hi friend! i feel so honored that u asked me this bc i have madddd imposter syndrome, especially as a first gen law student who 1) decided on pursuing law in my last year of uni and 2) has been going through this process with minimal assistance, so please bear with me as this'll be a long one!! i'll try to break it into sections.

-FIRSTLY, expenses: the law school process is fucking expensive. it's honestly ridiculous. to apply to any law school, you have to make an account on LSAC, request your transcripts from your uni, choose your schools and fill out applications, set up letters of rec, etc. PLEASE take advantage of fee waivers when you can! after i got my first LSAT score, a lot of schools sent me emails saying they waived my application fee because of my score. if they don't automatically waive it, you can request it through the uni's law school website. apply for law scholarships! also try to rent LSAT prep books when you can bc those are a pretty penny too :/ if you really want to go to law school, there are definitely ways to reduce your fees, but just keep in mind it's an exhausting process.

-schools: a bit of TMI here, but—L + ratio + my mental health was in the shitter while i was in uni + i was pre-med for long time + my grades lowkey tanked. what that all means is that i had to cast a wide net in terms of schools i applied to, from the T14 all the way into the top 150. before anything, i strongly suggest interrogating why you want to go to a T14. depending on where you live, regional schools might actually be the better option, esp in terms of cost, but if you're in love with a particular program/school/professor at a T14 then i firmly believe you can get there if you put in the work. take full advantage of the resources around you—talk to your professors, your bosses, your community leaders, use linkedin for networking (can't believe i'm saying this as i literally hate linkedin but it can be so helpful in this case). it can be somewhat of a numbers game, but don't get too hung up on all of the statistics or the competition of it all; you can always transfer into a T14 if you don't happen to get in the first time around!!!

now that that's out of the way. if you're still here, we'll move onto the Hard Stuff.

-LSAT: you've probably heard this before, but learning how to take the LSAT is like learning how to speak a language. for some, the type of logic you're being tested on can be really intuitive, but for most, it's definitely the kind of thing that takes time to learn. if you're financially able, i suggest investing in a comprehensive LSAT prep course—i got a yearly subscription for 7sage, which allowed me full access to every LSAT ever administered, along with a lot of extremely useful forums and advice on how to approach just about every aspect of the law school process. however, if that's not feasible for you, khan academy has a free LSAT prep course i've heard is very reliable, and i also recommend the powerscore textbooks for logic games. i took the LSAT 3 times before i earned a score i was comfortable applying with, and my score increased each time. my main advice here is to give yourself A Lot of time to study; a lot of people recommend 4-6 months, but if you can, i'd spread it out over a longer period of time. take it day by day, find a study cycle that works for you (i got into pomodoro studying specifically because of the LSAT), and be sure to take a lot of breaks! i burned out so quickly within the first 3 months and ended up having to postpone my test the first time around because the stress made me physically ill lmao. my biggest tip is just to go into it no thoughts, head empty, because for me it took a whole lot of unlearning to get to a place where i could actually understand what was happening. blank slate and all. and for logic games, once you get there, drill them untimed until you get them perfect, and then drill them timed until you get them perfect. to this day i could solve a logic game in my sleep.

-personal statement: if you're like me and everything cool about you dissipates into thin fucking air once you're asked to 'sell' yourself to an admissions committee, then i highly recommend making a list of your favorite hobbies, favorite memories, and formative moments in your life. i actually ended up writing about fanfic in my personal statement, though i didn't explicitly say so—political talk ahoy! basically i talked about how uni burned me out so bad i couldn't write anymore, until i tapped into my political consciousness and realized i could use my writing as a tool to help me connect with my community, and then i talked about how navigating the existing framework of law could help me make real, tangible change in my community. my biggest piece of advice: Be Honest. Do Not Bullshit This Part. If There's Any Part of Your Application That You Bullshit, Do Not Let It Be This One. i'm so serious, like. joker serious. it will read so disingenuous if you lie. getting it all down first was the hardest part, and then after that i went through a series of intense edits with one of my old professors. it gets easier, i promise! i also recommend having multiple people read it so that you get as much feedback as you can.

-letters of rec: every school varies in their LOR requirements, so be sure to check! most of the schools i replied to required at least 1, but i was fortunate enough to have 2. most people recommend asking your professors because they can vouch for your academic performance, which is ultimately what is important here: law schools want to see if you can handle the rigors of academia, so a glowing recommendation from a professor would do you wonders. i got one from a professor and the other from my boss, who is a lawyer. if you haven't spoken in a while, reestablish connection by sending an email reminding them of who you are, how you know them, and politely request if they would be open to writing you a letter. i asked my contacts wayyyy in advance because i wanted to give them ample time to write and edit their letters—i'd say give at least a month's notice. my professor, who went to grad school, helped me work through my personal statement and resume! keep them in the loop about your cycle and make sure to be considerate about their time.

-volunteering: i know a lot of people who pad their resumes with random volunteer experiences just to say they did them, but i personally think it is better to focus on one or two other things you care about other than law. for me, while the bulk of my work experience and background are centered in public interest, a lot of my volunteer efforts are based in environmental justice. reach out to a couple of causes you're personally interested in and see how you can get involved.

-resume: not all schools require one, but i did make one and i think it earned me brownie points ngl. law school resumes are different from work resumes in that you should emphasize your academic achievements more, so as to give the admissions committee an idea of what you've studied, and there are tons of helpful templates online to help you put yours together. i was very proud of mine, actually, because i got to list all of the sick ass polisci courses i took in uni AND i got to list my thesis! sometimes i forget i actually wrote one lol. don't be too pressed if you don't have work experience, because you can be pretty loose here. the focus is on your coursework. additional skills are a plus.

-some odds & ends: STAY AWAY FROM THE LAW SCHOOL ADMISSIONS SUBREDDIT. every other person on there is whining about having a 4.5 gpa/180 lsat/purple heart and presidential medal of freedom/cancer survivor and still worrying about being accepted to harvard/yale/stanford. it's so easy to feel discouraged when you're scrolling so i'd say just try to ignore it altogether. focus on you and what you want and how you can make it happen. a big part of narrowing down my law school list was deciding where i imagined myself after, and for me the answer is california; whether i decide to practice law or use my future J.D. in a different field, i know i want to end up in california, so i suggest you reflect on your future, what you value, and where you see yourself if you decide to pursue law as a career.

i believe that's all for now.... that's all i can think of at least bc me brain's a little fried but. i sincerely hope this was helpful for you <3 shoot me another message if you have any other qs about the law school process! am still learning myself, but i'm glad i've made it far enough to be able to impart at least some nuggets of wisdom to the masses. if u read all of this. thank u for listening ilu :*