Law School Admissions Counselor Hosts Informational Seminar
by Jordan Dailey

Rachel Wishum, admissions director of Jones School of Law at Faulkner University in Montgomery, spoke to Auburn students interested in law school Thursday, Sept. 3.

She spoke about important areas for all potential law students– LSAT scores and GPA.

“The LSAT tells us how you think and process what you read,” Wishum said. “Your GPA tells us what your work ethic is like.”

Though the LSAT measures students’ performance at one point in time, GPA spans a longer period.

“We look at trends,” Wishum said. “If your GPA started out badly, but has increased over time, it tells us you got serious and decided to work hard.”

Sara Duffy, a second-year student, or 2L, at Jones School of Law, graduated from Auburn in May 2008 in public relations.

“Law school is different than undergrad in that you’re learning how to be a good lawyer, not just memorizing a bunch of stuff for a test,” Duffy said.

Potential law students may wonder when is the best time to take the LSAT.

Wishum and Duffy recommend the June before a student’s senior undergraduate year.

“It’s not like the ACT where you take it over and over,” Wishum said. “This test is extremely difficult. You don’t want to take it more than once if you don’t have to.”

Study: More students turn to law school in failing economy
Registration for LSATs has increased more than 20 percent during past year
By Alex Zielinski

An April study of prospective law students revealed a leading motive for attending law school: the failing economy.

The study, administrated by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, reported that 40 percent of the 1,040 students who took the February 2009 Law School Admission Test were motivated by today’s economic crisis to apply to law school. In addition, the registration for the Kaplan-administered LSATs has increased by more that 20 percent during the past year.

Since 2006, the University’s School of Law has seen the number of applicants rise by 113, with 2008’s enrollment around 531 students. The law school’s LL.M, or Master of Laws, class of 2010 will be the largest since the program’s initiation two years ago. The law school building itself can hold no more than its current students, so increased applications would mean more discretion when reviewing new applicants.

The survey highlighted many economic reasons why students would decide to go to law school now. Sixty-seven percent of survey participants said the high earning power of a law degree substantially affected their decision to pursue an education in the field.

Study: More students turn to law school in failing economy
Registration for LSATs has increased more than 20 percent during past year
By Alex Zielinski

An April study of prospective law students revealed a leading motive for attending law school: the failing economy.

The study, administrated by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, reported that 40 percent of the 1,040 students who took the February 2009 Law School Admission Test were motivated by today’s economic crisis to apply to law school. In addition, the registration for the Kaplan-administered LSATs has increased by more that 20 percent during the past year.

Since 2006, the University’s School of Law has seen the number of applicants rise by 113, with 2008’s enrollment around 531 students. The law school’s LL.M, or Master of Laws, class of 2010 will be the largest since the program’s initiation two years ago. The law school building itself can hold no more than its current students, so increased applications would mean more discretion when reviewing new applicants.

The survey highlighted many economic reasons why students would decide to go to law school now. Sixty-seven percent of survey participants said the high earning power of a law degree substantially affected their decision to pursue an education in the field.

Law school applications rise despite costs, market
by Elizabeth Crisp

For Lindsey Tew Simmons, the decision to start law school at Mississippi College three years ago was an easy one – she just couldn’t predict the effect the economy could have on her job prospects as she finished.

Like many who graduated law school in May, Simmons is taking the bar exam this week. In addition to the hours she devoted to studying for the rigorous test, Simmons said she has looked “practically every single day” for several months for job leads.

“It’s been really frustrating,” she said. “You go into law school expecting to come out with this really good, high-paying job and they’re just not there.”

The complaint is common, but mounting student costs, shrinking job prospects and receding salaries in many legal professions are barely causing a dent in the steady stream of students deciding to enroll in law school this year.

Nationally, law school applications are up 4.3 percent over last year, according to the American Bar Association. At Mississippi College’s School of Law, applications have gone up 14 percent.

The University of Mississippi’s School of Law saw a slight decrease, said director of admissions Barbara Vinson.

…

As the second quarter of 2009 came to a close, the Center for Career Strategy & Advancement at Northwestern University’s School of Law reported the country as a whole is “amidst a decline in law firm revenue and the demand for legal services.”

In addition to being harder to find, the jobs that are out there often aren’t paying the high salaries students had counted on to whittle down their debts.