Zhang elaborated that Brooklyn Law School offers over 100 different practice areas, “meaning that you get to really explore, and our philosophy is that we don’t force students to go in one direction over another,” she said. “We’re not exclusively a corporate law school or a criminal law school. We have a really wide representation.”
Zhang said she went to law school thinking she would be a corporate law attorney. “What I thought I knew and what I thought I wanted ended up being very different from what I practiced, but I knew that Brooklyn has these offerings,” she said. “I was still able to pivot, change my direction, and still have a lot of time to take the courses that I wanted and develop another stronger professional identity.”
Beyond the LSAT and GRE, which are critical components of the law-school admissions process, Zhang stressed the importance of creating a personal statement with one’s application.
“With that, we get a snapshot of how well you write, which is so important in the legal profession,” Zhang said. “Your personal statement is really the first place where I, as an admissions officer, get to know who you are and how well you express yourself, and hopefully, I get a better sense of who you are and what you can bring to our community.”
Zhang also covered resources for learning more about law schools. “My number one advice and tip for research is to go to LSAC.org,” she said. LSAC.org is the official website of the Law School Admission Council, a nonprofit organization that administers the LSAT and provides services to support law school admissions in the United States, Canada and other countries.
“They provide a lot of free material, both in the testing preparation side and also how to apply to law school, how to pick a law school, where these law schools are, where the law schools are having their events, and where you can meet the law school admissions people,” Zhang said.
Zhang also spoke about the American Bar Association and their connection to law schools. “You can think of them as the managers and the group of attorneys that oversee how law schools run,” she said. “Part of what they do is make sure that law schools admit and teach students in a specific way that is fair and just.”
Zhang discussed the ABA’s 509 Report — standardized disclosures from accredited law schools detailing admissions, enrollment and other key data for public access. The Standard 509 Information Reports are mandated by the ABA to ensure transparency in law school reporting.
According to Zhang, Brooklyn Law School had received more than 5,000 applications this year, almost 30% more applications than last year. “But I can assure you, every application that comes through, at least for Brooklyn Law School, at least two people on our team read that application from beginning to end,” she said. “We take the time and care, because you took the time and care to apply to us.”