By: Anna Ivey
As dean of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School, Anna Ivey decided the fate of thousands of law school applicants. In this book-the first of its kind by a former law school admissions officer-she draws on her expertise to cover topics from the application and the essay to the interview and the recommendations, touching on hot-button issues like how much the LSAT, ethnicity, and age really matter. Offering an insider's advice on how to produce the very best application, this guide gives straight answers to questions such as:
• What kind of essay should I write to set me apart from the rest of the pack?
• Should I explain my low LSAT score, my D in chemistry, my attention deficit disorder, my time in rehab?
• Is law school worth the debt I'll face when I graduate?
Full of invaluable examples and anecdotes about real admissions decisions, The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions is certain to become the new bible for would-be law students everywhere.
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About the book
How much does my LSAT score really matter?
What tack can I take to make my essay stand out from the pack?
Should I explain my D in chemistry, my ADD, my time in rehab?
Every law school applicant has questions.
There is no one better to answer those questions than Anna Ivey -- she decided the fate of thousands of applicants while she was dean of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School. Using examples drawn from actual admissions decisions, Anna Ivey will help you dramatically improve your applications and your chances of landing a spot at the school of your choice.
Reviews:
"Anna Ivey's advice is real insider information. I was put into her shoes as a former dean of admissions, and I saw the application process from that side of the desk. A must-read for anyone considering law school! An invaluable examination of every aspect of the law school admissions process from a trusted authority. Simply a book no law school applicant can afford to be without."
--Robert H. Miller, author of Law School Confidential
"The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions is the book I wish I'd had when applying to law school. With the authority that only a former admissions officer can offer, Ivey pierces the mystery of law school admissions with a style that is informative, concise, and a pleasure to read. The Ivey Guide is quite simply the first and best resource for law school applicants. Students who read this book will not only have a leg up in selecting and getting into the right law school, they will get more out of it when they are there connecting with their professors and conducting their job search."
--Diane M. Downs, Associate Dean, Career Planning & Placement, University of Pennsylvania Law School
"A knowledgeable, well-written and exhaustive guide to getting into law school that's particularly useful for applicants who don't have an overwhelming academic record or a dramatic life story but still want to distinguish themselves from the pack. Anna Ivey's advice is real insider information. I was put into her shoes as a former dean of admissions, and I saw the application process from that side of the desk. A must-read for anyone considering law school!"
--Katherine Cohen, PhD, author of The Truth about Getting In and Rock Hard Apps
"Ivey's book is stuffed with the best advice I have ever read for aspiring lawyers. It spells out in concrete detail exactly what it takes to separate yourself from the crowd. The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions is the book I wish I'd had when applying to law school. The Ivey Guide is quite simply the first and best resource for law school applicants."
--Marshall Camp, JD2B.com
"Admissions officers around the country will be wringing their hands over this book -- it will be difficult to reject applicants who follow Ms. Ivey's timely, witty, and practical tips."
--Lyle Roberts, partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
"Finally, a law school guide that tells it like it is! From how law schools break down their applicant pool to what really sets an applicant apart, there is no more intimate or current an account of the law school admissions process than the Ivey Guide. Certain to increase the odds of success of any law school applicant. Ivey's experiences and insights as a former dean of admissions at a top law school give the reader a window into the process that few applicants in the past have enjoyed. Ivey dispels the guesswork and focuses readers on how to prepare an application that works. She guides the reader through the different aspects of the admissions process with straightforward tips and effective brainstorming exercises peppered with enjoyable anecdotes. As a bonus, Ivey challenges the reader to think past law school rankings to determine which schools truly match their objectives. I would have welcomed Ivey's guidance when I applied to law schools and recommend it as a must-read to the prospective applicants I meet."
--Gail P. Dave, Vice President and Counsel, Deutsche Bank AG
"Law school applicants everywhere will find Anna Ivey's book a useful, indeed essential, roadmap for the journey ahead."
--James Ho, Law Clerk, U.S. Supreme Court
"Ivey's book is stuffed with the best advice I have ever read for aspiring lawyers. It spells out in concrete detail exactly what it takes to separate yourself from the crowd."
--Ross Davies, Former Editor in Chief, The University of Chicago Law Review
Excerpt
The following is an excerpt from the book The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions
by Anna Ivey
Published by Harcourt; April 2005;$14.00US; 0-15-602979-0
Copyright © 2006 Anna Ivey
The Application Essay
Whether you're submitting a personal statement, a statement of purpose, or a diversity essay, make sure to follow these rules:
Rule #1: Edit and Proofread, Then Proofread Again. Your grammar, spelling, and punctuation must be flawless. When in doubt, pullout those old standbys The Chicago Manual of Style and Strunk & White. If grammar, spelling, and punctuation aren't your strong points, enlist a friend to help (and give you a tutorial, while you're at it). There's no excuse for a college graduate to mess this up. And beware the spell-check trap -- it won't catch "right" when you should have written "write," and it won't catch your "commitment to pubic service." (You laugh, but I saw that typo as a law review editor.) Always have a second pair of eyes proofread your essays before you send them off.
Rule #2: Nothing Cutesy Anything cutesy or gimmicky will make admissions officers groan. Stay away from the following:
Essays in the form of poetry
Essays in the form of a legal brief ("For all the reasons cited above, the admissions committee should admit Petitioner to Slamdunk Law School.")
Essays in the form of an obituary ("Tracy Johnson died the most respected jurist of her time.")
Essays in the form of an interview
Crayons, construction paper, perfume, or illustrated essays, no matter how sophisticated
Rule #3: No Legalisms You're not a lawyer yet, so your use of legal concepts or terminology will most likely demonstrate that you have no idea what you're talking about, not to mention the fact that legal writing is considered god-awful by the rest of the world, including admissions officers. Many applicants, for example, refer to a company or a person violating someone's right to free speech, when, in fact, the First Amendment applies only to government restrictions on speech. And by all means, steer clear of anything in Latin.
Rule #4: Show, Don't Tell Back up any general statements with examples and anecdotes. If you write, "The student presidency taught me that leadership means more than delegating," tell us how you learned that lesson. What were the conflicts and problems you faced? If you write, "I have excellent time-management skills," back up that statement by pointing out that you graduated in the top 10 percent of an engineering program that 40 percent of engineering freshmen drop.
Rule #5: Respect Page Limits and Other Minutiae If a school gives you a page or word limit, abide by it. And follow the spirit of the rule as well as the letter -- don't get too sneaky with fonts, margins, and line spacing. Admissions officers won't cut you any slack if your essay comes in under the page limit but makes them go cross-eyed because the font or line spacing is so small. If a school doesn't specify a length, a good rule of thumb is two to three pages, double-spaced, in eleven-point Times New Roman, with one-inch margins all around. When in doubt, shorter is better than longer. As an admissions officer buddy of mine likes to say: "The vast, vast, vast majority of just-out-of-college applicants (almost all applicants, really) are not interesting enough to fill six pages. Show me that you understand my time is valuable, and show me that you understand how to pick out what's really important."
Make sure to put your name and Social Security number in a header and page numbers in a footer, just in case your file goes splat and has to be reassembled. Also, identify in the header what essay question you're answering, if you're given more than one option or are submitting more than one essay ("Personal Statement," "Optional Essay #3," etc.). By the way, you don't need to give your essay a title like "Morris 405" or "Jorge." I added those titles in the appendix essays so that I could refer to them easily in this chapter.
Don't submit pages that are crumpled, stained, or smell like pot smoke -- most admissions officers really aren't looking for that contact high. Really, your essay shouldn't smell like any kind of smoke.
And finally, if you're getting too close to your material and think you're losing perspective, turn to the sample essays in the appendix to keep your big-picture objective in mind. Can you see how much more engaging and revealing the good ones are?
Copyright © 2006 Anna Ivey
Author
Anna Ivey, JD, served as dean of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School. She now runs Anna Ivey Admissions Counseling, a counseling firm for college, business school, and law school applicants. She divides her time between Boston and Orlando. Please visit her website at http://www.annaivey.com.
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Product Details
ISBN: 0156029790
ISBN-13: 9780156029797
Format: Paperback, 324pp
Publisher: Harcourt
Sales Rank: 14,972
From the Publisher
Synopsis
Ivey served as dean of admissions at the U. of Chicago Law School, and now runs Anna Ivey Admissions Counseling, a counseling firm for college, business school, and law school applicants. She draws on her experience to offer insider's advice on admission decisions from the application and essays, to the interview and recommendations. She also examines how much the LSAT, ethnicity, and age really matter, how to write an essay that stands out from the others, and whether law school is worth the cost? Stories about real admission decisions supplement the author's advice. Sample essays, resumes, and recommendations are provided. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
About the Author
ANNA IVEY earned her law degree at the University of Chicago Law School, where she later served as dean of admissions. Ivey now runs a successful admissions counseling firm for college, business school, and law school applicants, helping clients make the most compelling sales pitch for admission. She divides her time between Boston, Massachusetts, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
