So, you’ve rocked the LSAT. You’ve applied to your dream schools. What now?
We understand that waiting for law school decisions can be daunting. The truth is, there are plenty of productive things you can be doing while waiting to hear back. Taking these steps can help alleviate the stress that comes with waiting for decisions, as well as prepare you more for your law school career.
Spend some time going over your financials
If possible, try to schedule an appointment with a financial planner to discuss a plan to pay off any student loans after law school.
It’s important to remember that most new lawyers don’t enter the workforce making six figures right away. Having a plan in place will help reduce anxiety about how and when you’re going to start paying off student loans after you graduate.
Another important aspect of being a law student is having a budget in place while you’re in school. Law school is stressful enough, try not to add to that stress by not having a plan on how you’re going to afford groceries every week!
Use this time while waiting for law school decisions to outline your expenses.
Check out this article on how you can save money while you’re in law school.
Apply for scholarships
We all know it: law school is expensive. Why not use this time to try and lift some of the burdens of how expensive tuition is?
Start applying to as many scholarships as possible, as early as possible.
Make sure you’ve submitted your FAFSA for any need-based scholarships you might be offered. After you’ve done that, Law Preview offers a One Lawyer Can Change The World Scholarship where 10 winners are chosen. Lastly, the Law School Scholarship Finder can help locate more scholarships that best match you.
Read a law school casebook
Take an afternoon to head to a law library and spend some time reading a 1L casebook. This is what you’ll be reading constantly in law school. Make sure it’s something you actually enjoy (or, at a minimum, can tolerate) before you invest your time and money in law school.
LexisNexis has an entire chapter here on how to read casebooks. This is also a beneficial read to prepare you for what you’ll be doing in law school every day.
Research the local areas of your law school choices
Take this opportunity to research the areas surrounding your law school choices.
Schedule some zoom meetings with college advisors at the schools, check out the school clubs, research the local area, and even schedule calls with current students to get a feel of whether it’s the right place for you.
Read this article to learn how to choose the right school for your legal career.
You can also use this opportunity to research places to live. Doing this in advance and having an idea of where you’ll want to live at your prospective law schools is just another way to alleviate some of the stress and unknowns that come along with law school.
Binge some courtroom documentaries
Yep, we said it. Relax on the couch and binge-watch some courtroom documentaries.
Watching the processes that lawyers take to prepare for the courtroom can be extremely beneficial in getting an idea of what goes into being a lawyer within the various types of law.
The Staircase is a great documentary that shows what defense attorneys do to prepare their team and their client for trial. It dives into trial prep, the actual trial in the courtroom, as well as appellate processes.
Another great true-crime documentary that focuses on the attorney-side of the trial is the second season of Making a Murderer. Viewers are invited to watch a post-conviction lawyer prepare motions and introduce new evidence into a 15-year-old case.
Register for a law school prep course
To really alleviate those 1L jitters, register for a law school prep course.
Your 1L grades are undoubtedly the most important; they lead to better job opportunities, more scholarship options, and better chances of being transferred to higher-ranked schools. With this in mind, heading to law school can be a scary thing.
Taking a law school prep course will give you the foundation you need to succeed in law school.
So, what is Law Preview? Law Preview’s law school prep course is a carefully designed 6-day course with over 45 hours of classroom instruction that prepares and positions serious incoming law students to excel during the all-important 1L year. You can see a full list of benefits of the course here.
Taking these steps and being productive while you wait to hear back from law schools will only serve to benefit you in the long run. Being more prepared for law school will help alleviate some of the stress of what’s to come, and prepare you more for better 1L grades.
Be sure to use this time wisely.
