Student Blogs: 1st Year

The funny thing about law school
is that they don’t just let you show up on the first day. Apparently, as I
learned, you have to apply and get accepted before you show up– shocker.

The admissions process isn’t an
overnight affair. In my case, I think the process started the moment I decided
to pursue law school. This was pretty
early in my undergraduate career, after freshmen year, so I had a lot of time
to weigh my options. The first thing I did was to look at law schools online.
The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) has an excellent website for the
prospective law student. The LSAC puts out their Official Guide to ABA-Approved
Law Schools, which is completely accessible from their website. I used the LSAC
website a lot when I was looking at law schools because they give you so much
information about each school and a link to the schoolÔøΩs website. I would
casually look at schools and try to figure out what exactly I was looking for.

Using the LSAC, I knew the kind
of GPA and LSAT scores that I needed to be competitive, and where I currently stood
in comparison. Knowing these things early allowed me to alter my undergraduate
performance accordingly. Conversely, someone who decides much later might not
have a chance to do things that would help their admissions stock. To use an
analogy, each law school has a mold of what they look for in a student, and we
are like clay. Initially, the clay is soft and malleable, but, as time passes,
it becomes hard as it dries. If you know what shape the mold is early on, you
can manipulate the clay to fit it, but, if you don’t know what shape the mold
is until much later, you may be stuck with whatever shape your clay happens to
be at that time. At least, this is how I see it. I told you I love analogies.

Fast-forward to the fall of my
senior year. At this point, I had a pretty good idea what my graduating GPA was
going to look like, and I still had my bag of law schools that I was looking
at. There was, however, one little thing called the LSAT that I had to get
through. I’ll tell you right now, I hated the LSAT experience. It’s like this
heavy boulder that you carry with you until you take it. At which point, you
toss the boulder into the air, and scramble around hoping it won’t land on you.

I signed up for the October LSAT,
in August. I had bought a few sample test books from LSAC, and set up a plan to
study for the LSAT. This plan, shortly thereafter, fell completely apart. I
found it nearly impossible to have the energy or will power to study for it
when I had five other classes to worry about. So, by the time October rolled
around, I found myself scrambling to become prepared. Taking the LSAT in
October didn’t work out. I woke up the morning of the test feeling incredibly
nervous, and I ended up changing the test date to December; the LSAC makes it
way too easy to change your test date. This delay was a cheap move to comfort
my nerves. It was a cop out. So, hooray, I had two more months to study for the
LSAT. This time, I was going implement my plan and be super prepared for
December.

The plan was not implemented. I
was not super prepared. That’s not saying that I wasn’t prepared, but just not
as prepared as I would have liked to have been. Classes, friends, mid-terms,
and upcoming finals were more of a challenge than my pathetic plan could bear,
and it shattered into little broken plan pieces. December rolled around and it
was test time. I didn’t wuss out this time; I took the LSAT.

The actual test wasn’t too bad.
Four, or so, hours of filling in bubbles and solving logic problems on a
Saturday, what’s not to love? When it
was over, I stood up and walked out of the room and into a month of blissful
ignorance. No amount of preparation or worrying would change what was already
done, and for the next month I would be unaware of the consequences of past
preparation and worrying, or lack thereof.

Judgment day, however, would
come. Consequences would become
apparent. The boulder, which I had thrown into the air after the LSAT, would
fall back to earth. I made out alright. Would I have liked to have done better,
of course, but anyone without a perfect score would probably say the same. I got what I got, and moved forward from
there.

With LSAT scores in hand, I had
some real tools to start making this law school thing happen. The filling out and
submitting of applications were yet another fun turn in the amusement park ride
that is the admissions process. Name, address, telephone, education history,
references, personal statement, and transcripts, they want it all. If you apply
to more than one school, they want it all, too.
The LSDAS helps streamline some of this but, in spite of this, there is
still a lot of hoofing around that is required to get each school what they
need. Oh, and they’re going to want some money, too. But some schools,
including Widener, waive the fee if you apply online. Hooray, fee waiver.

Using a contracts scenario, I
submitted my application to law schools in exchange for a promise that they
would review it and inform me, via letter, of my acceptance or, conversely, lack
of acceptance. Well, in varying lengths of time, every law school kept their
end of the bargain; I got letters. I
then knew that they chose me, but would I choose them?

You’ve probably used your astute
powers of deduction and figured out where I chose to attend law school. It
wasn’t an easy decision. I wondered well into my first semester if I had made the
right choice and, unless you’re pretty settled on which school you want to go
to, I feel like it’s probably a common experience. The choice ultimately comes
down to personal priorities, which will vary from person to person. I wanted to
be near to my friends and family, in an area that I was familiar with, and, being
that I am from Delaware,
I am naturally afraid of other states. Obviously, I wanted a school that would
prepare me for legal practice. I also wanted a school that started with “W.”
Widener fulfilled all of those criteria for me, as well as others. I can say,
now, halfway through my second semester, that I don’t regret that decision. I
am challenged everyday, whether I like it or not, and am very content.

So, now, you have a picture,
albeit fuzzy, of my journey through the law school admissions process. But,
this is the part where I tell you all the things I would do differently if I
had a time machine, or tips that I think might be handy. First, I would’ve taken
the LSAT the summer before my senior year, when I didn’t have five classes to
worry about. Second, start getting all of the references, personal statements,
transcripts, etc., done early, because it’s going to take forever to get it all
together. Third, if I had the money, I would’ve taken an LSAT course. I figure
that the least it would have done is make me study on a weekly basis and
supply some feedback. On the other hand, you can’t beat $40 bucks worth of LSAT
books and personal motivation to push you along. Fourth, and final tip, do what
works best for yourself. You know yourself better than anyone else. So, do what
you gotta do, and good luck.

Feel free to ask questions by emailing aaronsblog@mail.widener.edu or clicking the discuss link.