To Hire An Admissions Consultant Or Not To Hire. . . That Is The Question

[Jeepstress]

I'm an older student who's applying to law school this year.  I am currently preparing to slaughter the October LSAT and tackle a few applications this summer and now I'm wondering if I should hire a professional admissions consultant to advise me or not hire one at all?

I think I'll have a small number of applications -- between 3 and 5 -- but I really want to get in this year so I'm willing to hire help, if necessary.

Did or does anyone here use an admissions consultant and, if so, which one?  Did anyone notice a difference between a paid admissions consultant and the pre-law advisor in a typical undergraduate institution?  To hire or not to hire, that is the question.  Or is it a waste of money?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[MR. BUNGLE]

I hired a consultant through Kaplan, and yes, they are very expensive. I guess it depends on how much money you already have. If it means the difference between feeding your children, then the answer is obvious (take the consultant!! ). If that trip to Vegas is one you could take or leave, then the peace of mind might save you the trouble of an ulcer. The main thing consultants are good for is evaluating your numbers and helping you develop a list of schools and also resume/essay issues. They are NOT created equal. My consultant was fantastic. He helped me develop a great personal statement. My girlfriend's consultant allowed my gf to send a resume to Lewis and Clark that was full of grammatical errors. Then again, when I hear that a calculator could use my numbers to determine the chances of my admission with 95% accuracy, I wonder how much my soft factors, highlighted or not, made a difference. PS: trust me, if you have enough money to debate whether or not you should get a consultant, then you have enough to apply to more schools. Apply to more schools...you can't beat open doors, even if you're not planning to walk through them.

[skeeball]

I worked with on who was recommended by a poster on this board and was happy with her. Ultimately, I ended up going where I would have gone even if I hadn't hired someone, but it could have made a difference in scholarship money. I think it's an especially good idea if you've been out of UG for a while (if you're still in UG you can have an advisor look over all your documents). You can have your friends & family read your PS, but it's nice to have someone who's seen hundreds of them give you feedback.

I also recommended working by-the-hour instead of getting a multi-application package. It's like, $120 an hour, and I think I used her maybe 3 or 4 times. Expensive, but not as much as an LSAT course.

[conoroberst]

The pre-law advisors that my ug shuffled through were often more harmful than helpful.

I couldnt afford a professional consultant, but I dont think they're necessary in most circumstances anyway. The search tool on this website, combined with help from posting your own specific questions can be very beneficial.

There are a lot of books that can help with admissions too. I bought a few of them, my sugesstion - get Anna Ivey's, stray away from Susan Estrich's.

[Majmun]

I'd only recommend hiring an admissions consultant in two situations: a) you are a terrible writer and know it or b) you have a significant negative on your application and you need to learn how to pitch yourself.

I would only hire an admissions consultant who has worked for LAW SCHOOL admissions.  (Anna Ivey has a very,very good resume in this respect.)

I agree but I'd add

c) you're a complete neurotic and feel that you will sleep better if you use one

[Jeepstress]

UPDATE:  I've been Ann's client for a couple of months now so I’m back to give another very positive review.  As I juggle everything I need to do to submit a number of applications I find that I’m even happier now than I was back in July, when I first posted favorably about her in another thread here.

Ann is a huge help.  I hired her to take the weight off my shoulders and she has done just that.  I hired her so that I wouldn't have to worry about how in the world I'd get everything done, logistically, and she's taken the worry out of everything because she has a systematic approach to this process.  I hired her so that I don’t have to worry about every little thing because I just don’t feel like bearing all the worry by myself.  Ann has made this process extremely easy for me.

I love how responsive she is, even when I don't need a quick turnaround, and it's just very obvious that she really cares about each of us clients so that we put forth the best packet possible.  I happen to be a decent writer, but Ann is a great writer and she helps us pare down a lenghty essay into something that an AdCom would be happy to read.  I was totally clueless about what to include and what to avoid.  Ann knows right where to focus because she’s been in those Admissions Committee meetings and she knows what’s important to them.  If anyone thinks her writing style is “choppy” my guess is that she writes that way because that’s what AdComs want to read.  I, for one, am not really impressed by layers of B.S. in people’s writing, and with Ann’s help there’s not much in mine.  Most of all, I love that Ann runs her own show, so when we hire Ann we’re really dealing with Ann, not some underling who has a background in who-knows-what.

Soon I’ll forget all about this tedious process and I’ll just sit back and wait to hear from schools.  For now, I couldn’t be happier about making the decision to hire Ann.

[tony_rocky_horror]

Save $490 and buy her book for $10. Besides, according to her book, the book will "...help you dramatically improve your application and your chances of landing a spot at the school of your choice". What more do you need?

http://www.amazon.com/Ivey-Guide-Law-School-Admissions/dp/0156029790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224094849&sr=8-1

[botbot]

I would hire me...