(Post updated September 14, 2023)
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
After all the hard work that goes into completing and submitting a law school application, it can be disappointing to find out that you have been waitlisted at one of your top choice schools. Being waitlisted can be particularly troubling for people used to being proactive, so we often get questions about the process moving forward. Here are some things to keep in mind:
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Topics:
Advice and Tips,
Admissions
Written by
Peter Eraca
Peter Eraca is the Assistant Dean for JD & Graduate Admissions for Seton Hall Law School.
This seems to be an age-old question! In order to answer it, I will try to help you determine what has and hasn’t changed with regards to law school admissions and standardized testing requirements without taking you too far into the weeds of law school accreditation. There has been quite a bit of discussion and media reports of law schools seeking alternatives to the use of the LSAT. What is happening?
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Topics:
Advice and Tips,
Admissions
Written by
Isabel DiSciullo
Isabel "Issa" DiSciullo joined Seton Hall Law School this September as an established national leader in admissions and a recognized expert in diversity and inclusion. Issa firmly believes that education and its access ought to be level fields and that every prospective student, regardless of race, social or economic backgrounds, has the potential to succeed, if given the opportunity. She received her M.S. in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University.
During my second semester of law school, I attended the New York City Bar Association portrait unveiling of Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. As I rode the PATH train into the city, I thought about the slim chance of meeting one of my personal heroes. I thought about what I would ask her, if given the opportunity.
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Topics:
Advice and Tips,
Student Life
Written by
William Martinez
William Chanes Martinez is a 2021 graduate of Seton Hall Law School.
It is the day of your interview! You are excited, you are prepared…REWIND!
What about the preparation it took to secure that interview? That is where your cover letter comes into play! Legal cover letters are an extremely important part of the internship and job application process, and it is imperative to become familiar with their purpose to put your best foot forward when drafting them.
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Topics:
Internships/Jobs,
Advice and Tips
Written by
Kylie Cohen
Kylie Cohen is the Associate Director of Career Services and the contact for all MSJ students and alumni.
So, you want to go to law school? You already know you will need to complete the LSAT exam, as well as the LSAT Writing requirement. LSAT Writing is a thirty-five minute writing assignment requiring you to assess a hypothetical problem, select between two possible solutions and write a persuasive essay advocating for one side. While the essay is not scored, it will play a role in admissions committees’ evaluation of your application so you will want to make the best possible impression.
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Topics:
Advice and Tips,
Admissions,
Writing
Written by
Melanie Perez-Vellios
Professor Perez-Vellios serves as Assistant Professor of Legal Practice and as Associate Director of Lawyering. Professor Perez-Vellios teaches Introduction to Lawyering I & II, Appellate Advocacy, and Becoming a Lawyer for the Legal Education Opportunities (LEO) program. In 2019, Professor Perez-Vellios was the recipient of the Paula Franzese Excellence in Teaching Award.
I recently presented keys to success at a law firm as part of the Women’s Leadership Committee’s programming. These tips are things I learned along the way during my career, things I saw others doing, or things that I wish I had done differently or better while in practice since hindsight is 20/20.
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Topics:
Internships/Jobs,
Advice and Tips,
Alumni
Written by
Jennifer M. Thibodaux
Jennifer Marino Thibodaux is a Senior Legal Editor with Thomson Reuters Practical Law. Prior to that, she was a partner at Gibbons P.C. in Newark, NJ, where she practiced for 11 years.
It’s going to sound cliché, but as I approached the end of my 2L summer I started asking myself what I could do to leave the law school better than I had found it. It had been a bumpy road for me, largely because of my own struggles as a first-generation law student. Although I felt very confident about my own future, having secured a job offer with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, I realized that others were dealing with similar issues and I decided that founding a First-Generation Law Students Association (FGLSA) at Seton Hall Law School was the way to go. With plenty of help from administration and other students, the group was successfully formed in September of 2018. The mission of the organization is to create a community for all first-generation students to come together to tackle law school and the legal profession with support. FGLSA now has roughly 60 members, with more joining every week.
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Topics:
Advice and Tips,
Admissions,
Student Life
Written by
Omar Debs
Omar Debs is a 2019 graduate of Seton Hall Law School.
(Updated October 21,2019) Congratulations! You’ve been admitted to a few different law schools! Now – you just need to figure out how to pay for it! You thought the hard part was over – but, now, it seems like it is just beginning. Let me help you get a realistic vision of what to expect/what not to expect with regards to paying for law school.
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Topics:
Advice and Tips,
Financial Aid,
Admissions
Written by
Isabel DiSciullo
Isabel "Issa" DiSciullo joined Seton Hall Law School this September as an established national leader in admissions and a recognized expert in diversity and inclusion. Issa firmly believes that education and its access ought to be level fields and that every prospective student, regardless of race, social or economic backgrounds, has the potential to succeed, if given the opportunity. She received her M.S. in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University.
Prospective law students have always been interested in the bar passage success rates of schools they’re considering attending. After all, while a law degree is a prerequisite to taking the bar almost everywhere, passing the bar is a prerequisite to actually practicing law in almost all states.
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Topics:
Internships/Jobs,
Advice and Tips,
Student Life
Written by
Charles Sullivan
Associate Dean and member of the Seton Hall Law faculty since 1978.
(Post updated September 14, 2023)
The Weekend JD program has graduated several classes now, but the novelty of the program still bodes many questions. We initially released these FAQs a couple years into the program, and I’m proud to see how it has grown and enabled so many working professionals the ability to obtain their JD while balancing very active home and work lives.
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Topics:
Advice and Tips,
Admissions,
Student Life
Written by
Peter Eraca
Peter Eraca is the Assistant Dean for JD & Graduate Admissions for Seton Hall Law School.