THE BABES GUIDE TO LAW SCHOOL PART I: WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE APPLICATION PROCESS+MONEY MOVES TO MAKE

Most of us have an idea of what we wanna be when we grow up as little kids — I wanted to be a dancer AND a prosecutor [*we see how that turned out lol*] — and we kinda gear up to that. But very few of us, especially minorities, know what exactly we have to do to get to law school. The things you do or don’t do BEFORE you start applying to schools sets the stage for what your experience will be. I know that everyone’s experience + circumstances are different so what I did + suggest may not work for you. Buttttttt I’m gonna give you my take on it anyway🤷🏾‍♀️😝 lol.

 

WHAT’S IMPORTANT BEFORE YOU APPLY ??:

I. First + foremost, undergrad — once you decide that you wanna go to law school, pick a major that both interests + challenges you so that you can get the best grades possible for you [idk about everybody else, but I have a hard time staying focused on things that I hate lol]. I was told that I’d “have a hard time” in law school if I majored in anything other than Political Science, History, English, Philosophy, etc. So I tried it — my sophomore year, I switched my major from Criminal Justice to Political Science for a semester + I was MISERABLE — that was some BS! I was not just interested + it showed [not to my professors of course but to me]. I was not about to spend the next two years studying something I hated, so I switched my major back to CJ and decided to add PS as a second minor [my first minor was in Criminology - clearly I like criminal sh*t lol] just so that I could still have exposure to what advisors told me was “make or break” information to know for law school.

In my experience, you do better and retain more information when you’re actually into what you’re studying — of course there are going to be certain courses/things that are mandatory + you have no choice but to do[i.e. math] so you have to do your best — grades are a huge part of the law school admissions process so the better you do, the better your chances are at getting great recommendations, admissions, and scholarships. So bust your butt to get the best grades possible cause trust me, your future self will thank you for it when you’re in less debt!

II. Next, the LSAT — one of the most important pieces of your application process puzzle [this test is the devil + IMO had absolutely nothing to do with law school] + also one of the most difficult. If you are not a good test taker [lord knows I’m not], doing well will take a bit more effort + preparation on your part. PUT IN THE WORK !! If you can afford it + if it’ll be helpful for you, take a prep course or get a tutor. If you’re disciplined enough to self-study, do that. Figure out what works for you, what you can afford [time wise + financially], which schools you wanna apply to [you need a mixture of “reach” schools, “safe” schools + “neutral” schools], and get to work! Again, the better you do on the LSAT, the better your chances of getting into schools + getting scholarships.

III. Lastly, start SAVING YOUR MONEY !!! The application process is costly [that’s an understatement actually] + time consuming — the earlier you get prepared, the less stressed you’ll be.

Here’s where most of your money will be going, besides LSAT test prep:

• First, you’re gonna need to pay for the LSAC CAS [Credential Assembly Service] to send your application materials to whichever schools you are applying to. The CAS is where you submit all of your required documents + applications, i.e. personal statements, LORs, diversity statements, transcripts, etc. and almost all law schools require you to submit your applications via LSAC so there’s really no way around it. The CAS fee is currently $195 [I dont remember what it was when I first had to use it — that was wayyyyy back in 2014 lol] + your account will stay active for five years.

You can apply for a fee waiver for both the LSAT test + the CAS — even if you don’t end up getting it, it’s still worth a shot because every dollar counts! If you do get a waiver, you get two LSAT exams, the CAS + six law school reports!! Each CAS report is $45 in addition to whatever the school’s application fee is so you’re looking at hundreds of dollars here alone.

Here’s the link to the info. on fee waivers: https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsat-dates-deadlines-score-release-dates/lsat-cas-fees-and-refunds/fee-waivers-lsat-credential

• Next, you gotta make your list of “reach”, “safe” + “neutral” schools, their fees + deadlines. Depending on your UGPA [undergrad GPA] + LSAT score, you may want to apply for a larger or smaller amount of schools to increase your chances of getting accepted to a school + getting scholarship offers. Those scholarship offers are hella important because not only will it lower your overall debt, it gives you a little bit of a bargaining chip when trying to decide which school you will attend [i.e. if two schools offer you a scholarship but one offer is lower, you could ask the school you reallllllly wanna go to if they can match the other school’s offer].

Also, ask for application fee waivers !! Law school applications are EXPENSIVE + they vary from school to school. App. fees range from $60-$150 per application! Some schools will outright offer a fee waiver, but it doesn’t hurt to email + ask the admissions office for one. The worst that could happen is they say no, but I found that 90% of schools that I asked were more than willing to give me a waiver.

If at all possible, try to graduate from undergrad with little to no debt. Apply for financial aid, grants, scholarships, start a damn GoFundMe if you need to — law school is at least a $200k investment + unless you’re rich [ACTUALLY rich, not hood rich🥴] , you’re gonna wind up having to take out loans to pay for it. If you leave undergrad with little or no debt, you’ll at least have a smaller financial burden in the longrun. I worked my ass off to graduate debt free from undergrad [literally, I worked part time through sophomore + junior years and I worked two part time jobs during senior year to pay for my classes/books when I could no longer get financial aid] + it was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done. I was able to cover my last few classes, LSAT prep + application fees without having to take out a loan or use my credit card [credit cards are also the devil to a broke student but that’s another story for another day lol].

 

Remember, at the end of the day the goal is to NOT be crippled by debt for the rest of your life. I like my money where I can see it — in my purse or on my person — I don’t wanna give money away for no reason lol. I’m not an expert and my path to law school was farrrrrrrrr from perfect + my tips may not work for everybody, but I’m hoping that at least some of you #PreLawBaes find this helpful. If you do, please let me know [if you dont, let me know that too lol] + if anyone who has applied to/attended/is currently in law school has any tips, please share those as well!

As always, feel free to email me or DM me on Instagram @thecounselle.

xoxo, Elle