@ said:

I do not think we will get them earlier. Maybe at midnight of August 10th.

Have scores been released at midnight for prior tests?

Boston University with a full-ride!

Does anybody know if Boston College offers a fee waiver? I did TFA and I noticed a lot of schools waive the fee for these years of service but I can't find anything on BCs website.

@ said:

The CC is phenomenal for mastering the fundamentals and LG. I personally recommend the LSAT trainer in addition to the CC. It really emphasizes on reading structure which is crucial for RC. The trainer also categorizes flaws in a very particular way that increases your ability to critically evaluate arguments for flaws/Assumption questions and Strength and weaken.

Totally agree with this comment! I was stuck at a 153 for a while until I went through the flaw lessons in the trainer. The next time I took a PT, I jumped to 163! Identifying and understanding flaws is huge.

You can have a two page resume. Take a look at the samples on HLS' website. The third one is from somebody who has been out of college a while: https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/the-application-process/application-components/

I have been out of undergrad for 4 years. My resume is broken down into four sections: full time experience, education, volunteer work, and personal interests. Under each university I made a line for involvements, internships, awards, and thesis topic. I found this to be a great way to condense a lot of relevant college information without taking away from all of my full time work experience.

I hope this is helpful!

If you look at the methodology of how U.S. World & News ranks law schools there are multiple factors that they weigh. Obviously LSAT and GPA are the ones we are always hearing about but placement success actually weighs more heavily than both the LSAT and GPA. Therefore, law schools will likely weigh your potential for placement post education heavily. I think having work experience is a huge plus! This shows law schools that you will be employable post law school and may have less of a struggle landing a job right away. Good luck with your admissions cycle and thank you for your service!

I found this notation strategy for RC helpful. I think my issue with using a highlighter is that you only get one (or two) colors. It's hard to differentiate the information when searching for a specific fact. Creating a consistent system will help you pin point dates, places, main points, etc. I got so used to using it on RC that I ended up adapting it to LR also.

I think Saturday the 29th is the latest date the scores will be released. They may be released earlier, however. Check out this neat article from PowerScore. https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/lsat-score-release-dates-scheduled-vs-actual-comparison

Whoa. Based on the historic "actual" release dates, the September test scores were released on the Friday before the 3rd week..which is this Friday. I know LSAC is trying to stick to their actual schedule though "to minimize anxiety" lol. So maybe they'll actually release them on Saturday.

I had the same feeling leaving the test today. I just tried registering for the September exam and it was closed. Did you register for it today?

I've been reading through the different approaches to this type of question and from what I've gathered people are approaching them in different ways:

-Identify the Conclusion

-Most Strongly Supported

-Must Be True

-Sufficient Assumption

I'm still not sure how to best approach them but @ 's advice seems solid.

Complete the entire flaw section of the Trainer. That was the most helpful section for me. It sounds like you need the most help in reasoning and so much of the reasoning section focuses on flaws. Good luck!

I also grew up eating Mexican food lol. When I went away for college it was so hard for me to learn how to eat healthier. I stuck to hot pockets, pop tarts, and ramen soups.

I still hate vegetables but I find them easier to eat with hummus. I cut up strips of jicama, celery, and carrots on Sunday nights and put them in little baggies. I divide a tub of hummus into 5 mini Tupperware containers. Those are my snacks for the week.

I bought mason jars and found an overnight oats recipe I really enjoy. I add half a cup of oatmeal, honey, tiny bit of vanilla, almond butter, and the night before I eat it I add a banana and flax seed milk. That's my breakfast!

For lunches and dinners I usually prep some sort of quinoa bowl or butternut squash casserole with bell peppers, onions, eggplants, etc.

The hardest part is finding food you enjoy and prepping meals ahead of time but this makes the difference for me! The weeks I don't prep my meals ahead of time I end up ordering take out for all of my meals /: It's a time saver throughout the week and I feel much more energetic!

Good luck with everything!

For people requesting fee waivers with a public service background, I asked and received service-based fee waivers for the following schools:

-University of Chicago

-UC Berkeley

-Northwestern

-USC

-Boston College

I'm waiting to hear back from UCLA. Boston University said they only grant service-based fee waivers for current participants of Americorps programs.

@ That's a great idea! Thanks. I'm going to a law school fair this weekend and 5 of the schools I'm applying to will be there. :)

@ said:

For the emails, what are some good subject lines?

I always used "Fee Waiver-Public Service" because I was soliciting fee waivers based on my experience in Teach for America. A lot of students will ask for merit based fee waivers and include their LSAT/GPA.

I'm going to this fair! This is also my first law school fair. I visited BC last week though. The schools on your list are the same as mine! Let's connect. DM me. (:

Thank you for all of your words of encouragement, everybody! I woke up reading your comments and I feel so much better knowing I have this community. I'm having a "Treat Myself" day today and will probably just drill and go back to the basics for the next days before my test. Seriously, thank you all.

You're saving money for law school or taking another year to pay off undergraduate debt?

@ said:

Oh, I like what @ said! Do you have a personal statement topic? If not, maybe make a story about your life in school into your personal statement.

I do have a personal statement topic! It's a story about my dad being imprisoned before I was born and growing up during the Tough on Crime Era and in California where the Three Strikes Law was passed. I tie it into my teaching experience and my interactions with students in juvenile detention facilities and their parents in the criminal justice system. So, I think that is a compelling story requiring the extra space. I'm just trying to figure out how to best use the diversity statement. But one page is so short /:

@ said:

Hey!

So I think there's a reason why you have the current version of your diversity statement that you do---it's an important story, one that's yours, and so one only you can tell. I've heard repeatedly, re: both, PSs and DSs, that what admissions committees love most is authenticity and personality. And I feel like the fact that you geared toward writing your DS about being a first generation high school graduate and working your way through college says a lot---that it's a story you believe you can tell really well. So, I say stick with it!

Praying you have a successful cycle. Good luck!

Thank you for your input! Good luck to you as well!

@ said:

Dear LSAC, don’t send out an email about my September test registration the day before you are scheduled to release my July score. :neutral:

My thoughts exactly! Lol

I had RC, LR, LG, LG, LR

Real RC:

14th Amendment-Supreme Court Case

Archaeological Findings? (domesticated horses maybe)

Comparative: Music (operas)

Seismic Activity

Real LR:

-Honeybees

-Sugar sweetener- parallel flaw

-National park and birds

-Reforestation- Explain

-Old houses & apartments on 20th st.- MBF?

-Jupiter & atmospheric winds- Explain

-Doctors/Clinical Psychologist prescribing meds- Principle

LG?

I need help remembering my two LG sections. I remember the set ups more. The last one being a [admin note: too specific, read OP] in my 1st LG section. I think about games and leveling up.

[admin note: too specific, read OP]

In my 2nd LG section I remember more [admin note: too specific, read OP] the last one being a [admin note: too specific, read OP] with artist exhibitions and musical performances.

Which LG was real?

I would love to be included on one of these calls if they happen before the July test!

One of the law schools I was accepted to has this list of suggested reading. I'm not stressing about getting through it but I've read a couple I thought would be interesting and so far I haven't been disappointed. Congratulations on your acceptance!

Preparing for Law School

Ruth Ann McKinney, Reading Like a Lawyer: Time-Saving Strategies for Reading Law like an Expert (Carolina Press 2012)

Many entering law students find this practical and exercise-based book good preparation for the way they will be required to read in law school.

Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer: A New Introduction to Legal Reasoning (Harvard University Press 2012)

An updated version of a classic from 1949 by Edward Hirsch Levi of University of Chicago, this primer is written for 1Ls. This book introduces important fundamental concepts including rules, precedent, authority, the common law, statutory interpretation, judicial opinions, facts, and burdens of proof and how they fit into the work that lawyers actually do.

Molly Bishop Shadel, Finding Your Voice in Law School: Mastering Classroom Cold Calls, Job Interviews and other Verbal Challenges (Carolina Academic Press 2013)

One of the skills that entering law students find most intimidating is being called on in class. This book offers concrete guidance on answering questions in class, mock trials and moot courts, what to say during a job interview, and how to interact with professors and legal professionals.

Legal Profession

Richard Susskind, The End of Lawyers?: Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services (Oxford University Press 2010)

In this book Susskind looks at the legal profession through the lens of technology and asks what the impact of technological innovations like AI and our ability to communicate over great distances is having and will have on the legal profession.

Jasper Kim, 24 Hours with 24 Lawyers (Aspatore Books 2011)

24 lawyers in all sorts of careers from JAG and Venture Capital to take you through a typical day in their lives. Read this and you’ll have a much better idea of what lawyers actually do for a living. It’s the ideal way to start thinking about what path you might wish to take in the law.

Legal Classics

Karl Llewellyn, The Bramble Bush (Oceana Publication, 1930).

“The Bramble Bush” is one of the most popular introductions to the law and its study. It consists of a series of lectures by the author meant to introduce students to what the law is, how to read cases, how to prepare for classes, and how justice in the real world relates to the study of the law.

Richard A. Posner, Overcoming Law (Harvard University Press, 1995).

A collection of lively, well-written essays by a prominent judge and law professor on a wide range of topics related to the law and the legal profession.

Morton Horwitz, The Transformation of American Law, 1780–1860 (Harvard University Press, 1992).

If you are interested in legal history, this is the classic overview of how law developed in the post-revolutionary period through to the Civil War.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Common Law (Little, Brown & Co. 1881)

This is another classic of legal writing by a hugely influential jurist. This is on one of the features that is unique to the Anglo-American legal tradition and important to a complete understanding of U.S. law.

John Rawls, A Theory of Justice. (Harvard University Press, 1971).

One of the most influential work of political philosophy in the twentieth century—a work that has shaped many current legal debates.

Legal Non-Fiction

Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy (Random House 2014)

A true story about the author’s client who was wrongfully convicted of murder and given a death sentence. An introduction to some of the moral and political (and legal) issues that often arise in discussions surrounding convictions and sentencing in criminal law classes.

Scott Turow, One L (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1988)

Although an account of the author’s first year at Harvard Law School, this description of the first year of law school rings true to many 1Ls. It gives a good overview of the progression of the first year and hopefully some insight into how challenging law school can be for almost everyone.

Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action (Random House, 1995)

The story of the litigation against two of the nation’s largest corporations accused of contaminating drinking water that caused the deaths of children in Woburn, Massachusetts. The account sheds light on the significance of some of the variables in civil litigation. Detailing a 1986 class action suit where the plaintiffs alleged that toxic waste on properties owned by corporations had contaminated town drinking water and caused an outbreak of leukemia. An introduction to tort and civil procedure concepts like negligence and class actions.

Richard Kluger, Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality (Alfred A. Knopf, 1975)

The definitive description of the story of Brown v. Board of Education from the NAACP beginnings to the final decision. Based on interviews and research, this is the original edition, but there is also an updated edition from 2004.

Anthony Lewis, Gideon’s Trumpet (Random House, 1964)

Presents the dramatic story behind the Supreme Court case establishing an indigent criminal defendant’s right to appointed counsel in Gideon v. Wainwright.

Gerald Stern, The Buffalo Creek Disaster (Vintage Books, 1976)

“The Buffalo Creek Disaster” details the process by which the survivors of one of the deadliest coalmining and flooding disasters in history won their suit against the coal company responsible. It introduces first semester topics, especially those relevant to torts and civil procedure (e.g. negligence, class actions, suits involving corporations, etc.)

Steve Fiffer, Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought Over T-Rex Ever Found (W.H. Freeman & Co. 2000)

Centered around the discover of a TRex fossil skeleton in 1990, this book chronicles the legal wrangling between commercial fossil hunters, law enforcement, tribal interests, political ambition, auction houses and museums. Short and reads like a spy novel – what more could you ask of summer reading pre-law school.

Rethinking the Law

Martha Fineman, Transcending the Boundaries of Law: Generations of Feminism and Legal Theory (Routledge 2011)

“Transcending the Boundaries of Law is a ground-breaking collection that will be central to future developments in feminist and related critical theories about law. In its pages three generations of feminist legal theorists engage with what have become key feminist themes, including equality, embodiment, identity, intimacy, and law and politics.” From the publisher’s website.

Richard Delgardo and Jean Stefancic, Critical Race Theory: The Cutting Edge (Temple University Press 2013)

“Critical race theory has become a dynamic, eclectic, and growing movement in the study of law. Here, editors Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic have created a reader for the 21st century – one that shakes up the legal academy, questions comfortable liberal premises, and leads the search for new ways of thinking about our nation’s most intractable, and insoluble, problem – race.” From the publisher’s website.

Robert Lecky and Kim Brooks, Queer Theory: Law, Culture and Empire (Routledge, 2010)

“The authors – from five continents – delve into examples drawn from Bollywood cinema to California’s 2008 marriage referendum. The chapters view a wide range of texts – from cultural productions to laws and judgments – as regulatory forces requiring scrutiny from outside Western, heterosexual privilege. This innovative collection goes beyond earlier queer legal work, engaging with recent developments, featuring case studies from India, South Africa, the US, Australasia, Eastern Europe, and embracing the frames offered by different disciplinary lenses.” From the publisher’s website.

@ said:

@ it was released a couple minutes past midnight on the day when scores were supposed to come out for june 2018 test

Gotcha! Thank you!