After perusing through my copy of Anna Ivey’s The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions, I realized that I need to realign my priorities in order to pay close attention to the critical aspects of my law school applications.  Ivey, who was the dean of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School, provides straightforward answers on the admissions process and does not sugarcoat anything.  While some books say that law school admissions isn’t a numbers game, Ivey explains exactly why numbers are so important for law schools.  Clearly, the whole admissions process is a lot like playing a sport (with the exception of golf): I want to score as many points by the end of the game; in law school admissions terms, I want to have as many points by the time the admissions officers are through reviewing my application.

According to Ivey, officers spend on average 5 minutes per application. You mean to tell me that I’m probably going to spend hours filling out papers and hunting people down for recommendation letters so that an admissions officer can look at it for 5 minutes?  I guess that’s why I’m starting so early – I definitely don’t want to be writing thesis and working on personal statements/resumes.

So what exactly are admissions officers looking at? Well in the first quarter they review GPA and LSAT scores, and in the remaining 3 quarters they review the essay, recommendations, resume and addendum.  Wait is there overtime or instant replay?  No, I only get one chance for victory (per school).

Right now, with the exception of Super Bowl XLIV, focusing on what will get me into a decent law school is my top priority.  Over the summer I began working on LSAT, hoping that I would continue the training throughout my fall semester; but with school and work, I neglected my workouts.  Although this was not my “get fit” New Year’s resolution, I think it’s time to start training for my big marathon, the LSAT in June or September.  This Friday, I will have my first intensive LSAT training session at CMC. I really do hope this LSAT practice exam will not be as hard as their CATZ class with coach Calichman. I’m still in pain from last Wednesday!