In the fall, I had the opportunity to speak on Professor Haigh's podcast "What's Law Got to Do With It?" featuring my mentor, Felicity Radan. I shared my experience of knowing from the outset that I wanted to be a business lawyer, with a heightened interest in tax law. This interest sparked in undergrad through my fourth year Income Taxation course. However, in law school there are a lot of individuals who have no idea what they want to practice upon graduation, and that's totally fine. No one expects you to have it all figured out! I, myself, would like to explore the field of business law in more depth in my upper years. My biggest piece of advice for incoming students trying to navigate law school is to be open to new experiences. There may be a course or experiential learning experience that reshapes what you want to do with the rest of your life, and that's okay. A year ago, I was not in the JD/MBA program. It was not originally in my ten year plan. However, being a student in this program has really helped me grow intellectually through taking courses I was not able to during undergrad. It's been an enriching experience, and I can't wait to see what's in store next in my law school journey. By: Karen Randhawa You’re either about to begin or in the middle of your LSAT journey. It’s a difficult test, but let the record state it is learnable one. My top advice for any aspiring law student who is writing the LSAT is to Blind Review (“BR”). I first heard about BR-ing from 7Sage. You can learn more about 7Sage here, and more about their BR method here.
Now, I’m going to break down how I did it.
Okay, now for the long version. First, you want to pick a PT. If you're writing a digital version, flag any question you weren't 100% confident about. If you're writing it on paper, circle the question. Second, when you finish you do not want to check your answers. If you did poorly, you will be de-motivated and we want to avoid that as much as possible. Third, take some time away from the test, but not too much. Enough to be able to BR effectively, but not so much that you forget the reasoning you used to answer the questions. Ideally, remembering why you picked a wrong answer is an invaluable asset during BR. Knowing your reasoning allows you to fix your workflow. Hence, I don’t recommend taking too much time off between writing and ‘BR-ing’ the PT. Fourth, this exercise of writing out your answers will reveal if you are actually rationalizing your way to an answer choice or if you’re going off a feeling. It will expose problem areas and help you solidify your reasoning. In my experience it has been the most effective exercise for LSAT review. When I started I would BR the whole test. This is a time consuming task. I did about three or four tests like this. Then I would only BR the questions I got wrong and the questions I flagged. Fifth, while BR-ing, keep an eye out for questions or patterns of errors. If you identify that sufficient condition questions are a weak area for you, then you will know what to review in the days following BR and preceding your next PT. Finally, find sample problems from a LSAT textbook, a LSAT-course booklet, 7Sage, or from old PTs. Hone in on your workflow and really drill your weak areas. Make adjustments to your workflow where needed. This is an excerpt from a free e-book I recently published. I provide my key tips and strategies for the Canadian law school application. You can download it here. By: Harman Bath The following post is an anonymous contribution from a friend who wrote the LSAT during COVID-19.
If you thought writing the LSAT was hard enough, imagine trying to coordinate to write it in the middle of a global pandemic. That brings us to the LSAT-Flex, the Law School Admissions Council’s (“LSAC”) version of the test to write at the ‘comfort’ of your home with a live proctor watching you through your computer webcam. The pandemic meant a few things for the LSAC: (1) in no way could there be any in-person writing of the exams due to lockdowns in most, if not all, countries that the LSAT is administered in, and (2) the LSAC had to decide whether to cancel the LSAT writing for each month the pandemic continues, or administer the test remotely to each person. Hence, the LSAT - Flex was formed as their solution. Structure: the LSAT - Flex was not like your typical LSAT. The exam became 3 sections instead of 5 sections - they removed the experimental section and removed one Logical Reasoning section. This meant that the exam had one section each of Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning (‘Logic Games’) and Reading Comprehension. To maintain the integrity of the exam, no bathroom breaks were permitted during the exam. Administering the LSAT: The LSAC had to hire a third party administrator, ProctorU, to administer the test. ProctorU has been used for many years by institutions trying to administer tests/examinations virtually - but many steps had to be taken by each test taker before Test Day with ProctorU. For one, everyone had to sign up for a time in the day to write the LSAT (not everyone wrote at the same time). On test day, your entire desk had to be clear except for your pencils, erasers, and 5 pieces of blank paper. There would be someone watching you through your computer webcam, watching every move to see if there is any cheating happening behind the scenes. Before the exam began, you had to show the proctor your entire room, show underneath your desk and use another vanity mirror to show that there were no sticky notes on your laptop screen. Furthermore, they download a software on your laptop that grants them complete control of your laptop and can watch where your mouse is moving on the screen throughout the test. Final Thoughts: A shorter exam with fewer sections that I also could write in the comfort of my own home? I thought this exam was a no-brainer, of course I wanted to write this. But be warned - your strategy has to change a bit. For one, now your Analytical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension sections are weighted more (33% now compared to 25% of your LSAT score on a normal test). Some test takers were furious by the change, as for them, Logical Reasoning was their best section and was not being weighted as much this time to their score. Others were upset because they tended to perform better in an exam setting outside their home. For those reading this that have more than one year for law school, consider which one you might perform better in. For those applying in November, your best bet is to prepare for both types of LSATs - amidst the uncertainty of this pandemic, the LSAT-Flex could continue to be administered for some time. Earning your Undergraduate DegreeIf you plan on enrolling in a Canadian law school, you need to have completed at least three years of a bachelor's degree. So, what is the best undergraduate degree for law school? Since there are no prerequisites for law school, you can choose to pursue any degree you’re passionate about. During our first year, we couldn’t help but notice the diverse academic backgrounds in all our classes - from engineering to medical sciences to business degrees. As you can imagine, the diversity makes for interesting class discussions.
It should come as no surprise that your undergraduate GPA plays an important role in law school admissions. Many students who are interested in law school often think that a law related degree would give them an advantage. While a pre-law degree wouldn’t hurt, it also won’t give you a big advantage. As you’ve likely heard, pursue a degree that you’re passionate about and the grades will come easily. Don’t worry about what ‘looks good’ for law school applications. Remember to take this time to get involved with projects and initiatives that inspire you. These opportunities, whether it be a school club or volunteer position, not only allows you to explore your interests, but it further develop soft-skills that you will use throughout your law school journey. While many students are eager to enroll in law school right after completing their bachelor’s, you can also consider taking a few years off to travel or get a job. Increasingly, more and more students have been taking years off before applying to law school. A simple comparison of Osgoode's entering 1L class from 2018 and 2019 shows that the trends are changing. In 2018, only 27% of the entering class was either 25 years old or older. By 2019, this number increased by almost 10% to roughly 36% in 2019. You should feel no obligation to apply straight out of your undergraduate degree. By: Lucinda Chitapain |
Legally BrownThree Osgoode Hall Law students sharing their lived experiences and providing *unsolicited* advice. Archives
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