The 5 Biggest Mistakes In Applying To Law School

No, I am not an expert in apply to law school.  However, I do tend to get asked a lot about how to get into law school and where to go to law school.  Therefore, it does force me to think about it.  And, I have worked with a number of family members (the last being my daughter, Mary) in applying and selecting law schools.

Now that we are in the season for law school applications I want to point out a posted interview with Ann Levine on the 5 biggest mistakes that law student wannabes make in applying to law school, as posted on  Lawsagna. From my personal experiences and observations, I find these as true myself.  The big 5 are:

1.  Applying to the wrong schools;

2.  Over-emphasizing the rankings;

3.  Applying too late in the game to take advantage of rolling admissions;

4.  Taking advice from the wrong people;  and,

5.  Picking the wrong person to write a letter of recommendation.

Now, assuming for a moment that Ms. Levine were referring to people like me when formulating the 4th biggest mistake, I believe the point of all of this is to apply to schools that are right for you, apply early, and taking the process seriously.  I do not disagree with that.

I think another take on this list is to not apply to one school.  If you only want to go to law school if you can get into the law school of your dreams, then you do not want to be a lawyer.  It is really that simple.  Besides, from your perspective now, how do you know exactly what is right for you in the way of law school.  It is all a new experience.  Apply to law school for the right reasons.

(Ann Levine pictured).

Comments

[PerGynt]

There are lots of good reasons to go to law school. The main one is to become a lawyer. Choose your school for good reasons too. Good schools are where you find them, and you can't always tell which ones might suit you best from a distance. Here's a little blurb about my law school. I think it's something the faculty here should be very proud of.
http://www2.und.edu/our/news/story.php?id=2190

[Ann K. Levine, Esq.]

Thanks so much for sharing my thoughts (and photo!) on your blog, Chuck. I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiment - if people only want to go to Harvard then that tells me they don't really want to be a lawyer. I use this line a lot...

[Ann K. Levine, Esq.]

Thank you so much for featuring my comments (and photo...)
I tell people all the time that if they only want to go to Harvard then they don't really want to be a lawyer.... You're absolutely right.

(OH - and please forgive me if this posted twice... I didn't get confirmation the first time I submitted it)