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A new app, which simplifies the complex and stress-inducing law school application process, has a classic entrepreneurial origin story, and it all played out at Baldwin Wallace University.
In
the
spring
of
2019,
Dr.
Barbara
Palmer,
a
BW
political
science
professor
and
pre-law
advisor,
took
some
of
her
BW
students
out
for
pulled
pork,
and
they
talked
about
the
law
school
application
process.
"Some of the students were applying to top 20 law schools all across the country, while others were excited to gain entry into law schools in their hometowns," Palmer recalls of the dinner dialogue.
"They all had different goals, but they agreed on one thing: applying to law school took a tremendous amount of time and money. And the process was an emotional roller coaster."
The conversation inspired Palmer to find a way to relieve that stress, and Applawz was born.
Applawz features detailed to-do lists, a customizable calendar to help with LSAT prep and a spreadsheet function to keep track of all the law schools students are interested in applying to.
Palmer, who has worked with hundreds of students interested in going to law school, set out to create a tool to manage the application process. But she recognized there was an important added ingredient.
"Students needed a little encouragement along the way," Palmer explains. "They needed applause." That's why, when major tasks are completed in Applawz, students get pop-up animation cheering them on.
In addition to their inspiration, BW students were critical in the development of Applawz.
Through
BW's
The
Hive
Design
Group,
students
Arianna
Smedley
'22
and
Nick
Tekavic
'21,
mentored
by
BW
faculty-member
Sara
Wichtendahl,
designed
the
Applawz
webpage.
Wichtendahl
and
Palmer
also
recruited
two
dozen
students
to
conduct
the
initial
testing
of
the
app,
gleaning
valuable
feedback
that
contributed
to
the
look
and
functionality.
Chris Chang '23 noted, "Preparing for law school is a scary and long process. Applawz tracks my progress and organizes what I need to do. It makes the job much easier."
Palmer provides the app for free to all BW students interested in applying to law school.
The app is also available for purchase by anyone for $4.99 at Applawz.net.
