King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 2 of 9
Internet Esquire
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: Jun. 22, 1996
Version: 21Jun96 [ASCII/Multipart]
URL: <http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/ucdavis/
king-hall-faq/part2/faq.html >
Ebb: <http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~netesq/USENET-FAQs/king-hall/part1.html >
The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 2 of 9
Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
(c) Copyright 1995 & 1996
by
David F. Prenatt, Jr.
King Hall, 1995 Alumnus
U.C. Davis School of Law
University of California
Davis, CA 95616-5210
<mailto:Net...@dcn.davis.ca.us >
The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ (King Hall USENET FAQ) may be comprised
of more than one part. If it is, please see the TABLE OF CONTENTS in Part
One for a complete list of the questions that I have attempted to answer
and for other important legal information. Caveat emptor: I assume no
obligation to anyone through the publication of the King Hall USENET FAQ.
Furthermore, all versions of the King Hall USENET FAQ are my personal
property and are protected by applicable copyright laws. All rights are
reserved except as follows: I hereby give my permission to anyone who has
access to this version of the King Hall USENET FAQ to reproduce the
information contained herein for non-profit purposes, provided that proper
credit is given to me as the author of this FAQ and that I am promptly
notified of any use other than personal use. I may revoke permission to
reproduce any version of this FAQ at any time.
- - - - -
The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 2 of 9
Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
(c) Copyright 1995 & 1996 by David F. Prenatt, Jr.
1) ABOUT THIS FAQ.
1.1) Who wrote this FAQ and how can I reach him?[Rev]
This FAQ was written by me, David F. Prenatt, Jr., 1995 alumnus of the
University of California, Davis School of Law (King Hall). Until
further notice, you can reach me by my e-mail through the Davis
Community Network:
Net...@dcn.davis.ca.us (<mailto:Net...@dcn.davis.ca.us >)
or by snail-mail (i.e., U.S. Mail) through my Davis P.O. Box:
David F. Prenatt, Jr.
Internet Esquire(sm)
P.O. Box 74632
Davis, CA 95617-5632
or on the World Wide Web:
<http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~netesq/ >
1.2) What information is contained in this FAQ?
Anything that I, as the author of this FAQ, decided would be of
interest to members or would-be members of the King Hall community.
See PREFATORY QUESTIONS (Section 0) for more information.
1.3) How is this FAQ organized?
This version of this FAQ may be arbitrarily divided into unequal parts
where I felt it was convenient to do so. I did this for two reasons.
First, some readers of this FAQ may have specific questions and may
not want to read the entire FAQ. If this version of this FAQ is
comprised of more than one part, the first part will contain the
complete TABLE OF CONTENTS. Thus, readers of this FAQ may refer to
the TABLE OF CONTENTS to find out where to look for the specific
questions that they want answered. Second, some computer services are
unable to handle extremely large computer files. Thus, if this
version of this FAQ is comprised of more than one part, no one part
will exceed 32k. See the TABLE OF CONTENTS in this FAQ more detailed
information about how the contents of this version of this FAQ are
organized.
This FAQ uses standard Uniform Resource Locator (URL) references
to accomodate readers with a web browser:
<ftp://[ftp_site]/[directory]/[archive] >
(file transfer protocol)
<gopher://[gopher_address] >
(gopher protocol)
<http://[World_Wide_Web_address] >
(hypertext transfer protocol)
<mailto:[e-mail_account]@[domain] >
(SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
<news:[newsgroup_or_article-number@newserver] >
(NNTP: Network News Tranfer Protocol)
<telnet:[telnet_site] >
(IP: Internet protocol)
These URL references will act as hyptertext links for those using
Netscape to read this FAQ on the USENET.
1.4) How can I obtain this FAQ?
This FAQ is archived at rtfm.mit.edu in the pub/usenet/news.answers
directory under the archive name ucdavis/king-hall-faq/part* (where *
= 1 through 9), where it is available by anonymous ftp and e-mail
request. See Section 11.3.3.1 for more information about ftp and e-
mail request. This FAQ is updated once a month and posted to the
USENET newsgroups ucd.king-hall (<news:ucd.king-hall >) and
news.answers (<news:news.answers >). Snail-mail requests to me for
the King Hall USENET FAQ [Offline] (Version 21Jun96) will be honored
within the United States (U.S.), if those requests are accompanied by
$5.00 U.S. currency in the form of a check or money order for each
copy ordered to cover the cost of printing, shipping, and handling;
volume discounts and licensing agreements are available. At my
discretion, I may ship a more recent version of this FAQ unless you
specify otherwise. A hypertext version of this FAQ is currently
available from the USENET FAQ Project:
<http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/ucdavis/king-hall-faq/
top.html >
1.5) Are there any other FAQs available by the author of this FAQ? [Rev
7:01am Wednesday January 3, 1996]
Yes. I have published five other FAQS:
The U.C. Davis USENET FAQ, appearing on ucd.general <news:ucd.general
>, and available by anonymous ftp and e-mail request at the
rtmf.mit.edu ftp server:
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/ucdavis/faq/part1 >
. . . [through]. . .
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/ucdavis/faq/part6 >
(see part 1 for a complete list of the TABLE OF CONTENTS)
with a hypertext version available at the USENET FAQ Project:
<http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/ucdavis/faq/top.html >
The Davis, California USENET FAQ (Davis USENET FAQ), appearing on
davis.general (<news:davis.general >), and available by anonymous ftp
an e-mail request at the rtfm.mit.edu ftp server:
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/davis/faq/part1 >
. . . [through] . . .
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/davis/faq/part6 >
(see part 1 for a complete list of the TABLE OF CONTENTS)
with a hypertext version available at the USENET FAQ Project:
<http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/davis/faq/top.html >
The Yolo County, California USENET FAQ (Yolo County USENET FAQ),
appearing on yolo.general (<news:yolo.general >) and available by
anonymous ftp an e-mail request at the rtfm.mit.edu server:
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/yolo/faq/part1 >
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/yolo/faq/part2 >
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/yolo/faq/part3 >
(see part 1 for a complete list of the TABLE OF CONTENTS)
with a hypertext version available at the USENET FAQ Project:
<http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/yolo/faq/top.html >
The Sacramento, California USENET FAQ (Sacramento USENET FAQ),
appearing on sac.general (<news:sac.general >)and available by
anonymous ftp and e-mail request at the rtfm.mit.edu server:
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/sac/faq/part1 >
. . . [through] . . .
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/sac/faq/part6 >
(see part 1 for a complete list of the TABLE OF CONTENTS)
with a hypertext version available at the USENET FAQ Project:
<http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/sac/faq/top.html >
The San Francisco Bay Area USENET FAQ (Bay Area USENET FAQ),
appearing on ba.general (<news:ba.general >)and available by anonymous
ftp and e-mail request at the rtfm.mit.edu server:
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/sf-ba/faq/part1 >
. . . [through] . . .
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/sf-ba/faq/part9 >
(see part 1 for a complete list of the TABLE OF CONTENTS)
with a hypertext version available at the USENET FAQ Project:
<http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/sf-ba/faq/top.html >
These FAQs are updated once a month and the most current versions are
posted on news.answers (<news:news.answers >) and the appropriate
designated USENET newsgroup. Offline versions of the 21Jun96
releases of these FAQs are available within the U.S. by snail-mail
request, if your request is accompanied by $5.00 U.S. currency in the
form of a check or money order for each copy of each FAQ that you
order, to cover the cost of printing, shipping, and handling; volume
discounts and licensing agreements are available. Including the FAQs
that are listed here, I have about a dozen FAQS currently under
construction and/or pending approval of the *.answers team.
2) PREPARING FOR LAW SCHOOL.
2.1) What should I do to prepare for law school?
There is no right way to prepare for law school, academically or
otherwise. However, there are ways to maximize your chances of
getting admitted to the law school of your choice. In most instances,
what prepares you for law school is just living.
2.1.1) What sort of academic preparation is required for law school?
An undergraduate degree from a prestigious university is by far the
best way to maximize your appeal as a law school candidate. However,
many law schools do not even require that you have a four year degree.
In any event, other than the undergraduate education that most law
schools require, no scholastic preparation is necessary for success
once you are in law school.
While no scholastic preparation is necessary for law school, many
law students have advanced degrees in various disciplines. In fact,
many of them have already achieved remarkable success in careers other
than the law. In other words, people who are among the best and
brightest apply to law school. As such, most law schools can pick and
choose from whomever they want to have as incoming students.
Rather than simply pick the elite of the best and brightest,
however, law schools try to find people with unique and interesting
backgrounds to achieve diversity in the law school student body.
Thus, no student is guaranteed admission to any law school, regardless
of his or her credentials. This comes as quite a shock to many
applicants with impeccable credentials who are rejected by the law
school of their choice.
2.1.1.1) What undergraduate program should someone pursue if he or she
plans to go to law school?
An unusual undergraduate major typically maximizes your chances of
admission to law school. However, your class ranking as an
undergraduate is also very important because many other applicants
will probably have a scholastic background that is similar to yours,
so study something that you will enjoy and at which you will do well.
2.1.1.2) Aren't political science majors better prepared for law school
than other college graduates?
As a rule, no. Political science is a distinct and different
discipline than the law. Even so, many people who go to law school
have studied political science as an undergraduate. Other things
being equal, they are no better qualified to study the law than anyone
else is. They are also at a distinct disadvantage in the law school
application process, which favors diversity. The number of political
science majors who apply to law school and get accepted by the law
school of their choice is proportionately small when compared to other
undergraduate majors.
2.1.1.3) Wouldn't someone who studied a challenging undergraduate major be
better qualified to study the law than someone who studied
underwater basket weaving?
Not necessarily. No matter how challenging an undergraduate major is,
it does not qualify you to study law. It merely demonstrates your
ability in that undergraduate major and/or your commitment to that
major. Someone who excels at underwater basket weaving may be just as
qualified to study the law as someone who excels at the most
challenging undergraduate major. More important is the fact that
someone who has studied underwater basket weaving is more likely to
get admitted to the law school of his or her choice based on
diversity.
2.1.2) What else should I do to prepare for law school?
Whatever appeals to you. Some sort of work experience is usually your
best option.
2.1.2.1) What type of work experience best prepares someone for law
school?
With the possible exception of legal work experience, no particular
type of work experience prepares you for law school better than any
other. On the other hand, there is no work experience that does not
prepare you for law school. The law affects every aspect of modern
living, including virtually every type of job, so every type of work
experience prepares you for law school.
2.1.2.2) What other kinds of experience prepare someone for law school?
The best kind of experience to prepare someone for law school is
overcoming some sort of personal hardship. Law school can be a
humbling experience, even for the best and brightest. In my humble
opinion, those who get the most out of the law school experience are
those who know how to cope with both success and failure.
2.2) How do I know if I'm ready for law school?
Objectively speaking, no one is ever ready for law school. No one
leaves law school as the same person that he or she was when he or she
entered. Subjectively speaking, you are ready for law school whenever
you make the decision to apply.
2.2.1) What if I don't know why I want to go to law school?
Join the club. It is a rare individual who knows why he or she wants
to go to law school. Those who think that they know why they want to
go to law school typically discover opportunities in law school that
they had never considered before. Some people stick with their
original goals, but the odds are stacked against it.
2.2.2) What if I am too old to go to law school?
Nonsense. If you are young enough to think about going to law school,
then you are young enough to go. There is no such thing as a good
excuse for choosing not to do something that you want to do, and there
is no time like the present to start making up for lost time.
3) APPLYING TO LAW SCHOOL.
In the United States and elsewhere, the law school application process
feeds a cottage industry that is more or less controlled and directed
by the benevolent leadership of Law Services. For more information on
the ins-and-outs of applying to law school, contact Law Services at:
Law Services
Box 2000
661 Penn St
Newtown, PA 18940-0998
or visit the Law School Admissions Council Online Home Page on the
World Wide Web (<http://www.lsas.org/ >).
3.1) To which law school(s) should I submit (an) application(s)?
You should submit applications to as many law schools as possible,
covering a spectrum from the schools that you really want to attend to
the schools that you would attend if you had no other choice
(regardless of cost--the higher the tuition at a particular school,
the greater the financial aid awards are that they will offer). I
strongly recommend that you apply to my alma mater, King Hall, the
smallest (total enrollment approx. 500) and youngest (established
1969) of the four U.C. law schools. U.C. Davis Law School is approved
by the American Bar Association (ABA), it is highly ranked (both by
academics and professionals), and it is very affordable to California
residents (although tuition continues to rise). Also noteworthy is
the fact that graduates of King Hall have traditionally had the number
one passage rate on the California Bar Exam (arguably the hardest bar
exam in the nation), more consistently than any other law school in
California.
3.2) What do I need to do to apply to law school?
Every law school's application requirements are different, so contact
the law schools that you are interested in attending. Most law
schools require that you complete an application form and submit other
information with your application, such as personal references, a
personal statement, and the compilation of scholastic records that is
provided by the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). The LSDAS
reports your score(s) on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), which
you should take as early as possible. It is also important to apply
for financial aid and scholarships as early as possible. For more
information on the LSAT, the LSDAS, and appplying to law school,
contact Law Services (see Section 3 for information on how to contact
Law Services).
3.2.1) Who should I get to give me references for law school?
The identity of the people that provide your references is not as
important as their relationship to you. Some law schools specifically
request that you provide references from former professors or
employers. Whatever your relationship to the people whom you ask to
provide as a reference, pick people who will lavish praise upon you.
3.2.2) What should I include in my personal statement for my law school
application?
Be as honest as possible. Explain why you want to go to law school
and what you have to offer the legal profession and the particular law
school to which you are applying. Your personal statement is also
your only opportunity to highlight the many achievements that do not
fit on your application and to put your shortcomings into perspective.
3.2.3) How does the LSDAS work?
The LSDAS collects and standardizes your academic records to make it
easier for admissions personnel at various law schools to compare you
with other law school candidates.
3.2.4) How do I increase my chances of doing well on the LSAT?
There are many commercial LSAT preparation courses on the market, and
you should most certainly take one. The structure that such a course
imposes upon you will force you to prepare for the LSAT. Virtually
all LSAT courses offer good study materials and basic test taking
strategies. However, there is no substitute for practicing sample
LSAT questions under actual test conditions.
3.2.5) How do I apply for financial aid in law school?
Every law school is different. Contact the financial aid office at
the law school to which you plan to apply for this information. At
the very least, you will have to fill out a financial aid application
and forward Financial Aid Transcripts (FATs) from every college you
have ever attended (whether or not you have ever been on financial aid
before).
3.2.6) How do I decide upon which law school to attend if I am admitted to
more than one?
UC Berkeley (Boalt; <gopher://law164.law.berkeley.edu:70/1 >) is the
undisputed number one choice of the four UC law schools among law
school applicants, with UCLA (<http://www.law.ucla.edu/ >) a strong
second; some people prefer to attend UC Hastings College of the Law
(<http://www.uchastings.edu/ >), because of its strong emphasis on
business. While King Hall stands in the shadow of its three older and
more established sister law schools, the only U.C. law school to give
King Hall a run for its money, IMHO, is Boalt Hall, primarily because
Boalt Hall has such a high national ranking and thus attracts a highly
distinguished faculty (some of which it occasionally borrows from King
Hall). UCLA has very good name recognition, and is an excellent
choice if you intend to remain in the Southern California area.
Because of its local name recognition and downtown San Francisco
location, Hastings is a good choice for those who intend to work in
the San Francisco Bay area.
I could brag about the King Hall tradition of having the number
one bar passage rate, the commitment of King Hall alumni/alumnae to
public interest law, or the distinguished faculty and outstanding
clinical programs that King Hall has to offer, but if you are having
trouble making up your mind between King Hall and another UC law
school, I suggest that you visit King Hall and see for yourself what
my alma mater has to offer. You can contact Sharon L. Pinkney
(<mailto:slpi...@ucdavis.edu >) at the King Hall Admissions Office
at (916)752-6477 to arrange a visit. She can arrange for you to spend
the day with a current law student and attend some actual classes.
You will then be able to make an informed choice.
Outside of the UC system, it is hard to beat King Hall. If I
were you, I would not give serious consideration to another law school
over King Hall unless it places within the top 10 law schools found in
the U.S. News and World Report rankings. I applied to Harvard, Yale,
and Columbia as well as all the UC law schools just in case I did not
get admitted to King Hall, but I had made my choice to attend King
Hall long before I sent out any of my law school applications (or
received any of my inevitable rejection letters).
3.3) How do I apply for admission to King Hall?
Contact Sharon Pinkney (<mailto:slpi...@ucdavis.edu >) at the King
Hall Admissions Office (916)752-6477 for this information; readers
with a web browser may visit the King Hall Admissions Web Page on the
World Wide Web (<http://kinghall.ucdavis.edu/pages/admiss.htm >).
3.4) How do I apply for financial aid at King Hall?
Contact Lu Bastian (<mailto:lrba...@ucdavis.edu >), the Director of
Financial Aid at King Hall, at (916)752-6573 for this information;
readers with a web browser may visit the King Hall Financial Aid Web
Page (<http://kinghall.ucdavis.edu/pages/financ.htm >). If I were to
pick one reason why I chose to attend King Hall rather than some other
law school, it would have to be the Financial Aid Department. I
cannot speak to the horror stories that I have heard about financial
aid at other schools because Lu Bastian is a saint. The members of
her support staff, currently one Cyndie Alvarez Necoechea
(<mailto:calv...@ucdavis.edu >), have always been of similar
character. They protected me from the harsh realities of the real
world of financial aid.
I had never been on financial aid before I attended King Hall,
and I found the financial aid process at most law schools to be
unnecessarily intrusive, degrading, problematic, and bureaucratic.
The only place that I encountered any problems of my own making was at
King Hall, yet the financial aid process at King Hall was by far the
smoothest one (so smooth that I stopped entertaining any serious
thoughts that I may have had of attending any other law school). I
cannot emphasize how important it is to listen to what Lu Bastian and
her staff tell you to do. When it comes to matters of financial aid,
their word should be heeded as though it were gospel. They will do
their level best to pull your fat out of the fire, but they can't
always do so. And if they can't help you, no one else can.
3.5) Where can I get more information about law school?
Law School Services sponsors a number of Law School forums in
different areas of the country to which virtually all law schools send
a representative. Contact Law Services for more information (see
Section 3 for information on how to reach Law Services). The
bit.listserv.lawsch-l USENET newsgroup (<news:bit.listserv.lawsch-l >)
also provides a forum for the discussion of issues related to law
school.
3.6) What sort of educational programs do law schools offer? [Rev]
Most law schools offer a Juris Doctor (JD) program. This is usually a
three year program that begins after you receive a four year
undergraduate degree. Some law schools also offer the JD program
spread out over four years (for instance, in a night school program).
A few people continue their legal education after they have received a
JD (for instance, in an LLM program), but this is extremely rare. A
JD is typically a terminal degree.
There are 175 or 176 law schools accredited by the American Bar
Association (ABA) [at least one keeps losing its accreditation].
These law schools are much more prestigious than schools that have
some other form of accreditation, and most people think that ABA
accredited law schools are much better than other law schools. This
is generally true, and if you have the option, you should attend an
ABA accredited law school. However, not everyone can attend an ABA
accredited law school, and many fine law schools do not receive ABA
accreditation. For that matter, many fine lawyers never even attend
law school. Check with the bar association in the jurisdiction in
which you intend to practice to find out about other options for
studying the law.
3.7) Can I transfer to King Hall from another law school?
Yes, and in recent years, an increasingly large number of students
have done so. During my first year as a law student in 1992-93,
approximately five students transferred to King Hall with advanced
standing in the Two L class that was one year ahead of me. The year
after I graduated (1995-96), approximately *thirty-five* students
transferred into the Two L class. While some of these tranfer
students come from law schools that do not enjoy as good a reputation
as King Hall or are not as affordable as King Hall, a surprisingly
larger number of these students come from law schools that are neck
and neck with King Hall in terms of both reputation and price.
King Hall transfer students tend to be exceptionally good law
students, before and after they transfer to King Hall. Moreover, the
King Hall transfer students whom I knew seemed to experience a form of
stress relief after they transferred to King Hall. That is, a sense
of euphoria overtook them as they settled into the law school culture
at King Hall, and they found their King Hall experience more enjoyable
and rewarding than their experiences at the law schools from which
they transferred.
I would normally take these glowing reviews of King Hall with a
grain of salt. It's possible that King Hall is a Shangri-la, but it's
also possible that the first year of law school just plain sucks for
most everyone. Thus, no matter where someone attends his or her first
year of law school, when he or she transfers to another school, things
might seem much better than they really are. At the same time, I have
not heard picturesque accounts of other law schools from people who
have transferred to those other law schools from King Hall, so I am
inclined to accept the notion that King Hall transfer students are
somewhat unique in their affection for King Hall.
- - - - -
End of document:
The King Hall Law School USENET FAQ Part 2 of 9
Frequently Asked Questions at and about King Hall
(c) Copyright 1995 & 1996
by
David F. Prenatt, Jr.
King Hall, 1995 Alumnus
U.C. Davis School of Law
University of California
Davis, CA 95616-5210
<mailto:Net...@dcn.davis.ca.us >
Link to next document:
<http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~netesq/USENET-FAQs/king-hall/part3.html >
- - - - -