Long the province of street corner hawkers and car trunk sellers, counterfeit goods are now available almost everywhere. Even large retailers known for the quality of their products have been caught accidentally selling counterfeit products. To compound this problem, the quality of counterfeit products has improved and they have become much easier to obtain. Worse still, many of the major suppliers claim to be licensed wholesalers. This has led to many fake products being sold on Amazon.com, eBay, and other internet marketplaces, and sellers often have no idea that the products they are selling are fake. Worse still, the producers of counterfeit products generally reside in “justice-free” countries, where it would be prohibitively expensive, and perhaps impossible for brand manufacturers, to sue them.

However, branded companies have started to fight hard. Many have hired law firms to attack counterfeit products in any way they can; for example, the California firm Johnson & Pham has been hired by many brands to shut down counterfeit sellers. They have targeted online vendors who reside and are willing to receive processing services in the United States. Many of these online marketers are ordinary people looking to make a few extra bucks. And none of them are prepared for costly lawsuits that demand tens of thousands of dollars in compensation and potentially require tens of thousands of additional dollars to hire an attorney.

Brand makers will generally go after online sellers for one of the following causes of action:

A. Trademark infringement: Section 32 (l) of the Lanham Act specifically prohibits the unauthorized use, sale, offer for sale, distribution or advertising of counterfeit products. Most state trademark statutes have analogous sections. Counterfeit product trafficking is often described as “first degree trademark infringement”.

B. Unfair competition: Even if a trademark is not registered, unfair competition action can be brought to avoid consumer confusion. If the trademark is not registered, this may be the most viable cause of action.

C. Trademark dilution: As counterfeiters generally only go after famous brands, most counterfeiting cases will also allege trademark dilution.

D. Copyright infringement: In many cases, the counterfeiter will duplicate the brand logo, packaging designs, instruction manuals, etc. Many of these are copyrights.

Generally, the law firm hired by the brand contacts counterfeit sellers before filing a lawsuit. If you receive such a letter, you must act quickly to defend yourself. Below is an action plan that I recommend to clients.

Action plan

1. Don’t ignore the letter. These cases will not go away if you ignore them. Instead, the very aggressive firms that brands hire to go after counterfeiters will file a complaint and increase their demand. And if you continue to ignore the problem, the brand will get a default judgment against you, probably for many times the damage it would have otherwise suffered.

2. Do not contact the law firm. If you call the brand manufacturer’s law firm, you will speak with an experienced attorney who will do his best to represent his clients. This includes getting your admissions, which are very likely to happen. For example, the lawyer may ask you “Where did you get the counterfeit products?” Answering that question is possibly an admission that he was dealing in counterfeit goods.

3. Get the facts. The most important fact to determine is whether the trademark owner will be able to describe you as an intentional infringer. In particular, if the brand manufacturer can convince a jury that you knew you were dealing in counterfeit goods, the damages can be much greater. In particular, if you are an innocent infringer, the damages that a brand-name manufacturer can recover are extremely limited and may be nil. On the other hand, if the brand manufacturer can prove that you knowingly trafficked counterfeit goods, your profits, the brand’s actual damages, tripled damages, counterfeit legal damages, and attorneys’ fees. In particular, when actual knowledge of the forgery is proven, damages awards can easily exceed one million dollars ($ 1,000,000).

4. Hire an attorney. Given the large number of these cases now being pursued by brand manufacturers, many attorneys now offer affordable special programs to help individuals and small businesses resolve these lawsuits. When hiring such an attorney, keep in mind that you want an experienced intellectual property attorney who can actually litigate a case if necessary; Forget about hiring an attorney who helped you with your will or even one who may have handled the divorce of someone you know. . Ask the attorney how much experience they have in counterfeiting cases and if the attorney has actually litigated trademark matters. And of course, ask the attorney how much the action is likely to cost if the case is resolved without litigation and how much it is likely to cost if litigation is necessary.

5. Have your attorney pursue a lawsuit. Once you know what the brand manufacturer wants, you and your attorney can determine the best approach to take with your case. In particular, if the demand is low enough, consider paying it or asking your lawyer to negotiate more. If the demand is very high and you are an innocent infringer, litigation may be required to reduce the demand from the brand manufacturer. If you are not an innocent offender, litigating a case like this can have disastrous consequences. In particular, the damages against you can be staggering (and probably not releasable in bankruptcy), and there is a real possibility of criminal enforcement.

If you have received a letter accusing you of trafficking in counterfeit goods, you are undoubtedly under a lot of stress. I hope the above action plan helps you approach your decision on how to resolve such a case with care and calm.

The field of electronic discovery and digital forensics is rapidly evolving. In the early years of this millennium, discovery rules were primarily concerned with paper, but with the advent of the computer age, documents are written electronically, and important rules regarding electronically stored information still need to be invented. This series analyzes some of the main cases, opinions and results that have informed this evolution.

Judge Shira Scheindlin issued precedent-setting (and often cited) opinions in the important case of Zubulake v. UBS Warburg – 2003-2005.

The backstory:

Laura Zubulake worked in New York and Connecticut for the Swiss firm UBS Warburg, the largest bank in Europe at the time. She was a highly successful stock manager, earning more than $ 650,000 a year selling Asian stocks to institutional investors for a decade. In 2000, she was ignored for a promised promotion to take over as senior sales manager for the Asian office in the US when her superior left that position.

Instead, a Matthew Chapin was awarded the position, after which, according to the plaintiff, he “belittled her in front of her co-workers and denied her important accounts … During the trial, a former UBS sales assistant testified that he heard Chapin Zubulake call “ old ” and “ ugly. ” (“UBS must pay former salesperson $ 29.3 million in case of sexual bias (Update 5)” – Bloomberg, April 6, 2005).

In August 2001, Zubulake filed a complaint with the employment commission, and in October, Chapin fired her, in the process (as determined by the court) by falsifying emails, records, and complaints. Zubulake sued UBS for gender discrimination, lack of advocacy and retaliation under federal, state and municipal laws.

UBS argued that Chapin was not harsh due to sex discrimination, but was harsh on everyone, including male employees. A remarkable argument! The bank maintained that it was fired for insubordination.

When it came time to produce discovery documents, UBS produced only 100 emails in total, yet Zubulake herself was able to produce 450 relevant communications emails between company staff. UBS had retention obligations due to litigation, but had apparently made hundreds of emails disappear despite its obligation to retain them. Additionally, UBS produced additional emails that appeared to be falsely generated.

When discovery was requested for archival data and backup tapes, UBS claimed that searching for such data would be an undue expense and burden on UBS. He cited the case of Rowe v. William Morris and asked the court to shift the production expense to Zubulake based on the “Rowe test,” a set of weighting factors used to determine the cost offset that resulted from the Rowe case.

Judge Shira Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York drew up five evolving opinions on who should pay for production / discovery, the extent to which discovery and production of ESI are permitted, and how to determine a party’s duty to preserve the evidence. It found that the fact that the data is stored electronically (ESI) does not necessarily mean that its production is an undue expense. In fact, due to the ability to search by machine / computer, costs can actually be less than equivalent human searches of paper documents.

The cost burden increases with decreasing accessibility, as determined by the type of medium in which ESI It is stored. It was determined that there were five categories of electronic repositories: online data (such as hard drives), near-online data (such as CD and other optical discs), offline storage (such as magnetic tapes), backup tapes, and fragmented, erased and corrupted data. Backup tapes and fragmented / corrupted data were considered the most inaccessible and therefore subject to cost changes.

The court ordered the data to be sampled by restoring 5 backup tapes to determine if there was a possibility that the remaining 70+ tapes would produce relevant data. They produced 600 reply messages. Judge Schendlin designed a new seven-factor test to determine if the cost change was in order.

The first two factors are considered to be the most important.

1: Is the request designed to discover relevant information? (Fishing expeditions frowned upon).

two: Is information available from other sources? (Parties should obtain the information from the most readily available sources, such as company reports or public information, rather than having to search through old backup tapes, for example.)

The following three factors are considered of secondary importance.

3: Total cost of production v. the amount in dispute (the cost of discovery should be considerably less than the potential profits in the case).

4: Total cost v. resources available to each part (it shouldn’t ruin anyone).

5: Relative ability, incentive to control costs (clearly the party that pays for production has a strong incentive to control costs).

The last two factors are considered less important than the first five.

6: Importance of the issues at stake in the litigation (Will the case have a significant impact on society? The Zubulake case had to do with gender discrimination, but it was not a pioneering case in that area).

7: What are the relative benefits to the parties of obtaining the requested information?

(Generally, it is assumed that the plaintiff intends to benefit, and therefore this evidence is rarely considered of great importance.)

Ultimately, the court found that UBS had lost evidence (some monthly backup tapes were missing), carelessly destroyed the evidence (some weekly tapes filled out the monthly tapes), deliberately withheld additional evidence, and even false evidence. As a result, Judge Scheindlin issued an adverse inference instruction to the jury: “Because the looting of UBS was intentional, the missing information is presumed to be relevant.” In other words, if data was missing, the jury might assume that UBS purposely destroyed it because it could have hurt the bank’s case. A disaster for UBS.

Zubulake won more than he asked for: $ 29 million, including $ 9 million in compensatory damages and $ 20 million in punitive damages. UBS had to pay for depositions and repeat depositions, the costs of the motion, and almost the entire cost of production.

The Zubulake case produced several milestones in the evolution of the law surrounding Electronic Discovery and resulted in many of the 2006 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP). Milestones include:

The parties have a duty to preserve ESI during litigation. – not only once there is litigation, but also if litigation is anticipated.

There may be penalties imposed for the looting of ESI.

The Zubulake case established rules and evidence that have informed subsequent court decisions, as well as the 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the California rules of 2009. They continue to help shape and inform the law regarding the information stored electronically. As a result, the case also continues to reshape the electronic discovery and computer forensics industries.

Next in this series: the 2006 ESI Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Patents, like bridges, are prime attractions for trolls.

But while their bridge-living cousins ​​like goats, patent trolls have a more expensive appetite for tech companies and their work. Patent trolls hunt for cheap intellectual property and then demand loot in the form of royalty payments or legal settlements from companies that actually make things that other people buy. This tactic has become so common and so aggravatingly effective that some tech companies began to emulate it with their own patent portfolios.

The prevalence of companies aggressively acquiring and litigating computer-related patents has led to calls for legislative reform. Meanwhile, the status of such patents ranges from perfectly legitimate to semi-absurd. (In a high-profile example, patent owner Jim Logan sued multiple podcasters, claiming that his 1996 patent on reading magazine articles aloud and distributing them via cassette tapes means he has a right about the idea of ​​any syndicated audio content sent directly to the listener.)

Software patents are certainly important, because new and better software innovations have yet to be invented. But patents on “business methods” are another matter. Many business method patents represent little more than the hypothetical or trivially challenging application of a well-established principle to some aspect of everyday business. Patents are supposed to protect genuine inventions, not mere ideas. (Time travel would be great. Maybe the idea of ​​using a computer to run a time travel machine is patent).

For a more immediate example, consider Amazon.com’s “1-Click” ordering system. 1-Click is not just a registered trademark; Amazon also patented the process. At least he sought to do so, with varying degrees of success. Europe flatly denied the patent application. The Canadian patent office eventually granted the patent, after the courts ordered it to re-examine the initial rejection of the patent. The United States granted the patent; When that patent was challenged, Amazon lowered it slightly, and the patent office reexamined and finally approved the amended version.

Why the differences between patent offices? It has to do with the nature of what Amazon was seeking to patent. If you think of Amazon as a large department store, 1-Click is the equivalent of allowing the customer to say, “Upload it to my account and send it to my house.” Wealthy midwives have said the same thing in physical stores for the past 100 years. All 1-Click did was zip and consolidate many existing steps: entering your address, entering your credit card information, checking everything, and clicking confirm. Amazon did not invent cookies (the way that information is stored) and the patent had nothing to do with how the payment was actually processed. It was simply a matter of eliminating redundant steps.

The idea of ​​optimizing multi-step processes has been around forever. There was a particular movement toward business efficiency a century ago, led by Frederick Winslow Taylor, whose disciples included Henry Ford. Taylor’s ideas are credited with leading to the principles of mass production that fueled the industrialization of the early 20th century. Today, efficiency consultants are common in business. In general, they don’t do completely new processes. Instead, they look at existing business practices and suggest ways that those practices can be carried out more quickly or accurately.

The Amazon 1-Click method simply said, “What if we saved customer information when they first entered it, so customers don’t have to enter the same information again?” If that idea is a patentable business process, we have a problem.

The government has decided that it is patentable, at least in the United States. The recently disputed Supreme Court case Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International indicates that we do indeed have a problem.

What is at stake in the case is a claimed invention that serves as a kind of computerized custody system. Alice Corp. was able to secure a patent on the system because, although escrow agents are not generally patentable, the computerized component of the system was considered an integral part of the process. CLS Bank could be said to have infringed Alice Bank’s patent when it also installed a computerized system to track the various transactions banks make with each other throughout the day to prevent parties from promising more than they can deliver.

A trial court struck down Alice’s patents, claiming they represented abstract concepts that cannot be patented. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the trial judge’s ruling. However, that appeal decision was divided into seven directions and did not yield a clear majority opinion.

It is unclear whether the Supreme Court will go further than it has in previous intellectual property cases. While many observers expected Alice to be a decision that specifically affects software patents, the arguments seemed to suggest that the Court will instead focus on when, if ever, business method patents are appropriate. In the absence of clear rules from Congress, the courts must decide where the boundaries of patent law lie.

Judge Stephen Breyer expressed concern that allowing patents that simply protect the idea of ​​using a computer to do something useful, like time travel, will divert the system’s focus from encouraging genuinely useful innovation.

Experience shows that patents are currently being issued widely to cover ideas rather than inventions. Amazon did not invent the computer, the mouse, the click, or the credit card. He patented the idea of ​​combining these existing tools more efficiently, an idea that is exactly what business schools have been teaching for decades. While the Supreme Court may not be prepared to effectively ban patents on business methods, I hope it will at least limit such patents to inventors who develop both a genuinely novel idea and a practical way to apply it.

And I will not regret at all if the Supreme Court concludes that business methods are ideas, not inventions, and therefore cannot be patented. Some trolls may go hungry, but I trust they can find more useful ways to earn a living.

You thought you had waited long enough at your friends’ house after the party, but the breathalyzer is telling a different story – a DUI is in your immediate future. Perhaps the idiot who was sitting next to you at the bar finally got under your skin and, in a moment of weakness, you lost your cool and now you have an assault charge against you. No matter how you got to this point, you should hire a criminal defense attorney. This can seem like a daunting task as getting arrested is very intimidating and getting the best possible legal representation is important.

Hopefully, these tips and advice will help you get on the right path to hiring an attorney who will represent you well. When looking for an attorney, consider the following:

1) Make sure the attorney you hire has experience with your type of crime. Defending a felony narcotics possession is very different from defending a DUI. When interviewing an attorney, be sure to ask how much experience they have with your type of case.

2) Talk to your friends. They may know someone who has had to hire a criminal defense attorney. A referral is a great way to meet a good attorney, as the person making the referral can tell you how the attorney fared in all aspects of the case.

3) Any attorney you wish to hire should offer you a free initial consultation. This could be 10 minutes on the phone if you are detained or 30 minutes if you can meet in person with the attorney. Don’t hold back, be very direct and honest about your situation. Failure to provide a full disclosure may adversely affect your case and incur additional expenses. Be wary of any attorney who does not give you a free initial consultation or does not require payment for this time.

4) During the initial consultation, ask who will handle your case. Many high-profile criminal defense attorneys have their associates do all the work. You may agree with this, but many people want the attorney they speak to handle their case directly. In general, the better known the attorney, the less likely they are to be involved in your case.

5) Make sure the terms of the engagement are clearly spelled out. Be sure to ask what the fees are for negotiating a plea deal and any other stages up to and including trial. Fees can vary drastically from attorney to attorney, and you can avoid a big surprise by asking in advance. An up-front retention fee is usually required after the initial consultation. This fee can be several thousand dollars depending on the crime charged.

6) The most important thing is that you feel comfortable with the attorney and the firm. You will work with these people in a very intimate part of your life. Feeling insecure about your employment relationship will not help you or your mental health. Listen to your instincts. If something feels wrong, keep looking for a lawyer until you are sure that you can feel completely comfortable with him or her.

At the very least, these tips should give you a starting point to begin looking for an attorney who will represent you professionally and effectively. If you’ve had an unfortunate run-in with the police, take the first step and call a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

Many people wonder where a 170 LSAT score takes them. The average LSAT score is 150. But a 170 can pretty much get you anywhere as long as you have a high enough grade point average (GPA). Based on recent statistical data, you have a good chance of getting into any of the 25-30 law schools with such a score. Again, depending on your GPA, when you’re applying to law school, and other factors like your extracurricular activities and your personal statement, a 170 on the LSAT can get you places.

The following is just part of the list of law schools that accepted a score of 170 LSAT or less in 2009. I have limited it to the top 25 to 30 schools because, assuming your GPA is high enough, you have a great chance. these schools. (Note that many schools apply other factors and base their decisions on various criteria. However, the following list is a good guide).

So without further ado, you have a great chance of being admitted to the following law schools: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, NYU, University of Chicago, University of Virginia, Duke University, University of Michigan, Georgetown, Stanford, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, Northwest, USC, Boston University, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, University of California-Berkley, Fordham, University of Minnesota, University of California-Los Angeles, George Washington, University of Texas-Austin, University of Washington in St. Louis , Brooklyn School of Law, BYU, Emory, Boston College, and Cardozo-Yeshiva University.

As you can see, there are many options for such a high score. The LSAT is a difficult exam, but if you passed it with a 170, you will have many options. Also, if you think that a 170 on the LSAT is not good enough, there is always a good LSAT prep course you can take.

However, remember that the LSAT is only one component of the admissions process. Your GPA is the other important component. To be admitted to the schools listed above, your GPA must be relatively high, somewhere in the range of 3.6 to 4.0. If it’s lower than that, it doesn’t matter how high you score on the LSAT. You must be able to demonstrate to law schools that you are capable of consistent hard work over several years and not just score high on the LSAT in one day.

Remember also that other components come into play. For example, your extracurricular activities will help you differentiate yourself and make you unique. Your personal statement is also a unique expression of yourself in which you literally have no limits within which you can express yourself.

Simply put, if you have a 170 LSAT score, you will always have quality options, but it is the total package that counts.

This year, Gov. Rick Perry and conservative Republicans triumphed by dominating the 2011 legislative debate on fiscal and social issues. With a 19-12 majority in the Senate and a staggering 101-49 supermajority in the House, the most Republican Texas Legislature in history had enough votes to pass most bills without the need for any support from the democrats. In total, the legislature managed to pass 1,379 bills, less than in 2009 but still within the state average. The following is an overview of the most prominent legislation passed in Texas this year.

State budget

HB 1 enacts a balanced two-year budget with $ 172.3 billion in overhead, an overall decrease of 8.1%. The budget does not impose any new taxes and is based solely on spending cuts. The largest budget cuts were made in public education, higher education, and social services.

Public education

Funding for public education was reduced by $ 570 million overall compared to the current budget. SB 1 in the special session clarifies how much each district will be affected by the cut and SB 8 in the special session eliminated certain mandates to give districts more flexibility in determining where to cut costs.

Redistricting

Due to significant population growth, Texas won 4 new electoral districts. However, the new redistricting has yet to be reviewed by the Obama administration before they go into effect.

Small business tax exemption

SB 1 of the special session continues the business franchise tax exemption for small businesses that earn less than $ 1 million in annual revenue.

“Amazon Tax”

SB 1 of the special session requires online retailers who pay state merchants to advertise them to collect a tax on online sales involving Texas consumers.

Abortion

HB 15 requires doctors to provide pregnant women with an ultrasound 24 hours before performing an abortion.

Vote

Under SB 14, most voters will have to show photo identification to cast their vote.

Traffic laws

Applicants for a driver’s license must provide proof that they are legally in the US.

HR 1353 removes lower speed limits at night. It also allows municipalities to increase speed limits to 75 miles per hour on certain rural roads.

A person convicted of drunk driving with a blood alcohol level of 15 or higher is liable for a Class A misdemeanor (1 year in jail, $ 4,000 fine), rather than a Class B misdemeanor (180 days in jail, $ 2,000) fine.

The use of radar jamming devices is prohibited.

It is illegal to dispose of lit cigarettes or cigars on public roads or on the roads. If the act results in a fire, a motorist could face fines of up to $ 500 and imprisonment.

Kids

HR 358 requires parents to give their written consent before a school can apply corporal punishment to their children. The parent must provide a signed, written statement each school year prohibiting the use of corporal punishment.

A student must be removed from an athletic practice or game immediately if a coach, physician, or the student’s parent believes the student has a concussion. The student cannot return until they have been evaluated by a physician, who must provide a written statement that the student may return, and the student’s parent consents.

Beginning in the 2012-2013 school year, a school district may not wear a football helmet that is 16 years of age or older in the district’s soccer program.

SB 198 a defendant who is 19 or younger for having to register as a sex offender if he had consensual sex with someone 15 years of age or older, as long as the defendant is no more than 4 years older than the other person.

SB 407 allows prosecutors to charge minors who send illicit image text messages (“sexting”) of other minors with a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

A child in the sixth grade or lower cannot be charged with the offense of disorderly conduct for misbehaving in class.

A school district may transfer a student who engages in bullying to another classroom or another campus within the district. Additionally, a school district may not impose a punishment on a student who uses reasonable self-defense in response to bullying if, after an investigation, the student is determined to be the victim of bullying.

Weapons

SB 321 allows a person with a concealed weapon license to keep their weapon in their car while in an employer’s private parking lot, even if their employer objects.

HB 25 states that the laws governing guns in cars also apply to guns on ships.

Animals

SB 279 allows courts dealing with a domestic dispute to issue pet protection orders.

Under HB 2189, Texans can now hand-fish catfish (also known as “noodles”).

HB 1806 makes cheating in a fishing tournament with a prize of $ 10,000 or more a third degree felony.

HB 716 allows landowners to rent seats to hunters looking to shoot wild pigs and coyotes from a helicopter.

John Dunning lives in Denver and owned a bookstore himself. He is still involved in the sale of first editions through his website. His serial character, Cliff Janeway, is a veteran Denver cop. He’s been chasing a murderer for two years when we find him in Reserved to die. After following the rules for most of her career, Janeway goes out of bounds and then leaves the police force to pursue her other great love books. He opens a bookstore and, when someone close to the business is killed, he locates the murderer. His suspicious nature prevents him from trusting and stinks of havoc in his love life.

In the second book, Janeway acknowledges that she misses the thrill of being a cop and agrees to help another ex-cop bring back a young woman who has skipped bail. It is linked to a small publishing house, whose works are valued as exquisite limited editions. Even if you don’t like harsh detective stories, you must read The awakening of the book. I read it twice and even the second time, I thought it was one of the best mysteries I have ever read. It didn’t hurt that my experience was off the press.

Dunning educates readers on collecting first editions and loves books, so it’s hard as readers not to share his enthusiasm. His stories contain compassionate three-dimensional characters and complex plots. Janeway comes up with great witty lines reminiscent of John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee. For example, when comparing bestsellers and good writers, he states that “show business is often confused with talent.” But as one female character explains, “Fiction is the only way you can really tell the truth.”

Dunning is perhaps best known for his other love, radio programming of yesteryear. He has written a couple of encyclopedic references on the subject. For those who enjoy historical mysteries, he wrote an entertaining independent fiction book on early radio called Two o’clock wartime eastern. His earlier fiction writing, prior to 1992, is not as good as the Janeway series.

While you’re at your favorite mystery bookstore or library, look out for Karen Kijewski’s Kat Colorado series. Here’s another tough private investigator, this time based in Sacramento, California. Kat is a former bartender, as is the author. He has strong family ties and a deep loyalty to the underdog in life. My sister got me interested in this mystery series and in my opinion the books are as good as Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series. Kijewski won the Shamus and Anthony Awards for his first book in the series, Katwalk, which came out in 1988.

It’s easy to get hooked on the characters in a series, but difficult when the series is suspended. Maybe we should be grateful. I don’t know if I could keep up with all the writers that I like, if some of them didn’t stop their series or become complacent in their writing of them (i.e. they jumped the shark). It’s a mixed blessing in the sense that saying goodbye to one gives you a chance to fill that void with another cast of compelling characters.

If you’re not successful at first, should you apply to graduate school again next year?

This is a very nervous time of year. Across the United States – and indeed, around the world – eager eyes scan their email accounts every few seconds, waiting to see if the school of their dreams has sent them a golden ticket to spend the next few years at their school. or yes, something else. They cruelly send you that dreaded “sorry to inform you …” email.

Some people will have the wonderful problem of choosing between two or more stellar schools, others will happily settle for a good school, and still others will sadly regret that the schools that accepted them were not of the quality they expected. Others, those unfortunate few, will not receive a single acceptance letter. This blog post is for you.

Once you’ve taken the proper time to complain, curse, drink, and cast voodoo spells at the folks at the Harvard Admissions Office, you’ll be faced with a tough decision: Should I apply again next year?

Before offering some advice, let me offer you this little personal perspective. I am currently a Ph.D. student in the History Department at Yale University. If you will forgive my pride, I will tell you that this is the best history program in the country and it is in one of the best and most competitive universities in the world. This could lead you to believe that I was a perfect candidate. Maybe. After all, I received full admission and funding from Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley, UCLA, and Stanford. But, four years earlier, I applied to these same schools and did not get a single admission. Had I gotten smarter in the intervening years? No, probably not. Have my grades and test scores improved? In fact, they hadn’t. I didn’t even take the GRE again; I trusted the results of my previous tests. Here are some lessons I learned from this experience that can help you think through this difficult decision to apply again.

The first and most important lesson I learned is that admissions are fickle. Consider once again my own application for graduate schools. If you put any stocks in the ratings, you will see that I entered the # 1, # 2, # 3, # 4, # 6, and # 7 rated shows in my discipline. BUT, I was also turned down by NYU, Michigan, University of Washington, and Vanderbilt. Of these, only Michigan ranked (# 5). At first glance, this may not make a lot of sense, but for reasons perhaps impossible to decipher, schools have their own things they look for, and for some of them it just didn’t fit.

There is a huge industry geared towards getting people into schools, but the fact is, there really is only so much that can be done. There is always an element of chance and randomness in admissions. In fact, you can apply to the same programs two years in a row with the exact same application and be admitted one year and rejected another year. In other words, if someone tells you that they know exactly how admissions works and that they can get you to School X, they are lying to you. Of course, there are things you can do to improve your chances, but in the end, there is still an element of randomness.

Second, in the years after my applications were summarily rejected by all the major schools I applied to, I learned more about the process. For example, in my first round of applications, I didn’t bother trying to build a relationship with the teachers at the schools I was applying to. I didn’t put as much time and care into my essays as I should have, and didn’t explicitly speak to my recommenders about the topic and focus I wanted my app package to have. I also didn’t spend enough time making my writing sample perfect. All of these were huge mistakes. In a highly competitive program like Yale’s, the admissions committee looks for reasons to eliminate a candidate. Some mistakes in a writing sample will do that. Also, not having a teacher you’ve already spoken with who comes out in favor of your application will also hurt you. On my second round, I did all of these things correctly and knew more or less which schools I was enrolling in before I got the good news emails.

Third, in the intervening years, I became a stronger candidate. To be honest, after I got turned down from every graduate school, I didn’t think much about reapplying. I falsely assumed his rejection was personal, as if the school had said, “Brian, we don’t want YOU.” Remember, a school really only rejects one application. If you do it better and harder next time, you may do better in the process. So, I went to law school, had a number of interesting jobs, and became a better writer. So the next time when admissions reviewed my resume, it was much more robust and compelling.

So let’s get back to your own dilemma. You have an inbox full of rejections, and let’s be honest, it hurts to be rejected. Do you want to go through that again? Here are the four things to consider.

One, what can you do between now and when you reapply to enhance your resume? Are there jobs you can get that will make your app more attractive? For example, if you are applying to Ph.D. programs or medical schools, it would make sense to bolster your scientific bona fides by working in a research lab for a time. If you are applying for Political Science programs, volunteer for a campaign, work in an expert group, or take some other position that demonstrates your commitment to a cause or issue and, incidentally, provides you with stories, successes, and insights that you can put in your personal statement.

If test scores were a problem, do you think you can improve them? If grades are an issue, can you enroll at a local college, take relevant classes, and increase your GPA? This process requires an honest evaluation on your part. Talk to people in admissions if necessary and ask what they want or are looking for. To be honest, some of the things you will need to do may take longer than the 9-10 months you have before the next admissions cycle.

Two, what can you do to improve your application? Keep in mind that this is very different from your resume. Too many applicants make the mistake that having good grades, good test scores, and a good resume will get them to the school of their choice. For many schools, it will be; for many, it will not be. Disregard your personal statement, letters of recommendation, and, if applicable, sample writing at your own risk. I’m going to dig into this in future posts, but for now it’s enough to say that an app needs to present a consistent and clear set of topics about who you are, what you’ll bring to the show, and why they should support you. So, if you didn’t spend hours and hours sweating over every word, semicolon, and footnote in your writing sample, you can probably improve it. If you didn’t work hard to make sure your writing sample and personal statement work together to tell the admissions committee who you are personally and intellectually, then you can probably do better.

If you haven’t already, take your personal statement and writing sample (and all other relevant documents) and show them to a few trusted advisors, mentors, and friends, and like them, they’ll tell you what they see is the problem. Pride in authorship aside, ask yourself, “How can I improve them?” If you feel like you can do better, this is something to consider.

Three, you must factor in the personal costs of continuing to pursue this dream. While studying for the bar exam, I met a man who was taking the exam for the eleventh time. I was deeply saddened by this man, but I thought, “buddy, I don’t think you’re destined to be a lawyer.” He had a family at home and, although he tried and tried to become a lawyer, he did not seek other options that might have put his family in a better position. There is a fine line between persistent persecution and the quixotic of a dream that just won’t happen. If the costs of doing this again are too high in terms of work, money, romantic life, family life, or personal life, then perhaps it is time to put this dream aside, at least for now.

Fourth, and closely related to the previous point, you need to really think about how much you want it. If you just know, skin to bone, that you are destined to pursue a graduate education, then you probably owe at least one more real attempt. A great app can take 5-6 months to put together, could require hundreds of hours to perfect your testing techniques, and could even cost you a lot of money to use services like EssayEdge.com or Gurufi.com to make your perfect personal statement and writing sample.

All these years later, I am glad I applied again. I waited a few years to do it, but in the meantime I became a better candidate and had better results. I know what it feels like to have your dreams shattered by a rejection letter … or six. But I also know how wonderful it feels to enter your dream program. So my last piece of advice is that if you feel that it is not worth reapplying, I wish you the best of luck. Find your passion and live it. On the other hand, if you want to get into the school of your dreams, you will have to fight and you will have to earn it.

When you applied as a student, your personal statement probably didn’t make much of a difference, because student admissions are largely based on numbers (GPA, test scores, etc.). Graduate and professional school admissions are different! Your competitors will have test scores and grades similar to yours, because most people who are motivated to earn an advanced degree did well as undergraduates. As the number of applicants increases and academic budgets are cut, each year there is more competition for fewer admission openings.

How does the committee determine that you have what it takes to be successful in advanced studies? You guessed it. Your personal statement will play a determining role in whether or not your application is successful.

Then you know you need to write the strongest and most persuasive personal statement you can. But here are two facts that you may not know. First, most reviewers will spend only a couple of minutes reviewing your personal statement. Second, because your job is to remove most applications, reviewers look for reasons not to recommend you for admission.

Avoid common mistakes that will put your application on the reject pile. Read on for 10 easy ways you can mess up your personal statement:

1. Say thank you

Your parents and elementary school teachers taught you to be courteous when writing and you know it’s a good rule of thumb to follow. But don’t waste words thanking the committee for reading your application. It is not the same situation as applying for a job, because you are paying the school to review your application so that, hopefully, you can pay them to educate and train you. Starting or ending your statement with phrases like ‘Thank you for reviewing this application’ or ‘I appreciate your consideration’ can make you appear immature, obsequious, or ignorant of academic culture.

2.Excuse me

Many applicants have weaknesses in their application files, especially in their transcripts. Maybe you got low grades in your freshman year. Maybe you had to drop out of school and work for a while. Maybe you got an F in that stat class and had to take it again. Or maybe you earned a degree in one field and are applying to graduate school in a different field; or you did not pass your residency medical exams the first time.

Whatever your weakness, make no excuses and don’t badmouth anyone. Therefore, it was not his fault that the professor missed his final exam and failed it, or that papers dried up in his original field of study, or that he had the flu when he took the GRE. Don’t say anything that sounds like an excuse or that sounds like you’re blaming someone else for not achieving a goal. Even when it’s true, it can make you appear whiny and unable to accept responsibility for your actions. Instead, address the weakness at the end of your statement and explain how you have overcome it, learned from it, and are now a better candidate because of it.

3. Summarize your resume and transcripts

Many applicants try to summarize their professional resume and academic records in the personal statement. All this information is requested in the application itself and will be seen by reviewers. Personal statements are too short to waste space explaining that you earned A in your senior year. Instead, describe experiences and accomplishments that are relevant to your development as a potential professional in your chosen field.

4. Be cute or funny

Maturity is one of the most common adjectives admissions committees use to describe the ideal graduate student or professional. You are applying to eventually become your colleague, a professional colleague. Show them that you take their time, your program, your future, and yourself seriously by keeping your tone positive and professional. Unless you are directly asked to submit a creative writing sample, leave the routine standing for the comedy club.

5. Suggest that the program can correct an error by admitting it

Remember that committee members are busy professionals who only take a couple of minutes to read your statement. On the one hand, stating that you will make a unique contribution to your program and bring a new perspective by adding to the diversity of your student body is a smart move and shows you as a professional and positive team player. On the other hand, applying for admission on the grounds that it will correct a previous injustice runs the risk of making you appear unqualified and / or confrontational.

6. Be sarcastic

This one doesn’t need much explanation. Your ironic comments and sarcastic jokes make your Facebook friends laugh, because they know you. The admissions committee does not. They can easily misinterpret sarcastic comments or decide that you are creepy, cynical, pessimistic, or a know-it-all.

7. Say something potentially offensive

Again, not much explanation is needed on this one. You don’t know anything about the people who read your personal statement. Assume that you are very sensitive on all subjects and write accordingly. Don’t assume they agree with your political, social, or religious views.

8. Show your inferiority complex or your superiority complex

Many applicants have trouble finding the balance between promoting themselves and not appearing arrogant in their personal statement. A personal statement is a marketing document and should show your strengths. However, many applicants are inclined to humility, such as using language of self-criticism; or describe past weaknesses and failures without explaining how they have worked to turn those weaknesses into strengths. The admissions committees do not admit candidates out of pity!

Other applicants are presumptuous, giving the impression that they don’t really need any advanced training because they know a lot about the field and have a lot of experience. They do not describe what they hope to gain from a specialized education course. You want to walk the line between these extremes. Affirm that you are highly qualified to begin this course of study and that you have the preparation, motivation, maturity, and focus they seek. Then emphasize your planned major, what you will gain from attending their program, and how you need the training they offer to be successful as a professional.

9. Plagiarizing your statement or submitting content that you paid someone to write.

Most graduate and professional school applicants have not read hundreds of personal statements and are unaware of how unique each person’s writing style is. It really doesn’t take much for admissions committees to realize that the language and style of a candidate’s personal statement is different from the wording found elsewhere on applications. There are also a few dozen so-called sample personal statements on the Internet that are often copied and submitted as an applicant’s own essay. The committees know this very well! You can also hire someone to write a personal statement for you. It may sound great to you, but you should realize that these essays are based on a template that they simply customize for you, using the same paragraph and sentence organization. It’s a smart move to hire an expert to help you review and polish your words into a persuasive statement. It is risky to plagiarize a statement from the Internet or to hire someone to write the entire statement for you.

10. Uses bad spelling or grammar

This should be pretty obvious. Scholars on admissions committees are generally high achievers with high standards that don’t ignore even simple typographical errors. If your personal statement isn’t technically perfect, it can make you appear sloppy, lazy, or inattentive, which aren’t qualities that no one wants in a future colleague. Remember that people who read your essay are looking for a reason to reject your application and reduce the number of possible admissions. Always get someone with strong writing skills to review your essay.

Today, many American children are falling further and further behind in their education each year due to cuts in school funding. With fewer factory jobs left in America, a good education has become essential to finding a high-paying job in today’s information and technology-driven economy. Tomorrow’s economy will be even more competitive and Americans will compete for jobs globally. All parents want their child to achieve the American Dream. However, schools do not determine, on their own, whether children have what they need to succeed. Parents are in the driver’s seat when it comes to how they spend their children’s time outside of the classroom. You can make a big difference in your children’s future by avoiding these common mistakes.

Allowing too much “screen time”

The average American child spends 28 hours a week watching television, which translates to 1,456 hours per year, and 24,752 hours by the time they turn 18 (assuming they start on their first birthday, which many do). 24,752 hours is equivalent to approximately 2 years and 9 months of your childhood in front of the television Time in front of the television is NOT time that is NOT dedicated to: reading, exercising, doing puzzles, drawing, playing with other children, doing schoolwork and other activities that help the child learn and grow as a person. In the time most kids spend in front of the TV, they could have learned a second language or earned a black belt in karate!

Not making sure your child reads daily

In New York City, approximately 75 percent of public high school students who enroll in community colleges must take remedial courses in math or English before they can begin college-level work. At a minimum, this means that college students, or their parents, must pay for additional courses in addition to the usual costs of college tuition. According to the National Educational Association Today, the only way for children to become good readers is to practice. Even small amounts of reading each week add up over the years.

Neglect the arts

Many parents believe that art and music are “ornaments” and do not realize that the arts can have a significant impact on other areas of learning. In a UCLA study of Chicago-area schools, elementary students who attended schools where the arts were integrated into the classroom curriculum outperformed their math peers who were not in the program. More than 60 percent of these students, involved with the Chicago Education Arts Association, performed at or above grade level on the math section of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills compared to the 40 percent of their peers (who could fall further and further behind in each of them). year). Any artistic activity, from painting, visiting local art museums, or taking music lessons, can have lasting benefits for developing the mind.

So how can parents provide better learning opportunities outside of the classroom?

Here are some suggestions that cost little or nothing in time or money:

Limit or eliminate TV Most parents don’t ditch TV completely, but setting clear limits on viewing time, such as not watching TV on school nights, will force kids to find other activities to have fun (or finish their homework). . Some parents worry that as soon as they turn off the television, their children will complain of being bored, but boredom is often a motivating factor for the child to have fun in a productive way: looking for a new hobby, playing a game. board game. with his siblings or participating in sports.

Go to the library at least once a month. Almost every household in the US has access to a nearby public library, and many have an interlibrary loan system to provide access to books that their library does not stock. Many have a children’s librarian who can recommend good books and help find them on the shelves. Parents pay taxes for these services, why not use them?

Get started with your child on an art project. It can be as simple as placing crayons and paper on the kitchen table and asking them to draw pictures, asking them to make a homemade birthday card, or decorating cookies with colored icing and candy. There are children’s project books at your local library and many free online sites to give parents and children ideas for activities. Even looking at different types of paint exposes a child to different arts and broadens their horizons.