Summary: Having a mentor provide advice on the law school application as well as the profession can make the process run more smoothly for applicants.
There is a lot riding on your law school application. Being rejected and having to wait a whole year to reapply or settle for a school you didn’t want to attend is not a risk worth taking. Instead, find a mentor that can help you navigate the process.
Lawyers once navigated the law school application process, so they are one excellent source to turn to. Mentors can give advice on what to do and what not to do when applying and preparing to take the LSAT. They can also give career advice, directing the application to know what to expect in the profession as well as which specialty they may like to look into more.
- See Mastering the LSAT: Making the Leap to a Top Law School for more information.
Peg Cheng, founder of Prelaw Guru shared his view, “Mentors can give you can inside view on what it’s like to practice law. This is incredibly helpful, especially since many law school applicants don’t know what lawyers actually do on a daily basis.”
The ways to find a mentor can start at the applicant’s undergraduate institution by utilizing pre-law advisers there. This can also be the next step to getting help from alumni that went to law school. Law schools may also have student groups and organizations willing to mentor applicants. UCLA has one such program, the Law Fellows, which holds weekly meetings for prospective students numbering in the hundreds to attend for advice and counseling.
Or applicants can rely on their own network. “Seek out a lawyer by asking your family and friends if they know of a lawyer who enjoys his or her job and is willing to take some time to give honest advice to a prospective law school student,” advises Cheng.
A mentor is not meant to be a scapegoat though. They are not there to write your essay or pull strings for you to get into a particular school. They also are not the right person to write a letter of recommendation for you. They are only a source of guidance and advice.
Photo: quinnipiac.edu