quote:

Originally posted by lawstudent10:
Hi Everyone:

I've been around here for a while, but forgot my username and all of that.

We're going into finals week now. I've got four exams in front of me - Property II, Con Law, Criminal Law, and finally Contracts II. Needless to say, the next two weeks are going to be rough. A few cigars will help me through the exams!

Just out of curiosity, and if you don't mind me asking, where do you other law students go to school? I've been reading through the discussion regarding LSAT, GPA, and quality of school/students with interest. It's a live debate at my school (Albany Law) especially among the professors who have been there 20+ years.

I don't recall where Jag goes now, but I do recall him saying in a recent thread he's transferring to U of Minnesota, which is currently tied in the ranking with the school I am considering very much;Emory.

Alas, as soon as jag goes there, their ranking will jump 10 stops and leave Emory in the dust. They might change the name to University of Minnesota-Jag campus

quote:

Originally posted by sobek:

quote:

Originally posted by jms2788:
Ehh, I don't know. Maybe you're correct, I know you have experince with this, but take a look at this and tell me what you think.

I mean, a 3.4 is pretty low for a top 14, but it seems to be a-ok if you have a 170+.

Most schools use a basic weeder formula. They take your MCAT/LSAT/GRE score and your GPA, and they multiply it by a certain factor. Now that factor varies for universities, depending the quality of the school. The trend in law and med school has been to give more weight to the exam score, and a bit less to the grades. At that point, they decide whether you are flat out rejected or you deserve an interview.

After the interview, then they take your interview score and throw it on to your test/GPA score. Some schools weigh everyone even at the interview stage and go strictly by the interview score (which is how we do it). Different schools do things differently, but not by much.

A great score and great grades is not the end all, be all. Some people show up to the interview and they are freaks, or they are complete jerks. These people get handed a rejection no matter how great they are on paper.

Can I ask what school you're affiliated with? I recall you're in NYC, so maybe it's Columbia,NYU, or Fordham. In that case, I understand where you're coming for completely. At very prestigious schools, the non-number factors do come into play a great deal. At those schools, everybody is applying with very good numbers and they really need a way to distinguish. That's why you'll find the average age of incoming students may be slightly older than other schools. They really want you to have some real world experince that you could bring to the school. Northwestern Law is pretty notorious for not letting people in right out of undergrad and giving their spot to someone who has been out of school for at least a year and has been doing something constructive. Yale even admits your chances of getting in right out of undergrad aren't to good. They say right on ther website they really like people that hold advanced degrees and have been published.

That's one of the reasons I'm taking a break after undergrad. Also, the thought of going right into law school and having a career at 25 kind of freaks me out. I want to do things I will not be able to do once I have a career and a family. I'm looking into several possiblities such as the Peace Corps, Teach for America, and getting certified to teach English as a foreign language in another country.
I figure the last two will be fun, give me good experience, and also show I have good English abilites. Since writing is obviously very important in law school, I think this would help. I would really, really like to teach in a foreign country, I think it would be extremely fun.

quote:

Originally posted by jagmqt:
I see your point...I just think law is a different animal...remember, there's a bar exam at the end, too...easier exams throughout college don't distinguish who has a better grasp on the material...both may pass the bar...

If an elite school graduates 200 with a 98% bar passage, that's 196 new lawyers. When a tier 4 school graduates 350 w/ a 75% passage rate, that's 260 new lawyers...What is the better school?

I'm not sure why you mention the bar exam. The bar exam is really just a formality. Even JFK jr passed it after 4 or more attempts.

Sure, the top guys are usually from diverse backgrounds. The reality is, no matter how well-trained someone is....the gift of gab and the ability to smooth talk people is often the biggest asset in business. You just can't teach that.

quote:

Originally posted by jms2788:
Can I ask what school you're affiliated with? I recall you're in NYC, so maybe it's Columbia,NYU, or Fordham. In that case, I understand where you're coming for completely. At very prestigious schools, the non-number factors do come into play a great deal. At those schools, everybody is applying with very good numbers and they really need a way to distinguish. That's why you'll find the average age of incoming students may be slightly older than other schools. They really want you to have some real world experince that you could bring to the school.

Well it's not Fordham, but one of the others.

Yes at more competitive programs, good grades and high scores are common. Students have some misconception that a high exam score and good grades will get you into the top schools. Well if you count up every major college in the country, and just list all the valedictorians or just the people with the best exam scores/grades....you would come up with a list much longer than spots in the top schools. Now start adding in those people who took a year or more off and decided to apply the year you want...and that list grows even longer.

So you need things in your application that reveal more about your character, or your potential for success, rather than simple book smarts and the ability to take a lengthy standardized exam. This distinction is mostly assessed in the interview, references, and post bac experiences.

Cool, you work in the medical school, right?

Yeah, I see why you that. At the most competitive schools, the numbers are sort of irrelevant since everyone has them.

You said you weigh someone by the interview score, does this apply to law school? That would be something if it did because like I mentioned, I'm looking at one of those two schools you may be with, so that will prepare me. I can get the numbers(most likely), but then I'll know the interview is key.

That is correct.

Unfortunately, I do not know if the admissions process for my department precisely translates to the law school. All I can say is, they don't invite you for an interview if they think you don't have a shot.

The reality is, the dean of admissions will do whatever he/she pleases. They will accept/reject some people that will just make you scratch your head in wonder.

Woohoo, last day tomorrow.

im done as of today!!!! now just have to move tomorrow.

You guys are very lucky . . . I've still got three exams to go. Constitutional Law tomorrow morning, and then two more next week. A celebratory cigar will be in order next week at the conclusion of the first year of law school.

I'm not so lucky anymore...I started summer classes this week...4 classes over the summer.

jag

One down, one in legal philosophy to go at 3:30 PM...open book, haha, what a joke.

three down, one to go, which is on next monday. market allocation philosophy is about as boring as it gets, especially when the conclusion is always "we just don't know", but of course it takes them 300 pages to reach that conclusion.

Hey everyone I'm new to the forum's. Anyone else taking the Level II CFA in June. I'm smoking like crazy to relax from studying. Saving a Padron 80th Maduro for after the test

2 down, a stats final and a religion paper left between me and summer

All finished. Wow, it's weird having no work to do at all.

quote:

Originally posted by jms2788:
All finished. Wow, it's weird having no work to do at all.

Congrats! No work? Get your LSAT books out!

jag

Phew! Done for the semester . . . one more year to go. . .

Food for thought for those of you considering law school:

Think about what you want to do after you graduate. Are you a huge intellectual? Or do you want to work in a big firm high in the sky for long hours (and big bucks)? If so, do your darnedest to get into the best school possible. The kind of jobs you're looking for are extremely competitive. And if you're just going for the intellectual stimulation . . . well, you'll be most stimulated at an ivy league school.

But perhaps you don't know what you want to do. Or maybe you want to work for yourself someday. This was me. I had no clue what I wanted to do other than I didn't want to have a career of working long long hours in the hopes of making partner some day. I got a pretty decent score on my LSAT and decided to take a full scholarship at a lesser known school. It couldn't have worked out better for me. I'm looking into being either a prosecutor or public defender after graduation, with the hopes of eventually becoming a private defense attorney.

Time for a smoke.

I envy all of you that are finished. I have my last day of regular classes on Monday, a dead day on Tuesday, and finals start on Wednesday.

I have finals in Campaigns & Elections, Urban Politics, Italian, and Modern Philosophy, with a large final paper in Pre-Socratic Philosophy.

Should be a fun week.

Good luck to everybody that has finals coming up and enjoy your summers. Don't forget, the sweetest part about finals is finishing and enjoying a nice cigar.

good luck to you too, i think i know exactly what to celebrate with when my finals are up...
(mine arent til next week)

i don't get out until may 29th, but today i took the ap history exam which was my final for history, then bought a box of cao brazilia gols. last week i bought a box of oliva serie g torpedoes. my humidor is now full to the top. im on a roll.