What is even on the LSAT?

"What the hell is a logic game? How am I supposed to know the 12 different LR question types? Will I have enough time to read all 4 RC passages?"

There are many pieces that make up a law school application; all which admissions takes into account. But I would say that the besides your undergraduate GPA, the other important factor is the LSAT Score. The what? The LSAT!

If you aren't aware of what the LSAT is, that’s completely OKAY! I had no clue until I was a sophomore. The LSAT is short for the Law School Admissions Test. It is made up of 6 sections total – 4 of which are graded, 1 is an ungraded experimental and then a writing sample which is scored between a 1-4 and doesn’t count towards your total LSAT Score. A perfect LSAT score is 180 and the scoring begins at 120. Each section is 35 minutes and for the first 5 sections you have between 25- 27 questions to answer. Check out my post on the LSAT, First Things First  which includes helpful links about the exam.

What is on each section?

Well here's the fun part, there are actually only 3 sections all together: Logic Games ( top right) , Logical Reasoning (bottom left) and Reading Comprehension (bottom right). 

How are they divided up?

No matter what you will always have 1 Logic Game section, 1 Reading Comprehension Section, and 2 Logical Reasoning Sections; The remaining section can be any one of the 3. Also there is no way to know when each section will take place.

**I will not lie to you and say that this test is easy. It's not. But I will tell you that it's manageable, and if you put in the time studying and learn how to take the test, you will do well.

Side note: Begin studying at least 3 months in advanced, if possible, the summer before your senior year. This is the best time for many reasons but the main one is that during the summer months one typically does not have classes so you can focus your time on preparing for the exam. Even if you are taking summer classes, you can still effectively and successfully prepare for this exam. REMEMBER, it's only ONE SUMMER. Its not the end of the world. The best tip I can give you is MAKE A STUDY GUIDE AND STICK TO IT. But more on that in a bit.

How is the test Graded?

This is something everyone wants to know, and you should understand the grading because it's important.  The best way to explain this is through a photo;

For the LSAT you have a Raw score that then converts to your LSAT score & where you rank in percentile. The Raw Score tells you exactly how many questions you answered right. KEEP IN MIND: THE LSAT DOES NOT PENALIZE YOU FOR WRONG ANSWERS & EACH QUESTION IS WEIGHED EQUALLY.

The Raw score is then converted into an LSAT score which is on a scale from 120 - 180. You can fall any where within this range. Its not strictly a 120 or 150, you could receive a 133 or 167. It all depends on how many you answer correct.

Once your Raw score is converted into a LSAT Score, you'll then know where you fall in terms of Percentile. The Percentile just shows the number of people who scored below your score. Where as the LSAT Score is based off of your specific exam, the Percentile Score is based off of a three year period prior to the one you took.

For more information on scoring, refer to Alpha Score

Have any addtiontional comments, questions, suggetions related to the Exam Makeup or Scoring? Feel free to comment below or email me directly; I will be happy to help in any way!

First things first: LSAC/CAS and Registering for the LSAT

So I finally made my dream to go to law school my goal at the end of my internship. After discussing things over with my professor, I learned that my next step was to take the Law School Admissions Test or the LSAT. Even the name intimidated me at first... but after my experience I can promise you that you can manage this exam! For this post I'm just going to focus on how you even sign up for an LSAT exam; keep in mind there will be more post about the actual exam later

LSAC stands for Law School Admissions Council and by creating an account you get access to a bunch of great tools that help with many different parts of the Pre-law school process. I will go into more detail about this a little bit but for now let's focus on creating an LSAC account. This allows you to, first, sign up for the LSAT exam online. It's really simple. Go to the LSAC Home Page and click on the link that says "Create an account" from here select "Future JD Student" then go ahead and hit the arrow. You'll come to a page with a sign in section on the right or register section on the left, click "Sign Up Now". (Sign Up Direct Link) Fill out all the Required information. Then voila! You're ready to go on to the next part.

So like I said, LSAC allows you to sign up for the LSAT exam which currently costs $175. Be sure to read up on test center changes, date changes and cancellation fees/procedures. In order to do that from the home page go to the navigation bar at the top and hover over the LSAT tab. From here a drop box will release, click on "Register for the LSAT". Like I said before, pick a date that will give you enough time to study! I would say a minimum of 2 months of study is needed to prepare for the exam. It really depends on how much time you can give to preparing. 

Side Note: For those who are entirely "fresh" to the LSAT, I highly suggest checking out the "About the LSAT" page - About The LSAT - and the corresponding links on the left hand side before you register. This page gives a ton of helpful information regarding not only the exam, fees and the LSAT score. Another page I highly suggest checking out the following links which provide a TON of info on the law school process. 

Future JD Student

Thinking About Law School

After you click on the link to Register, just follow the steps. One thing you will be asked to do is pay the fee for CAS – Credential Assembly Service. This is not a mandatory thing. But while the fee for this service is a little step, currently $170, I highly suggest purchasing this. In short, CAS allows you to upload parts of the application, like transcripts and recommendation letters, only one time. From there you can assign these documents to all the schools you will be applying to. LSAC will then forward on those documents when it comes time to submit your applications. CAS takes away have to contact your schools and individually sending the transcripts and recommendation letters for every single one of your applications. For more information about CAS and the Fees, use this link: Applying To School - CAS 

I hope this was all useful information and hopefully it was not confusing. If you get the chance be sure to check out my All Things LSAT page for upcoming test dates, prep options && more! Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions or comments; I'll help in any way that I can!

Law School - 1, Criminal Law - 0

Completing an internship, during undergrad, was the best choice for me when it came to making my dream to go to law school concrete. 

Why? 

Well its simple: Why invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into pursuing a degree for a job that I'll hate? The first part was done – have an interest in legal studies. But that interest could only go so far within a classroom setting. I was seeking something a bit more because, like I said before, I was a bit stuck on whether or not this was the right path for me. 

Side note: one roadblock I experienced was that a lot of attorneys/firms that have internships available are seeking 1L+ students. I originally seeked an internship with a local NHL team but they were only taking on current Law students. But the positive side to this is that I can keep them in mind for a potential summer externship while in law school. As far as undergraduate internships go, I highly suggest ones in criminal law. I got a lot of firsthand experience both in and beyond the courtroom. BUTTTTTTT I MUST MAKE NOTE OF THE FACT THAT IT IS NOT REQUIRED OR EVEN RECOMMENDED FOR UNDERGRAD STUDENTS TO DO AN INTERNSHIP BEFORE LAW SCHOOL. I took that initiative on my own because I had a brief panic moment as to whether or not I was truly going to pursue law school and the legal profession. 

My internship was with a local Public Defender, We'll call him John Doe or JD for short, and it's safe to say that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT. But it wasn’t until after I completed it that I realized criminal law is not the right concentration for me. Why? Well it may sound so silly and trivial to some but to me its just the person I am. I have no issue defending the accused or the convicted, everyone deserves proper representation and justice. When I began the internship I was extremely nervous about this because for so long I was set on criminal law, but the prosecution - like my girl Alexandra Cabot.

I had the misconception that all Public Defenders and Defense attorneys were just getting clients out of being held accountable for their actions. JD showed me that my views were completely wrong. He showed me the truth in the idea that everyone has rights, deserves justice, equal representation and so much more. My issue with criminal law, on both ends of the spectrum, stood with children. I am someone who wants to have a family one day and I know part of having a children is that children make mistakes. The major thing is that they learn from their mistakes, grow and mature. I couldn’t be the person to defend or prosecute a child for crimes. I know that it would burn me out quickly and I want this profession to be something that will excite me, motivate me and allow me to be passionate at all points for the 25+ years. 

Long story short - while I am thankful for such a great learning experience, I am even more grateful for having discovered early on that while certain concentrations within the legal profession are not a right fit for me; law is.

So Long Undegrad, Hello ______

So here's a little about me; I graduated in 2015 with a Bachelors in English. I think completing a degree in English was by far the easiest, and best, decision that I could have made when it came to my academic career as an undergrad. Shun me for not having perfect grammar/punctuation at times... I'm only human and I can bet you it bothers me more than it will bother you. Anyways, for me, the English Major helped with so many different areas of the law school application process (in the sense that I learned how to create professional documents through writing, peer-review properly and professionally correspond with schools) and it helped with my LSAT exam (analytical reading and thinking, strategic writing and so on). The major goes beyond the application process too. From all those that I have talked to, and from what I've heard about law school in general, the English major helped preparing me for the lengthy readings and writing assignment that I will encounter.  But in the end, major in whatever it is that sets your heart on fire and something you know you can succeed in.

Side Note: One point I'd like to make is a question I've had once or twice about majors: I was under the false impression that I needed to major in something law related like poli sci, criminal justice or pre-law but that’s NOT the case at all. In fact after talking with a professor from English and another from Poli Sci, both who were attorneys before professors,  both agreed that it really doesn’t matter what you major in. Law schools like diversity, just don’t sit there and major in some completely random major like "Halloween Decorations & Meanings" (which was a major that someone actually created at my undergraduate school). I was an English major and Poli Sci minor and honestly I think the English major is really beneficial to a law student in the sense that the English major revolves around reading and writing... just like the first year of law school will. I know law students who majored in biochem, journalism, history, math; It's really up to you. Just make sure that whatever you major in you can keep your grades up! GPA is something that schools look at alongside the LSAT exam and the rest of your application – we'll get to that later though. 

So although I decided my freshman year that I was going to go to law school afterwards, I had a "waitttttt a minute" moment my sophomore year. I was an English major who was debating if law school was truly right for me or if I should switch over to the English EDU major and become a teacher. The fall semester I had two law related classes; one with a local Judge, the other with a local Public Defender. I found both courses to be extremely interesting but interesting wasn’t enough for me at this point, I needed something more to show me that this was the right path for me. 

I went and talked with one of my English Professors who happened to be a former attorney in corporate law prior to teaching. He suggested that I seek an internship. From there I went and discussed how i could do an internship for credit with my Political Science Professor. We discussed that while I wouldn’t be able to do too much (because I was not in law school or even a lawyer), just observing and doing small office tasks would give me a glimpse at what it'd be like. So I did just that. 

Side note: If you are interested in doing an internship for a semester, get all the information, requirements and approvals done in ADVANCED. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. I waited until the fall of my Junior Year to reach out and got lucky with the one I landed. But I do wish I would have started my search the spring of sophomore year. 

Today I'm Going To Be A Lawyer

justifiablyblonde.blogspot.com

I was first introduced to the field of law when I was 8. Her name was Alexandra Cabot and I watched her practice law daily; sometimes for an hour or so after school, others for a weekend long marathon on ABC Family (now known as FreeForm.. Wth is with that btw). Anyways, yes Ms. Cabot is a fictional character on Law and Order SVU. She was the first female that I admired (other than my mom of course) in a position of strong leadership. She showed me the value of being the strong independent woman but she also sparked my interest with the field of law. For the longest time I was beyond embarrassed by the influence that a fictional character had over me but I learned to value her role in chasing my own dream. I actually chose to include her role in my personal statement by telling how she planted my "Dream Seed" and: 

This dream of law progressed as I completed some introductory level courses in high school. Senioryear I had an entire class centered around law and I fell completely in love with it. I wanted more, especially after having guest visits from our local DA and visiting the county jail. As Senior year progressed, the most common question of "what do you want to do when you're done with college" led to the nonchalant answer of "I'm going to be a lawyer" sliding its way out of my mouth.
I think many just assumed it was one of those phases that teens go through when they begin to juggle ideas of what they want to do when their an adult. I even think that some people half expected me to do something else. But there was something within, a flame that ignited and began to burn strongly as time when on.

It was until I completed my freshman year of College that it realllyyy set in that this WAS my next step. I had a few friends in high school that at one point had the dream to go to law school, but they found a different calling once they reached college. For me, each law related class that I took in undergrad left me craving more and more leading my to do an internship. From there the only thing standing in the way from me and that life long dream was the LSAT & applications. These two things alone though have consumed my life for the past year or so - we'll get to all that later.

I know that some people don’t decided to go to law school until their junior year of college or even when their 40.. And honestly I don’t have a concrete answer on what it is about law that has pulled me in. What I do know is that the law & legal studies intrigue me, attorneys inspire me and the profession all together excites me. That alone has been enough for me to pursue it 100%.

Just Call Me H

Hey there, I'm H & Welcome to Justifiably Blonde!

It wasn’t until about 2 months ago that I received my first acceptance letter to law school.. I immediately burst into tears. The journey up to that exact moment was far from easy and ordinary. In fact, this past year has easily been one of the hardest years I've had to endure, and I wasn’t even in school. But before we get to any of that, let me start off with this: 

My dream to go to law school, and the even bigger dream to become an attorney, always felt like just a dream. There were many steps I needed to take in order to get me to exactly where I am now. I decided to make my dream become a reality after my Freshman year of undergrad. The first thing I noticed when traveling on this journey is that there were few places that I could turn to when the question "so what do I do now?" came about. The only thing I really knew was that I wanted to be an attorney and in order to do that I needed to go to law school. But the steps to get there weren't always so black and white.

I'm here to share my entire experience from the idea of law school and the LSAT to applications and actual classes (when I begin in the fall of 2016). I'm here merely as a reference for anyone who is interested in Law School or currently going through this process. There are so many little things that I wish I had known before hand and during pivotal points in the process. I will share the good, the bad and the ugly... Trust me this can get messy, but that’s okay because I ended up exactly where I needed to be and learned A LOT about myself along the way. By no means am I an expert or saying "This is the way to do this or that", I'm just a gal whose transitioning to the law school chapter in her book of life. 

xoxo