Here’s our roundup of news articles and helpful law school tips from the week. Happy reading!

A Life Outside Law School—A Day in the Life (Ms. JD)

Interested in attending law school while still being able to balance everything else? Here is a day —well, actually two days– in the life of an evening law student during fall semester.

Comparing the Law Schools of the South (Above the Law)

This week Above the Law ranks southern law schools on the basis of faculty and instruction, practical and clinical training, financial aid advising, career counseling, and social life.

10 Law Schools That Garner the Most Full-Time Applications (U.S. News Education)

U.S. News reports that the fall 2013 applicant pool is on track to be the smallest in decades. Continue reading to find out which schools received the most full-time applications in 2012.
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Catch up on some law school and other legal news and tips from the week with our weekly links roundup:

For Midlands Law School Grads, Job Picture Still Healthy (Omaha.com)

Job prospects look promising for grads from Midland’s four law schools—Creighton, Nebraska, Drake, and Iowa—as area experts say demand for lawyers is high if graduates look in the right places and specialties.

Survey: Law Firms Must Change, But Don’t Know How (Bloomberg Law)

Lee Pacchia from Bloomberg Law sits down with Bruce MacEwen, consultant and publisher at Adam Smith, Esq., to discuss the widespread agreement that law firms need to change their fundamental business models.

Law Schools with the Highest Placement Rate in Full-Time, Long-Term Legal Jobs (The National Law Journal)

Check out the list of the top 20 law schools that placed the highest percentage of their 2012 graduates in full-time, long-term positions that require bar passage.
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Here are the free LSAT events we’re holding this week. All times local unless otherwise specified.

4/10/13 – Online – Free Trial Class: Games Intensive– 8:00PM- 10:00PM

4/14/13 -Online- Zen and the Art of LSAT with Brian Birdwell– 8:00PM- 10:00PM (EST)

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page

Happy Friday! Time to catch up on some useful law school tips and news from the week:

Are Lawyers Destined to Either be Miserable or Broke? (The Girl’s Guide To Law School)

This week The Girl’s Guide to Law School encourages you to share your thoughts about how to create a new vision for the legal profession.

Who’s Smarter? Law or Biz Students? (Poets & Quants)

Poets & Quants explores the provocative and tongue-in-check question of whether law students are smarter than business students or vice versa.

Question Authority: Law Students Have An Important Role to Play in the Future of Legal Education (The Legal Whiteboard)

Law professor at Indiana Law urges law students to ask law professors tougher questions about the current state of legal education, albeit with respect.
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Here are the free LSAT events we’re holding this week. All times local unless otherwise specified.

4/7/13 -Online- Free Trial Class– 12:00PM- 3:00PM (EST)

4/7/13 – New York, NY – Free Trial Class- 5:30PM- 8:30PM

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page

Happy Friday! Here’s a roundup of some of our favorite law school tips and news articles from the week:

What Would a More Relevant Law School Ranking Look Like? You Told Us (Above the Law)

In light of U.S. News’s revisions to its rankings methodology, Above the Law asked their readers what a more improved and relevant approach to law school rankings would look like.

Who Should be the “Core” Faculty in the 21^st Century Law School? (Legal Skills Prof Blog)

Professor Deborah J. Merrit provides her reasons for why the current writing and clinical professors should form the core of a law school faculty.

Law School Tips for Success (U.S. News Education)

Thinking of attending law school in the future? U.S. News has some advice and suggestions to help you decide if law school is the right path for you.
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This Applies to You: Life of the Law

This week, I’m shamelessly plugging the blog I run when I’m not pondering logic games, The Life of the Law, because we’ve published some great articles recently that I think might interest you:

 1. In Reflections of a Law School Beauty Queen, Yale Law 1L Sopen Shah, talks about how being in pageants prepared her for law school. Don’t worry–I’m not suggesting you all become beauty queens, too (though you’re all beautiful to me). But the essay covers some of the challenges of being a first-year law student and offers an interesting perspective on how it’s is similar to America’s oldest reality series, pageantry.

2. You know those US News & World Report rankings that we’re all obsessed with? Law School Transparency is changing all that. I talked with one of the founders, Kyle McEntee, about how legal education is likely to change in the near (and far) future.

3. My good friend and Manhattan LSAT teacher Gilad Edelman, also a first-year law student, writes about states’ rights and everyone’s favorite, er, topic, marijuana. Gilad makes the fascinating point that when we talk about states’ rights, we tend to really talk about whatever it is we’re talking about. Make sense? He puts it better.

Life of the Law is always looking for new contributors and guest authors, so if you have a story to share about living under the law, get in touch!

Here are the free LSAT events we’re holding this week. All times local unless otherwise specified.

03/27/13 -Online- Zen and the Art of LSAT with Brian Birdwell– 8:00PM- 10:00PM (EST)

03/27/13 – New Haven, CT- Free Trial Class– 6:00PM- 9:00PM

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page

Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend and check out some of our favorite law school tips and news stories from the week:

Make an Informed Decision When Considering Law School (U.S. News Education)

Law professor Paul Campos advises prospective law students to take a critical look at the job statistics and answer a set of important questions to determine if law school is the right choice.

Ms. JD’s Pre-Law Prep Guide: Choosing a Law School That Works Best For You (Ms. JD)

Here’s a comprehensive assessment from Ms. JD that covers just about everything you need to know when it comes to choosing the best law school for you.

The Law Schools Whose Grads Earn the Biggest Paychecks (Forbes)

Forbes looked to Payscale.com to determine the top 25 law schools whose graduates make the most in the early stages of their careers.
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You’ve seen this type of question on recent tests. It offers a Principle followed by an Application of that Principle. The question stem then asks you something about the relationship between the two. Preptest 61, section 4, question 19 for example asks, “Which of the following, if true, justifies the above application of the principle?” Same with PT 65, section 1, question 14; PT 63, section 1, question 18; and PT 67, section 2, question 5 (not an exhaustive list).

Don't be fooled by clever LR disguises

Other questions accompanying the Principle + Application pairing have included, “The application of the principle is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that…” (PT 64, section 1, question 2) and “From which of the following sets of facts can the conclusion be properly drawn using the principle?” (PT 63, section 3, question 22).

How can we think about these questions?

First off, do you notice anything familiar about any of the question stems quoted above? You should–you’ve seen them all before. The question in the first paragraph–the one with the word “justify”–resembles a strengthen question. The latter two a flaw question (“vulnerable to criticism”) and sufficient assumption question (“can the conclusion be properly drawn”), respectively.

For this reason, one way to think about these Principle-Application questions is to view them as assumption family questions. There is a gap between the principle and its application; you’re asked something about that gap. Do you want to help close it (strengthen the relationship)? Identify it (find the flaw)? Or close it completely (find the sufficient assumption)? Thinking of these questions this way will enable you to be prepared for unexpected questions, too. What if you were told to weaken the connection? Or find a necessary assumption in the application? Approaching this type of question the way you already know how–because you understand assumption family questions–will also hopefully spare you “ah! Not a new question type!” anxiety.