May 1, 2010
Our 23rd Anniversary!
"23" is not a number that targets anything in particular; it simply proceeds from 21 to 25. And that's a good description of what we plan to do with this anniversary: evolve.
A lot of our changes are cosmetic, but geared to making your reading and navigating simpler:
- You may notice a much cleaner look to the face page of each section, as we've learned how to utilize Dreamweaver with a little more finesse.
- We've noticed that text below the logo tends to get lost, so we've decided that the title line just under the logo is as low as we'll go on the new pages.
- You may notice a slightly more stylish look to each page, with accent colors and borders, but we didn't want to go too far; after all, legal reading is dreadfully plain.
- On the Recent News page, we're going to help you keep track by proceeding clockwise from the bottom, and by highlighting the most recent additions.
- We're making the Navigation Map match the face page for each section similarly -- pages are listed approximately clockwise from the bottom.
| Our goal in all these changes isn't just to make the page prettier; it's to make the content easier to locate. With nearly 300 pages of information, we're trying to make it as easy as possible for you to know where you are. |
Along with changes in appearance, we've made a number of changes in content:
As we do every year, we've cleaned out the "Recent News" section to make room for new news. Ephemera have been deleted, but items of enduring note have been moved to permanent places. In particular:
- Important Notes about the impact of the economy on law school grants and your ability to get loans has been moved to Choosing -- Financial aid.
- Information (or the lack thereof) about Application Trends has been moved to Data: Application Trends.
- Information about the influence of law schools' taking the higher LSAT score, combined with the increase in retakes, has been moved to Timeline: Taking and Retaking.
- Information about the effects of the new USNews part-time program ranking on the admissions world has been moved to Data: Part-Time Programs.
- All those extra tips I gave you about proofreading applications have been moved to Timeline: Completing Applications.
- My notes on slavery, racism, Dr. King, and the Old and New South have been move to Diversity: Race and Why it Matters.
We've completely re-read every page of the Choosing section, and made noticeable updates to the section called "What Makes Each School Special." We had pondered deleting this section, but with the updates, we've decided it's worth keeping.
We've reviewed the entire "diversity" section. Since much of it was updated in 2009, there weren't many changes needed, but we did add the new Department of Education [D.o.E.] definitions of race.
"Essays and Addenda" was so extensively revised last year that all it needed was a bit of prettifying and another spell-check (without removing the minor errors of the authors of sample essays.)
We're in the midst of revising the Timeline and Data sections to reflect the massive changes in LSAC and US News in the last year.
And we're interviewing a few more admissions officers, the first of which will debut before the week is out.
Intro to Law School Class
The Intro to Law School course is back by popular demand, and as the first enrolled student, Dennis got to call the dates for it. We'll convene on the evening of Friday, July 23rd. We'll work on classroom performance four hours a day from the 24th through the 27th. After a day's rest and homework, we'll move on to exam preparation, and again spend four hours a day, from July 29th through August 1. Here's the complete rundown.
2010-11 Forum Schedule
DC
I'll be attending the DC Forum hard on the heels of The NAPLA-SAPLA PreLaw Advisors' convention in Durham, NC, where my favorite Barbecue house awaits me. In between, I'll be meeting clients in Philly, preparatory to heading to the Forum. These are all favorite old haunts, and I could put together the ten-day schedule in an hour.
Northeast
I'm definitely skipping New York and Boston. September LSAT scores won't be released this soon, and I've learned that "gonna get" scores are reliable only about 1/3 of the time.
Chicago and Atlanta
I'm definitely attending both of these Forums. Erika will join me for at least one, and perhaps both. (They've changed Atlanta to a one-day Forum this year, and I'm not sure the time off school is worth it two weeks in a row.)
In both cities I'll accompany up to five clients; those with LSAT scores from earlier tests will have preference, then those who live within driving distance who took the September LSAT. Scores are technically due out Monday, November 1, but I've never seen them come out later than the Friday night before the Forum. All Atlanta clients MUST have an LSAT score in hand.
What happens to people with December LSAT scores?
They attend the Los Angeles and Bay Area Law Forums, in February. I can accompany as many as five clients at each of these one-day events.
February?!! We have to wait 'till February?!!
Well, you waited until New Year's to get your score; when did you think you'd apply.
And what if more people than anticipated have scores in September?
We'll look for Law School Fairs (which are sponsored by the school, rather than by LSAC) that are open to the public and have large turnouts.
- The one here at the University of Washington had 92 schools last year, and was held in mid-November.
- U of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M at College Station, and Southern Cal (USC) all had open events last year in early November.
I'm sure we can accommodate everyone with this schedule; it worked fine last year, when some of my clients came to as many as three different Forums as their LSAT scores changed.