Earlier when posted about the digital edition of the National Jurist, I did not realize their sister publication, preLaw Insider Magazine, also has a digital edition!

The preLaw Insider digital edition is also available for free. You should take a look.

Additionally, subscribe to their podcast called J.D. Confidential. They will be producing these podcasts more frequently. The podcasts can be a little goofy at times, but what they discuss is relevant to you.

Updated 1/29/2007 from an older post:

This submitted question is for those students who are currently in high school. If you're past high school and would like to add something from your experiences, feel free to add your advice in the comments. Otherwise, you can probably skip this one:

• Hi, my whole life I have deeply desired to become a lawyer... I understand that this is a long way away for me because I am in high school but I want to start preparing now. I currently have a 3.3 GPA and want to go to a good college. After that, I want to get into a good law school. My question is, what are good colleges that will help me get into a good law school?

I think it's great that you are thinking about law school as early as high school. Here is a general overview and some suggestions for those high schoolers with the goal of getting into law school:

DURING HIGH SCHOOL
Your high school GPA isn't going to be that important to getting into law school. But it will be important to getting into a good undergraduate college which makes it easier to get into a good law school. So keep your GPA as high as you can throughout high school.

Possibly just as, and in some cases more, important than grades during high school is ACT or SAT scores. Do not take these tests lightly. Take classes, get tutors, and do what you need to score high on your college admissions tests. The idea is to get into a reputable undergrad university after you graduate.

CHOICE OF UNDERGRAD SCHOOL
But where you go to get your undergrad degree is probably not as important as you may think. If you get into an elite undergrad school and excel, that is definitely a plus and will help you get into law school. But it is not as if people from good state schools are shut out from law schools. And failure at a great undergraduate school would hurt your chances of getting into law school. Just try to get into the most reputable school that you can that is both within your means and fits any other needs that you have.

DURING UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL
Once you are in college this is where things start to really count for law school. It's real simple; you need to keep your GPA high from the start. Be prepared for the challenges of college and don't start out in the hole with bad grades during your first semester or two of undergraduate school. The less reputable your school/less challenging your major, the higher you need to keep your GPA.

PICKING AN UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR
Major in what you like. Law schools have no prerequisites other than a degree from an accredited undergrad institution. I would suggest against majoring in pre-law, justice, legal studies, etc. Law schools like diverse students and may prefer people with different undergrad backgrounds. I will note this little study, but take that for what it is worth. The bottom line, major in what you are interested in: something that you could see yourself doing in case law school does not work out for you.

THE LSAT
Towards the end of your undergrad career you'll need to take the LSAT. The LSAT is THE most important test you will take in terms of getting into law school. Do what you have to do in order to score as high as you can on the LSAT. Again, tutors, classes, studying well in advance.

A high LSAT and a high undergrad GPA will open up numerous doors for you in terms of getting into top law schools, no matter where you went in undergrad. But even a high LSAT and a mediocre GPA still might get you into some really good schools. The LSAT is that important to admission into law school.

IMPORTANT RESOURCES
If you're interested about what LSAT/Undergrad GPA will give you a chance to get into what schools, check out the Official LSAC Guide to ABA Accredited Schools. Pay attention to the bottom 25% and higher 25% numbers. You need to have a gpa and lsat score at least within these two numbers, if not higher, to have a chance at a given school.

To get an idea of where a law school stands compared to its peers check out the US News and World Report Law School Rankings (also see tier 3 and tier 4 for complete listing). Note that the US News Rankings are not without controversy. Unfortunately though, the rankings are the best quickhand method for gauging where a school is perceived to stand amongst its peers.

WHAT ABOUT NOW?
Something you can do right now is try to make contacts. If you can, do some volunteer work for people working in the realm of law you wish to work. The experience will be good for you, but most importantly it only takes one good contact to get a great job down the road. Working around lawyers increases your chances of making good contacts. Additionally, you'll better undstand the legal world which will help you make the ultimate decision to pursue a job in this field.

Again, I think it's great that you no you want to go to law school right now. That puts you ahead of probably 95% of your future law school classmates. And having that goal should keep you on track academically throughout your high school and undergrad school career.


Good luck!

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*I am a law student. That means I don't have all the answers. I may be lacking knowledge in certain areas, namely the real world practice of law. But I have done a lot of research into the law school process as a whole and I am currently living through law school. I am also surrounded by a lot of smart and experienced people with unique insight into the law school world who either work at CALI or with whom CALI has close relationships. I hope that you seek others' opinions and insights in addition to mine in order to make an informed decision.

What is BAR/BRI?
Some of you may not be aware of BAR/BRI. BAR/BRI is by far the most extensive, largest, and probably highest quality bar preparation course for law students.

Basically, students pay a few thousand dollars (price varies depending on the state, I believe) to take an eight week bar preparation program that starts immediately after graduation. Virtually everyone who goes to law school takes BAR/BRI

MY EXPERIENCE WITH BAR/BRI
My first year, the way people talked about it, BAR/BRI sounded like an actual part of the bar exam. I honestly thought BAR/BRI was mandatory. They tell you to sign up first year to "lock in" prices as soon as you get in school.

I did not sign up my first year on the (what turned out to be correct) assumption that even if the price were higher three years later, money would be easier to come by.

WHY IS BAR/BRI BEING SUED?
BAR/BRI is being sued for anticompetitive behavior in two separate suits. Read more about that here and here. Incoming students might want to take an interest in these suits as it could affect how you prepare (or how much you pay) for the bar exam.

MY THOUGHTS
While many students needn't worry about the cost of bar review because their employer (often a big law firms) will pay for the course, it's too bad that there are very few cheaper options for those of us who do not have a backer.

My guess is that the people who actually have to pay for BAR/BRI with their own money are the ones who really can't afford to tack on the extra $3,000 in loans because they do not have the promise of a six-figure job.

I will sit for the bar in Illinois next February and I hate the idea of paying $3,000 to prepare for it. I understand that BAR/BRI is very good at what it does, but more competition in the bar review market could only help matters for students.

I hope these suits pave the way for new competition in the bar review market, hopefully leading to a reduction in price or to other less expensive competitors.

For a lot of you, law school may be the first time you deal with school loans. Your loans for law school will probably amount to your biggest loan of your life besides a mortgage. So you need to be well-informed and knowledgeable of the loan process.

UB Pre-Law Advising Blog has a great overview of the loan process with useful links.

Someone recently sent me this question:

• I graduated with a BA degree in political science and i took the LSAT with a 147 score, which knocks me out of any ABA approved schools. I am thinking of applying to a non-ABA accredited school but am afraid that employers will not hire me after i graduate because i went to a non-ABA law school. What is your opinion on going to a non-ABA law school?? Do you think employers will hire non-ABA students?? Any information is appreciated. Thank you.

First of all, I'm not 100% convinced that a 147 completely shuts you out of any ABA accredited schools. There are a few at which you may have an outside shot. Chances are even better if you have a good academic background or if you are a member of an underrepresented minority group. Here is a link of the schools that have the lowest bottom quartile scores. It's worth a shot at some of those where you have a similar score.

Second, I know that for people in certain situations, non-ABA's have advantages (lower cost, more relaxed admissions, possibly less time-consuming) making them very appealing. A non-ABA be the right choice for these people and maybe you.

With that said, you must keep in mind that in most states one must attend an ABA-accredited school in order to sit for the bar (ie, you cannot legally practice law in that state). California is the big exception it has several non-ABA options that are accredited by the Californian board allowing graduates from these schools to take the California bar..

As far as employer's opinions of non-ABA it is tough for me to gauge because Illinois, my home state, does not have any non-ABA's. I assume employers do not look at non-ABA's as favorably as most ABA schools. You probably are not going to have a shot at a high paying big law firm job any time soon if you go to a non-ABA. That said, I can't see how if an employer would hire a student from a very low-tier ABA school it would refuse to hire a non-ABA alum. Either way, it's probably an uphill battle in terms of competing for jobs if you attend a non-ABA and the fact that you attended a non-ABA may shut you out of some options.

Also note that some ABA schools will accept non-ABA transfers. But one should never assume enough success first year at a lessor school to make transferring to a better school easy.

But my advice to you: Take the LSAT again! And again if necessary. This time work harder, take a class, or even hire a tutor if necessary if within your means. Many schools will look at the highest of the three scores. Get your highest score possible and then reconsider your options.

Links:

List of Non-ABA accredited schools

More info on Non-ABA's

Info on accreditation

Robert Ambrogi talks law school tution reform here. What he is says is very real. The pay discrepancy between the pay of those who take big firm jobs and those who take public interest jobs is astonishing. This means that many students cannot even consider public interest out of school because of the high cost of law school. There needs to be more serious discussion about this.

Inside Opinions: Legal Blogs has some blogger reaction to the recent report called Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law that criticizes law schools for their inability to prepare students for the working world from a practical standpoint.

This is a common (probably not unfounded) complaint about law schools. It is something that will affect you, but because there still haven't been broad-sweeping changes in the way that law schools function, there isn't much you can do.

To combat this you can, however, try to take practical and clinical courses as electives and get hands-on experience through internships, etc. Also, when choosing a school, try to find out what steps the school has takent to ensure that its students are ready for the real world.

Update: The blog Compelling Interests expounding on this a little.

A suggestion of how to handle the workload of law school is posted by Law School Academic Support Blog here. I must admit that my law school study plan is not near that scripted. Certainly looks like it would be effective though.

It's something I bring up a lot on this blog, but it's important to understand what you are getting yourself into financially should you decide to attend law school. Compelling Interests blog has a post on the cost of law school that you should read.

A bit of a follow-up on my previous post on the National Jurists Article on Law School Rankings...

The National Jurist is a free, light-read magazine aimed at law students. From my understanding, the National Jurist is given away for free on most law school campuses in the US.

Looking through some issues would probably give you some of insight into the world of law school. Doing so is pretty easy to do since they now publish a free digital version (past digital issues here). This seems like a much better option than their $30-$40 paper subscription alternatives.

I try not to post too many links to commentaries and articles on US News' law school rankings because they are basically the same complaints and same arguments over and over.

"The metrics don't produce an accurate ranking"..."Students put too much credence into/misuse the rankings"..."Law schools consciously make decisions (budgetary, personnel, admissions) based on what might increase their ranking"..."Law schools game the system to get higher rankings." Of course, changes to combat these problems are rarely ever made.

But I realize that this is a blog for pre-law students so some of you may not be as familiar with these sort of commentaries and complaints about law school rankings. National Jurist has a good article on the topic available through their online edition.

As many of the you get your first grades back, it's important to understand that you cannot look at law school grades the way that you looked at undergraduate grades. Especially if, like me, you come from an undergraduate school that has pretty high grade inflation and almost all uncurved classes. Read more about law school grades below...

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I checked for the third or fourth time today to see if any one of my three classes' grades were available. On a side note...this class' test was completely multiple choice and "scantron" based.

Call me a dreamer, but in the future it is my hope that engineers and scientists work together to make machines that quickly grade 200 "scantron" sheets in a matter of weeks, maybe days. (My vision of what such a machine might look like below)

As I was disappointed for the third or fourth time today, I am reminded of the overall lack of feedback in law school. You probably know that there is only one exam in most law school classes.

But you may not know that, besides the scant times you are called on/volunteer during class, the final exam is basically the only feedback you get (legal writing classes are the big exception here). Or that it can take well into spring semester for grades to be posted from fall semester.

I think about my junior year in undergrad. My management 101 class told me that high need achievers need immediate and frequent feedback. I'm guessing that a lot of people in law school are high need achievers.

The a) lack of feedback and b) waiting game that comes after finals will drive you crazy. Consider yourself warned.

It has been awhile since there has been a post on the pre-law blog. I took some time off for the finals/holidays/the AALS conference which CALI attends each year. Look for some new posts soon. I hope everyone had a happy holiday season.