Preparing for LSATS/Law School

[krazykhoja]

Hey everyone...I'm planning on writing the LSAT in December and am planning on taking an LSAT prep course by oxford seminars and was wondering if anybody had any specific experience with them and had any reviews?

Also...to those that have written the LSATS did you take a prep course and find it useful or was it a waste of time?

Since I will be applying for law school and I know they really like volunteer opportunities, whats sorts of volunteer work did you guys do prior to law school? I'm in the process of looking for some volunteer work in addition to working FT and any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all your help!

[cressida_pimpin]

I have the 2008 Princeton Review book with the DVD if you need it.

You should study hard by yourself and then do some old practice tests in a timed environment. If you can get the scores you want, don't waste money on the course. If you are having difficulties then enroll in a course.

PS. You're not in law school yet, you can still back out and save yourself from this career!

Curious...what's your undergrad background?

[krazykhoja]

Hey sure if you have an extra book lying around that would be awesome...send me a PM how much you want and where you live...

Lol...I take it you dont have a very fond outlook on law...is this from experience or just things you have heard?? I'm waiting on the lottery if I can win then that no law school lol...


My undergrad degree which I will finish in April is an Econ degree...its something I'm good at that can enable me to get into law school...but not something that I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life (econ not law)...

[Destinova403]

i work at a law firm to get my volunteer hours... call up some lawyers and apply for an unpaid internship... get a couple letters and send them in with your applications to the various law schools and you should be golden.

be prepared to have no spare time.

did you do any legal studies courses in uni?

[krazykhoja]

Originally posted by Destinova403
i work at a law firm to get my volunteer hours... call up some lawyers and apply for an unpaid internship... get a couple letters and send them in with your applications to the various law schools and you should be golden.

be prepared to have no spare time.

did you do any legal studies courses in uni?

is that what you did...just call different lawyers offices? Sounds like a good idea...thanks :)

I've heard theres very little free time...but hopefully the ends justify the means...

No courses yet in law...though I have one this upcoming year...hopefully it goes well...lol

which firm do you currently work at?

[RATM]

Originally posted by Destinova403
i work at a law firm to get my volunteer hours... call up some lawyers and apply for an unpaid internship... get a couple letters and send them in with your applications to the various law schools and you should be golden.

be prepared to have no spare time.

did you do any legal studies courses in uni?

good idea, but why ask for an unpaid internship? that makes no sense. Just ask if they have internship's available for a future law school student, just getting hours in at a law firm and than having the firm send glowing letters to law school is quite awesome to have in ADDITION to your hopefully high LSAT score and your exponentially high grades from your undergrad degree!

and why study law in Canada? Canadian law is only recognized in Canada, while a law degree in the US is recognized north and south america wide... plus its only 5k or so more expensive than Canadian law school for a better degree..

[cressida_pimpin]

LS in the states is way more expesive, what are you talking about!!

http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/costs.asp

http://www.law.stanford.edu/program/tuition/jd/

[cressida_pimpin]

Also, Krazykhoja, read this:

http://www.lawbuzz.ca/index.php?showtopic=406&hl=fulfilling

[RATM]

Originally posted by cressida_pimpin
LS in the states is way more expesive, what are you talking about!!

http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/costs.asp

http://www.law.stanford.edu/program/tuition/jd/
thats for the top law schools in the US though...

[2002civic]

Law schools in the US do not allow you to practice in Canada unless you take additional courses/tests seeing as how it is a different legal system,so i would go to school where I planned to work

[cressida_pimpin]

Originally posted by RATM

thats for the top law schools in the US though...

True. So pay the $6000 tution at McGill and then we're comparing apples to apples.

http://www.mcgill.ca/law-admissions/undergraduates/costs/

[2002civic]

^^ Well U of T is better but probably close to the same price

[cressida_pimpin]

Originally posted by 2002civic
^^ Well U of T is better but probably close to the same price

The difference in terms of reputation between McGill and U of T is negligible.

Some people just want to get the JD from U of T instead of the LL.B.

[RATM]

you can't compare a law degree from Yale and like U Calgary/Toronto, son

[RATM]

Originally posted by cressida_pimpin
Also, Krazykhoja, read this:

http://www.lawbuzz.ca/index.php?showtopic=406&hl=fulfilling

the op in that is lame

[cressida_pimpin]

He's simply pointing out some universal truths when it comes to the law profession.

[krazykhoja]

thanks for the info guys...

yeah I've heard good/bad things about the profession but I was talking to a lawyer yest...while he said law isn't for everyone...he said that if its what you want to do its def. a worthwhile profession...i figure I might as well write the LSATS see how I do and take it from there...b/c it is something I'm interested in...but it might not be for everyone...but its a job thats needed...

thanks again guys :thumbsup:

[rm777]

Take Renert. PM me and I can tell you what I did to prepare.

BTW, I am going to Dalhousie in the fall.

[RATM]

Originally posted by cressida_pimpin
He's simply pointing out some universal truths when it comes to the law profession.

:rolleyes: :zzz:


Originally posted by rm777
Take Renert. PM me and I can tell you what I did to prepare.

BTW, I am going to Dalhousie in the fall.

could you pm me? that'd be awesome =)

[joebuttons]

Originally posted by RATM


good idea, but why ask for an unpaid internship? that makes no sense. Just ask if they have internship's available for a future law school student, just getting hours in at a law firm and than having the firm send glowing letters to law school is quite awesome to have in ADDITION to your hopefully high LSAT score and your exponentially high grades from your undergrad degree!

and why study law in Canada? Canadian law is only recognized in Canada, while a law degree in the US is recognized north and south america wide... plus its only 5k or so more expensive than Canadian law school for a better degree..


There is absolutely nothing in this post that comes even close to being correct.

[cressida_pimpin]

Originally posted by joebuttons



There is absolutely nothing in this post that comes even close to being correct.

haha very true..

[joebuttons]

yeah, maybe if you took the exact opposite of what he/she said, you might be able to find some decent advice.

[krazykhoja]

hey everyone...thanks for all your help...

I've decided against writing the LSAT this december as with school/work I just dont think I can study enough to get a good enough score so its on the back-burner for now...

I'm thinking about taking some financial courses through work instead atm that I can do online...just to explore different options out there....but I'm sure the info provided in this thread will help others in my position :)

[Casa]

Originally posted by joebuttons



There is absolutely nothing in this post that comes even close to being correct.

you're a tool. I've talked to Mike Harris about law school and law for 15 minutes one-on-one and he even said a degree from the States is better than getting one in Canada.

[joebuttons]

Originally posted by Casa


you're a tool. I've talked to Mike Harris about law school and law for 15 minutes one-on-one and he even said a degree from the States is better than getting one in Canada.

Oh? Mike Harris?? Is he supposed to be a big name in the Canadian legal community?

For your own benefit and maybe for others, I'll tell you why this post is way off.


good idea, but why ask for an unpaid internship? that makes no sense. Just ask if they have internship's available for a future law school student, just getting hours in at a law firm and than having the firm send glowing letters to law school is quite awesome to have in ADDITION to your hopefully high LSAT score and your exponentially high grades from your undergrad degree!

and why study law in Canada? Canadian law is only recognized in Canada, while a law degree in the US is recognized north and south america wide... plus its only 5k or so more expensive than Canadian law school for a better degree..

First, no law school in Canada will care about or even read letters of reference from a firm. If they did, they would not come into play in any admissions decisions. If you look up admissions processes for law schools, you will learn that most only care about LSAT/GPA. Schools typically ask for personal statements but these rarely come into play for admissions decisions.

As for this notion that a US degree is better...it might be, if you wanna practice in the US. To practice in Canada, you need to be a member of a provincial law society and to be admitted to a law society, you need a Canadian law degree. There is a process whereby you can write accreditation exams with a foreign degree but this is a much longer process than getting the Canadian degree as you will have to go through the NCA process. Also, I doubt you can even article in Canada without the Canadian Degree.


On the other hand, with a Canadian Degree, you can write the bar exam and work in NY or Massachusetts. Many NY firms recruit from Toronto and McGill now. The bottom line is go to school where you want to work, not based on some incorrect notion that US legal education is superior.

The cost would be much higher to go to school down south as well. I'm guessing is would avg 2x-5x the cost of a Canadian degree. And Yale was mentioned....if you can pull off the 99.9 percentile LSAT and 4.0 GPA and can afford $50k a year to live and study there, I say go for it.

[Marsh]

Hey kind of curious, as ^ mentioned, does anyone know how difficult/easy it is coming back to North America to practice law after getting a LLB from Britain? I know Cdn/American education is tops in the world, so there would be some barriers, but what exactly? If anybody knows someone who did something similar that would be great insight as well.

[Tearin]

http://www.lawsocietyalberta.com/articling/artliclingManual.cfm

Difficult to come back to Alberta after you've finished the law degree abroad. Know of a few people who went to Wales but transferred back to Canadian law school for last year. It's a crap shoot whether the Canadian law school will take on a foreign student and grant the law degree in Canada.

As for the LSAT, it will be 10 years this December that I wrote it. In all honesty, I studied for 4 days, got 89th percentile and got admitted to law school a few weeks after I got my results.

[three.eighteen.]

bump, how many law school students/recent grads in this thread/on beyond? anyone mind telling me their progression from first practice lsat score -> actual lsat?