It is now official – no full ride at Ohio State for Rayman. Even though it was totally expected I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. I really hope that they give the scholarships to people who are on the fence about Ohio State. Perhaps the full tuition will entice them to give OSU a try. Sure that would mean more competition for me but ultimately Moritz Law would become a better law school…and thats good for everyone.
Archive for the Admissions Category
Moritz Merit REJECT
Posted in Admissions with tags Moritz, moritz merit scholarship, Ohio State, Scholarships on March 29, 2010 by RaymanMoritz Merit Update
Posted in Admissions with tags Admissions, Money, Moritz, moritz merit scholarship, OSU, Sad, Scholarships on March 26, 2010 by RaymanJust got this email:
Dear Rayman:
Thank you for your interest in the Moritz Merit Scholarship. This e-mail is to update you on the status of notification of Moritz Semifinalists.
Due to Dean Northern’s illness, notification of semifinalists will occur Monday, March 29th. You will be notified either way of the decision.
We appreciate your patience in this matter and thank you for your continued interest in the Moritz College of Law.
Sincerely,
Scott “the man” Johnson
Admissions Counselor & Staff Assistant
Two points:
1) Hope that Dean Northern gets well soon.
2) I am a little disappointed. I have been literally checking my email every 10 minutes since Monday with the hopes of being a semifinalist.
I know that being a semifinalist is probably a long shot. I think my GPA is a little too low to be competitive. I also believe that the scholarship is geared more for people interested in public interest. Since I want to do something that makes cash money when I grow up, I doubt that they will want to pay for my school.
Oh yeah…for those of you who don’t know what the Moritz Merit Scholarship is: It is basically a full ride + stipend to OSU law. They give out 30 a year (10 to each class).
Rayman’s Personal Statement Tips
Posted in Admissions with tags Admissions, Law School, Personal Statement, Tips on March 22, 2010 by RaymanThe law school personal statement is something probably every law school applicant struggles through. Part of the problem is that there is no good feedback mechanism for the person statement. No one who has written a personal statement and gotten into law school can say with certainty that their statement was great or even good. The only thing that someone who has successfully gotten into law school can say is that their personal statement was adequate.
The admissions process is like a black box. You put a series of inputs — LSAT score, LSDAS GPA, personal statement, diversity statement, LOR(s), ect. — and then get a binary, maybe ternary, output in two to four mouths. A lot of what goes on inside this box is unknown. From the results of others combined with web sites like law school numbers what is important — LSAT and LSDAS GPA — can be reasonably assessed but beyond that the details of less important factors remain relatively unknown.
Despite the enigmatic nature of the law school personal statement I still feel that I am in a good position to offer advice on it. I have been engaged in the law school admissions process for 2+ years. Over this time I have read pretty much everything that is out there. I have read many real personal statements, in books and on TLS. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly.
DIVERSITY
I think the best place to start is diversity. I have observed many people say that they have nothing to write about because they are not unique. I think a lot of people put the concept of diversity on a pedestal and feel like they can never live up to the diversity that law schools are looking for.
Part of these feelings are grounded in reality. The fact is most of the time “diversity” is code for a specific group of minority applicants. In that case you either have it or you don’t. But when it comes to the personal statement I don’t think that definition of diversity is as fitting. Sure, a statement about some financially challenged, oppressed minority rising to greatness despite the cards being stacked against him/her is a compelling story but most people are not that person.
Lets say, hypothetically, that the compelling story I mentioned above is the ideal personal statement. Put yourself in the shoes of a law school admissions person. Why would you want to admit that person (from reading the essay)? It would not be because that person is a minority. The admissions committee already knows this. It’s a question on their application. The important part is that 1) the minority person has effectively communicated that he/she has a unique perspective to add to the class and 2) has demonstrated character by overcoming adversity. The minority part of the story just makes it a better story — that’s it.
Even though the above example was a rare situation the important parts — the parts that lead to admission — were things that virtually anyone can communicate. Everyone has a unique story and a unique point of view. Everyone (hopefully) has some strong and positive character traits. Your story does not need to be as profound as the example above. Remember that the story is just a vehicle to communicate the important stuff.
If you still don’t think you are unique try thinking in terms of stereotypes. Start by stereotyping yourself, maybe make a mind map of your stereotype. Then think qualities that you have that break the stereotype. You can then use those qualities to create contrasts between yourself and the stereotype that illuminate your personal diversity.
STORY
Like I said above — your story is just a vehicle to communicate the important stuff. It is important to see your story as a communication device. A good personal statement communicates clearly and effectively to the reader.
In this case your reader is an important person so consider his/her situation. The reader is an admissions officer who has read hundreds if not thousands of personal statements. If you were him/her how would you want someone to communicate to you after having previously read hundreds of essays? You would probably want the language to be simple and precise. This means absolutely no fluff. Make every single word count.
The reader is under no obligation to read your whole essay and even if he/she was he/she could still zone out. Thus, your story should encourage the reader to keep going. Employ a literary device and use detailed imagery to make the story interesting.
Imagery brings me to my next point…
SHOW DON’T TELL
A good personal statement tells the reader nothing. It communicates specific things that you want it to communicate but it does not explicitly tell the reader these things. Employ imagery to show the reader the things you want to communicate.
Imagery is a powerful tool. Words alone have little impact and are easily forgotten. Imagery however will make your story more personal and consequently more memorable. The imagery you use should paint a detailed picture of who you are as a candidate while showing all the qualities you possess that make you worthy of admission.
CONSIDER THE SCHOOL
It is important to consider the school you are applying to. Generally all personal statement prompts are the same but some have different requirements. Some schools have length requirements, try to follow those. There are also some schools that want you to talk about certain things. A good rule of thumb to read over the prompts for each school you’re applying to and then write a general essay that you can modify for schools with special requirements.
Another aspect of considering the school your applying to has to do with your content of your statement relative to your chances of getting in. Generally your statement should not be that controversial. If you must be controversial be sure to tone it down for your safety school. I remember hearing of someone who did not get into any schools despite having a safety that he should have gotten into. After reading his personal statement the reason for all of his rejects was clear — he used a racial slur in an arguably acceptable but far too controversial manner. Generally, if on numbers alone you should get into a school, your job on the personal statement is to not screw up.
PROOF
Finally, find people to read your essay before you send it in. People who will be biased towards you, like friends or family members should be avoided. Try to find people to proof your essay who will look at it objectively and tell you what you need to hear.
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That’s my advice on the personal statement. Like with my LSAT advice, take it with a grain of salt. I don’t have all the answers and the above is just my take on the process. At the end of the day it is a “personal” statement so make it your own, use common sense and you should be fine.
Rayman’s LSAT Guide
Posted in Admissions with tags Advice, LSAC, LSAT, Pre-Law on March 15, 2010 by RaymanThere hasn’t been much activity on the law school front lately. Since nothing is going on I will fill this temporary lull with my advice on things that I experienced before this blogs conception. To begin I will write about one of the most important parts of the law school admissions process — the LSAT.
The LSAT is a bear of a test but taking it is a skill that can be learned. After having been through it I feel as if anyone who did well in college can also do well on the LSAT — with a little diligence. As with many other things practice makes perfect.
There are all kinds of approaches to studying for the LSAT. Some people advocate expensive formal classes. While those classes are probably very helpful to some I do not think they are worth the cost. There are enough books and other study aids out there to make self prep a very effective method of study.
So what do you need? The number one mandatory requirement for any person going the self prep route is discipline. Seriously, the LSAT is no joke and studying for it takes time and dedication. If you are unwilling to take a disciplined approach then give up now. If law is something you truly want to do putting in the time and effort to get a good score will be worth it.
So, assuming you have the discipline, the next question is probably — now what? Well, the best place to start is the Internet. It’s a huge, free resource. There are probably a million (slight exaggeration) other bloggers out there who have written posts just like this and that’s just blog posts. There are also the law school message boards and law school related websites. Take a few weeks and learn all you can about the LSAT from the Internet.
After you read a lot of online information you will probably be extremely curious about what a real LSAT is like. Indulge that curiosity and take a real LSAT — under real conditions (time and everything). They are available through Amazon. I suggest that you get a more recent LSAT but don’t start with the MOST recent. My first prep test was one that was free through the LSAC (Law School Admissions Council) website. Taking that test as my first was a mistake because it was one of the most recent tests. It is probably best to reserve the most recent tests for practice closest to the real thing (more on this later).
With your first test in the bag you will have a “cold score” and a general idea of your natural ability. If your cold score is low don’t sweat it. I have heard of people improving as much as 18 points. My cold score was 158 and my highest practice was 173 (166 on the real thing). Obviously, you can learn your way out of a less than desirable cold score.
Now, how do you learn your way to a desirable score? The first step is to get and read the bible. I’m not talking about the holy bible, I’m talking about the Logical Reasoning and Logic Games Bibles. When I was prepping I read many books. From my experience, if you read enough on the Internet the bibles will be the only thing you need. Everything else will be mostly a repeat of what is out there on the Internet. There is also a new bible on reading comprehension. This was not out when I was prepping but if it’s any bit as good as the other bibles then it is probably worth the price. I say get it.
After you have consulted the Internet, gotten a cold score and read the bible you are ready to get to the real prepping — taking LSATs. During my experience I obtained prep tests 10 – 53 and took them all. You probably wont need to take as many as I did but expect to take around 20 + or – depending on how quickly you learn / how much you want to improve.
The best approach to taking LSATs is to start by just focusing on learning the test. As you get closer and closer to test day your test taking should look more and more like the real thing. Start by taking older prep tests un-timed. After you take each test take a lot of time to dissect each question you miss. The most important thing is to understand why you missed the question you did. Ask yourself what made the right answer right and how was it different from the answer you chose. You should also review questions you were unsure about but got right.
At some point your learning will slow. You will start to miss questions not because of some lapse in knowledge or understanding but because maybe you made a bone headed error or missed some small but critical fact. At this point you should start to shift your prep focus from learning to practice. Start taking your prep tests under timed conditions. Invest in a timer specifically for the LSAT. You wont be allowed to use the timer on the actual test (only analog watches are allowed) but it will help you to learn the right rhythm for the test.
A very large part of the LSAT is managing your time. Most people do not have enough time to finish every section so often it can be a strategic mistake to dwell on a particularly difficult question. The LSAT is a curved test and, consequently, a miss on a difficult question at the expense of getting more easy questions answered (and likely correct) is worth it. A LSAT timer will allow you to time each question and give you an objective indication of when its time to stop dwelling on a particular question. After enough practice with a LSAT timer you wont need it. You will develop an intuition of when to move on and when to dwell. This is an intuition that can only be practiced with real LSATs under REAL time conditions.
The final weeks before the test should be dedicated only to real LSATs under real time conditions. I feel like two prep tests a week would be good during this period although you could probably only do one. Try to make these final prep tests as close to real conditions as possible. By “as close as possible” I mean literally everything you can think of. If you know what room you will take the test in then practice there. If you have a friend willing to proctor for you then have him/her do it. Use #2 pencils and an analog watch. Don’t drink, smoke or take restroom breaks. The closer to the real thing you can get the more relaxed you will be on test day because everything will be familiar.
Finally, plan your prep ahead of time. Your prep timeline will be very critical. In fact, if I could go back and change one thing about my prep it would be my timeline. I did not take 43 prep tests because I wanted to, it was because my timeline got all messed up. Originally I was going to take the December LSAT but I had some problems with my registration and ended up taking the test in February. The result? I peaked too early and literally ran out of prep tests to practice with. You may have noticed that there was a 7 point discrepancy between my highest practice and my actual score. I believe that my messed up timeline was to blame. In this case don’t do what I did, get your timeline right and stick to it.
Well, that’s my system in a nutshell. I hope it helps. If anything maybe it will verify intuition or someone else’s system. There is a lot of info out there and everyone learns differently so don’t take my advice as Gospel.
Good luck.
Seat Deposit
Posted in Admissions with tags Moritz on March 5, 2010 by RaymanToday I sent in my deposit to the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and am thusly a offical member of the class of 2013. Hoooray! Now, I know what your thinking…it’s totally non-prestegus to not go to the highest ranked school that I got into. Yeah, I know and I don’t care. The other schools I got into just did not make sense like OSU did.
OSU, Money, WOOT
Posted in Admissions on February 12, 2010 by RaymanOhio State sent me a nice email today:
Dear Rayman:
It is with great pleasure that I inform you of your selection to receive a Moritz Academic Merit Scholarship. John Ruskin, an English author and poet once wrote: ?quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.? We believe that the high quality of your academic achievement was not an accident, but the result of synergy created by your drive, talents and commitment. We also believe that it is only a glimpse of the great work that you will do in the future. We are proud to bestow this honor upon you.
The Moritz Academic Merit Scholarship is automatically renewable for each of your three years at the Moritz College of Law. This award does not include any need based or specialty scholarships for which you may apply by March 1st of each year. To maintain your scholarship you must earn a 2.5 GPA or better in the College of Law. You must also maintain the highest standards of integrity and character. Violations of the Moritz College of Law Honor Code, University policies, criminal statutes or other acts of moral turpitude may result in forfeiture of the your scholarship.
Your total Moritz Academic Merit Scholarship award is $11000.00 a year, for each of your three years of law school. To accept the Academic Merit Scholarship, please complete the following Scholarship Acceptance Form by April 1st of this year or seven days after the receipt of this e-mail if received after March 24th.
It is almost as if I have made 11k today — Alright! seriously though, that scholarship will make tuition at OSU a manageable 11k per year. That’s not considering the fact that I can still apply for the Moritz leadership scholarships – which I am going to do. I think this has made a commitment to Ohio State that much more likely.
Now theres the question of whether or not I try to negotiate. I don’t really have anything to negotiate with. This scholarship award makes Ohio State my most affordable option. So maybe I should just take the money and run.
Rejected at Northwestern
Posted in Admissions, Decisions, Thoughts on Law School on February 4, 2010 by RaymanNorthwestern was my dream school. Over the recent months that dream has faded but still lived on im my mind. Today that dream has died. My rejection likely means that I will not go to law school in Chicago. While I regret this fact I still know that wherever I end up I will be happy.
I now have two more schools to hear from, Harvard and Columbia. I do not expect to get into either of these schools. Moving forward I am going to do two things — First, I’m going to work on getting off the wait lists that I am on and second, I am going to decide on a school that I have gotten into.
George Washington Law is not worth the money so I will no longer pursue that waitlist. The bulk of my efforts will now be focused on UVA. I’m not completely certain of how I will approach getting off the waitlist. Surely, I will write a letter of continued intent — a good one at that. Beyond that maybe I will call or work my connections or both. A trip to Charlottesville is definitely in order.
Part of me still wants to just make a decision already. I have become so debt adverse lately that my view on which schools are really viable has become quite limited. I question whether even UVA would be worth attending (blasphemy–I know). Without a doubt a JD from UVA offers many opportunities. But I do not like the idea of being forced into a position I don’t want all in the name of clearing a monthly payment.
I have worked long enough at a job that I took for pragmatic reasons to know that it is something that I will never do again — if I can avoid it. I want to do everything in my power so that my next job is something I truly want. And if that means sacrificing a little prestige for a little freedom then so be it.
GW Waitlist
Posted in Admissions, Decisions on January 26, 2010 by RaymanWell, I have been wait-listed at George Washington and while I am a little disappointed by it, I’m mostly just mad. I want a real decision not a maybe. Soon, I will likely have heard from all of the schools that I applied to and at that point I will want to make a commitment.
I used to be really interested in GW until I began to worry about the cost of school. Maybe this wait-list will make it easier for me to commit to another, more cost reasonable school.
