Online and Continuing Education Classes Can Help You Decide Whether Going Back to School is Right for You

Going back to school is a big decision.  And pursuing a graduate degree requires a big commitment.  Homework, classwork, the grueling pace of exams and papers, the eventual master's thesis or dissertation . . . .   A degree program also entails a huge financial commitment.  You may need to take out loans or cut back on expenses.  If you work, you will either have to put your career on hold or endure the stress of working and studying at the same time. 

But there are many benefits to be derived from returning to school.  A graduate degree can help you branch into a new career or advance more quickly in the career you already have.  It can turn a lull in a career, such as a period of disability or unemployment, into a time of self-enrichment. 

If you are thinking of school but not ready to take the plunge, it's possible to test the waters first, by getting your feet wet.  Before deciding to get a business or law degree and filling out all those applications, consider taking continuing education courses at your local college or university.  Most institutes of higher education offer a fully array of courses to the public for professional development and personal enrichment that can range from Principles of Accounting to Basic Mandarin Chinese to the Essentials of Immigration Law to Anatomy and Physiology for Prospective Medical Students.  If you are thinking of going to school but afraid that your writing or math abilities won't be up to par, you can also take continuing education courses in essay writing to help you brush up on your verbal skills or basic algebra and calculus to get a refresher on all that math you took in high school and college.  Some schools offer certificate courses that don't require as much commitment as a full degree program, or will give you credit for continuing education classes you have taken if you later matriculate as a graduate student.

When looking for classes that will not only be fun and enriching but also help you decide whether to pursue another degree, don't stop at colleges and universities.  Other local institutions and organizations, including the local YMCA or YWCA, culinary institutes, and music and art schools, offer classes ranging from languages to art and design to career development.  In addition, there are a whole range of online courses and schools available online.  These courses allow you to pursue a degree or certificate program from the comfort of your own home which saves you the time required to travel to and from class and allows you to complete your studies at your own pace. 

        

Writing a Standout Personal Essay for Your Law School Applications

By the time you finalize your law school applications, your grade-point average will be set in stone.  You will have taken your LSAT, and your score will be what your score will be.  GPA and LSAT are the two most important factors in determining whether you will get into law school and what law schools will accept you.  But there are still some things you can do to improve your chances.  Turning in a polished, impressive, and unique personal essay is one of them.

It's true that, if you have a low GPA and low LSAT score, the best personal essay in the world won't get you into Yale or Harvard.  But let's say your GPA and LSAT places you, credentials-wise, in the same range as the bottom quarter of applicants generally accepted by a top ten school like Columbia, Stanford, NYU, or Michigan.  The admissions committee has 50 slots left to fill and 150 applicants with similar grades and scores to choose from.  How do they decide which of those 150 applicants to accept, to reject, and to wait-list?  Once your grades and scores get you within the numerical range of students who generally get offered admission, secondary factors, like the quality of your personal essay, will begin to play a huge role. In fact, your personal essay could mean the difference between being accepted or wait-listed at a desirable school--and a sloppy, lackluster essay could get you rejected outright even if your grades and scores place you solidly in the middle of the pack or even higher in the applicant pool. 

So what goes into a standout personal essay?  First of all, a high-quality personal essay is well-written.  When the admissions committee reads it, they come away with the impression that the author is someone with a great deal of skill and experience at the craft of writing and the use of language.  An excellent personal essay is also one that is written with a great deal of care.  That means zero, absolutely zero, typographical, spelling, or grammatical errors.  The prose must be fluid and stylistically appealing.  The vocabulary should be sophisticated, but the essay shouldn't sound as though the writer swallowed a thesaurus.

But good writing is only the bare minimum required.  What makes a personal essay truly remarkable is content, not form.  That doesn't mean that you have to write a master's thesis.  The best personal essays tell a story in a narrative form but also provide critical commentary on the meaning and impact of the events described.  One promising route to a standout essay is to write a personal experience that had meaning to you.  Telling the story of that experience well requires drawing the reader in and entertaining him or her--almost as if the reader were reading a top-notch novel.  But an excellent personal essay not only tells the story of the experience but also demonstrates the writer's understanding of how the experience changed him or her.  That means that you have to go beyond just telling your readers on the admissions committee what happened and explain the effect it had on you and your life.

Above all, remember that a law school admissions committee is trying to assemble a first-year class full of interesting people.  They are interested in diversity, so, in your personal essay, be sure to highlight what makes you unique and special.  Diversity doesn't just mean belonging to a minority group, such as a particular race or ethnicity.  It can mean being an older student, a handicapped student, or a student who has overcome diversity to make it through school.  It can mean engaging in unique extracurricular activities like race-car driving or fashion designing.  It can mean a unique accomplishment that shows your drive and ambition, such as starting your own business, performing military service, or serving in a political office.  The best  personal essay, the one that will most likely catch the attention of the admissions committee, is one that reveals who you are and the strengths that you will bring to your law school class.

        

What Law Schools Should You Apply To?

If you are thinking of applying to law school, you will need to come up with a list of schools that you would like to attend.  Generally, speaking, you should apply to as many law schools as possible given the constraints on your time and money.  Ideally, you will compile a list of twelve to fifteen law schools: two or three "safety schools" into which you are guaranteed, or at least extremely likely, to be accepted, at least five "reach" or long shot schools, and at least five law schools "middle-of-the-road" schools.  You will need to put the most thought into choosing the law schools that go into the third "middle" category because you are most likely to attend one of those schools. 

So how do you choose these schools? Get a copy of U.S. News and World Report or a reputable law school guide book and look at the undergraduate GPAs and LSAT scores of accepted students.  For your "middle-of-the-road" schools, your GPA and LSAT score should fall somewhere near the median grades and scores reported for those applicants offered admission.  For your safety schools, your grades and scores should place you in the top 25% of the pool of accepted applicant pool.  For your reach schools, your grades and scores should fall in the bottom 25%; in other words, your grades and scores should be high enough that there is at least some possibility that you will be accepted even though that possibility may be very slim.  When it comes to law school, prestige is everything, so you should try to get into the best law school that you can, and if you have the opportunity to go to one of your long-shot schools, then take it.  When applying to your reach schools, remember to emphasize any special experience, graduate degrees, or special talents you may have.  Make sure you let the admissions committee know why you would be a meaningful addition to the student body even though your grades and scores put you near the bottom of the applicant heap.  If you have won a national figure-skating championship, started your own business, or had your master's thesis published, be sure to mention that in your application.  While GPA and LSAT are the most important admissions factors, law schools do want a diverse student body with varied academic and life experiences. 

Other factors to consider when putting together your law school application list include: location (if you want to practice law in New York after graduation, then a New York-area law school is a good choice); strengths in faculty and curriculum offerings (Cornell University and the University of Michigan are strong in international law; NYU is strong in tax law and public interest law; Stanford, Berkeley and George Washington University are standouts in intellectual property law); and availability of financial aid and scholarships.

        

The Importance of Acing the LSAT

If you are already at the point where you are applying for law school, then you are no doubt starting to worry about taking the LSAT.  It is not possible to underestimate the importance of doing well on the LSAT.  The two factors that law school admissions committees place the most importance on are an applicant's undergraduate GPA and LSAT score.  By the time you are applying for law school, you will be either finishing up your junior year in college or starting your senior year, and your GPA will pretty much be set in stone. At that point, there is little you can do to significantly raise your GPA.  Your LSAT score, on the other hand, is still largely within your control.

The LSAT is not like the SAT or even other graduate school admissions tests such as the GRE or GMAT.  First of all, you were probably encouraged to take the SAT as many times as necessary to get a good score because colleges generally count only your highest scores.  If you take the LSAT more than once, however, law schools generally average your scores.  Some schools will only count your first score unless you show significant improvement the second time you take the test. So the benefit of doing very well on the LSAT the second time around is minimal.  So remember this golden rule:  Plan to take the LSAT once and only once, and don't take it until you are sure that you are sure you can do your best. 

However, if you do take the LSAT and end up with a disappointing score, you definitely should take it again.  Even though schools generally don't place much stock in your scores when you take the LSAT a second time, there are exceptions.  If your second score is a vast improvement over your first score and you can explain on your application that adverse circumstances, for instance, illness, prevented you from doing your best the first time you took the test, law schools will take that into consideration.

The other important rule to remember with regard to LSAT preparation: Don't try to prepare for the LSAT by yourself, and NEVER take the LSAT cold without studying.  The LSAT is a notoriously difficult exam, much more difficult than the SAT, GRE, or GMAT.  Next to taking the bar exam or writing a master's thesis, the LSAT could pose the greatest challenge that you will ever face in your academic career.  Even if you have always done well on standardized tests, you will almost certainly tank on the exam if you walk in the testing center cold without having prepared at all.  Not only do you need to prepare, you need to prepare well.  When you took the SAT, you might have picked up a Barron's SAT Prep book at Barnes & Noble and that could have been all that you needed to get a score.  But picking up a prep book at the local bookstore isn't going to cut it for the LSAT.  No matter how confident you are in your test-taking abilities, sign up to take a class or a series of private tutoring sessions with Kaplan, Princeton Review, Powerscore, GetPrepped or another reputable LSAT preparation company.  If the services offered by these companies are too expensive, look for an independent tutor.  Many law students and young lawyers who did well on the LSAT make money on the side by tutoring in LSAT prep.  You can find them on craigslist or on other classified sites or on bulletin boards at your college.  Just make sure that you ask them about their background and qualifications and get references from their former students.    

        

What Courses Should You Take in College If You Plan to Apply to Law School?

Admissions to law school are very competitive. If you want to go to law school, then you need to start planning as early as possible--from the time you enter college.  One question many future law students ponder is what kinds of courses will best prepare them for law school and what college major will make them most attractive to law school admissions committees. 

The good news is that there is no specific series of coursework that you need to complete in order to prepare yourself for law school.  Unlike medical schools, law school usually do not require that you take specific classes in college before beginning your legal studies.  How you perform in your classes and your overall grade-point average (GPA) is more important than the particular courses, or even the particular major, that you pursue.

That does not mean that you should not be thinking about the skills you will need to do well in law school when you choose your classes and major in college.  Many college students think that taking a heavy load of economics courses will help prepare them for law school.  Taking economics certainly won't hurt.  It is a field of study that requires analytical thinking, and you will be doing a lot of that as a law student and lawyer.  However, no knowledge of economics is required for law school classes. 

What is very important, on the other hand, is developing strong writing skills.  Although you will not be required to write a master's thesis in law school, you will be doing a lot of writing.  First-year law students are required to take courses in legal writing, and law school exams are generally timed essay tests.  In addition, the most prestigious extracurricular activities in law school, the ones that will make you most attractive to legal employers--law review and moot court-- require a demonstration of strong writing skills to participate.  Looking to the future, remember that good lawyering is all about being a good communicator. 

Majoring in English or another literature-based course of study could be a very good move.  But any major that requires good writing skills and analytical thinking would be a good choice.  History, anthropology, and political science can all provide a strong foundation for a good law school career.  Even a science major, which requires logical thought and mental discipline, can look good on your law school application.  Some areas of law, particularly patent law and intellectual property, require a strong grasp of scientific principles. 
No matter what you major in, you will need a high GPA to get into law school.  So choose a major that you enjoy; you are more likely to do well if you like what you are studying.  Majoring in dance or fine arts may not be the best preparation for law school, but just about every other course of study will help you develop the skills that you will need to succeed as a law student.

        

What is a Thesis Statement?  And Why is it So Important?

If you are new to college or graduate school, you may be wondering what your professor means when he or she tells you that your papers need to have a strong thesis statement.  What is a thesis statement anyway?  Well, when it comes to writing papers, everything depends on your thesis statement.  Whether you are writing a five-page essay for freshman English or a master's thesis, a thesis statement determines the whole direction and focus of your work.  The thesis encapsulates the "point" of your paper, that is, the theory that you are trying to prove or the position that you are trying to persuade your reader of.   It generally comes in the first paragraph of your paper, and in shorter papers--those under ten pages-- it is likely to be the first sentence.

There are two important things to remember about writing a thesis statement.  First, a thesis statement should be written in an argumentative voice.  It should not be statement of fact, but a statement of opinion, and your job in the rest of your paper is to support and prove the opinion stated in the thesis.  Understanding the difference between starting your paper with a thesis statement and starting it with a statement of opinion is like understanding the difference between writing a real college-level paper and writing a book report.  By the time you are in college, it is not enough to simply summarize the plot of the novels that you read or list a bunch of facts that you find in reference books in the library.  Your professors want to see that you are capable of independent thought, that you have grappled with the material presented in class and come up with ideas of your own that can help you and other students look at that material in a new, refreshing way.  Your thesis statement should be a demonstration to your professors that you have mastered the material sufficiently to form your own opinions about it.

The second thing to remember is that, above all, your thesis statement should be clear, both to yourself and to your readers.  If you don't understand what your own thesis is, then you basically do not know what you essay is about or what point you are trying to make in writing it.  That is a recipe for a meandering, disorganized mess of a research paper that is bound to get a mediocre grade--at best.  Even if you understand the point that you are trying to make, take special care that your thesis statement gets that point across clearly to your readers as well.  No matter how brilliant your ideas are, no one will have an interest in reading them if you don't communicate them clearly.  A research paper without a clear thesis statement is like an overseas vacation without a clear itinerary.  If it is impossible to tell where you will be going in your paper from reading your thesis statement, then no one will want to read it--and that includes your professor.

        

You have done your research, drafted an outline, and written the required number of pages.  You have worked hard, your paper is filled with creative and insightful observations, and you are a good writer.  But it seems like you always end up getting a B+ or an A-. Why are you not getting the A's that you know you deserve.

Never underestimate the importance of the "finishing touches."  When you pass in an assignment, no matter what it is or or what class it is for, you need to convince your professor that you have taken the assignment seriously and that you have put in a lot of effort.  If you fail to do this, then, no matter how good your paper is, you will not get that coveted A.  We would like to believe that our academic work is judged based on quality and content.  And it is-- for the most part.  But appearance and presentation count as well.  If you pass in a paper that looks sloppy or seems sloppily prepared, then your professor will not reward it with the highest grades. 

Your paper should be filled with good ideas and good writing, but it should look good too.  That means no dog-eared corners and no coffee stains.  Even more important is proofreading.  Do not skip that final step of reading over your paper one more time to check for spelling and grammar errors before hitting the print button.  If your professor has specified a particular font or format, follow those instructions to the letter.  Making your final product look good is especially important when you are writing a master's thesis.  A thesis should be properly bound and look as though it has been professionally prepared.

Remember that most of your grade is based on the quality and content of your work.  You will not get a good grade unless you write well and have compelling ideas.  However, appearance and presentation are important, too.  Paying attention to proofreading and handing in an attractive final product to your professor can make the difference between a B+ or A- and that A that you have been shooting for. 

Good luck! 

        

Be Sure to Follow Instructions!

You're working hard, and you're a good writer.  So why do you keep getting B-pluses, with perhaps an occasional A minus?  How can you break through that A minus barrier and score a grade of A on your next paper?  Sometimes, the line between an excellent grade and one that is just "good" can be very fine.  It's the little things that separate those at the top of the heap from the masses who can't seem to do better on a paper than a B plus. 

First things first!  Make sure that you follow your professor's instructions.  Usually, your teacher will tell you exactly what he or she wants and expects from a paper.  It's just a matter of correctly interpreting the instructions for the assignment and delivering a paper that meets them to a tee.  If your professor asks for an argumentative paper, then write an argumentative paper.   Don't write a memoir or a book review or an encyclopedia entry.  If your professor specifies that your paper have a thesis statement and that the first paragraph of your paper start with the thesis statement, then make sure you write a strong thesis statement and make that statement the first sentence of your essay. 

The same principle holds true for more advanced assignments, such as a master's thesis.  Before you write your thesis, you will write a proposal which will be approved by your faculty advisor.  Your faculty advisor will be expecting a thesis that follows your proposal.  Don't change your master's thesis topic or your approach to that topic without first letting your professor know and getting his or her approval.  Following instructions is particularly crucial when you are writing an answer to an essay question on a midterm or final exam.  Your professor will give you a question to answer.  Answer that question!  Don't answer the question that you wish your teacher had included on the test in its place.  If your Shakespeare instructor gives you an essay exam that asks you to discuss the theme of suicide in Hamlet, don't hand in a test paper that discusses Romeo and Juliet instead.  Ignoring instructions on an essay exam is a sure path to failure. 

Being a highly successful student has much in common with being a highly successful performer.  A performer excels by giving his audience what it wants.  Likewise, an A student, invariably, rises to the top of the class by figuring out what his or professor wants and delivering it consistently.

        

Don't Plagiarize by Mistake!

My last post explained what plagiarism is.  The fact is, though, that many students plagiarize by accident, usually because they lose track of which ideas are their own and which ideas they got from other writers when they were doing their research.  It's easy to make a mistake when you are under the pressure of a deadline and leafing through dozens of books and taking notes on hundreds of index cards.  Unfortunately, you can end up with an F even if you plagiarize inadvertently.  So how can you prevent yourself from falling into the trap of accidental plagiarism?

Most accidental plagiarism occurs as the result of sloppy note-taking.  A student writes down quotes or ideas from books and articles, and, because he is in a rush, he does not clearly mark where they came from.  By the time he sits down at his computer to write his paper, he has totally forgotten that the material came from a book or article or which book or article it came from.  Especially when you are working on a big project like a master's thesis, it can be easy to lose track of your research sources.

The one thing you can do to avoid plagiarism is take careful notes and label everything that is a quotation or idea from another source very, very clearly.  One way of doing this is using different color highlighters to distinguish what your own words and ideas from those that you take from sources during your research.  For instance, you can highlight anything in your research notes that you take from another source with a yellow highlighter and highlight any ideas and phrases that you come up with on your own with a pink highlighter.  Or you can write a large capital "Q" next to any material in your research notes that is quoted from a source and a large capital "P" next to any material that is paraphrased from a source.  However, you choose to label your notes, just remember the importance of taking clear and careful research notes!

        

Understanding What Plagiarism Is and Isn't

Plagiarism is considered academic theft.  If you commit plagiarism and get caught, you could end up with a failing grade on your paper or even an F for the entire course.  When you are in graduate school and working on your master's thesis, an accusation of plagiarism can mean the end of your academic career.  Students know that they should avoid plagiarism.  However, surprisingly, many do not fully understand what plagiarism is.  Even advanced students are often confused about the definition of plagiarism.  But an understanding of what plagiarism is and isn't is crucial to the successful completion of a writing project, especially one which requires critical thinking and extensive research involving numerous sources, like a master's thesis. 

First, it is important to know that plagiarism entails the use of sources without attribution, that is, without giving proper credit to the authors of the books and articles you use in your essay or thesis.  Most students understand that copying a phrase, sentence, or passage from an article or book without using quotation marks and a proper citation is plagiarizing.  However, plagiarism also includes using ideas from an article or book without specifying to the reader where those ideas came from.  So simply rephrasing that great sentence that you found in a journal article and putting it in your own words is not sufficient to avoid plagiarism. 

Putting someone else's ideas in your own words is known as paraphrasing.  It is an important and frequently used technique in academic papers, as well as theses and dissertations.  But when you paraphrase remember that you still need to include a citation to your source of the ideas you are using--even if you put those ideas in your own words.