Customer Reviews

The Best Law Schools' Admissions Secrets: The Essential Guide from Harvard's Former Admissions Dean

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ms. Curll has written an outstanding narrative on the process of admission to law school, and advices on how to choose the one that is right for you. She has chapters on how to prepare for law school while still in college, but also reviews the process for those who are starting out later in life. In one of the early chapters she tackles the question of whether law school is the right choice for you by asking many useful questions connected with the career.

As a former Harvard Dean in Law School admissions, she can write with many details about what the admission effort involves,including suggestions for positive interview results. She suggests some helpful work experiences you may want to explore before making a decision, and also reviews some questions on how to finance law school. Finally, she touches on some of the possibilities a law school graduate might consider after graduation, including clerkships, internships, and summer employment opportunities.

This is an extremely readable and informative book for anyone considering law school. She includes many useful anecdotes and personal stories from her own long career and personal experience.

I really expected Curll's book to be much more detailed and coming from a former Harvard Admission's Dean, this is actually a disappointment. The only really good chapter was on the financial aid picture. Other than that, it was too general. That being said, it's a good starting point for those who have absolutely no idea about how the law school process works. For those looking for more detail, Anna Ivey's The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions: Straight Advice on Essays, Resumes, Interviews, and More is so much better and filled with nuggets of wisdom. Ivey does a far better job of breaking the whole process down.

Undergraduates would be well advised to read this readable, inexpensive volume before investing three years and more than $100,000 in a law school.

Dean Curll wisely begins her guide by raising and discussing whether the would-be applicant really wants a career in the law. The guidebook then reviews the many factors that effect law school admissions, making it clear that while there are no quick, clever ways to beat the system, there are any number of ways to improve one's chances.

My only concern about the book is the likelihood that undergraduates may lack the experience to appreciate the volume's intelligence, wisdom and wit.

This was a solid book. It gave me a good big picture image of the admissions process, but it lacked a lot of the smaller things that would give me the edge at top schools, which I would have expected given the credentials of the author.

I would highly recommend this book over all others for the following reasons:

- It is meant for all readers, in all stages of their life - still in high school, still in college, recent college grads and accomplished professionals.

- It is well-written and clearly separated into chapters, easy to read and easy to understand.

- The book was not only helpful for me, but also for those writing my recommendations. I photocopied several chapters which I sent to my recommenders along with the form from lsac.org.

- The author has catered to those in all stages of the process - not sure about applying, pretty sure about applying and definitely applying. She helps (with examples) readers figure out if law school is really for them, or if it's just the easy way out for the time being (but not the right choice in the long run).

With all that said, I would strongly recommend this book. It is not a waste of money and is perfect to help someone thinking about applying or getting their applications ready - I have referred to it so many times, for the LSAT, recommendations, my personal statement, how to choose the right schools etc.

Joyce Curll has written the definitive guide for students considering admission to law school. Her background at Harvard and NYU offers instant credibility to her comments, which I believe will be very useful to her readers. Too much information at times? Maybe, but I'll trust her intelligent audience to sort that out. Such frank talk from the ultimate admissions insider (she's admitted thousands who have gone on to successful legal careers and even one President-elect) is rarely shared in public.

I've counseled students in law school and recruited for a top Wall Street firm for over twenty years- what I wish is that all those students I met over the years had had the benefit of Curll's common sense career advice. While always careful not to direct students in any one direction, Curll shares a balanced assessment of the many options in both the public and private sector open to law school grads.

This book is a perfect primer for anyone considering going to law school. Buy it for any undergraduate, but particularly for those students without access to a savvy pre-law advisor who can to coach them through the admissions process. Curll's careful tips to her readers helping them navigate through each step of the application process will do much to level the admissions playing field.

When trying to beat law school competition, how do you know what to do go get in the 'yes' pile? Insider Joyce Curll, former Dean of Admissions for Harvard Law School, provides some of the secrets to getting in that pile; from preparing the application and understanding differing state laws to learning how the admissions process works behind the scenes. No other law school guidebook offers this level of expertise and insider advice, making it a 'must' for would-be law students and libraries catering to them.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

I thought that this book will give some deep info for applying to top-10 LS, turns out total waste of money.

No good information, no good advices.

Book is full the same stuff that you can find online for free.

Highly disappointed

Selling the book it's in perfect condition

I bought this book for my nephew, a college sophomore who is a bright, wonderful kid, but kind of lost about what to do once he graduates. I think this book will help him preserve his options. Curll's advice is, of course, directed specifically at those who are considering law school. But the essential ideas deserve a much broader audience. For example, the chapter on letters of recommendation explains how to select the people best suited to write such letters and how to help them write letters that will be effective. The chapter on how to write the personal statement (part of the law school application) can help anyone who must seize a limited opportunity to "market" him or herself. Particularly useful to my nephew -and to most college students, undoubtedly -is the chapter describing how to make the most of the college years. Curll offers a compelling rationale and specific strategies for choosing courses that develop critical thinking, participating in extra-curricular activities that develop leadership and teamwork, and broadening one's perspective through internships and work experiences.

Curll writes in an accessible, engaging style and uses entertaining vignettes to illustrate her points. While law school applicants are the natural audience for this book, Curll has a great deal to offer all those contemplating graduate study in the professions.

I ordered this book for a friend applying to Law School. The package never arrived by the projected ship date. Turns out that when I called they said they could resend it but the time fame was pretty much closed for Law Applications. Have no idea about the book just had a bad experience with having it sent/arriving (at all).