Kristin Theis-Alvarez, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at the UC Berkeley School of Law, shares her insider perspective on the recent decision to withdraw from US News Rankings and describes how students can demonstrate the Berkeley ethos to secure a spot in this prestigious program. [Show Summary] Thanks for joining me for the 504th…
LAW SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
Writing Your Career Goals Essay
Check out all of the blog posts in this series: The career goals essay demands a laser-like focus. Unlike personal statements that can cover one’s career goals but also allow for more flexibility in content, the career goals essay has a specific and packed agenda. In fact, a career goals essay prompt could actually involve…
Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose
Check out all of the blog posts in this series: All effective essays have a distinctive theme. Referring back to the essays we examined in the previous post, we might say that was her passion for finding answers to significant public health issues. Our law school applicant’s theme was his yearning for greater intellectual challenges while remaining in the…
LSAT and Law School News [509]
Test optionality seems to be coming to law school admissions. Top schools have withdrawn mostly from the US News rankings. What does it all mean? We ask a law school admissions expert for his input. [Show Summary] Welcome to the 509th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. Before we meet our guests,…
Identifying the Ingredients of a Winning Essay
Check out all of the blog posts in this series: As you gear up to write your application essays, you might have looked at sample “winning” essays published in books or on websites, only to ask yourself afterward, “Sure, these are great, but what do these essays have to do with me?” This blog series will…
Bring Your Personal Statement to Life With Vivid, Active Verbs
Your personal statement is an essential element of your application and allows the adcom great insight into who you really are aside from your stats. However, no matter how extensive your experience or how accomplished you might be, all that can be lost in prose that does not do a good job of profiling who…
What to Do If You’re Rejected from Grad School
Rejection hurts, especially if it’s from a school that you really had hoped to attend. Competition is always tough at good schools, and space is limited. Not everyone who is qualified can get in. You can still achieve your dreams by taking this threefold approach: (1) Reassess your qualifications, and based on that, revise your…
Got a Criminal Record? Here’s How to Address It in Your Application
If you have ever engaged in disorderly conduct or petty theft, gotten a DUI, been arrested during a political protest, or garnered any other kind of infraction (minor or major) on your record, we hope that you have learned important lessons from the experience and won’t repeat it. But if you are applying to a…
Law School Letters of Recommendation: A Quick Guide [with Sample Letters]
At this stage of the law school admissions process, you probably have Application Season Fatigue Syndrome. Corralling people to write your letters of recommendation (LORs), a nagging and seemingly redundant task, might be the last thing you feel like doing. After all, haven’t you already proven your worth through your polished essays, work experience, LSAT…
How a Non-Traditional Applicant Gets Into UCLA Law [Episode 507]
Everyone has challenges when applying to top law schools. But combine non-traditional work experience, a low stat or two, and a growing family, and this applicant faced significantly more than the usual hurdles. He overcame them all and got into his top choice program. Let’s find out how he did it, and how he’s doing…
Get Off That Waitlist!
Landing on a school’s waitlist can be disappointing and nerve-wracking. And sometimes, waitlisted applicants let their anxiety or disappointment cloud their thinking, which makes it harder to do the work needed to get off that waitlist and earn an acceptance. If you are waitlisted, know this: “waitlisted” does not mean “rejected!” If you play your…
What Does 2022 Mean for Applicants in 2023 [Episode 505]
Reflecting on trends that impacted graduate admissions in 2022, Linda Abraham shares her predictions for 2023 and offers an action plan for those planning to apply in the new year. [Show Summary] Thanks for joining me for today’s solo show. I’m going to review a few trends from 2022 and also attempt to inspire you for…
Recipe for Writing an Accomplishment Essay
Build a better accomplishments essay by following this recipe. Accomplishments are the bread and butter (and jam!) of MBA personal statements and application essays. That might sound straightforward, but a fascinating brainstorming session among Accepted admissions consultants revealed that applicants don’t always understand what an accomplishment is in this context. What goes into this application staple? And…
Why is It So Hard to Write Your Law School Personal Statement?
Why is the personal statement so hard to start? How do you put your heart and soul, and 20+ years of life, into a two-page double-spaced document? The personal statement is often a source of many starts and stops for the law school applicant. I imagine the writer, in a non-digital world, with a wastebasket…
The Questions You SHOULD Be Asking – ANSWERED! [Episode 500]
Invaluable insights into all aspects of the graduate admissions process [Show Summary] In celebration of Admissions Straight Talk’s 500th episode, Linda Abraham invites Accepted consultants to pose and answer the questions that students should be asking – and frequently don’t ask. This conversation is filled with invaluable insights that will benefit anybody preparing for graduate…
Bonus Episode: USN Rankings, LSAT, and Laid-off Workers: What Does it All Mean?
Find out the latest admissions news and what it all means [Show Summary] It was a very newsy November and in this episode, Linda Abraham is covering the most notable updates in the graduate admissions world: law school test waivers, top school withdrawals from US News rankings, accommodations for laid-off workers, and more! In this…
How Can You Show Passion in Admissions?
When one thinks of passion, one doesn’t generally think of investment bankers. But the admissions committees are looking for passion in their applicants; so how are you – a computer guy, an engineer, a biology major, or yes, an investment banker – going to craft a winning application that shows them the passion they’re looking…
How to Answer Character and Fitness Questions on Law School Applications
A legal career requires all who enter the field to possess strength of character and to be fit to practice the law. Not physical fitness or endurance – though that may help you survive first year of law school! – but fitness under the definition of suitability. This is why law school applications include a…
4 Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future
Schools are looking for applicants who can show that they have strong leadership qualities and experiences and can demonstrate that they will actively contribute to their student/alumni communities, not to mention to the greater community and society. Many applications include an essay question with some variation of “what would you contribute to your future campus…
U.S. News & World Report Sees High Drop Out Rate Among Elite Law Schools
They’re falling like dominoes. On November 16, Yale and Harvard Law Schools announced their withdrawal from the U.S. News & World Report law-school rankings. On November 17, the University of California, Berkeley School of Law followed suit. Since then, eight others among the highest-ranked law schools in the U.S. have also opted out. As a consequence, this…
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