I was interviewed recently by the LSAT Blog about law school and the admissions process:

1.

I thought I'd share (with permission) some feedback from a law school applicant who recently visited one of the top US law schools, where he is waitlisted.

I've written before about the significant quality control challenges that law school study-abroad programs pose. Here are some perspectives, courtesy of the Chronicle of Higher Education, from the business school side about global MBA programs and exchanges, from a recent meeting of 400 business school deans last week, where they raised questions "about whether the sweeping globalization of management education amounted to more rhetoric than reality.

From our law school admissions and career consultant, Nicole Vikan:

Prospective and current law students are often confused about what it means to practice public interest law—and they are usually excited to learn about the wide range of work that falls under this umbrella.

A while back I wrote about the predicament of an American law student who feared he was wasting his summer working for a non-profit in Cambodia. He felt frustrated by the corruption, the non-existent law enforcement, and the inertia he was witnessing in the legal system, and he was feeling useless and a bit depressed:

When I'm asked to comment on what I did and how I liked it, I don't want to be too negative or dishonest.

Recently I got an earful (or, more accurately, an inbox full) from some employers about the fine art of cover letters - mostly about what not to do. I'll paste in a sample below.

This is a good opportunity to remind my twenty-something crowd that there are often generational dynamics at work when you submit cover letters, to Gen Xers in particular.

Our colleague David Yi reports:

There are many questions and speculations about the soon-to-be-implemented accelerated 2-Year JD Program at Northwestern Law School. I recently spoke with two of my contacts at Northwestern Law to dig in and get some “insider info.” Here’s what I’ve learned:

* Currently there is a 2-year JD program already in progress for foreign attorneys. The new 2-year JD program for American law students will probably parallel that program closely.

* The 2-year JD program will primarily be for older applicants with significant work experience.

Just received this press release: 

 

"Shark Tank" - A new show by Mark Burnett (Apprentice, Survivor) 

  

Are you trying to start a business but need an investor? 

 

Do you have an existing business but need financing to take it to the next level? With the credit market frozen, and banks in trouble, we could be what you need! 

  

New major television network pilot (to air) seeking entrepreneurs who would like to pitch their idea to a panel of five multi-millionaire and billionaire investors!

I started a thread called 1L Blues a while back, because I thought it would give other aspiring law school students something useful and realistic to chew on.

Here's another unhappy camper (maybe he'll become a happier camper?) with some interesting things to say:

To be quite honest, I have not been happy at all with my law school experience.

Today's WSJ profiles six college students who give their first-hand accounts of the admissions process. They ended up at Stanford, Cornell, Wellesley, Michigan, Grinnell, and Lafayette (Pennsylvania). The lessons:

• It's possible to defy the odds and get in off the waitlist (Stanford), even after everyone tells you you won't get in.

• Repeatedly misspelling basic words like literature ("literatre") and chemistry ("chemestry") on one form likely got an applicant dinged at Dartmouth, and after fixing them he got into five other schools, including Cornell.

Recently I posted my reactions to a new book about Harvard Business School called "Ahead of the Curve," by recent alum Philip Delves Broughton.

The blogosphere has come down hard on Michigan Law School's recently announced Wolverine Scholars Program. I'm excited when any law school innovates, so I chatted with Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss to find out what's what. Our Q&A below:

1. Could you explain what the Wolverine Scholars Program is and who is eligible for it.

Our new Wolverine Scholars Program will invite applications from University of Michigan undergraduates who have at least completed their junior year and at most are scheduled to graduate in Winter or Spring 2009 (that is, rising and graduating seniors) who have cumulative GPAs of 3.

Good news for prosecutors, legal aid attorneys, and public defenders here.

Anna,

I read your blog before making the decision to attend law school and right on through my 1L year. I've learned a lot. Thank you.

I attend the [deleted] School of Law and received a public interest fellowship to do a summer internship at [deleted], an NGO that provides free legal services to poor farmers in Cambodia.

Usually the parents of applicants drive me a little nuts, but yesterday I received a lovely email from an applicant's father who reminded me that a little perspective goes a long way when people go into panic mode. And this time of year, applicants are going into serious panic mode.

The family crisis? The applicant -- call her X -- had just found out that the superstar professor who had promised to write her a recommendation a few months back has decided not to write any this coming semester.