Rating:  Summary: The one MUST HAVE for law students! Review: I just finished reading Law School Confidential, and as someone who already has some law school experience, I felt compelled to write this review for those of you getting ready to go. Law School Confidential leaves no aspect of law school unexplored, and provides great advice about taking the LSATs and deciding where to apply, to figuring out the best way to study, to getting along with your classmates, to unwritten etiquette, to making Law Review and getting the best job possible. It is written in a serious but witty style that makes it read more like a novel than a how-to, and the comments from the contributing student coaches add a lot to its scope and personality. I couldn't disagree more with the two-star review someone gave to this book. Reading the reviewer's comments makes me wonder whether he actually READ this book, or is just a lackey for a competing author. See for yourself - the coaches in Law School Confidential are from schools all over the country, not just the top schools, and their advice, and that of the author, is uniformly helpful in every chapter. The sheer scope and content of this book dwarfs anything else out there, and the interview with the Dean of Admissions is instructive. Just my two cents. I wish I had found this book sooner to help me apply, but at least I won't be without this book when law school starts next month.
Rating:  Summary: Having read LSC I'm chomping at the bit! Review: Okay, I exaggerate. But this book offers such a complete overview of what lies ahead for me in the coming weeks (about the begin my first year) that I am actually feeling okay about it all! Thank you LSC! I'll keep you by my side all year!
Rating:  Summary: excellent guide Review: This book appears to be excellent preparation for law school. The information is timely and helpful, and has alleviated a lot of my concerns. Its tips appear to be insightful, and I believe I will do most of the things the book recommends. This is a must for law students.
Rating:  Summary: Law School Confidential: To be or not to be a lawyer Review: For those who are thinking of applying to law school or who are in the first (or perhaps second) year of law school, this book should be a must read. Too many people apply having a vague notion of what they would like to do with their degree and put off addressing important decisions until some of the choices that they would like to have have come and gone. As many who have fumbled through the application process and/or the first semester of law school in a haze have found out, it may now be too late to do what it is that they want to do. The process has made important decisions for them. This is a no nonsense book that includes useful comments from recent law school graduates. It addresses whether to apply, the application process, studying, exams and applying for jobs. It is the kind of book that those of us who graduated from law school years ago can read and say "yes, yes" I wish I had known that!
Rating:  Summary: I'm impressed Review: I've been buying countless "So You're Going to Law School" -type books and was relieved with my choice of this one. Miller offers you practical, UP-TO-DATE advice as well as demystifying the whole law school experience. It was easy to read, amusing, candid and chock full of information any incoming law student will want to know. I also appreciated the group effort on authoring this book, with frequent excerpts from "mentors" that had a wide range of experiences and attitudes regarding their law degree. Although most of those who contributed to the book went to law schools I could only dream of getting into, I feel it's universal in it's advice. And they don't sugar-coat it either, this book leaves you assured, motivated and prepared for what you are about to face.
Rating:  Summary: One of the better law school prep books... Review: I have bought way too many of law school preparation guides. Most of them are in a pile on my floor, but this is the one I keep picking up over and over. The advice is straighforward and doesn't try to sugarcoat issues about getting in and all three years of law school, it tells it like it is. The panel is an interesting representation of all types of students from all types of schools. All in all highly recommended.
Rating:  Summary: READ THIS if you are planning on law school Review: This is the best book about law school I have ever read!!! I only wish I had picked it up sooner. It begins with a section of questions to make sure you want to go to law school and ends with passing the bar. It is the comprehensive bible of law students!
Rating:  Summary: The book is fine, but beware Review: Read with care the reviews and who is writing them before you buy this book. How people can give it five stars (or a poor review) without having been to law school is questionable. It is a fine book, but only if you take it for what it is worth. I am in law school, and some of it worked and some of it did not.
Rating:  Summary: Illusion of Helpfulness Review: In my first year of law school, I thought that this book would be my step ahead of everyone. I followed the directions dutifully. And in my second semester, I began to realize that the author's method, which looks quite good on paper, only works for a very few select classes, and a fewer number of people. While his "method" sounds organized and helpful as could be, it's not. Different people learn different ways, and different classes demand different types of preparation and studying. The author's method does not account for this.
The book was good, however, at giving a broad overview of what to expect in one's career in law school. Not all law schools work the same way, but it helps to have a general map laid out to warn you of what's coming. If you're nervous about law school and want to be able to walk in feeling a little smug, this will definately help you to feel more prepared, but don't let it fool you, okay?
Rating:  Summary: Opinionated, organized, plain-talking and worth the dough. Review: A great resource for readers still deciding about law school and how to maximize the experience. It's well-written, with insightful comments from recently-minted attorneys and Cornell's dean of admissions. The dean, for instance, explains that the US News and World Report rankings are so powerful, and competition for the brightest so intense, that some schools may overanalyze LSAT results to the detriment of students. (Since USNWR publishes median LSAT scores for various schools, some schools apparently fear that 'soft admits' with lower scores might affect the school's reputation.)
Miller doesn't shy away from other unpleasant truths - one mentor admits that financially, she could not afford to practice the public interest law she entered law school to study. He refers several times to law schools that have more of a "cutthroat" reputation, where some hoard required books from the library, and warns would-be students to choose carefully. But the author also provides advice on "law school etiquette," suggesting the best way to answer questions in class (don't bore anyone or beat them over the head with your opinions), deal with academic competition and the overwhelming workload. Many readers will take issue with his comments, but whether or not you finally agree, he brings up good issues to think about before applying or your year as a 1L.
It's interesting also to compare this book with Scott Turow's "1L" - Turow having gone to Harvard Law in the shadow of the late 1960s, and part of an activist class (which, in his book, comes together to publicly criticize a tough professor). Miller, by contrast, is a Gen-Xer, whose generation tends to be more entrepreneurial than activist, and noted for their independence. While Turow talks about his tense experiences with a study group, broken friendships and the competition over class outlines - his book bursts with angst - Miller advocates lots of research, phone calls, preparing ahead, and what you might call "leaving the building". This is some of the best advice in the book; he talks about the calmer experience he had taking the LSAT, by driving to his home state from his Ivy League school. Instead of testing at his ultra-competitive alma mater, he tested with a handful of students, in a more relaxed setting. This is echoed in his advice to get out of Dodge when exam comes - off-campus, where concentration will be easier - even if it means temporarily moving in with a friend or a motel room.
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