ARCHIVE FOR MAY 2009

May 27, 2009

Recent Law School Commencements

This past weekend, 3Ls, LLMs and SJDs from Yale, Boston College and Columbia University, graduated from their respective law schools in ceremonies that included a few surprises.  Chief among these was the presence of Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton `73 at YLS’s commencement on Memorial Day, who was there to receive an honorary degree from her alma mater.  In accordance with Yale’s tradition of keeping secret the names of each year’s honorary degree recipients until the day of the commencement ceremony, neither students nor media outlets were informed of the decision to honor Secretary Clinton until the day before commencement when the Yale Daily News quietly broke the news, and Clinton was welcomed with raucous cheers from the graduating students when she was introduced.  She spoke briefly during the afternoon ceremony, reminiscing about her experience at YLS and encouraging YLS graduates to enter public service.

At Boston College Law School on Friday, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Ben Bernanke delivered the commencement address, choosing to talk about unpredictability in life and the necessity of maintaining an optimistic outlook throughout the good times and the bad.  He reassured his audience that their legal education makes them highly employable in several popular job sectors, including at the Federal Reserve, and they have much to look forward to once the U.S. economy emerges from the recession.  Former California Governor Joseph “Gray” Davis spoke at Columbia Law School’s 148th graduation ceremony on Thursday May 21.

Graduating NYU School of Law students attended commencement exercises at Yankee Stadium on May 13, where they graduated alongside all other graduate students at NYU.  A more intimate law school convocation and reception followed on May 15.  Also on May 15, commencement was held at William & Mary and USC Gould law schools.  Robert E. Scott, who is currently the Alfred McCormack Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, delivered the commencement speech at W&M, a fitting choice given his long history with the school.  Mr. Scott was editor-in-chief of the William & Mary Law Review while a student there in the late 1960s, and briefly taught at the law school before taking a tenure-track position at the University of Virginia Law School in 1974.  Gould’s commencement exercises included speeches by Dean Robert K. Rasmussen, who encouraged students to live up to the school’s core values of public service and a lifelong passion for learning, and third-year Class President Paula Mayeda, who celebrated the perseverance demonstrated by her classmates during their three years of law school.  The commencement address was given by California Attorney General and former Governor of California, Edmund “Jerry” Brown, Jr., who called on the graduating students to use the critical thinking skills gained through their legal education to remake a broken society.

In the coming weeks, Harvard Law School, the University of Chicago Law School and many others will hold their commencement exercises and bid adieu to the class of 2009.

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# posted by admin @ 12:18 pm in School: Boston College, School: Chicago, School: Columbia, School: Harvard, School: New York University, School: USC / Gould, School: Yale

May 8, 2009

Application Periods at Leading Law Schools

Below is a list of the early decision deadlines (when applicable) and application review periods for the leading law schools:

Berkeley / Boalt
Application Period: October 1 - February 2

Boston College
Application Period: Mid-September - March 1

Boston University
Application Period: September through March 1

Chicago
Application Period: September 1 - February 1

Columbia
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period September 1er 15 - February 15

Cornell
Early Decision Deadline: November 1
Application Period: September 1 – February 15.

Duke
Early Decision Deadline: November 1
Application Period: September 1 - February 15

Emory
Application Period: September - March 1.

Fordham
Early Decision Deadline: October 15
Application Period: September 1 – March 1

Harvard
Application Period: September 15 - February 1

Illinois
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period: September 1 – March 15.

Iowa
Application Period: September 1 – March 1

George Washington
Early Decision Deadline: December 15
Application Period: October 1 – March 31

Georgetown
Application Period: September 25 – February 2

Michigan
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period: September 1 - February 15.

Minnesota
Early Decision Deadline: December 31
Application Period: September - April 1

New York University
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period: September - February 1

Northwestern
Early Decision Deadline: December 1
Application Period: October 1 - February 15

Notre Dame
Early Decision Deadline: November 10
Application Period: September 1 – March 15

Stanford
Application Period: September 1 - February 1

UCLA
Early Decision Deadline: November 15
Application Period: September - February 1

University of Pennsylvania
Early Decision Deadline: November 1
Application Period: October 1 - February 15

USC / Gould
Application Period: September 1 - February 1

U Texas-Austin
Early Decision Deadline: November 1
Application Period: September - February 1

U Virginia
Early Decision Deadline: December 1
Application Period: August - March 1

University of Washington
Application Period: October – January 15

Vanderbilt
Application Period: October 1 - March 15.

Washington and Lee
Application Period: September 1 – March 1

Washington University in St. Louis
Application Period: September 1 - April 15 (recommended deadline is March 1)

William and Mary
Application Period: September 1 – March 1

Yale
Application Period: September 1 - February 15

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# posted by admin @ 4:11 pm in Deadlines, School: Berkeley / Boalt, School: Boston College, School: Boston University, School: Chicago, School: Columbia, School: Cornell, School: Duke, School: Emory, School: Fordham, School: George Washington University, School: Georgetown, School: Harvard, School: Illinois, School: Iowa, School: Michigan, School: Minnesota, School: New York University, School: Northwestern, School: Notre Dame, School: Stanford, School: UCLA, School: USC / Gould, School: University of Pennsylvania, School: University of Texas-Austin, School: University of Virginia, School: University of Washington, School: Vanderbilt, School: Washington University in St. Louis, School: Washington and Lee, School: William and Mary, School: Yale

Yale Law School Personal Statement 2009-2010

The Yale Personal Statement is as follows:

Provide a typed statement of no more than three pages explaining why the study of law is important to your professional growth and development.

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# posted by admin @ 2:46 pm in Personal Statements, School: Yale

William and Mary Law School Personal Statement and Optional Essay 2009-2010

The William and Mary Personal Statement and Optional Essay are as follows:

William & Mary Law School evaluates applicants in many areas beyond test scores and academic transcripts. Indeed, important academic objectives are furthered by classes comprised of students having talents and skills derived from diverse backgrounds. Please attach a brief personal statement which might identify factors such as activities or accomplishments, personal or cultural background, career goals, or special talents that you believe would contribute to the Law School community and would support your application to William & Mary Law School.

An additional essay may be submitted. This optional essay should describe an event in your life of which you are especially proud. Provide information not included in your required personal statement that focuses on academic achievement, situations in which you have overcome significant challenges, or any other event that you think will help us obtain a sense of your ability to function successfully in a complex world.

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# posted by admin @ 2:44 pm in Personal Statements, School: William and Mary

Washington and Lee Law School Personal Statement and Optional Essay 2009-2010

The Washington and Lee Personal Statement and Optional Essay are as follows:

Your personal statement should give the Admissions Committee a sense of the person behind the objective credentials presented in your application and supporting documents and should not be a restatement of your resume in narrative form. Your statement should be no longer than 3 pages of double space, Times Roman, 12 point text. We regularly receive outstanding personal statements that fill only a single page; a lengthy statement is not required

Optional: You may electronically attach a 500 word double-spaced essay discussing the manner in which you dealt with an ethical dilemma. Failure to submit this optional essay will have no negative effect on your application.

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# posted by admin @ 2:43 pm in Personal Statements, School: Washington and Lee

Vanderbilt University Law School Personal Statement 2009-2010

The Vanderbilt Personal Statement is as follows:

Please present yourself to the Admissions Committee by writing a personal statement. You may write about your background, experiences, interest in law, aspirations, or any topic that you feel will help readers of your application get a sense of you as a person and prospective law student. If you are applying electronically, please attach your statement to the electronic application form. Please limit your statement to two pages.

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# posted by admin @ 2:37 pm in Personal Statements, School: Vanderbilt

University of Washington Law School Personal Statement 2009-2010

The University of Washington Personal Statement is as follows:

The primary goal of the admissions process is to enroll students who demonstrate outstanding academic and professional promise and whose background and experience will enhance the diversity of the student body, thereby enriching the law school educational environment. An applicant will be regarded as potentially contributing to student diversity if his or her background or experience would not ordinarily be well represented in the student body. Factors that indicate this diversity include, but are not limited to, the following: persevering against substantial obstacles such as economic disadvantage, family or personal adversity or other social hardships, disability, prejudice or discrimination; having lived in a foreign country or spoken a language other than English at home; career goals (with particular attention paid to the applicant’s commitment to public service); employment history; educational background (including graduate study); evidence of and potential for leadership (perhaps demonstrated by extracurricular, school, civic or community service achievement); special talents or unique life experiences; or geographic diversity. Applicants are invited to describe these and other aspects of their backgrounds that would benefit the diversity of the law school community. Please limit your response to 700 words (two double-spaced pages).

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# posted by admin @ 2:36 pm in Personal Statements, School: University of Washington

University of Virginia Law School Personal Statement 2009-2010

The University of Virginia Personal Statement is as follows:

Include with your application a personal statement that will give the Admissions Committee any information you believe relevant to the admissions decision that is not elicited elsewhere in the application. The statement is your opportunity to tell us about yourself. It may address your intellectual interests, significant accomplishments, obstacles overcome, personal or professional goals, educational achievements, or any way in which your perspective, viewpoint, or experiences will add to the richness of the educational environment of the School of Law or to the diversity of the academic community.

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# posted by admin @ 2:33 pm in Personal Statements, School: University of Virginia

University of Texas-Austin Law School Personal Statement 2009-2010

The University of Texas-Austin Personal Statement is as follows:

A personal statement is required of each applicant and is an opportunity to give the Committee insight to individual experiences and characteristics. Personal statements are limited to two, double-spaced pages. However, applicants will have the opportunity to submit optional addenda to explain unusual circumstances such as a period of poor academic performance, academic sanctions, history of problems with standardized tests, history of over-coming disadvantage, prior law school matriculation, criminal matters, etc.

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# posted by admin @ 2:32 pm in Personal Statements, School: University of Texas-Austin

USC / Gould Law School Personal Statement 2009-2010

The USC / Gould Personal Statement is as follows:
The admissions committee gives careful attention to your personal statement. We are particularly interested in your motivation for studying law, your academic background, and qualities you possess that may enhance the diversity of our student body. If you are a college senior or recent graduate, you may wish to mention your work history and extracurricular activities. If you have spent a year or more in the work force after college, tell us about your employment experience; enclose a resume to illustrate your chronological work history.

There is no specific word or page requirement or limit for your personal statement. However, the committee values carefully crafted essays that are clear, concise, and compelling.

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# posted by admin @ 2:29 pm in Personal Statements, School: USC / Gould

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