Law School Applicants Can Prevent Self-Sabotage

[Dave_Berry]

"EVERYONE HATES THE feeling of being judged. Law school admissions officers go out of their way to frame the admissions process as just getting to know candidates and finding the ones who best fit their school. Ultimately, however, admissions decisions will leave some applicants excited or relieved and others disappointed or regretful.

This uncertainty makes applying to law school psychologically stressful. Just as many LSAT test-takers experience test anxiety as their nervous system reacts to the intense pressure of a fast-paced, high-stakes exam, law school applicants will often feel tense and unsure of themselves.

There is no way to avoid these negative reactions as you put your heart and soul into applications and then wait months for decisions that may change the course of your life. And if you think that stress is unbearable, just wait until you are a lawyer dealing with clients with a whole lot more to lose. Talk about being judged!

As law school applicants manage these pressures, they must be mindful not to shoot themselves in the foot. Without question, they must avoid major mistakes that come across as careless or overdefensive – like typos, wordiness or making excuses. Moreover, they must be careful to avoid nervous tics that come across poorly. Here are four common examples:

Negativity
Oversharing
Unprofessionalism
Redundancy" …

https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/law-admissions-lowdown/articles/how-law-school-applicants-can-prevent-self-sabotage

[bluebayou]

The only thing valuable in this article is the comment about a Diversity statement.

If you have a weak spot on your application, like a low GPA or lack of work experience, try to compensate for it by showing similar skills in other areas. Perhaps your grades were poor, but you have a letter of recommendation affirming your research and writing skills.

The ONLY thing to make up for a low GPA is a high LSAT score. You could be a brilliant poet, but it won’t matter if a transcript has a bunch of C’s on it.

Or perhaps you never had a job, but your resume lists a wealth of activities and volunteer responsibilities.

Since work experience is only required by Northwestern Law, the value of your resume is almost nil. Any college club experience will be fine.

If you are explaining a semester of bad grades in college, don’t talk about how much you partied or blew off school.

If this has to be pointed out to an applicant, they should never apply to LS as they do not have the common sense to succeed as an attorney.

If you had a bad LSAT score, don’t talk about…

Poor comment. If you have a bad LSAT score, the only solution is to Retake; in other words, never talk about a low test score, just retake. There is zero excuse not to.