规划法律职业生涯既令人兴奋又耗时. 帮助你做出明智的决定，并组织你的想法成为一名律师, 我们建议您根据以下五个问题来思考这个过程:
- 我应该成为律师吗?
- How can I get into a good 法学院—and make myself a competitive candidate for merit-based scholarships?
- How can I ensure that I have the 技能et that I need to succeed in 法学院 and flourish as a lawyer?
- What is a good timeline for preparing for 法学院?
- 作为一名老道明学生，为法学院做准备是什么样的?
法律预科咨询在这里帮助你通过回答这些问题的过程, ensuring that you have access to all the relevant information and to mentor you as you answer these questions for yourself. If you are considering applying to 法学院, 我们建议你和我们的法律预科顾问预约, Dr. 米歇尔·米. Kundmueller. To make an appointment, send an email to Dr. 米歇尔Kundmueller letting her know that you would like to make an appointment to discuss pre-law planning.
Key Information to Help You Get Started
Answering this question is partially about learning more about being a lawyer and partially a very personal question about your own desires, 技能, 和动力. 学习 more about being a lawyer can take many forms. Here are some avenues that you could pursue:
- 加入专门研究这门学科的学生社团:法律预科协会. 你可以在 oduprelaw@gmail.com.
- 修读法律相关课程.
- Intern in a law 办公室 or for a court.
- 阅读有关法律的书籍，尤其是法官和律师写的.
- 安排一次访问法学院的时间，并在访问期间提出问题.
- 和你的法律预科导师谈谈.
Getting into 法学院 takes a (1) strong 考试 score, (2)成绩好, 在较小程度上，(3)额外的迹象表明你将在法学院取得成功, 通过律师资格考试, and then become a good attorney. 从法学院毕业本身并不能使你成为一名律师. After 法学院, to become a lawyer you still have to take the bar exam and pass this test. 出于这个原因, an admissions committee will consider your overall eligibility to "sit for the bar"—including asking about any experiences of academic probation and all instances of interaction with the law (seriously, they'll ask about your parking tickets!).
的 考试 是考试吗?, somewhat like the 口头 portions of the SAT, that tests your 逻辑 and analytical reasoning capacity. To learn more about the 考试, go to www.lsac.org. 从本网站, 你可以下载一个免费的测试, learn about registering for the test, and learn more about applying to 法学院.
Most students should take the 考试 in the summer before their senior year (about 15 months before they plan to start 法学院). 这意味着 准备法学院入学考试 should take place in the junior year. 有很多不同价位的资源可以帮助你做好准备. 幸运的是, there is no clear correlation between how much you spend and how much you can improve your score. 伟大的, low cost ways to get started include Khan Academy's free programming and the book published by the authors of the 考试, 10 Actual Official 考试 Preptests Volume VI.
成绩 also play an important role in the admission process, 因此，考虑未来成为律师的学生需要专注于他们的课程. Please note that all your college credit grades, 甚至转学成绩或重修的课程都不计入你的G.P.A. for the purposes of your ODU G.P.A. 会成为你的GPA的一部分，以便被法学院录取吗. 一般来说，法学院是这样的 even handed between types of majors and minors, so focus on taking classes for which you have a passion and that facilitate your reasoning, 写作, 以及说话技巧.
Finally, 法学院s will consider your 整个故事, 所以当你申请的时候，你会告诉法学院你的领导角色, any artistic or athletic accomplishments, extra responsibilities you have shouldered, and 技能 you may have developed outside the classroom. 澄清一下, building a strong resume can help you, 但它不能取代考试考试的优异成绩和扎实的成绩. 过一个全面的生活, but don't let yourself get distracted from your coursework and the need to study for the 考试 in your junior year.
To help them get a clearer picture of your talents, 法学院s will also review a personal statement, 推荐信, and sometimes additional short essays. When it comes time to construct and submit your full application package, please reach out to Dr. 这样她就可以帮你调整你的应用程序. We want you to make this your best shot! 现在, start to consider the professors (and employers) who might be able to write 推荐信 for you and realize how your conduct in class can strengthen those letters.
If you are curious about the application process, 在管理所有法学院申请的网站上创建一个帐户(www.lsac.org) and start to familiarize yourself with this resource. 你现在投入的时间将帮助你以后更快更容易地申请.
Another consideration will be 法学院本身—where and how many 法学院s to apply to. This is a very difficult factor 分析 before you have taken the 考试 and know your score, 但你应该记住，排名并不是全部. 了解更多关于比较法学院的好资源可以在 http://www.abarequireddisclosures.org. Information about 法学院 debt can be found at http://www.accesslex.org/student-loan-calculator #.
应用ing to 法学院 will also require some 金融投资: the 考试 exam costs just less than $200, 强制性证书积累服务的费用不到200美元, 然后你申请的每一所法学院将花费大约100美元.
最后，记住 not all 法学院s are accredited with the American Bar Association (and some are on probation). 大多数州, 包括弗吉尼亚, will only let you "sit for the bar" and become an attorney if you have graduated from an accredited 法学院. You will only want to apply to 法学院s that are accredited and unlikely to be sanctioned by the American Bar Association.
So much focus is placed on getting into 法学院 that we often forget to consider what we'll need to be able to do to succeed in 法学院 and as an attorney. 在很大程度上, these survival 技能 for 法学院 are the same 技能 that will be rewarded in your practice. 法学院是一种强烈的智力体验，它取决于你的分析能力, 逻辑, 口头, 写作, 说话, 和竞争技能. Some compare it to a kind of mental book camp. Some love it, and others hate it. But everyone admits that it is a lot of hard work.
To be more specific, it will require you to read—a lot! 的 primary method is the case method, which means that you will first read long, dense judicial opinions and then come to class for an intense Socratic discussion in which you will be called upon by name and required to answer and take a position. 大多数课程的成绩是100%(或非常接近100%)基于一次考试, sometimes three or four hours long, given at the end of the semester. So, after the capacity to read long, 密集的材料, 你的写作能力, 分析, and to speak in front of others will rank highly as the 技能 that determine how successful you can be in 法学院.
为了做好准备，你应该——你猜对了——尽可能多地阅读难读的书. Take classes with tough reading assignments. 第二个, look for classes that demand a volume of 写作 and then give you feedback that will help you improve. 目前，纠正远比鼓励更值得重视. Get used to criticism and recognize that every ounce of effort now is earning you extra sleep and a better grade in 法学院!
最后，在课堂上安静点! Learn to get comfy 说话 in front of your peers. If your classes do not lend themselves to discussion, look for alternative opportunities (like taking on a leadership role in the Pre-Law Association) that will get you 说话 in front of groups. 是的，这可能很可怕. But far less scary than addressing the professor (and then the judge) who will face you in the next stage of your career.
大一、大二一年
- 取得好成绩.
- Explore whether 法学院 is right for you.
- 提高关键技能(阅读、写作、逻辑分析、演讲).
- 找出可能给你写推荐信的教授，给他们留下深刻印象!
- Join the Pre-Law Association to learn more about the profession and the application process.
- Make an appointment and speak with Dr. Kundmueller about once a year.
初级下降
- 继续为你的课程投入必要的时间和精力.
- 注册在 www.lsac.org 准备参加法学院入学考试.
- 熟悉考试考试的题目形式和类型.
- 准备法学院入学考试、参加法学院入学考试、申请法学院的预算.
- 为春季的法学院入学考试做好准备.
- 成为法律预科协会的积极成员或发挥领导作用.
- Consider taking a class or two with law-related subjects.
- 与医生会面. Kundmueller once to discuss your plan.
小弹簧
- Study for the 考试, 5-10 hours a week.
- 报名参加夏季入学考试.
- 继续为你的课程投入必要的时间和精力.
- Consider taking a class or two with law-related subjects.
- 与医生会面. 1-3次与你讨论考试的学习策略.
升学盛夏
- 参加法学院入学考试!
- 博士联系. 昆德米勒，一旦你有了分数，讨论应用策略.
- 调查法学院入学考试平均分与你的成绩相差不超过5分的法学院.
- Make a tentative list of 法学院s you will apply to.
- Consider visiting 法学院s that you might apply to.
- Start to draft your personal statement and other essays.
高级下降
- 虽然法学院的申请截止日期通常在春季, to maximize your acceptances and especially to maximize your odds of getting a merit scholarship, submit your application by October 30.
- Once you have your 考试 score, meet with Dr. Kundmueller for advice on the application process.
- Ask for 推荐信.
- Finish your personal statement and any additional essays. 咨询博士. Kundmueller for assistance as needed.
- 完成凭据组装服务所需的步骤.
- Complete the applications for each 法学院.
高级的春天
- Consider applying to additional schools.
- 考虑你的录取和奖学金，选择你最喜欢的选项.
- 与医生会面. Kundmueller as needed for assistance weighing your options.
作为你的法律预科顾问, this is a difficult question for me to answer because I have never personally been an Old Dominion Student. 来帮助回答这个问题, here's a statement from Tyler Butt, 谁是法律预科的模范学生，能告诉你这个过程吗.
未来的法律系学生! Please allow me to introduce myself. 我叫泰勒·巴特, 到五月为止, 2020, 我是最靠谱的网赌软件的校友(天哪，说起来很奇怪). I majored in political science, and from day one of stepping on ODU's campus I knew that I wanted use my degree and my time at ODU to reach my next step, 法学院.
However, until my sophomore year of college, I did not really know how to get into 法学院. 的 only thing I knew was that I needed to keep my GPA high and take a test called the 考试. 至少在谷歌上搜索“如何进入法学院”是这样告诉我的.
Eventually, I decided that I needed to become more serious about getting into 法学院. So at the beginning of my second semester of junior year, 我决定去看看ODU的法律预科课程是怎么回事.
回顾, I can honestly say that not going to see a pre-law advisor sooner is one of my biggest regrets of my undergraduate career. From the moment I walked in and met the pre-law advisor, I felt an extreme amount of ambition to get into 法学院. She had an answer to every question, 关心我的目标, 帮我制定了申请和参加考试考试的时间表.
听从她的建议, I selected the 考试 testing date that was best for me, studied like a maniac for that test, and took it July before my senior year. 几周后，当我收到我的分数时，我非常兴奋和高兴. I felt that way because I had scored well and I thought the most complicated part of getting into 法学院—the 考试—was over.
法学院入学考试无疑是整个过程中最具挑战性的部分, I was wrong to think that the challenge was over. 我没有意识到要完成一份法学院的申请还有那么多环节. 我对自己需要做的事情了解得越多，我就越感到沮丧.
So at the beginning of my senior year, I emailed for help. 然后我遇到了Dr. 昆德米勒，她帮我写申请. 在接下来的几个星期里，她几乎帮了我所有的忙. I could always come to her with a question and get an answer. 幸运的是，我也有博士. 她也是这里的教授!)，所以我能想到的任何问题都可以在课前或课后问她. 从帮我写个人陈述到帮我找学校. Kundmueller helped me tremendously.
我申请的每一所学校都接受了我(里士满大学), 威廉和玛丽, 华盛顿和李, 和瑞金特). I received a scholarship to every single school, 学费从略低于一半到全额不等! 这些学校总共为我提供了超过42万美元的奖学金. To this day I am in shock that was able to have those choices. Because of my efforts and ODU's pre-law program, 对于上法学院和法学院的费用，我有很多选择.
的 only thing I had left to do was to pick where I wanted to go—a decision that proved harder than I had predicted. Again, I found myself in a position where I needed help. I needed advice, and luckily for me Dr. Kundmueller was there to help me. 通过无数次不事先通知就去她的办公室，发电子邮件，甚至打电话. Kundmueller helped me make the best decision for myself.
I am very happy and proud to say that I will be attending the University of Richmond for 法学院. 我要去全国排名第50的法学院获得全额学费奖学金.
My advice to you: work hard and, if you are even considering 法学院, do yourself a favor and reach out to Dr. Kundmueller.