Sunday, October 26, 2008

Thank You!

I just wanted to say thanks to all of my readers - we hit some major records this weekend.
More than 10,000 people read my blog this month!
On Friday alone, almost 2,000 of you checked my site!

In appreciation of your readership and Loyalty, I'm offering 2 rewards:
1. If you sign up for my Option A "The Works" package on or before Friday, October 31st, 2008, I will honor the following coupon code for a surprise discount at checkout. (Enter Coupon Code: Blog Reader)

2. I will entertain any blog post topics you would like me to write about, and will try to write about then in the next week or two. Just leave comments to this post with your suggestions.

Now, since my blog readership has grown so much answering the comments has been getting a bit overwhelming. So, I'm going to ask everyone to abide by the following courtesies:

1. Please use a name when commenting, even it's a pretend name. It's way too confusing to answer to "Anonymous" because it is unclear which anonymous reader I'm responding to.

2. There are certain questions that are not conducive to being answered in a blog format. These include your chances at particular schools, whether or not you should retake the LSAT, and what you should write your personal statement about. These are the kinds of questions you need a law school admission counselor to answer, and I always offer free initial consultations to anyone considering using my services. See www.lawschoolexpert.com for more information.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. And thank you so much for all of the nice comments about how much you appreciate my blog!

Ann

20 comments:

  1. Ok, ok. The "surprise discount" is $50 off....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Topic Suggestion:
    I have read that law school applications are increasing as the economy is suffering. For someone majoring in a less common pre-law field (a physical science, not poli sci), how can I make it clear on my applications that I'm not applying to law school to avoid the weak job market? (Which, for the record, is true - if I just wanted to avoid the job market, I'd get a Ph.D. at a much lower cost than a J.D.). Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a question regarding law applications for students who have been out of school for a few years.....

    I am 29, and am wondering how to approach involvement/ extracurricular activities, etc on the application. Is everything I did in college irrelevant at this point- or should I still list college activities on the generic application?

    ReplyDelete
  4. CONGRATULATIONS, ANN!!! I think your blog's a wonderful resource and I really appreciate that you put so much effort into writing it for all of us.

    You've been a great counselor through this process and I look forward to gunning it this week and maybe submitting a bunch of applications on the upcoming weekend.

    Thanks again for all you do, Sistah. I couldn't do this so calmly without you. Or as easily or as well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Ann,

    Thanks for your willingness to take questions during this busy law school application season.

    I just wanted to know if there is any hope for the people who just don't perform well on standardized tests. What is your advice for applicants who don't do that well on the LSAT, but who have a proven academic record? Write an addendum?(The same thing happened with the SAT. Got a low score on the test, but transferred to an ivy league school after my first year, and got the highest GPA in my major. eek!)

    Sincerely,

    Rob

    (a.k.a. disappointed in his in inability to think like a psychometrician)

    ReplyDelete
  6. To Topic Suggester (great name, btw), I think you're not the person they would be worried about - it's more directed to finance rookies, MBAs, etc.

    To Sarah - Thank you for your continuous support and kind words!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Steve - those things still count! You may not need them on your resume anymore but they are perfectly appropriate to list on application blanks.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Rob,
    THere is hope for some, but not all, people who suffer with the LSAT. I've found that because I am the nice person who invites free phone calls and has no interest in whether the person applies to my law school (thereby helping yield rates) I tend to be put in the unfortunate position of killing dreams sometimes.
    I hate the LSAT. I do. But it's there and we have to live with it. It's your dream and you have to decide what it's worth to you to achieve it....

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've found myself with a wonderful problem: My LSAT score jumped 10 points this October from a score two years prior. My 172 will surely give me some good options, but I'm really getting mixed signals about whether or not an addendum is a good idea.

    I don't have any great story about why I did better... except that on the first test I let nerves get the better of me and bombed the first section miserably (doing fairly well on the rest of the test).

    Will an addendum owning up to my lapse in performance, but drawing attention to that fatal first section be a good thing? Am I better off letting the score speak for itself? Do I need to find some way to address this big score jump?

    Thanks in advance... just found this site and its great!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Ann,

    I love your blog.I was wondering if you could help me with this simple question.

    I just received an e-mail from Notre Dame Law School stating that they got my information from LSAC and I fit some of their criteria for admissions, etc. etc.

    But the problem is that my numbers are well below their medians. 160/3.06.

    I'm figuring that this is just an e-mail they send to everyone. (I've received e-mails from some other top ranked schools as well)I'm Vietnamese American so not a URM.

    Am I missing something about this e-mail?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear Random e-mails, schools do these things to increase applications and increase rejections, thereby to protect their yields. The simple fact that your numbers are below median doesn't mean anything to me. The test for me is do you like that law school? If so, then apply. If not, then say "thanks, but no thanks."

    ReplyDelete
  12. To Paradise (god, these names are really hillarious - glad I inspired some creative juices) - if a school averages LSATs, then provide an addendum. Otherwise, leave it alone.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dear Ann,

    I am in a bit of an odd situation. I took part in an Honors program in general education and I am a global affairs major. Both programs are integrated and interdisciplinary. As such, I only had one professor more than once. He has written me a LOR, however all of my others are from supervisors who I have worked for for all four years of undergrad. Cornell contacted me and asked for a second academic letter, which I am sending. Should I worry about all of my other Apps? Should I add on an addendum to the schools to which I have applied explaining my situation?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ben, Why not go ahead and send that 2nd academic LOR to the other schools? Or, call each admission office and ask if they'd also like for you to do that, and what the best way would be.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Ann,
    I would like you to talk about UCI a little bit, they are striving to be T20, so will their numbers pretty much be 165-180?
    Secondly, I want to know how to make the perfect application packet and how much really do Statements, LORs, and resumes count. Do schools really read them all? Esp I mean Brooklyn.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dear Ann,
    Is it possible to get into T20 with a 150 ish LSAT?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Ann,

    Thanks for the blog, it's been really helpful. I want to know why some schools offer such early admission decisions to others, while some are postponed till late march, april, may. And should I ask schools to hold my application until after the December or the Feb LSAT? Some schools don't even tell me that my application is on hold!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Please remember I cannot effectively answer anonymous questions....
    UCI is going to be a top law school, but even I cannot predict the numbers they will end up looking for, and I do think that school will place a high value on diversity and experience, but in combination with high numbers - not in spite of high numbers.
    Is it possible to get into a Top 20 with a 150? I wouldn't say it's impossible, but I would say it's incredibly unrealistic.

    ReplyDelete
  19. So how are your clients doing so far Ann?? I'd love to see a post on where some of your clients have gotten into thus far, if any.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Chris - thanks for the interest. I don't plan on posting on this until after the holidays because I don't want to feed into the paranoia of those who haven't applied yet that they are too late. But I do promise to share success stories!

    ReplyDelete