When I started my journey to law school, I had a million questions about the admissions process. I knew my undergraduate institution had a pre-law advisor. I even knew the advisor well. I also did a little math: the pre-law advisor at my undergraduate institution serves hundreds of students every year. I really needed help with things like my personal statement. I knew I could write well. I also knew my pre-law advisor could do a grammar check. But, what law schools wanted in that statement eluded me. Did they want to know why I was hoping for a shot at law school? Did they want me to expand upon an important aspect of my resume? I needed candid advice, but I really did not know where to start. So, I did a web search skeptical that I would only find someone who knew little more than I at a lofty price.

I pulled up Anna Ivey's page, and one of her accolades stood out at first glance: She had been the Dean of Admissions at the University of Chicago. That was the kind of experience I wanted. I ran to Anna hoping that I wasn't calling a loose cannon. In less than twenty-four hours, she called me back. Everything about her was professional right down to the questionnaire and retainer she sent me. Somewhere in there was a confidentiality statement as well, a commitment I could never secure from my pre-law advisor; I could level with Anna. I secured Anna for help.

In truth, Anna gave me more help than I ever hoped for. She was an unexpected support through the LSAT. And, she was able to tell me what "personal" in personal statement really meant. I wrote draft after draft for Anna. I was writing things that were far more personal than I had imagined, yet Anna helped me balance the personal with a professional voice that kept my essay from sounding like teenage melodrama. Better yet, Anna helped me rework my resume so it truly highlighted my accomplishments in a ridiculously finite page. I still use that version of my resume for my job interviews. I laugh when I look at the resume I started with and the resume I have now. Anna just has an eye for detail and encouraged me to shed light on things I'd have cast aside as unimportant. How would I know what a law school might find important?

I could not have been more pleased with Anna's assistance. She answered all of the questions that I felt silly asking. Better yet, I turned in an application that I felt represented me. In retrospect, it seems an odd turn of events that I went looking for Anna so that I could hand an admissions committee an application that fit some secret formula. With Anna's help, I ended up sending an application that was simply a reflection of me.

I ended up being accepted to my first choice, Michigan, and received a nice grant as well. In fact, the grant would have paid for Anna many times over.

—Michigan Law School