Law school is not an easy feat. If your undergraduate program was a breeze for you, you can’t expect it to be the same with your law degree. Nevertheless, it’s still a passable course. It just takes a little bit more effort.
This effort and preparation starts when you take your exam, and even during the application process. If you’re serious about wanting to be a lawyer, all this effort is going to be worth it anyway.
That said, here are some of the preparation tips that you can follow and borrow as you start your journey towards becoming a lawyer:
1. Have A Strong Personal Statement
One of the requirements for your law school application is a compelling statement or personal profile. This contains information about yourself, which isn’t found in your resume or curriculum vitae – matters that aren’t academically related. These are things that you want the law school to know about yourself.
Putting all the academic requirements aside, a strong personal statement is one of the best ways for you to stand out with your application. The law school screening department wants to know what it is you have to offer to the school. What kind of alumnus are you going to be? What’s your motivation for choosing to take up a law degree? This should form one of the most important aspects of your application.
2. Practice Writing A Lot
In law school, you’re going to be writing a lot. You need to be able to show this as early as the exam and application process. Beyond the LSAT (Law School Admission Test), the particular school that you’re applying to might give you an additional step as a part of the screening process. This can be your interview and written essay exam.
Writing is an integral part of law school. After all, this is also something that you’ll regularly be doing when you become a lawyer. Your potential professors are also on the hunt towards making sure that you’ll have the ability to withstand all these writing. It includes practicing on creating case briefs, pleadings, affidavits, and other legal documents.
Thus, to prepare for your application process, you’ve got to sharpen and practice your writing skills, specifically for longer documents, papers, and potentially, a graduation thesis.
3. Prepare Ahead Of Time
The law school application is serious. If you think that applying to your undergraduate course was challenging and stressful, all the more you’ve got to double your effort with your law school application. So much more is expected from you since you’ve already passed through your undergraduate years.
To make sure that you’re well prepared for your application, take the time to prepare ahead of time. Don’t rush anything. Usually, a rushed application is always a poorly made one. Whatever the deadline is, for the law school that you’re thinking of applying to, start preparing at least six to eight months before. This gives you ample time to review your letters, your recommendations, grammar, and written works. And even more so, prepare for your application interview.
4. Start Studying For The LSAT A Year Before
Some may tell you that the LSAT is easy. While some opine that it’s complicated. Truth be told, it’s indeed a difficult exam. Cramming shouldn’t even cross your mind. Once you reach your senior year at the university, this is around the time that you need to figure out what you want to do.
If law school is your option, then start compiling your materials for the LSAT during this time. There are test prep books or courses that you can take. During your free time, you can also do a lot of self-study. Remember, the LSAT scores play a substantial bulk as to the success or failure of your law school applications. Hence, this isn’t an area for you to relax on. Studying early is one of the techniques on how to achieve higher scores on the LSAT.
5. Practice Your Interview
Practicing your interview doesn’t mean that you’re going to memorize answers. This only means that you’re going to familiarize yourself with the questions that are frequently asked in law school interviews. Then, practice answering these questions with a friend, by yourself, or with family members.
This can help ease out your nerves by at least having an idea with how to answer possible questions. Should they come up during your application interview, you’ll no longer feel as nervous or daunted.
Conclusion
The sooner you start preparing for law school, the better. When you’re well prepared, your journey is going to be smoother. And, you can expect to receive that law degree with a higher certainty.
If you put your heart and effort towards achieving something, you can be certain that this is a goal you’ll quickly meet. These tips can help you get right on the track with your entrance exam, your preparations, and even your application to law school.