Another application cycle has, for the most part concluded, and summer is ahead of us. A good deal of clarity and news has been delivered to the ‘blawgosphere’: applicants have received their acceptance letters while current students have hopefully found summer, or full-time, employment. To celebrate the changing of the seasons, Clear Admit is pleased to announce its first year of Best of Blawgging awards (also known as “the BoBs”). In this inaugural year, Clear Admit will identify exceptional blogs maintained by law school applicants and students. We do this for two reasons: to recognize the commitment and quality of the best applicant and student bloggers’ writing, and to identify valuable sources of information for the next round of applicants.
Here’s the time line for this year’s awards, which will cover the 2009-2010 admissions/academic cycle:
Nominees Announced – Friday, April 9th
We’ll begin by considering all blogs featured in Fridays From the Frontline (bloggers are encouraged to email bob@clearadmit.com about adding a link if their sites are not currently included). Keeping in mind the relevance and frequency of posts, as well as the overall quality of their contributions to the blawgosphere, we’ll pare the list of nominees down to approximately 25 bloggers. Once we’ve determined the blogs to be considered, we’ll be sending BoB ballots out to each of the nominated bloggers.
Ballots Due – Friday, April 30th
Tallying the votes of nominees, and the Clear Admit staff, we’ll compile the list of this year’s very best blogs, giving 50% consideration to bloggers’ votes, and 50% to the Clear Admit staff judges. In addition to an overall ranking, we’ll ask voters to share their thoughts on the funniest blog and best single post, and to point us to the blogs that they feel feature the best advice in categories such as LSAT preparation, school selection, application statements of purpose, admissions and recruiting interviews, as well as the best representation of academics and student life in law school.
Rankings Revealed – Tuesday, May 4th
Once the votes are in, we’ll publish the category winners as well as the top ten listings in the applicant and student categories. Clear Admit will be presenting prizes to the a select few for their efforts and contribution to the community. Second and third place bloggers will each receive a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate and the top-ranked blogger will be awarded a seven legally inspired movies: 12 Angry Men, Adam’s Rib, Erin Brockovich, The Firm, Legally Blonde, To Kill a Mockingbird and My Cousin Vinny.
That’s all for now – check back on Friday, April 9th for an announcement about this year’s BoB nominees! In the meantime, happy blogging…
