Month: March 2013

Financing Law School – Workshop & Tools

Are you utilizing all the tools available for financial planning for law school?

Don’t be fooled by all the offers!  Join me at the University of Illinois Financial Planning event next Monday (April “not so fooled” Day), April 1, from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the College of Law. There will be a unique combination with the presentation by the U of I law school financial aid office and the Pre-Law Advising Office.  I’ll bring the information from the office  and the perspective of a current law student with significant debt and recently going through this process.

LSAC has a simple list of questions that should be answered:  http://www.lsac.org/jd/finance/financial-aid-questions.asp

Come with your own questions!  Whether or not your plan for financing law school will include incurring significant debt – you should attend and strategize about approaching your offers from law schools!

 

Pre-Law Day at University of Illinois College of Law!

Maybe you’ve gone to all the pre-law information events and have a clear understanding of the process of getting into law school, all the factors to consider, and even the type of job you hope to pursue with your J.D.!  That’s great!  No matter what law school you plan on attending – spending a day in the law school experience will help you have the confidence to apply and as you begin your own law school journey.  The event is fast-approaching, so save the date and send in your RSVP immediately!

Pre-Law students from around the country are invited to attend pre-law day at the University of Illinois College of Law.  The University of Illinois Pre-Law Day will be April 6 from 9:30AM – 3PM. This annual event is ideal for anyone and all ages interested in attending law school, learning more about the law school experience, and especially the University of Illinois-College of Law in particular. The day will include: a mock law class with the College’s dean, the law school’s admissions panel discussing the application process, panels from both current students and law practioners, and a tour of the law school. Light breakfast and lunch will be provided. This is a must-attend event for any pre-law student! If you have any questions please contact: Tiffany at twchan2@gmail.com

To register please visit the Pre-Law Day website at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1v8HHT67uTXrhmUlxO9u_BoESsrqTibcgFWBDsmGSRjw/viewform

Spring Break Edition: Things To Do

Spring Break starts at the end of this week.  Here are some suggestions for how to use the break wisely.  

Seniors Applying This Cycle

1. Applications. If you haven’t already done so….submit your applications!!!!!  I know several law schools have extended their deadlines but this is a rolling process and many schools have few if any seats (or financial aid) left to give to applicants.

2. Decision Time.  For those of you that submitted applications much earlier this cycle and consequently are now weighing all your options — really evaluate your offers and try to come to a decision in the next couple of weeks.  Those of you who have been in to see me have been advised to create a table or spreadsheet listing the items most important to you (i.e., cost/scholarship, employment numbers, bar passage rate, location) to help you decide among your offers.  Also make plans to visit the law schools if you haven’t already done so — you would be surprised about the number of students who love a school on paper but are not thrilled with the school once they visit.  Law school is a HUGE investment — find the time to visit the schools!!!!

Juniors Applying in the Fall

1. Letters of Recommendation. Start thinking about whom you should ask to write your letters of recommendation and plan to request your LORs BEFORE you leave campus for the summer.  Applicants frequently make the mistake of waiting until fall to approach their professors and then find themselves waiting quite a while.  Your professors are busy so you need to plan ahead to give them enough time to write your letters… and the letters that others are requesting.

2. Attend PLAS Programs! Attending our upcoming PLAS programs will help you get a jump start on your applications.  Remember — most law schools admit applicants on a rolling basis so the earlier you apply, the better!

  • Financing Law School, Monday April 1, 5-6pm, College of Law, 504 East Pennsylvania Avenue, Classroom A. Our Financial Aid Series continues! With so many different aid offers from various law schools….how do students choose? Julie Griffin, Assistant Director of Financial Aid at the College of Law, and Donna Davis, a current 2L and Pre-Law Advising Graduate Assistant, are here to walk you through it! Ms. Griffin and Ms. Davis will show you what a law school financial aid offer looks like and demonstrate how to evaluate aid packages and make fair comparisons among schools. No registration required. 
  • Applying to Law School — A Workshop for Fall Applicants — Monday, April 15, 4-5:00 pm, Room 1027 Lincoln Hall. Applying to law school early in the application cycle can result in more admission offers, more aid, and much less stress. This workshop is designed for students who will be applying to law school this fall and want to maximize their law school opportunities. We will provide an overview of the law school application process and share a timeline for optimal application results. No registration required.
  • Personal Statement Workshop for Fall Applicants — Thursday, April 18, 12-1:00pm, Room 514 Illini Union Bookstore Building.  Law school applicants consistently say that the personal statement took much more time to write than they expected. This workshop will provide an overview of the personal statement and the resume for law school applications. Please register by clicking on this link http://illinois.edu/calendar/list/2508 to our Event Calendar. Once there, please select this event and then click on “register.”  Registration is required so that we can provide enough seating and materials for everyone.

All Pre-Law Students

1. Find and apply for summer internships NOW.  Not sure where to start?  Go here, http://publish.illinois.edu/prelawadvising/2012/12/20/internship-newsletter/, to access our Internship Newsletter that was originally posted on December 20.  It contains 17 pages of information on internships and jobs.  Many of these postings have March deadlines so start looking now!

2. Stay informed… about all of our PLAS Programs, information sessions, updates on the legal profession, etc.  How???

 Enjoy your break!

Financing Law School — Audio File for Webinar Available!

Were you unable to attend the Heather Jarvis webinar, “Realities of Financing a Legal Education” last week? Good news — click on the following link and you can find out what you missed! https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/9083015.  Just enter your net id and password and you will be able to access the presentation. Once there, click on the “view presentation” link.  The audio and slide presentation should begin.

In the webinar Ms. Jarvis, a nationally-renowed financial aid expert, explains student loan options at the law school level and shares information about recent changes to loan repayment options, including loan forgiveness programs . This is a must-see for students entering law school. Find out more about Heather and her excellent resources at http://askheatherjarvis.com/. The webinar link will only be available for the next month so check it out now!!

Today at 4pm — Dean Pamela Bloomquist of the Loyola University Chicago Law School

Interested in attending law school in Chicago?  Join Pamela Bloomquist, Assistant Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, TODAY at 4pm, Room 514 Illini Union Bookstore Building, as she provides an overview of information about life at Loyola. She will talk about what Loyola is looking for in applicants, what the student body is like, and what’s new at Loyola. Dean Bloomquist will also answer any of your questions about life at Loyola. No registration is necessary for this event. All students interested in learning about Loyola are welcome.

Greenlight Giving CollegeCONNECT – Pilot Program free and exclusively designed for UIUC Pre-Law Students!

PLAS has a very unique opportunity we’ve arranged with a new networking initiative called “Greenlight Giving CollegeCONNECT”.  This particular initiative of Greenlight Giving started as a project with Yale Law Students to develop what it means to truly network as an individual and within a committed group of similarly-focused peers.  The feedback that these students provided was unbelievably positive – and many students still report continued success and utilization of skills gained from the experience.

Now some of you may be as connected as Yale Law Students – but many of us are not! – and that’s why Greenlight decided to develop a program that can reap the same benefits of smart networking and build it specifically to a constituency of students at a public university with a more diverse group of students.  They felt that the U of I was the perfect place to develop the program – and have worked for the last year to prepare and develop the program to meet U of I student needs – and want to provide it free this year as a pilot to  a select group of UIUC Pre-Law Students!

We are looking to create 5 or 6 teams of students composed of 5-6 members per team.  Each team will move the program together and complete tasks and approach challenges together.

If you are interested in participating in this free pilot program that could be the entry to a new and major network for you – please visit http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094DABA72DA57-collegeconnect for sign-up information.  The kick-off event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.  Please forward this message to motivated and interested students in your group that you could envision taking the initiative to benefit from such a program!

You can read more about Greenlight Giving’s organization at greenlightgiving.org/about.

Looking forward to your participation and success!