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Preparing for Law School

I got into law school. Now what?
Apr 2, 2023

First, let us say congratulations! Getting into law school is a major accomplishment and it isn’t easy. 

Once you have been accepted to law school there are a few things you have to do:

  1. Make sure you want to go to the school(s) that you got into
  2. Decide what offer of admission you want to accept (if you got into more than one)
  3. Decide if you want to hold out for a waitlist offer (if you are on one)
  4. Figure out how much the school you choose is going to cost
  5. Figure out how you are going to pay for law school
  6. Determine if you want to do any prep during your 0L summer
  7. Find a place to live and show up for orientation (or don’t show up, we aren’t your parents)

Step 1: Make sure you want to go to the school(s) that you got into

Hopefully, you did all your due diligence when applying and only applied to schools that you really want to go to, but maybe you didn’t and just applied to a ton of schools because LSAC and CAS make it easy (though not cheap). Another possibility is that you were hoping to get scholarships to certain schools and didn’t. 

So at this point it is important to confirm that you will be happy to go to each school that you got into so that you can start the process of selecting one. While there are a lot of things to consider, some big ones are: total cost of attendance, opportunities after graduation, location (because you will live there for 3 years, and it is very likely that you will stay in the state where you attend school).

Step 2: Decide what offer of admission you want to accept (if you got into more than one) 

If you only got into one school or got into your dream school this might be easy, but for a lot of people this will be a hard decision. While there are a lot of things to consider, some big ones are: total cost of attendance, opportunities after graduation, location (because you will live there for 3 years, and it is very likely that you will stay in the state where you attend school). Schools have ‘admitted students weekends’ prior to the deadline when you need to put down a deposit. If you can go, you should because it is a really good way to get a feel of a school if you’ve never been. A lot of schools will offer a stipend to help you pay to get there and lodging with current students for the weekend to make it more affordable than it may seem. If your schools don’t advertise this perk, then you should definitely ask. 

This is also the point at which you can start ‘negotiating’ with schools for money, and get a sense of how much financial aid you will receive so that you can have a better sense of what each school will cost. Similar to a job negotiation it is always good to ask for more than the school initially offers. They might say “No,” but as long as you do it professionally, it won’t hurt to ask. 

If you have other offers, and especially if you have large scholarships at similarly ranked schools then you should definitely leverage that in your ask for more money. If you are telling yourself: “I don’t think I should ask for more money because this advice is not for me, but for others” then you are selling yourself short. You might not get anything from asking but you definitely won’t get anything if you don’t. 

Step 3: Decide if you want to hold out for a waitlist offer (if you are on one) 

If you are on the waitlist for a school you really want to go to, then “Congrats!” but also “Condolences.” Being on a waitlist is extremely stressful and can be expensive. You will most likely put a tuition deposit down on a different school which you will lose. We have friends who were literally driving to their number two choice school in August when they got off the waitlist at their number one school and had to decide on the spot what they wanted to do. Talk about admissions induced stress until the true last minute. 

If you do decide to stay on the waitlist then you should stay in touch with the admissions office at the school where you want to go. We recommend writing a letter of continued interest (LOCI) and updating the school with any new relevant information e.g. a new LSAT score (if you took one after getting waitlisted which would be rare and impressive), final semester of grades (if you are applying as a student), etc. 

Step 4: Figure out how much the school you choose is going to cost  

Tuition at most schools is a BIG number, but it doesn’t actually cover everything. Instead look at the school’s total cost of attendance which is a better representation of how much 1 year of school will actually cost. This is also when you should confirm how much you will get in scholarships and/or financial aid you will receive from the school. There are a lot of third party scholarships to which you can also apply, and your school’s financial aid website probably has a list. 

Step 5: Figure out how you are going to pay for law school

Some things to keep in mind when borrowing for law school:

  1. Budgeting is important, as law school can be expensive. Try and borrow as little money as possible, as interest is expensive and loans have to be paid back.
  2. Law school is long and expensive, and schools rarely report the cost of attendance for all three years in one place. Plan for the cost of all three years, and consider the opportunities the school will give you for the 10 years following school when you will (probably) still be paying off loans. 
  3. Some schools will reduce need-based financial aid if students make money over the summer. Check with schools if you are planning on using summer internship or a term-time job to pay for school. 

Check out a more thorough explanation of paying for school here.

Step 6: Determine if you want to do any prep during your 0L summer

Some schools will offer optional courses for the summer before your first year of law school, AKA “pre-law courses” or “0L courses”. The purpose of these courses is to introduce you to the content that you will see during your first year of law school and to get you start thinking like a law school student to make 1L a little easier. 

There are also third-party 0L courses that you can pay for. These courses offer classes, and can also offer community and mentorship by the course administrators and instructors which often lasts during your whole time in law school. If you can afford these courses they can be great opportunities, especially for students who are going to law school with limited law relevant social resources.

Step 7: Find a place to live and show up for orientation (or don’t show up, we aren’t your parents)

Find a place to live: For many of you, the move to law school will be the first time that you transplant to an entirely new city, potentially with little to no network. This can be exciting and is also a little scary. Regardless of who you are going to live with, or if you are going to live on or off campus, we recommend figuring out what the housing situation is like in your new city as soon as possible. 

For example, leases in Boston are mostly available to start in June or September. Finding an apartment in NYC will probably cost you 4-months’ rent up front (first and last, broker fee, security deposit). If you have lived in northeast US or California cities these types of things might be normal, but for everyone else these might be shocks. Better to be shocked and surprised in May or June than in September when you are supposed to be starting classes.  

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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.

General

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HimmyNeutron
19:49
I didn't even say anything but I hope that makes u feel better lmfao
HimmyNeutron
19:50
plz keep listening to spivey 17lo
AmbivalentPotato
19:50
Im not gonna lie. A lot of people criticize himmy and potato for speaking the truth. There is always someone out there that can replace you
AmbivalentPotato
19:50
Whether you can accept reality or continue to live in la la land is up to you
HimmyNeutron
19:51
is boar advertising tutoring with a 172 lol
you’d think for all that bragging about your work ethic you’d have something better to do with your time than attacking people’s lsat scores @potato lol
tbh that is pretty good advice, you never know who else is out there in the applicant pool
HimmyNeutron
19:51
that should be a ban lmfao
Nah potato has an alt, bro spoke in the third person, so pathetic lmaoo.
19:52
@onetimesignin it really doesnt matter, people score 170s off the rip with no studying. They are just built different, you gotta accept that there's level to this. Thats why I'm not applying anywhere near the T8 i know not cut out for that. With a 154 UT is gonna shred you.
HimmyNeutron
19:55
I don't like that mentality. u can always do better but yeah with a 154 and no proven academic merit he will have a tough time
AmbivalentPotato
19:56
Thank you wavy. Maybe he will listen from someone else. But yeah totally agree w your point
AmbivalentPotato
19:56
Or he can learn the hard way in a few weeks
[] WhisperingWillingBoar
19:57
Himmy didn't you say applying after October 20th makes no sense and those people should sit out the cycle like yesterday?
19:58
Himmy I'm not saying you cant out work someone smarter than you but theres only so much you can do
HimmyNeutron
19:59
@WhisperingWillingBoar: no
i mean you can always retake for a higher score then apply the following cycle
i dont trying for a higher score automatically means that it being late after oct 20th is contradictory
Hey Potato I figured you knew this (since you have 180/4.0) but when you refer to yourself you can use the words “I” or “me”, unless you meant to send that other message from your alt
AmbivalentPotato
20:01
Potato thinks youre dumb
Potato has an alt and he's using it to hype himself up LITERALLY SO EMBARESSING
CleverSilkyGibbon
20:02
dawg im just tryna fill some info in and this potato guy has me dying laughing
lil bro is red in the face right now stammering at the keyboard in tears
HimmyNeutron
20:02
u guys are so stupid
20:06
do they think I'm potato?
20:38
@onetimesignin: wait this is so funny
20:38
potato i sincerely hope you find a life someday and get off this website
i cannot get in the mind of people who decide to troll a random law school data aggregator chat room
but im sure its a turbulent place
or actually maybe its totally becalmed lol
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