The Bowen Approach to Admissions--Soft Factors Help Make Hard Decisions.

I'm often questioned about the importance of the so-called “soft factors” in the Bowen admissions process. For those of you who are not familiar with the jargon, soft factors are the non-quantitative aspects of your application file—e.g. personal statement, letters of rec, life experiences, etc. As the title of this post suggests, soft factors play significant roles in the assessment of Bowen applicants.

We read personal statements very closely, and as I’ve stated before, they can make the difference between admission and denial. (For guidance about writing strong personal statements, see my “Ten Personal Statement Blunders” featured on this blog.)

At Bowen, we do not require letters of recommendation; but if you submit them, we will review them. The strongest letters tend to come from persons who can assess your critical reasoning skills, reading comprehension skills, writing abilities, and overall chances of success in law school. Specific examples of how the recommender has witnessed you exhibit these skills are particularly effective. For recent college grads (5 years or less), professors are often the best recommenders. For those of you who have been out of school longer, letters from supervisors, professional colleagues, and others with whom you have worked closely are generally best. For the record, the family friend letter (“I’ve known Johnny since he was a baby…”) is rarely effective. Avoid it.

At Bowen, we value diversity on many levels—ethnic, age, background, geographic, etc. And the soft factors give us glimpses into the uniqueness of our applicants and the things that make them…THEM! So don’t neglect the soft factors because along with the “hard” ones (LSAT/GPA), they play a major role in helping us choose our entering classes.

What if I Don't Know the Type of Law I Want to Practice?

Many applicants wonder if clear legal interests and career goals are requirements of admission, and the short answer is "No." Most law school applicants have little idea about the type of law they would like to practice. And many of those who think they know are basing their preferences on misconceptions about the profession. That is why the professional aspirations of most law students change before graduation. So having a long-term professional path plotted is by no means a prerequisite to admission.

However, you should not apply to law school totally uninformed about the legal profession. It is important that you convey to the committee a seriousness of purpose that shows you have done some research into the profession and are not applying merely to “find yourself.” If you are unsure of your long-term career goals, that is fine; but, at the very least, mention in your personal statement a couple areas of law that interest you.

GPA reductions on LSDAS Law School Reports

Recently, I’ve gotten a few emails from applicants who have stated that the GPAs appearing on their LSDAS Law School Reports are lower than those that appear on their transcripts. Some have written in a panic, wondering if a mistake had been made; others wanted to know on which GPA we would rely. My general advice on this topic is for affected applicants to verify with LSAC that the calculations are correct, as we will rely on the GPA appearing on the report.

For those who may not be familiar with this phenomenon, here’s a little background:

LSAC has its own method of calculating GPAs that appear on LSDAS Law School Reports. And while I cannot explain the intricacies of their system, I can say that they are more conservative in their calculations than many colleges and universities.

In the Fall 2006 Edition of The Advisor by Recruit For Law School, Inc. (pre-law magazine), Jay Shively, Director for Law School Support Services at LSAC, wrote the following blurb on this topic:

A rather unpopular feature of the LSDAS is its grading scale used to evaluate applicant transcripts. When transcripts are submitted to the service, grades are converted to a uniform scale in order to assist law schools in comparing transcripts from different institutions. This conversion process does not account for any perceived quality disparity among institutions, but rather focuses on ensuring that institutional grading policies (e.g. “forgiveness” policies) do not unduly benefit some applicants over others. Unfortunately, the conversion sometimes lowers the GPAs of applicants—albeit slightly.

For more information about the LSAC’s grade conversion policies, you should contact them. (A link to their website is on the right-hand column.) In the meantime, if you are affected, there is no need to panic. The GPA reductions are usually very small and, thus, insignificant to us.

Updating Your LSDAS Law School Report: It's Automatic...

A couple of you have inquired about updating your LSDAS Law School Reports, specifically whether updated transcripts and letters of recommendation should be sent to LSAC or forwarded directly to Bowen. These documents should be sent to LSAC. And don't worry about having to request that a new report be sent to us. Any time information on your Law School Report changes, LSAC forwards us an updated version. It's automatic. Best of all, there is no fee associated with updated reports.

As with all things related to your application, I welcome an email informing me of your intent to submit these documents. And in the off-chance that sending them to LSAC is not the best course of action, I will let you know how to proceed.

So if you are submitting new transcripts reflecting your wonderful fall grades or that new letter of rec extolling your virtues, or even if you have retaken the LSAT, we will find out about it. Automatically. And that information will be considered by the Admissions Committee.

Reasons YOU Should Consider Bowen!!

I am often asked by prospective students why they should consider attending Bowen. This is an easy question to answer because Bowen has much to offer. Below are the things I cite most often:

Location
Bowen is located in the heart of Little Rock, Arkansas’s capital city, within a five-minute’s drive of state and federal courthouses, as well as some of Arkansas’s largest law firms and corporations. With a metropolitan population of over 600,000, Little Rock is a sophisticated city “where the Southeast meets the Southwest.” Little Rock’s vibrant legal community affords Bowen students and alumni many professional opportunities.

Programs
Bowen students may pursue law degrees singularly or concurrently with Master’s degrees in business administration (JD/MBA), public administration (JD/MPA), public health (JD/MPH), or public service (JD/MPS). A concurrent degree in law and medicine is also offered (JD/MD). Bowen offers full-time and part-time divisions.

Tuition
Bowen is one of a few law schools with yearly resident tuition below $10,000—an amazing value given the high cost of education. Virtually all of our non-resident students receive scholarships that cover out-of-state fees. As a result, the average debt load for Bowen graduates is significantly lower than the national average.

Scholarships
Bowen automatically considers all admitted applicants for three scholarships: Bowen, Merit, and Non-resident. These scholarships range in value from $1000 to full tuition, and most of our scholarships are awarded for the full length of the program—not just the first year. About 60% of our 2008 entering students will receive scholarships.

Professional opportunities
The Bowen Class of 2008 boasted an employment rate of 94%. Our graduates are employed in a wide array of settings, with law firms and government being most popular. Current students enjoy many opportunities to intern and get hands-on experience in the law.

Bar passage
The Bowen Class of 2008 boasted a stellar bar passage rate of 86%, exceeding both state and national averages.

Faculty
The Bowen faculty is an outstanding group of scholars, teachers, and practitioners, committed to the success of our students. The quality and accessibility of the faculty are often cited by Bowen students as their “favorite things” about the school.

Facilities
Bowen is housed in a spacious facility containing over 150,000 square feet. Most of our classrooms and courtrooms feature “smart” technology, and wireless Internet is available throughout the building. The Law Library offers students the perfect environment in which to study, research, and write. Wrapped around a four-story atrium, the library seats over 300 and houses two computer labs.

Supportive environment
The student body at Bowen is relatively small—less than 500 students—allowing us to provide a supportive, individualized, and enriching environment. Bowen students are able to build significant relationships with faculty, administrators, and, of course, each other. Bowen prides itself on being a community, not just a law school.

Specializing at Bowen: Course Concentrations

Dating back to its vocational roots, the law degree has traditionally been a generalist’s credential. Even today, much of the educational focus in law school is on the acquisition of skills that can be applied in many—if not most—areas of the law. As such, lawyers typically specialize through the actual practice of law, rather than in the classroom.At Bowen, however, we seek to encourage focused study in students who have specific interests. Thus, our curriculum is structured in a manner that allows interested students to informally concentrate their study in one of the following areas:

Alternative Dispute Resolution
Business & Commercial
Civil Practice
Civil Rights
Criminal Law
Environmental Law
Family Law
General Practice
Government Practice
Government Regulation
Health Care
Intellectual Property
International Law
Labor & Employment
Litigation
Real Estate
SkillsTaxation

Collectively, the courses making up each concentration are intended to give interested students in-depth exposure and understanding of relevant issues. It is important to note that these concentrations are elective in nature, and students are not granted any formal designation for their focused course of study. You may view lists of courses making up each concentration, along with descriptions, at the following link: http://law.ualr.edu/academics/curriculum/course_concentrations.asp.

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Interested in meeting Bowen students, sitting in on a class or touring the school? If so, attend our Pre-Law Visitation Day on November 14, 2008. RSVP with Pat Martin at pamartin@ualr.edu.

The Bowen Approach to Admissions—Patience is a Virtue When Awaiting Your Decision

At Bowen, we pride ourselves on our comprehensive process of reviewing admissions files. As I stated in my previous post, “How We Make Decisions”, we seek to assess the “whole person” based on an array of factors. Each file is given its “due process” and is reviewed intently. It is our belief that this is the best and fairest method of choosing our entering classes. This type of review, however, is labor-intensive and, thus, takes time. So patience is indeed a virtue when waiting to hear back from us regarding your admission decision.

Like most law schools, we utilize a “rolling admissions” procedure here at Bowen. This means, very generally, that we review files in the order in which they become complete. As is the case each year, we expect to receive a spate of applications around the beginning of the New Year. So if you are able to submit your required materials in mid-December or earlier, doing so could quite possibly lead to your receiving a faster decision…no promises, of course. :-) The Admissions Office welcomes status inquiries from applicants. Once per month is a useful frequency of inquiry; anything more than that often becomes an exercise in redundancy.

I hope this post provides both insight into our process and confidence in knowing that even when you haven’t heard from us in a while, it's not because we have forgotten about you. Feel free to submit any follow-up questions.

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Interested in meeting Bowen students, sitting in on a class or touring the school? If so, attend our Pre-Law Visitation Day on November 14, 2008. RSVP with Pat Martin at pamartin@ualr.edu.

The Bowen Approach to Admissions--How We Make Decisions

I am often asked by applicants to assess their chances of admission to Bowen based on their numerical profiles. My typical response is that this is impossible because our decisions are not strictly "numbers-based." Of course, this response garners a lot of incredulous looks; but it's true! So for the edification of all, below is an overview of our admissions philosophy:

At Bowen, we take a "holistic" approach to admissions; this means we assess all relevant admissions factors. To that end, your LSAT and GPA are important, but also your personal statement, life experiences, and the "intricacies" of your academic performance. We do not require letters of recommendation, but if you submit them, we will review them.

We understand that the LSAT and GPA only tell part of the story as it relates to an applicant's potential for law school success. Thus, an assessment of the "whole person" is our preferred method of choosing our entering classes. Of course this means that ALL aspects of your admission file should be as strong as possible!

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Interested in meeting Bowen students, sitting in on a class or touring the school? If so, attend our Pre-Law Visitation Day on November 14, 2008. RSVP with Pat Martin at pamartin@ualr.edu.

10 Personal Statement Blunders: #10--Going Overboard with the Thesaurus

At Bowen, the personal statement is a very important component of the application. It can often make the difference between admission and denial. Thus, on each of the next 10 days I'm going to share with you one of my Top 10 personal statement blunders.

Today's blunder: #10--Going Overboard with the Thesaurus

• Gratuitous effectuation of abstruse and recondite nomenclature will engender the choler of the functionary duly consigned to peruse your missive.
• Use “everyday” vocabulary. The quality of your personal statement will not be judged based on the number of “12-letter words” you use.
• Use legal terminology only when absolutely necessary.

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Interested in meeting Bowen students, sitting in on a class or touring the school? If so, attend our Pre-Law Visitation Day on November 14, 2008. RSVP with Pat Martin at pamartin@ualr.edu.

10 Personal Statement Blunders: #9--Trying Too Hard to be Clever

At Bowen, the personal statement is a very important component of the application. It can often make the difference between admission and denial. Thus, on each of the next 10 days I'm going to share with you one of my Top 10 personal statement blunders.

Today's blunder: #9--Trying Too Hard to be Clever

• There is a fine line between cleverness and annoyance.
• Most attempts at humor don’t go over well. Remember, the personal statement is a formal document.
• Your statement should not take an alternative form (e.g. legal brief, poem, multimedia presentation).
• Stand out by telling your story, not by employing gimmicks.

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Interested in meeting Bowen students, sitting in on a class or touring the school? If so, attend our Pre-Law Visitation Day on November 14, 2008. RSVP with Pat Martin at pamartin@ualr.edu.