Recommendations. All of your letters of recommendation will remain on file with Leverett House. Depending on how many years elapse between your applications, you may want to have your letters updated. For letters of recommendation, the House office can send copies of the original letters to your recommenders for them to update.Leverett House Prelaw Student HandbookLeverett House – Prelaw Student HandbookPage 1 of 37Table of ContentsPart I. IntroductionPart II. Leverett House’s Role1) Services Provided by the Leverett House Prelaw Committeea) Provide General Adviceb) Serve As a Clearing House for Your Law School Application Materialsc) Provide Information about Law-Related Opportunities for Students2) Members of the Prelaw Advising CommitteePart III. The Law School Application Process1) Components of the Law School ApplicationChart: Components of the Law School Applicationa) Application Formb) Letters of Recommendationc) GPA/Transcriptd) LSATe) Personal Statement2) Materials to Submit to Leverett House3) Packaging your Law School Application - The LSDAS4) Admissions Criteria5) Timing Issuesa) General Timing Issuesb) Prelaw Detailed Timetablec) Taking Time Off Before Applying to Law Schoold) Deferrals6) Cost of Applying to Law School7) Selection Criteria for Choosing Law Schoolsa) Number and Typeb) Prioritizing Selection Criteria c) Public Interest-Friendly Law Schools8) Deciding To Pursue a Joint Degree9) Waitlists & ReapplyingLeverett House – Prelaw Student HandbookPage 2 of 37IV. The Decision-Making Process1) Deciding If You Should Apply to Law School2) Planning Ahead – Using Your College Years to Prepare for Law School3) The Law School Experiencea) Cost of a Legal Educationb) First Year Experiencec) The Socratic Methodd) Extracurriculars in Law School4) The Legal Professiona) Private Firm Practiceb) Public Sector Practicec) Academiad) International Practicee) Business and Other Jobs5) Finding and Funding a Legal Internship or Post-Graduate Joba) On-Campus Recruiting b) Independent Job Searchesc) Fellowships, Scholarships, Grants, Stipends and Federal Work Study Leverett House – Prelaw Student HandbookPage 3 of 37Part I. IntroductionThe Leverett House Prelaw Student Handbook has been prepared for use by current Leverett students and alumni/ae considering applying to law school. This Handbook provides informationabout the Leverett House prelaw advising system (Part II), specific information about how and when to apply to law school (Part III), and finally, most importantly, information to help you determine if law school and the legal profession are the right path for you (Part IV). Please see the Leverett Prelaw website for a detailed discussion of specific topics (including Applying to Law School as a Leverett Alumnus/a and Lawyering in the Public Interest) as well as a summary checklist, timetable, and links to other helpful resources.Please read this Handbook carefully. We have found that advisees ask many of the same questions from year to year. In an effort to streamline the advising process and ensure that all advisees receive consistent information, we have provided answers to commonly asked questionsin each section of this guide. You may find this Handbook repetitive in some places; however, we understand that you will be referring back to specific portions when questions come up about particular issues. Therefore, for your convenience, we have provided similar information under different headings, when appropriate. This Handbook walks you through the minutia involved in the law school application process. Ifyou use this Handbook to master the straightforward procedural aspects of the application process, you’ll be able to focus your time with your prelaw advisor on the unique issues that are important to you as well as the ones with no clear answers (Is law the right profession for me? Which law school will make me happy? How can I balance my interest in the law with my otherinterests like family and community, business and science? I don’t think I’ll like being a lawyer but I think I’ll enjoy law school, should I still go? I already have big undergraduate loans, so how can I afford to go to an expensive law school?)This Handbook was written by the Leverett House Prelaw Committee, with input from a variety of other sources. Although we have tried to provide a thorough, comprehensive guide, we certainly could not cover all the details of the application process and all the important factors to consider when thinking about careers in the law. Moreover, there is a variety of opinions about the issues discussed in this Handbook; the views expressed here are based on our experiences with past students and practicing attorneys. Therefore, please use this Handbook in conjunction with other resources including the Leverett Prelaw Website, materials produced by the law schools themselves, and information yougather from your own research. While we think this Handbook will serve as a great resource for you as you are contemplating law school, nothing can take the place of talking to current law students and attorneys about their experiences as you make your own future plans.Leverett House – Prelaw Student HandbookPage 4 of 37Part II. Leverett House’s RoleLeverett House has a great Prelaw Committee which is excited to provide you insights into the law school application process. Our resident and nonresident prelaw tutors as well as our Resident Dean and Assistant to the Resident Dean all work together to help prelaw students.1) Services Provided by the Leverett House Prelaw CommitteeLeverett House’s Prelaw Committee provides four main services to students and alumni:a) Provide General AdviceLeverett House’s prelaw tutors – both those who live in the House and those serving as nonresident tutors – are available to answer your questions about law school and the legalprofession. If you decide to apply to law school, Leverett House will assign you a tutor during the summer or early fall of the year in which you are applying. This tutor will serve as your primary advisor through the law school application process. In order to be assigned a prelaw advisor, email resident tutors Bob Alcala and Taylor Hathaway-Zepeda. Except for a few special cases, all Leverett students and alumni/ae applying to law school must go through the House.Your prelaw advisor will be available to walk you through the application process. If youare a