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Hacking the Law School Application

AKA Get as much free stuff as you can
Tags: applying, free stuff, LSAT
Apr 2, 2023

This list is broken down into distinct parts of the law school application process.

Click to scroll

  1. Making the Decision to go to Law School
  2. LSAT Prep
  3. Taking the LSAT
  4. Putting Together Your Application
  5. Applying to Law School
  6. Preparing for Law School
  7. Related Articles

Making the Decision to go to law school

  1. LSD Articles
  2. LSD.Law has a lot of free articles and resources to help teach you about law school and the application process. 
  3. Everything on the site is free and nearly all data is user generated. Join the movement to make law school more accessible by becoming a member today
  4. Book: Don’t Go To Law School (Unless) by Paul Campos
  5. The book is not free, but you can find a flowchart of the main message here.
  6. It is a little negative about the decision to go to law school, so it might push you away from applying. However, if a flowchart convinces you not to go to law school, then you probably shouldn’t go. Law school is a long, expensive, and doesn’t necessarily set you up to make enough money to justify the cost, so you should think hard about the decision before you agree to go.   
  7. Law School Admission SubReddit
  8. LSD has an article about r/lawschooladmissions that is worth checking out before logging onto r/lsa and explains some of the pros and cons. 

LSAT Prep

  1. PowerScore
  2. All of PowerScore is not free, but they do have some free resources
  3. If you have an LSAC fee waiver you can get the PowerScore on-demand course for free if you are retaking the LSAT
  4. They have a whole suite of free products that you can see and download, and they don’t even ask for your contact information. 
  5. Scribd
  6. Scribd is not free, but they do have a 30 day free trial
  7. At last checked you can find and download over 40 prior LSAT tests 
  8. While you are on the free trial you can also get access to quite a few LSAT test books for free
  9. Khan Academy
  10. Khan Academy has partnered with the LSAC to offer a free LSAT Prep program. 
  11. You get access to a great interface for hundreds practice questions and about 13 full practice tests
  12. You can make your own schedule and Khan will help you keep to it
  13. The Official LSAT Prep, LawHub
  14. Similar to Khan Academy, LawHub offers access to two free practice tests. 
  15. LSAC Fee Waiver
  16. You can get the Official LSAT Prep Plus for free if you have received an LSAC fee waiver. 
  17. Most people will buy the LSAT Prep Plus at some point because it is required for every (good) LSAT Prep course and is the easiest way to get access to over 60 practice tests.

Taking the LSAT

  1. LSAC Fee Waiver
  2. Not everyone will get approved, but it is worth checking out the LSAC site to see if you might qualify. Keep in mind that you can always appeal if you get denied. You can also check out LSD’s guide to the fee waiver.

Putting together your application:

  1. Take advantage of a free consultation from an admissions consultant
  2.  There are many consultants out there, and some offer free initial consultations. One example is PowerScore, and you can sign up for the free consultation here.
  3. The negative: you will have to put up with the consultant trying to get you to buy something, BUT
  4. Admissions consultants cost about $200/hour or up to over $5000 for full application support, and you can get an hour for free
  5. Dear Future Colleague
  6. Dear Future Colleague provides mentorship, guidance, and recruitment opportunities for underrepresented graduate school and competitive scholarship applicants — including people of color, individuals from a lower socioeconomic status, first-generation individuals, and other demographics who have been systematically excluded from higher education.

Applying to Law School

  1. LSAC Fee Waiver
  2. The fee waiver covers LSATs, CAS, and Score Reports. You can apply for it at any point in the process (it doesn’t matter if you already paid for something), but you won’t be reimbursed for past purchases. 
  3. Application Fees
  4. Turn on Candidate Referral Service
  5. Some schools don’t have application fees but most do. Many schools will waive their application fee under certain circumstances. Most will automatically waive their fee if you have an LSAC fee waiver, many will waive them if you explain that applying will have a financial impact on you, and some will waive them if you just ask. 

Preparing for Law School

  1. Scholarships
  2. There are a lot of law school specific scholarships out there
  3. One place to start is Admission Dean which has a living list of about 100 scholarships for law school students. The largest scholarship is worth $10,000/year. The website isn’t amazing, but the list is best list of law school specific scholarships we have found. 
  4. Books
  5. You can find a lot in libraries for free. One book found on many pre-law reading lists is 1L of a Ride by Andrew J. McClurg
  6. If you don’t want to go to a library, then you can sign up for a two-day free trial of West Academic study aid collection to access the e-book for free.
  7. If you didn’t use a Scribd free trial for LSAT prep, you can also use it to access eBooks for pre-law school classics like:
  8. 1L of a Ride by Andrew J. McClurg
  9. One L by Scott Turow
  10. PreLaw Course
  11. These are courses designed to help you prepare for law school the summer before you start law school.  
  12. By far the most popular/famous pre-law course is Law Preview by BarBri. The course definitely isn’t free, but they coordinate with law firms to give out a lot of scholarships every year. You can apply to the scholarship once you have been accepted to a law school by clicking here. These ‘diversity’ scholarships are open to URM applicants, Women, and anyone in the LBGTQ+ community. Law Preview focuses on two primary goals, 1) to introduce you to the core 1L classes: contracts, property, torts, criminal law, civil procedure, and constitutional law; 2) to teach you about law school and introduce good study habits that will put you in a good position to get good 1L grades. You can see the course overview here.   
  13. Your university might offer what is called a 0L course. These lessons are put out by a few law schools for their incoming students to introduce them to 0L courses and the structure of courses/exams at your specific law school. 

Related Articles:

  1. LSAT & Application Timeline as an Undergrad
  2. Understanding your LSAT Score - For Applicants
  3. What is a good LSAT Score
  4. Gap Year Before Law School
Windsor MIT '22, Harvard College Advisor

I am the half of LSD that didn't take the LSAT, or go to law school (Sorry about that). But I did go to MIT business school while surrounded by law students and lawyers, so I am somewhat qualified to talk about the intricacies of law school apps and finances.

Windsor (the dog) didn't write this but he WAS a Resident Tutor and career advisor at Harvard College with me, so deserves some credit.

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General chat about the legal profession.
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Dkk
23:57
Yeah, either with the laundry machine or getting high and dropping his blunt on the couch.
windyMagician
23:57
ppl whose moms did their laundry their whole lives
Dkk
23:57
@texaslawhopefully: You should see how many people do not in the Army lol.
You need a different roommate dk
Dkk
23:58
Lease ends in August. Gunna be set to go to law school then.
@windyMagician: even then, though, it’s not rocket science or anything
Some guys are ridiculous. I guess the guys doing laundry are the same ones who think men don’t need to learn how to cook because they think they’ll find a women to do it for them
*guys not doing launddy
Dkk
0:00
Probably. This guy doesn't cook though. Football team cooks for him that he coaches.
windyMagician
0:00
boys are dumb and literally do not know how to care for themselves. not to be gross but my ex would regularly have poop stains on his boxers.
Doesn’t sound like you’re missing out on much lol
Dkk
0:01
Gross. Yeah I gotta agree. On average women are smarter than men imo.
windyMagician
0:02
yeah whenever i want to cry over this man im gonna think about that
Dkk
0:02
That's good to think about.
windyMagician
0:03
this morning i did find a letter he wrote me on my bday and cried just a little bit since i am a very brave girl
windyMagician
0:03
but yeah. poop stains and dryers full of lint.
Dkk
0:04
That was sweet of him. Last time I wrote a letter to a woman I ended up in a court of law. He should take the class I used to teach on how to wipe your ass. Was a hit in the Army.
Dkk
0:05
Rule 1. When you sit on the toilet and push the poop out, don't squeeze your ass cheeks together at the same time. Had to teach someone that.
windyMagician
0:12
HUH
windyMagician
0:13
he wrote, “when the storm clears, i’ll be here waiting for you on the other side.” …….. no u clearly won’t be
Why are you reading his letter 😭
windyMagician
0:17
in my all to well 10 min version era
I'm here for it. 10 minute version >>
I don't know anyone who listens to the regular one
JumpySubsequentDolphin
0:20
i have a confession
JumpySubsequentDolphin
0:20
i find jake gyllenhaal so attractive
windyMagician
0:24
boo lame corny tomato tomato tomato
windyMagician
0:25
im jk. he is hot yet evil
Dkk
2:05
@JumpySubsequentDolphin: Oh shit that guy looks like the Alaska guy I was drinking with who I lost the $20 he gave me in the power outage.
Dkk
2:05
Very nice!
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