Pre-law advisor- bad advice?

Comments

• 1 Like

  studyingandrestudying Core Member

  January 2018 5254 karma

  You'll probably want to take the admissions course. It'll provide helpful advice.
• olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 729 karma

  @lsatplaylist said:
  You'll probably want to take the admissions course. It'll provide helpful advice.

  I can't afford it:(
• 1 Like

  westcoastbestcoast Alum Member

  January 2018 3788 karma

  @olioliber You can inquire for payment options. I opted to pay in installments which made it more affordable for me!
• studyingandrestudying Core Member

  January 2018 5254 karma

  Then for now there's several archived admissions webinars available.
• 1 Like

  _oshun1_ Alum Member

  January 2018 3652 karma

  http://www.top-law-schools.com/guide-to-personal-statements.html

  I dont see anything wrong with including dean's list and just keep your interests to two lines maximum
• olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 edited January 2018 729 karma

  @lsatplaylist said:
  Then for now there's several archived admissions webinars available.

  I already have my essays written. I just need an opinion. Also, I went through all of the available to me webinars.
• studyingandrestudying Core Member

  January 2018 5254 karma

  @westcoastbestcoast, For installments was it 1. Starter, 2. Premium, 3. Ultimate, 4. Ultimate+ or something else?
• 1 Like

  studyingandrestudying Core Member

  January 2018 5254 karma

  @olioliber, Good work, then. That's a lot of webinars.
• westcoastbestcoast Alum Member

  January 2018 3788 karma

  @lsatplaylist I meant paying for one of the admissions packages in a monthly basis. Not talking about the LSAT packages.
• 1 Like

  olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 729 karma

  @"surfy surf" said:
  http://www.top-law-schools.com/guide-to-personal-statements.html

  I dont see anything wrong with including dean's list and just keep your interests to two lines maximum

  Haha my personal was literally: fluent in Polish and enjoys practicing yoga and cooking
• 1 Like

  _oshun1_ Alum Member

  January 2018 3652 karma

  @olioliber that's great. maybe even specify the specific dishes you like to cook and the type of yoga ie bikram and hatha yoga, cooking Mediterranean dishes
• olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 729 karma

  @"surfy surf" said:
  @olioliber that's great. maybe even specify the specific dishes you like to cook and the type of yoga ie bikram and hatha yoga, cooking Mediterranean dishes

  The point here is that my awesome advisor told me to cross it all out
• 10000019 Alum Member

  January 2018 3279 karma

  Different schools of thoughts.Personally I didn't include dean list because on the application there was a separate category for that. What did you list as your interests? Were you told to remove the entire section or to rewrite it?
• olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 729 karma

  @10000019 said:
  Different schools of thoughts.Personally I didn't include dean list because on the application there was a separate category for that. What did you list as your interests? Were you told to remove the entire section or to rewrite it?

  Practicing yoga and cooking. He said not to include any interests, or 3 last semesters Dean's list.
• 1 Like

  10000019 Alum Member

  January 2018 3279 karma

  @olioliber said:

  @10000019 said:
  Different schools of thoughts.Personally I didn't include dean list because on the application there was a separate category for that. What did you list as your interests? Were you told to remove the entire section or to rewrite it?

  Practicing yoga and cooking. He said not to include any interests, or 3 last semesters Dean's list.

  If you just wrote " Interests: Yoga, Cooking" then I could see why he would suggest to remove it. I think law school resumes are weird, and people who don't have experience in the field shouldn't be giving advice. Even among the 'pros' there are disagreements, but at that point I don't think it makes a huge difference.

  To give an example, I was told by a professional consultant to remove my GPA (which was solid) from my resume. The reasoning was that my GPA is posted in a ton of other spots, and it was just taking up space.
• Alex Alum Member ⭐

  January 2018 23929 karma

  @olioliber said:
  Hello,
  I just went to a pre-law advisor in order to have my essays and resume reviewed. I have done quite extensive research beforehand on how to write them and what to include. The, very nice guy, told me to delete half of my resumé and not to include things like interests, or Dean's list; while sipping coffee from a blue Cooley Law cup. I hoped he would give me some valuable advice, but I have a gut feeling not to follow most of his revisions.
  My question is: I only have one more person who can read my essays. Are any of you willing to read and help me proof read them?
  English is not my first language and I'm aware I make a lot of mistakes I can't catch myself.

  This is wrong. You should absolutely include deans list. Interest sections really aren't important but I don't think they're necessarily bad to have either.

  The fact he was sipping coffee from a Cooley Law cup says it all. My pre-law advisor told me (3.92 GPA, AA URM, decent softs) that I should be applying to schools like SUNY Buffalo law school. They are notorious for giving out some pretty objectively awful advice.
• 1 Like

  olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 729 karma

  @"Alex Divine" said:

  @olioliber said:
  Hello,
  I just went to a pre-law advisor in order to have my essays and resume reviewed. I have done quite extensive research beforehand on how to write them and what to include. The, very nice guy, told me to delete half of my resumé and not to include things like interests, or Dean's list; while sipping coffee from a blue Cooley Law cup. I hoped he would give me some valuable advice, but I have a gut feeling not to follow most of his revisions.
  My question is: I only have one more person who can read my essays. Are any of you willing to read and help me proof read them?
  English is not my first language and I'm aware I make a lot of mistakes I can't catch myself.

  This is wrong. You should absolutely include deans list. Interest sections really aren't important but I don't think they're necessarily bad to have either.

  The fact he was sipping coffee from a Cooley Law cup says it all. My pre-law advisor told me (3.92 GPA, AA URM, decent softs) that I should be applying to schools like SUNY Buffalo law school. They are notorious for giving out some pretty objectively awful advice.

  I feel bad for the students who go without any self-research and lose big because of the pre-law turds of wisdom
• 1 Like

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  January 2018 23929 karma

  @olioliber said:

  @"Alex Divine" said:

  @olioliber said:
  Hello,
  I just went to a pre-law advisor in order to have my essays and resume reviewed. I have done quite extensive research beforehand on how to write them and what to include. The, very nice guy, told me to delete half of my resumé and not to include things like interests, or Dean's list; while sipping coffee from a blue Cooley Law cup. I hoped he would give me some valuable advice, but I have a gut feeling not to follow most of his revisions.
  My question is: I only have one more person who can read my essays. Are any of you willing to read and help me proof read them?
  English is not my first language and I'm aware I make a lot of mistakes I can't catch myself.

  This is wrong. You should absolutely include deans list. Interest sections really aren't important but I don't think they're necessarily bad to have either.

  The fact he was sipping coffee from a Cooley Law cup says it all. My pre-law advisor told me (3.92 GPA, AA URM, decent softs) that I should be applying to schools like SUNY Buffalo law school. They are notorious for giving out some pretty objectively awful advice.

  I feel bad for the students who go without any self-research and lose big because of the pre-law turds of wisdom

  God, that's such a good point. I feel so awful for all of the students who don't know any better. I can't imagine all those with wonderful GPAs who never even knew they had a chance. Or, those who ended up getting awful advice that destroyed their chances at the schools they wanted to attend.
• 1 Like

  Rigid Designator Alum Member

  January 2018 1091 karma

  @"Alex Divine" said:

  @olioliber said:

  @"Alex Divine" said:

  @olioliber said:
  Hello,
  I just went to a pre-law advisor in order to have my essays and resume reviewed. I have done quite extensive research beforehand on how to write them and what to include. The, very nice guy, told me to delete half of my resumé and not to include things like interests, or Dean's list; while sipping coffee from a blue Cooley Law cup. I hoped he would give me some valuable advice, but I have a gut feeling not to follow most of his revisions.
  My question is: I only have one more person who can read my essays. Are any of you willing to read and help me proof read them?
  English is not my first language and I'm aware I make a lot of mistakes I can't catch myself.

  This is wrong. You should absolutely include deans list. Interest sections really aren't important but I don't think they're necessarily bad to have either.

  The fact he was sipping coffee from a Cooley Law cup says it all. My pre-law advisor told me (3.92 GPA, AA URM, decent softs) that I should be applying to schools like SUNY Buffalo law school. They are notorious for giving out some pretty objectively awful advice.

  I feel bad for the students who go without any self-research and lose big because of the pre-law turds of wisdom

  God, that's such a good point. I feel so awful for all of the students who don't know any better. I can't imagine all those with wonderful GPAs who never even knew they had a chance. Or, those who ended up getting awful advice that destroyed their chances at the schools they wanted to attend.

  It's not just pre-law advisors unfortunately. I can remember the careers service at my last school telling me that I had no hope of getting on to a postgrad law course without legal work experience... despite me having turned down a law postgrad offer to attend their school.
• Alex Alum Member ⭐

  January 2018 23929 karma

  @"Rigid Designator" said:

  @"Alex Divine" said:

  @olioliber said:

  @"Alex Divine" said:

  @olioliber said:
  Hello,
  I just went to a pre-law advisor in order to have my essays and resume reviewed. I have done quite extensive research beforehand on how to write them and what to include. The, very nice guy, told me to delete half of my resumé and not to include things like interests, or Dean's list; while sipping coffee from a blue Cooley Law cup. I hoped he would give me some valuable advice, but I have a gut feeling not to follow most of his revisions.
  My question is: I only have one more person who can read my essays. Are any of you willing to read and help me proof read them?
  English is not my first language and I'm aware I make a lot of mistakes I can't catch myself.

  This is wrong. You should absolutely include deans list. Interest sections really aren't important but I don't think they're necessarily bad to have either.

  The fact he was sipping coffee from a Cooley Law cup says it all. My pre-law advisor told me (3.92 GPA, AA URM, decent softs) that I should be applying to schools like SUNY Buffalo law school. They are notorious for giving out some pretty objectively awful advice.

  I feel bad for the students who go without any self-research and lose big because of the pre-law turds of wisdom

  God, that's such a good point. I feel so awful for all of the students who don't know any better. I can't imagine all those with wonderful GPAs who never even knew they had a chance. Or, those who ended up getting awful advice that destroyed their chances at the schools they wanted to attend.

  It's not just pre-law advisors unfortunately. I can remember the careers service at my last school telling me that I had no hope of getting on to a postgrad law course without legal work experience... despite me having turned down a law postgrad offer to attend their school.

  That's another great point. I luckily don't have any experience with that but it's nothing short of a travesty.
• _oshun1_ Alum Member

  January 2018 edited January 2018 3652 karma

  @olioliber said:

  @"surfy surf" said:
  @olioliber that's great. maybe even specify the specific dishes you like to cook and the type of yoga ie bikram and hatha yoga, cooking Mediterranean dishes

  The point here is that my awesome advisor told me to cross it all out

  I highly doubt admissions would care if you didn't include interests, but I think it is a nice humanizing touch to your resume. Who knows, maybe the person reading your resume also speaks Polish and does yoga and that subconsciously influences them to admit you. Including a foreign language that you speak is a great soft factor and should always be included, I'm surprised he told you to take that out.
• olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 729 karma

  Agree!
• studyingandrestudying Core Member

  January 2018 5254 karma

  @westcoastbestcoast, Good to know. Thanks.
• 1 Like

  username Alum Member

  January 2018 276 karma

  @olioliber said:

  @lsatplaylist said:
  You'll probably want to take the admissions course. It'll provide helpful advice.

  I can't afford it:(

  The basic admissions course with all the relevant info is like $15.
• 1 Like

  Seeking Perfection Alum Member

  January 2018 4428 karma

  I assume the Dean's List thing only takes up 1 line.
  Mine just says something like
  Dean's List: Fall 2014 - Present

  I imagine the most lengthy it could really be would be
  Dean's List: Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017. Otherwise, you wind up with a streak and can shorten it down if needed to fit it on one line.

  The interests are nice to include as a nice personal touch. Part of me wishes I had thought to list juggling on my resume as an interest when I applied. It has always been an interest, but I just didn't think to put it on my resume before I applied. I have been getting back into it lately and I think it could make for a more visceral image of who I am in the adcoms mind.
• olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 729 karma

  @"Seeking Perfection" said:
  I assume the Dean's List thing only takes up 1 line.
  Mine just says something like
  Dean's List: Fall 2014 - Present

  I imagine the most lengthy it could really be would be
  Dean's List: Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017. Otherwise, you wind up with a streak and can shorten it down if needed to fit it on one line.

  The interests are nice to include as a nice personal touch. Part of me wishes I had thought to list juggling on my resume as an interest when I applied. It has always been an interest, but I just didn't think to put it on my resume before I applied. I have been getting back into it lately and I think it could make for a more visceral image of who I am in the adcoms mind.

  I only put Dean's list last 3 semesters or sth in that sense. The interests are important in case you get an interview. They just give something for the interviewer to discuss with you!
• 1 Like

  pioneer321 Free Trial Member

  January 2018 328 karma

  Many schools post several exemplary resumes, and sometimes even personal statements of admitted students. Try navigating through Admissions sections of your prospective schools and look for such examples. Also that advice by your advisor, at least as far as Dean's list goes, is bogus. In the application directions, most of the schools tell you directly that they want you to include all your academic honors and distinctions.
• olioliber Alum Member

  January 2018 729 karma

  I agree:)