based law schools. For students of these law schools, getting numerous pass grades and receiving just a few honors is not really a major issue because such grades will not prevent them from being employed by top companies.
Grade-based law schools
In a grade-based law school, school life can get stressful. This is because the grading system is very selective; it gives the top ranks to a very select few. And because grade-based law schools put so much emphasis on grades, some raise their grade percentile whenever grade inflation arises. This helps very selective law schools keep up to their “standards.” The result is a very competitive school environment, wherein students truly learn the concept behind the phrase “survival of the fittest.”
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The deciding factor on whether or not you are worthy of a slot in law school is not always your pre-law GPA or your recommendation letters. For most admission evaluators, your fate in law school all comes down to one thing: your personal statement. Your personal statement is your final appeal for entry consideration. It is your last chance to prove your worth as a future advocate of justice. Here are some mistakes that you need to avoid when writing your personal statement for law school:
Do not tell what, do explain how.
One mistake that you should never commit when writing your personal statement for law school is to enumerate your achievements and experiences. There is nothing wrong with that really, but admission evaluators are not so much interested on what award you won or what circumstance you faced. They would rather know how you did them. How did you prepare for the contest where you won the award? How did you face the challenges presented by the circumstances? You don’t need a trophy-filled room or a movie-worthy biography to be a great lawyer.
Do not mention anything about money.
It may be true that a career in law will eventually help you afford Italian suits and German vehicles, but that should not be your motivation for getting into law school. Never mention in your personal statement that the “high salary” associated with the job is one of your reasons for pursuing law. While there is nothing wrong with aspiring for financial stability, you should never give the admission evaluators an impression that the only reason why you want to enter law school is to gain financial wealth, not to promote justice or to provide legal service in areas where it matters.
Do not write an exaggerated version of yourself.
Your personal statement is your last appeal to get into law school, but that doesn’t mean that you have to “literally improve” yourself to be impressive. Admissions evaluators have years of experience in reading personal statements and they have a knack for distinguishing honest materials from fabricated ones. Save yourself from embarrassment and stay as honest as possible. You don’t need to be perfect to get into law school and admissions evaluators would rather read about how you deal with your imperfections. Nobody’s perfect so don’t try to be.
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