Top Ten Tips
Don’t let these stereotypes threaten your chances of doing well. The LSAT score is the single most important factor in your quest to attain law school admission. The results of this test probably do more to keep Blacks out of law school than anything else. Don’t allow this test to have that kind of power over your future. Do whatever it takes to do well whether it means taking an expensive commercial course, hiring a tutor, going through every LSAT book and previously released test question you can get your hands on, or taking a year off after undergrad to spend your spare time focusing solely on learning how to perform at your highest level on the test. You might even need to treat preparation as a full-time or part-time job
if that is what is required to get you to the score you need. Avoid making the mistake of taking on a full-class load, a job, extra-curricular activities and adding LSAT study to that. Your lack of focus and trying to do too many things might cause you to not perform at your best. If law school is what you really want, then it’s worth the sacrifice. No matter what you do – don’t go in to take it until you have prepared to the very best of your ability. You don’t want to spend the time and space in an addendum discussing how you don’t do well on standardized tests and how they under predict your abilities, especially when you know that you did not take the test when you were at your best and failed to put in the time and effort in preparation for it to truly reflect how well you are actually capable of performing. In the end, after having given your best efforts, it will be worth it.
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Tip #6: A good GPA and a high LSAT score are no guarantee for admission – and they won’t always just speak for themselves If you are told that all you need is a good GPA and a high LSAT score to get into law school, this is not necessarily true, especially at the more competitive law schools. Remember that no matter how good your credentials are, there are many other people out there with similar or better
You must consider from the beginning what you will have to offer that will set you apart from other highly qualified individuals who are also striving for a seat in the classes when the offers admissions offices are able to make are limited. This takes not only doing well but advance planning and talking to high achievers, current law students at the schools you want to attend, and lawyers about the types of things they’ve done to come out on top despite the severe competition they’ve had to face. If you want this, you have to do what is necessary to get a competitive edge and stand apart. There are a lot of smart people with a great deal going for them who want to go to law school too – who will make the effort to do whatever it takes to get in.
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Tip #7: Just being Black may not be enough to be counted as a “plus” factor; you should explicitly state that you strongly identify with African American or Black culture and that you feel a responsibility or have a commitment to give back to the people within your community, and will contribute to diversity in a number of ways at the law school Annual 2013 Edition
BLACK
“get it.” For many, they have it in their minds that they won’t do well even before they sit down and take a single practice test – and it becomes a selffulfilling prophecy. Stanford psychologist Claude Steele calls this phenomenon of Blacks doing poorly because of the extra pressures of feeling that they are not expected to do well as “stereotype threat.” It is not that many African Americans don’t have what it takes, but because of prior educational disadvantages and a lack of mentorship, some of them just don’t fully know or understand what it takes to fully prepare for and perform well on these tests or how to take these tests.
credentials than yours. There is simply no guarantee for admission. Many schools compare applicants with similar LSAT scores and GPAs against each other and choose the ones that are the most interesting, and intriguing, and who they feel can contribute something special or unique to their class. This means they will have to take into account more than grades and LSAT scores when they have a large pool of competitive candidates. Among this group, they will compare the content and quality of the personal statements and essays, as well as the strength and impressiveness of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, community service and volunteer work, employment experiences and other information provided. Make certain that your essays are engaging and compelling. Make sure that your resumes and profiles are detailed and well-thought-out and orchestrated beforehand.
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