Webinar With Stony Brook University Phi Alpha Delta Society - The Ultimate Law School Application Checklist

Hello, we're going to give everyone just a few more minutes to get settled. I appreciate all of you being here on time. We'll get started in just a few minutes.

All right, we'll go ahead and get started. Welcome to the Ultimate Law School Application Checklist webinar, brought to you by Juris Education. I’m thrilled to see so many faces joining us today, eager to embark on this journey towards prestigious legal education.

My name is Colton Rothwell, and I lead the Community Engagement team here at Juris Education. I’ll be your moderator. As a company, we are dedicated to empowering pre-law students like yourselves to navigate the complexities of the law school admissions process successfully.

Before we dive into our agenda, I just want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Sonne, Ethan, Michaela, and Ozzy Day from Stony Brook Phi Alpha Delta. Their dedication and effort in coordinating this event have been instrumental in making today possible. It’s through collaborations like these that we can bring valuable resources and insights to aspiring legal professionals.

Today, we’ve put together a comprehensive program designed to guide you through every step of the law school application process. We’ll begin with introductions, giving you a chance to get to know our presenter. Following those introductions, we’ll delve into specific components of the law school application process, including application deadlines, building your application, submission topics, and last-minute checks. Then, we will open up the floor for a Q&A session.

Please join me in welcoming Jessie Wang, a distinguished admissions counselor with Juris Education. Jessie’s educational journey is impressive, with a bachelor’s degree from Emory University, an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business, and a JD from the USC Gould School of Law. Leveraging his extensive experience in higher education, Jessie has become a master in mentoring, coaching, and providing nuanced feedback to guide students through the complex college admissions process. His roles have been varied and impactful, including serving as the Secretary of the Student Bar Association, an Admissions Representative, and DEI President at USC Gould School of Law.

Jessie has a special knack for conducting mock interviews, a skill he generously shared with students at both Emory and USC. Jessie’s approach to college admissions is deeply personal. Drawing from his own experiences, he aims to be the mentor he wished he had, emphasizing thorough constructive feedback and a strategy that is both comprehensive and easy for students to apply. Jessie believes navigating college admissions doesn’t have to be daunting. With the right guidance, it’s a journey that can be managed effectively.

Beyond his professional expertise, Jessie’s coaching philosophy centers on the crucial balance between being personable and professional, building strong personalized relationships with students to drive success in admissions. His efforts have helped numerous students secure places at top institutions like Emory, USC, and the University of Michigan.

When not guiding students through the admissions process, Jessie enjoys cooking, staying active, and indulging in crime podcasts. His commitment to community service shines through his volunteer work as a pro bono law clerk at the Los Angeles Center of Law and Justice in their Immigration and Human Trafficking Division.

We are thrilled to have Jessie share his insights and strategies with us. His dedication to student success and a holistic approach to admissions counseling make him a valuable asset to any student navigating the college application process. Jessie, I’ll let you take it away.

Undergraduate Transcripts - 4:16 

Thanks, Colton! That’s really kind of you, and I’m excited to provide my insight today. I’m really grateful for Juris Education for giving me this platform to speak to people like the audience today. I’m excited to get started.

Let’s talk about undergraduate transcripts. Obviously, it's incredibly important to have your transcript submitted along with your application, but what people don’t really realize—and my apologies for the noise, I’m in New York—is that it may seem like a very easy concept to just submit the transcript, but it does take time to process.

There aren’t any required law courses that you need to take. Unlike in pre-med, where you have all the core requirements for STEM-related courses, in law, there really isn’t anything like that. I know a lot of people who majored in political science in undergrad. Some schools have a pre-law course, but that’s not really a necessity.

From my personal experience and from people I’ve spoken to over the years, I think there’s an increased trend where law schools look for people who have diverse experiences, not just those solely in the humanities. For example, people who have a major in business or even STEM-related majors.

In law school, some professors have personally told me that it’s people with a STEM background who actually perform the best in law school. It seems counterintuitive because law doesn’t involve big math or science, but it’s because law is such a rote application of rules to a set pattern—it’s a mechanical skill.

When you take law school exams, which are issue spotters primarily, you really need to have a solid understanding of the law. It doesn’t really matter how flowery or eloquent your language is—it’s about getting the rule right, identifying it, and attacking it. That’s an interesting insight I learned from experience.

I didn’t major in math or science—I majored in business and Chinese in undergrad, which is somewhat on the humanities side. I just want to emphasize that if anyone feels the need to major in something specific to get into law school, that’s really not the case.

The last thing I’ll add about undergraduate transcripts is to get them in as soon as possible. If you’re done and you’re applying this cycle, get them in early because it takes time to process them. I’ve had issues with that when I applied, and it takes time for LSAC to process them. If it’s too late, you won’t be able to submit everything on time, so make sure to get them in early.

The Admissions Test - 7:35 

There’s a lot of split opinion between the LSAT and GRE, and it varies by school in terms of which schools accept the GRE or which ones are test-optional. It’s still an open question as to whether one is better than the other. The consensus is that if a school states they’ll accept either one, they’ll weigh them equally. That’s what they state, and we have to take their word for it.

When I applied to law school, I didn’t have that option. I think this is a relatively new development. It really depends on how comfortable you feel with either test and on the school you’re applying to. Some schools require either the LSAT or GRE, so when weighing them, I’d suggest choosing the one that matches how you learn and take exams, and tailor your decision that way.

The Personal Statement - 8:55 

The personal statement is the bread and butter of your application, aside from your GPA and standardized test score. Obviously, those are really important because that’s how law schools manage their rankings and compete with other schools, which leads to increased funding. So, the numbers are important, but the personal statement is also very important, especially now when many people have high scores.

You need to be able to separate yourself from the bunch. As you can see from the bullet points on the screen, these are specific characteristics that your personal statement should include. It’s a little difficult to distill how to approach a personal statement in a five-minute blur, but it’s important to draw from your personal life.

The key thing is to focus on a focal point. You don’t want to make your personal statement a laundry list of your accomplishments or experiences. A lot of my clients do that—they enumerate all the things they’ve done, and I’m like, “Well, isn’t this on your resume?” The personal statement should be a deep dive into a specific moment in your life or a specific experience you’ve had, whether it’s an internship or something that happened when you were growing up that inspired you to become who you are today.

It should ideally align with what you envision yourself doing as a future practicing attorney—or first, as a law student, then as an attorney. You never want to include too many things in a personal statement because that can clutter the message. It’s hard to manage. The purpose is not to enumerate everything you’ve done; it’s about giving them a personal view of who you are. The resume is for listing everything.

This is a great resource I wish I had when I was crafting my personal statement. I was also a writing center tutor, so I gained a lot of experience coaching admissions essays. But a resource like Juris Education is really important, especially for people who are specifically trying to go to law school and want insight from people who’ve been through that experience.

Letters of Recommendation - 11:35

From my own experience, I went straight into law school from undergrad, so all my letters of recommendation were from professors. If you’re not too far removed from undergrad, I recommend having at least one letter that’s academic in nature.

I know people I’ve mentored who are a few years out of school, and they’ve had their supervisors or employers provide their letters of recommendation. Make sure the person knows you personally. Often, the strategy is to speak to them, remind them of what made you stand out, and what projects you worked on. This isn’t about putting words in their mouth, but refreshing their memory. A lot of times, people will agree to write you a letter but may end up writing something vague, which won’t be as compelling. You need to make sure they remember everything—and they should, because why else would you ask them?

The Resume - 13:00

The resume is really important. I’ve seen a lot of resumes where, substantively, people have done great things and accomplished a lot, but the resume looks messy. The visual aspect of the resume is crucial because it’s the first thing people will see, and it shows how organized and serious you are, not just as a law student but as a future professional.

You want your personal information at the top, followed by your educational background, but make sure the margins are aligned, the indentation is correct, and there’s not too much white space. These are important factors you may not think about initially because you’re focused on listing everything you’ve done. But how it looks matters too.

You should also use action verbs, make sure your tenses are correct, and, when applicable, add numbers. For example, if you increased sales or managed a team, mention how much you increased or how many people you managed. Numbers make your resume more compelling and substantive.

Building Your Law School Application Checklist - 14:50

Make sure you know what the prompts are for the essays, and that your essays match the prompts. I’ve had clients where we wrote a supplemental essay, and later realized it didn’t match the prompt, so we had to rewrite it.

Some schools don’t have supplemental essays, like USC when I applied. I did have an addendum because my LSAT score changed significantly, so I wanted to explain that. Nowadays, more schools have supplemental essays, and a lot ask for diversity statements or essays about how you would contribute to the classroom. Make sure everything matches the school’s requirements.

As I mentioned before, get your transcript in early. One time when I applied to law school, I submitted my transcript early, but Emory, where I attended, had separate transcripts for the College of Arts and Sciences and the Business School. LSAC didn’t understand why there were two transcripts, so I had to get a letter from the dean, which caused a whole fiasco. So, make sure to follow up and remedy any issues as soon as possible.

LSAC manages many applicants, so they won’t be on top of it unless you advocate for yourself. This is an important part of being in the legal profession—advocating for yourself and others. Be proactive when it comes to getting everything ready, especially with your transcripts.

I highly recommend getting a tutor. I didn’t score well the first time I took the LSAT, but I jumped significantly the second time, thanks to having a tutor. The tutor helped keep me accountable, made sure I was doing practice tests regularly, and tailored their teaching to my needs.

I can be absent-minded sometimes, so having someone who customized their approach to help me was key. Not everyone is strong in every section—some might excel in Logic Games, others in Reading Comprehension. A tutor can help focus on areas where you’re struggling and guide you to improve.

Juris Education has some really excellent LSAT tutors, and I know they’re great at tailoring their services to the individual, so I highly recommend having a tutor to help you.

Thank you, Jessie, for all your insights. I’ve enabled an option in the chat for attendees to request to ask a question, so if anyone would like to, feel free to ask, or pop your question in the chat.

Q&A Session - 20:51

But no, this was very insightful, kind of giving a really wide range, an overview of the overall process and everything.

Kevin just now asked a question that says, "What types of internships do you recommend?"

What types of internships? Okay, so honestly, it’s the same. This is like — okay, I'll answer Kevin first, or Catherine. Basically, internships, right? This is the same answer I would give in regard to what major to pick. There is no specific experience that you need. I would say, try to get something that’s substantive, like whether it’s marketing. I wouldn’t — I would suggest getting something that would require a college degree. And I know that sounds condescending, but I’m serious. It’s better to pursue something that you’re really interested in. It doesn’t have to be legal-related. For example, I did a marketing internship in college because I thought I would pursue that as a career after graduating. But I talked about that in my interviews and used it on my resume, and it had really nothing to do with law school. But it was a professional experience that showed that I’m someone who can work in a professional environment and be a young professional in corporate America and in the workplace.

So I will say this: your application should have a theme, right? It should have a theme, and it should make sense. And that sounds really simple, but it’s actually really important. When I wrote my application, for example, I was like, "Oh, I have a business background, and I also have a Chinese background. So, what kind of area of law would tie that to my background and make sense and be believable?" And that would be immigration law, specifically business immigration. That’s what I wrote my personal statement about — how I wanted to become an immigration lawyer because, in business immigration, you need to have an understanding of business. And also, immigration is an international category, so my Chinese language major made sense and aligned with that.

So I would say that whatever you choose to pursue, make sure that it aligns with whatever you’re studying and what you want to do after graduating. Make sure that there’s a way — not make sure, but keep in mind that whatever experience you get, it’s something you can tie to an area of law you can see yourself pursuing in the future. So if it’s marketing, what about marketing law, or corporate law, or business law? If it’s English, or working as a teaching fellow, how can that tie to an area of law? Oh, education law, higher education law. Or science — definitely, that’s a huge one. People are always looking for those with a science background. Patent law is really important. IP law is another one. For example, people who want to work in-house for a large drug manufacturer need in-house counsel. So things that you can see yourself doing in the future that would require this background or experience — it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you can tie it together. And you can almost always tie your experience, whatever internship you’re taking, to an area of law and weave that into the overarching theme of your application. We can help you do that and sculpt that for you, but that’s what I would say to keep in mind.

Sorry, I’m going to scroll back up. I’ll explain the ideal time to start crafting an application. I mean, the sooner the better. You could be a year out, just don’t do it right before the deadline. I would say I finished my application before I even started studying for the LSAT because I didn’t want to think about it — I just wanted to be done. I knew that was something I didn’t really need to study for because it’s your personal statement. It’s like, "Just tell me about yourself." That might be different for people who struggle more with it. I struggled more with LSAT study than I did with essay writing, right? So it’s different for everyone. If you think you need more time, start earlier.

What study materials did I use? I used Kaplan. I didn’t like the LSAT Bibles. I thought they were really hard. I know people who used them and thought they were really helpful. I used them, but I thought they were hard, and they didn’t fit or match the types of questions that actually appeared on the exam. I did that the first time, but with Kaplan, people are like, "Oh, it’s easier," but no, it’s more realistic too. I liked the Kaplan LSAT. But obviously, things are changing with the LSAT, so I’m going to defer to whoever you end up with in terms of your Juris tutor. If you decide to pursue a tutor with Juris, which I highly recommend, they’ll probably tell you what materials are best.

Why do you need to explain your LSAT jump? This is really important because — why do you need to explain it? They’re going to ask you. There are a lot of addendums, and they’re like, "Oh, can you explain it?" Part of it is just like there’s a statistic out there that says, 90% of the time, or the majority of the time, you’re not going to jump more than one or two points. So they’re going to be curious as to why you did so much better. I don’t know what they’re thinking, but I will say that it’s something that gets asked about, and it’s something I discussed. All you have to say is that you jumped. I jumped 11 points, which is a significant amount, because I was drilling these questions every day. I was working every day, and the first time I took it, I wasn’t as focused, and I was working part-time as well. But the second time, I was just hitting the road running. That was all I said. Basically, I just spent more time studying every day. It’s all you have to say. It’s not that important, but it’s something you have to mention. It’s just part of it.

Do you think military work would be relevant? Yes, absolutely, include it for sure. That’s a good theme to tie into. For example, JAG (Judge Advocate General) roles — I get emails about them all the time. I don’t have military experience, but that’s an important area, and it shows. People in the military, or who have that kind of experience, have a level of rigor that is really respectable. I would be remiss to say not to include it. You definitely need to include that.

One more thing about the theme of your application: Don’t think you’re tethered to whatever you say in your application. For example, I wrote about immigration law. Yes, I did practice immigration law after graduating, but I didn’t have to. It wasn’t like they were going to be like, "Oh, you wrote about this in your personal statement, so you have to be this kind of lawyer." No, that’s not the case. I jumped from immigration law to construction law. Now, I’m in medical malpractice law, which has nothing to do with what I wrote about or my background. It’s just something to keep in mind. Make sure your theme is believable, and make sure that at least part of it is genuine and honest as well. But you’re not totally bound by it. If you think you can craft a really good essay with that theme, I would say go for it. No one’s going to check and say, "Are you sure you’re an immigration lawyer now? That’s what you wrote in your personal statement in 2017." No one’s doing that.

I’m planning for Fall 2025. When should I begin? Catherine, you asked that earlier, to start crafting an application. It’s only 2024 now. You should start soon, I would say. Start soon. Start talking to Juris and figuring out how you can get paired up with an admissions coach because that’s the next cycle, right?

How relevant are history and political science courses for being a lawyer? Not relevant. I didn’t take any. No, I don’t think you should. If you don’t like it, don’t take it. Take courses that you like. Law school is great because it’s not like pre-med. You don’t have to take chemistry or bio, although that would help if you’re good at it and can get a decent GPA.

Oh, by the way, different majors — admissions will look at different majors through different lenses, if that makes sense. If you’re a chemistry major and you have a 3.3 GPA, you might think, "Oh, that’s too low." No, it’s actually not, because it’s such a rigorous and difficult major — or engineering, especially. Whereas if you’re an English major with a 3.9, that’s great. It’s respectable; it’s a really good GPA. But it’s also not the hardest major. So a 3.3 in engineering or mechanical engineering, or something really rigorous, and a 3.9 in English, they’re going to weigh that differently. They’re going to look at all of this holistically. So don’t feel tethered to take history or political science. I never took a political science course in my entire undergrad, so don’t feel compelled or forced to.

I know colleges love to push the whole "pre-law curriculum is something we value," but I was never part of any of that, and I still got into a decently high-ranked school. I know people who were really gung-ho about law school and did the whole pre-law thing, and they didn’t get into high-ranked schools. No offense to them, but I just think it’s not required.

How long did I study before taking the exam the second time? So, I took it in September, and then I took it in December. I didn’t really start studying until I got my score back, so that would be like October to December. It was a two-month period where I was like, "This is do or die. I’ve got to clock in and do it." So that was, I guess, eight weeks? Eight to nine weeks? No, no, no, because I took it in early December, so it was more like six or seven weeks.

Great. Does anyone have any more questions? I’ll give you a few minutes. I will say, as part of our collaboration with Stony Brook’s Phi Alpha Delta, we are offering all of you free consultations and profile evaluations. All of our services — we look at exactly your goals and your starting points when it comes to LSAT tutoring, as well as our end-to-end consultation services based on your goals. We have a proprietary assessment that will match you to counselors, like Jesse or other great counselors and tutors, depending on your goals and unique starting points.

Also, know that we have a unique promo code for your group that is SBPAD — Stony Brook Phi Alpha Delta. That will give you 10% off any services on our website. As part of our collaboration with your chapter, I know a lot of you will be attending the mock trial competition at Florida International in April. I will be there as well, so I would love to meet some of you in person. Feel free to come up, get some swag, take pictures, and ask any questions. We will also be at the National Phi Alpha Delta conference in Virginia on Halloween weekend, so I hope to see a lot of you there as well.

If any of you need anything from us, we are always available. The QR code on your screen is a link to schedule a consultation with us if you want to take a picture of that. We will also send you a video of this webinar afterward. But if no one has any other questions, Jesse, I appreciate you so much for coming and sharing all of your knowledge and expertise with everyone. Thank you, Phi Alpha Delta.

Thank you so much. I hope I could be of some help. Definitely check us out.

Oh, someone raised their hand — Aaron? Oh, Ethan! Yes, I just accepted it. Ethan, are you there? Maybe? No one’s ever raised their hand in a webinar before, but I think I hit the right button.

That’s okay. I love a good awkward moment. But thank you all so much for coming. I appreciate you all, and if you need anything, reach out to Ethan and Sony as well. They have my contact info, and we look forward to doing more of these with you in the future. Bye!

‍