Announcing a free, year-long pre-law program in the Bay Area Forum

[levelbar]

Now accepting applications!

LevelBar is a free, year-long program in the San Francisco Bay Area for low-income potential law students. The year includes long-term LSAT preparation taught by a 5-year veteran LSAT instructor, a writing skills course, admissions and financial aid workshops, mentorship, and opportunities to interact with law professionals.

Applications are now up on the LevelBar website-- http://www.levelbar.org/apply --and are due July 16th, 2013, at midnight.

Good luck!

[09042014]

There are starving people in Africa, and your nonprofit thinks the bigger problem is that not enough poor people get their lives ruined by attending law school?

[levelbar]

LevelBar is run almost exclusively with volunteers and volunteer hours. A more equitable distribution of resources in the world would indeed be a wonderful thing, but until that utopia arrives, we're not here to send more people to law school, but rather allow access to law school for low-income folks who are already committed to going to school and could use added support, financial aid, and better admissions advice so that the experience doesn't "ruin their lives" or cause added financial hardship.

[justonemoregame]

I like it. Studying for a year seems like a really long time, but whatever. Some people obviously need to level up, especially in California. Whenever someone is saved from attending USF law school, an angel comes back to life.

[Myself]

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[20141023]

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[philly_law]

Instead of wasting three years of your life with pointless legal education, now you can waste four!

[Aqualibrium]

You guys are real dicks.

[KD35]

You guys are real dicks.

You're only poking the bear.

[Robbin Blue]

Let's encourage more people who can't afford law school that they should really take on that debt. We definitely have enough jobs to go around. What we really need to be doing is discouraging more high income people from law school. That's a nonprofit I would donate to.

[PRgradBYU]

Let's encourage more people who can't afford law school that they should really take on that debt. We definitely have enough jobs to go around. What we really need to be doing is discouraging more high income people from law school. That's a nonprofit I would donate to.

As would I. A year-long pre-law program is a total joke, btw...

[lukertin]

As would I. A year-long pre-law program is a total joke, btw...

Any kind of pre-law program is a total joke.

[KD35]

As would I. A year-long pre-law program is a total joke, btw...

Any kind of pre-law program is a total joke.

But like...that doesn't apply to the pre-law major, does it???!!!

[jrthor10]

I think you guys are missing the point here. I would hope this program would target students from a low-income background who were already most likely going to consider law school. TTT are currently disproportionately filled by students from low-income backgrounds because there is, to a very large degree, an information and skills gap.

If these low-income students are already set on law school, I quite like the idea of helping them go to a good law school so they don't prematurely destroy their futures.

[DEO3029]

I think you guys are missing the point here. I would hope this program would target students from a low-income background who were already most likely going to consider law school. TTT are currently disproportionately filled by students from low-income backgrounds because there is, to a very large degree, an information and skills gap.

If these low-income students are already set on law school, I quite like the idea of helping them go to a good law school so they don't prematurely destroy their futures.

I agree. Helping low income individuals prepare adequately for admission to a top law school can literally change lives - from TTT to T14.

[LSATSCORES2012]

I also think this is a wonderful idea. One of my biggest problem with law school admissions is that you have people - like most of us on TLS - who spend hundreds of hours studying for a test and then prepping law school applications, and you have others who simply don't have the time to do so or the resources to buy those materials (for many reasons - perhaps working four jobs, working three jobs with kids, doing college + full time jobs, not enough money to buy prep materials, etc.) It would be awesome if you were able to provide some sort of stipend to participants so that they could focus on what they're doing, rather than, say, working.

At the same time, I do agree with other posters that a full year does seem a bit excessive. Perhaps six months would be better - it would save funding or allow you to reach a wider audience, too. The idea, though, sounds great. Will refer a few friends of mine for sure.

[PRgradBYU]

I think you guys are missing the point here. I would hope this program would target students from a low-income background who were already most likely going to consider law school. TTT are currently disproportionately filled by students from low-income backgrounds because there is, to a very large degree, an information and skills gap.

If these low-income students are already set on law school, I quite like the idea of helping them go to a good law school so they don't prematurely destroy their futures.

I agree. Helping low income individuals prepare adequately for admission to a top law school can literally change lives - from TTT to T14.

TLS can do the exact same thing.

[Micdiddy]

I mean, it is free and all volunteer, so it's hard to find anything morally wrong in the program. Whether it is morally right (comparing pros and cons of helping prepare for law school, but tacitly or verbally endorsing it as well) is a different question.
I agree with Regulus, as I often do, that if this program truly wants to help people (and I believe it does, because there is no monetary value here), then it needs to show it's students LST at the very least, and hopefully TLS as well. A heavy dose of LST can hopefully save the ones who were heading towards a TTT and the program can still help those with low-incomes but with the potential of an actually good law school outcome, this helps everyone.

[sinfiery]

I think you guys are missing the point here. I would hope this program would target students from a low-income background who were already most likely going to consider law school. TTT are currently disproportionately filled by students from low-income backgrounds because there is, to a very large degree, an information and skills gap.

If these low-income students are already set on law school, I quite like the idea of helping them go to a good law school so they don't prematurely destroy their futures.

I agree. Helping low income individuals prepare adequately for admission to a top law school can literally change lives - from TTT to T14.

TLS can do has done the exact same thing.

TYBTLS, my prelaw advisor at my TTT loved my TTT LS.

[JDndMSW]

Did anyone read about their services? They have workshops on weekends to accommodate working students and they give stipends for living expenses the weeks leading up to the LSAT. Looks like a great program.