Before the Paper Chase

Before the Paper Chase: The Scholarship of Law School Preparation and Admissions contains the best of the recent qualitative and quantitative research on the law school application process and the law school experience. Over the years, numerous books have offered advice to students on how to get into law school; no work, however, has ever provided those interested in law school with information about what the scholars say about legal education and the admissions process.

The editors have gathered insightful articles from academic journals and law reviews on a variety of topics relevant to the admissions experience, including the Law School Admissions Test; the ranking of law schools by national magazines; the most reliable first-year success indicators, including the significance of the undergraduate major; future employment patterns; law school tuition and the consequences of student debt; and the psychological impact of the law school experience.

Their analysis will help demystify the admissions process for students, provide prelaw advisors with information that will enhance their counseling, and offer law school admissions officials an opportunity to consider how scholars from a wide variety of disciplines are evaluating their institutions. Students and prelaw advisors alike will find the book an informative and, at times, disconcerting work.