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First Generation Success Story: Orientation and Starting Law School
By Shirlene Armstrong • June 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law
My anxiety was relieved and I was accepted into law school. I decided on Wayne State University, sent in my acceptance paperwork and anxiously began waiting for school to begin. To be honest, I was not exactly sure what to expect from orientation or what law school was going to be like. Law school was different than anything I had encountered before. I feel like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, ready for law school but what if I get called on in class and I do not have the answers? Looking back on it, I know…
LSAT Prep Has Staggering Costs for Certain Students
By Shanti Brien • June 14, 2018 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Pre-Law, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Recently a young Native American woman and aspiring lawyer asked me if I knew any free or low cost LSAT prep courses. I had previously tried to dissuade her from law school--just as my grandfather had given me 29 Reasons Not to Go to Law School before I enrolled--but alas, she, like I, was determined. I didn’t know much about LSAT prep but soon felt the shock of the $1300 price tag. Soon thereafter, the $1300 grew much more significant when I realized the enormous negative impact of high-cost prep courses, especially on low-income people and people of color, but…
Selfie with no Filter: the 1L Life - Academic Advice
By Brittany Wiegand • May 29, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues
Whew. It's over! Finals ended over two weeks ago and I still have days when I'm still not sure that I completely feel it yet. Sometimes I think I do, then (like the other day) I'm driving to meet friends for lunch, see someone with a backpack crossing the street, and automatically think "sh*t I've gotta get back to studying!" Though the feeling is still sinking in, I've received grades and gotten a chance to reflect on what I would do differently. Since I can't go back, my hope is to shed some light for future students. I did a good bit…
First Generation Success Story: The Costs of Law School
By Shirlene Armstrong • May 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law
I had decided on which schools to apply to but actually had to go through the application and deciding on what school I should actually go to. I decided to apply to Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Washington University in St. Louis, and a few other schools. In order to apply for law school, there are several things you need to do. You have to take and pass the LSAT, fill out extensive applications, write personal statements, update your resume and other documents, and pay so many fees. As a first generation law student, no one really told me…
First Generation Success Story: Choosing Law Schools, Where Should I Apply?
By Shirlene Armstrong • April 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law
I had finally received my LSAT score and was ready to begin the application process. However, I couldn’t just apply to all of the law schools in the country. Applying to law school actually takes a lot of time and money. Personally, I had limited funds (since I was paying for it myself and a fresh college graduate) and was working full time (so had very limited time). Thus, I knew that my next step was figuring out where to go to law school or where to apply to at least. Since I was going to be studying at a…
5 Great Benefits of Law School
By Dennis Hung • April 27, 2018 •Law School, Pre-Law
If you are looking to start a new career after undergraduate or shift careers after you have been in the workplace for a while, you should consider law school. It has a lot of benefits for those who graduate. And furthermore, the legal profession does not have a lot of the negatives that you experience in other industries: Job Security With some jobs, you have almost no job security. A lot of people graduate college and then find out that their degree is worthless. This means that they just spent years of their life on a piece of paper that…
You’ll Pay for This: Choosing The Right Repayment Plan
By Kerriann Stout • April 18, 2018 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Pre-Law, Other Law School Issues, Issues, •Other Issues
After going to law school, I like to think that I have a pretty high threshold for the “I have no idea what I’m doing” feeling and can ultimately figure most things out with enough research. However, when it was time to figure out which repayment plan I should use to start paying back my law school loans, I was in tears of confusion in 5 minutes flat. I was immediately paralyzed by questions, such as “Why are there so many options?”, “Why do they all sound the same?”, “How do the payments range from $0 to $3,000?”, “How do…
First Generation Success Story: What Is This “LSAT” Thing?
By Shirlene Armstrong • March 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law
So I made the tough decision to go to law school which was half the battle. In order to get into a school I just need to fill out an application and hope for the best, right? As a first generation student, I had no clue what I needed to do in order to get into law school. Obviously, I knew I needed to finish my bachelor’s degree and get good grades, but I had no idea what else was involved. Unfortunately, I did not have anyone to turn to ask these pressing questions. What was a young law school…
#Ms.Cyberlaw: Q+A with Amanda Levendowski
By Ani Torossian • March 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
Today’s interview is with Amanda Levendowski, who is currently a clinical teaching fellow with the Technology Law and Policy Clinic at New York University School of Law. She is a graduate of NYU, where she completed both her undergraduate studies and her law degree. Before returning to NYU Law, she worked as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Cooley LLP focusing on copyright, trademark, Internet and privacy Law. She is also a Wikipedia editor. Hello Amanda! Before we enter law territory, my inner bookish nerd cannot refrain from asking you about your Dystopian Book Group. How did this…