About Mara Freilich of Top Law School Consulting
AN IVY LEAGUE-TRAINED LAWYER AND LAW SCHOOL ADMISSIONS COACH
I help law school applicants with big dreams stand out and get admitted to their top schools even if you don’t have the perfect GPA or highest LSAT score.
HERE'S WHAT I BELIEVE
Everyone has a powerful story to tell (yes, even you!)…and it is that story that will get you into law school.
And no, this isn’t some feel-good, Hallmark-inspired testament just to uplift you, but something I know to be true from actual experience.
How I know that your story can change everything:
Picture this:
A redheaded, short (especially for a ballerina) yet graceful small town girl arabesque-ing on one of the greatest dance stages in the world.
No, not me.
But…proud daughter moment, because that’s my mom!
Despite parents who scoffed at ballet, a middle school teacher telling her she was too poor to ever leave South Dakota, and ballet instructors claiming she was too short to ever reach the professional stage, she refused to listen.
At 16, my mom took the shoebox full of the money she’d been saving since she was 13 (from her waitressing shifts at the local nursing home) and bought a one way ticket to the Big Apple.
Imagine with me for a second…
The first time away from rural South Dakota farmland and you step off the Greyhound bus into the bustling streets of New York City. While you’re excited, you’re also scared. Because having just been emancipated from your parents, you have no one but yourself to rely on.
My mom knew she had to make it.
But, she didn’t just “make” it.
She made it to the very top: dancing for the American Ballet Theater.
(If you’re not a ballerina aficionado, basically…that’s big stuff. Like really big stuff. Like the equivalent of going to Harvard Law!)
What has always inspired me more than anything about my mom’s story, is not what she accomplished (though having a celebrity ballet mom is pretty cool), but her belief:
She never doubted she would get there.
Because my mom believes that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to – and more.
Having inherited her belief, I too set my sights HIGH when it came time to pursue my dreams:
Law school, in the Ivy Leagues.
But, the odds were NOT in my favor:
An average but not exceptional GPA and a good, but not Ivy League undergrad meant that I had just ONE last chance:
The LSAT
Months of studying, sneaking in problem sets in between classes, cramming on the bus ride home, packing in questions on my lunch break at work; missed events with friends to take practice tests every weekend; sleepless nights filled with anxiety…
I devoted everything I could to getting a top LSAT score.
But then test day came. And so did the jitters.
When my score came back, it was nowhere near what I knew I was capable of…or what I needed for the top schools.
My career counselor told me to set my sights lower, but I KNEW I could excel at the top schools, even if my LSAT score didn’t suggest that.
So like my mom, I leaned into my belief and found the one advantage I had left:
My story.
(and let me be clear, my story wasn’t anything out of this universe…I just figured out how to share the best possible version of me for law schools)
The results can be mind-blowing:
- What if you got accepted to nearly every top ten law school…with significant scholarship offers?
- What if you received calls from Deans and personal notes from admissions officers…telling you how powerful your application was?
- What if you had schools you thought out of reach…fighting for YOU?
- What if you actually got to choose which school you go to…instead of attending the only safety school you got into?
Because as surreal as that sounds, that’s what happened to me. (It’s what happens for my clients
too when they harness the power of their unique story)
Because here’s the truth no one talks about:
Being the top of the top isn’t just about having the perfect stats.
My story ultimately led me to the University of Pennsylvania Law School after receiving the competitive Toll Public Interest Scholarship.
(look at baby me!)
The very reason I had always been so dead set on going to my dream school proved true.
Because the types of opportunities that open up when you attend your top school are unparalleled:
- You might organize and moderate a panel of federal judges, including now Supreme Court Justice Kentaji Jackson…which will segue into your first job clerking for the Chief Justice of a federal district court.
- Create and lecture at a legal symposium in partnership with some of the most prominent legal minds, while still just a law student…and build a professional network that will forever vouch for you and act as references for future jobs.
- Have an in for future coveted jobs after graduation because you join a bowling team named Well Hung Jury and make friends with brilliant future colleagues…who will help you secure a highly sought after position at one of the most prominent law firms.
- Job security and financial stability, even during unstable times…because every firm wants to hire from the top schools, so even when life (and the world) doesn’t go as planned, you’ll always be able to gracefully pivot.
Had I not gone to the top law school of my dreams, I can confidently say I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all this.
Which brings me to where I am today:
Now I help law school applicants get into their top law schools…with 100% of my clients getting into at least one of their top ten schools.
What’s more, because law school is expensive…I’ve also assisted law school applicants in securing millions of dollars in scholarships.
And because law school admissions is a confusing and closed box…I share my inside understanding of how applicants’ stories drive the admissions process, learned from conducting interviews for the University of Pennsylvania.
And since law school is just the beginning…I use my experience hiring for a top law firm to help law school applicants reach their long term career goals.
Want to learn more about how you CAN get into your dream law school...no matter what odds you think are stacked against you?
The Mantras I’ll Shout From the Rooftops
EVERYONE HAS A UNIQUE AND POWERFUL STORY
I saw how my own story was the key to my success in my law school admissions journey, and I see how it is the critical component for every law school applicant I’ve worked with. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t have something unique and powerful to share…sometimes it just takes a little digging (or gentle interrogation from me!).
THE BEST LAW SCHOOL IS NOT THE SAME FOR EVERYONE
–and definitely doesn’t have to do with rankings. I didn’t go to the highest-ranked school I got into because I knew that there was a school that was offering me something better, better for me. Look at your ultimate career and life goals and figure out what school will best get you there.
YOU CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS WRONG…AND STILL, BE OK…MAYBE EVEN BETTER
In law school and even after, I rejected a lot of the “right” way to do things…said no to prestigious law journals, skipped on-campus recruiting where most students get their jobs and left a highly competitive position as a federal clerk to teach yoga and recover from taking care of a dying family member. I’m pretty sure my law school advisor (lovingly) wanted to kill me. But I still ended up at a highly sought-after public interest law firm, doing work I was passionate about. So my point…don’t be afraid to reject the shoulds…you never know where it may lead you.
YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR GOALS, YOUR WORK, YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS
I’ve always had big ambitions and professional success. But I’m not just a lawyer or law school admissions consultant. I’m Mara, the passionate, goofy, klutz who is always available for a spontaneous dance-off or a deep conversation. Who are you? Don’t forget that during the stress of your law journey.
MOST PEOPLE SHOULDN’T GO TO LAW SCHOOL
Yes, even though I’m an admissions consultant, I said it! Law life is tough; there are long hours, emotionally draining clients, tedious tasks,
Get my one-on-one help
to get into law school
Since I’m going to get to know you, here’s a little about me:
I’m a Navy-brat who married an Army guy, so nowhere and everywhere feels like home.
Moving around so much has gifted me with the ability to make lifelong friends anywhere, even on a 3-minute elevator ride. I am genuinely interested in people’s stories and have a knack for getting people to open up about themselves.
Things you won’t find on my resume.
I jumped off the highest bungee jump in the world; was a super competitive gymnast growing up; an avid yogi and yoga teacher before I had kids.
My family is my motivation.
I’m mama to three spirited, goofy, beautifully WILD children and to my OG child, Balto the German Shepherd. My family reminds me every day not to take life too seriously, to bask in the joy of the present, and that I will forever be the worst singer out there.
I always have these three things in my bag…
1. A book (typically fiction) because I’m constantly reading and you never know when you might get bored;
2. Balloons to make balloon animals (yes, even before having kids I was always prepared to entertain);
3. Snacks because hanger runs in my family!
Want to get into your dream law school?