I have to confess: I’m an addict. It takes up hours of my day and I even use it during class.

I’m talking about Top Law Schools, supposedly a “free online resource to assist students applying to law schools.” Assist is a loose term.

Anyone can post to the forums, discussing questions, fee waivers, application statuses, and the other nervous thrills of a law school applicant’s life. You end up logging on for a simple question, say, what schools do I need a dean’s certificate for? Big mistake. Inevitably you will read all of the posts and stumble upon something that seems interesting, maybe even helpful.

But beware. Those innocent posts can have you doubting yourself and your sanity. Suppose you read that such-and-such Law School is sending out e-mails to students they think should apply. Then you think…but I want to go to this law school. And I didn’t get an e-mail. Am I not good enough? But I have the right numbers… they must hate me. I’m never getting in anywhere. I need to quit applying already. If I don’t go to law school, what am I going to do with my life? I’m not ready to get a job, especially in this economy. I’m doomed for the rest of eternity!

Reading through forums is mentally exhausting. By the time you’re done, you’ve learned that unless you get into Yale you’ll never get a job, and if you don’t have a perfect LSAT score and a 4.0 GPA you’re not getting into Yale. You could try Stanford or Harvard but really, there’s no telling with those either. And if you don’t get into a “top fourteen” law school, then it’s all just a waste. You will amount to nothing. In short, it’s a vicious cycle of hating yourself.

I have friends who can manage to stay off Top Law Schools but are addicted to similar self-destructive sites like Law School Numbers (LSN). LSN allows applicants to put up their LSAT score and GPA and list where they get in and where they get rejected, essentially allowing you to compare yourself to other people with similar stats. This is another very bad idea. You will find people who have been rejected from your dream school with your exact numbers and come to the conclusion that you are stupid. You will find people who got into a school that you got rejected from, with the same exact numbers, and come to the conclusion that you are stupid.

Here’s my advice to fellow law school applicants, including myself. Submit those applications, and then step away from the computer. Block the sites. Don’t let yourself indulge in this addicting, masochistic pleasure of comparing yourself to other anxious and often ill-informed applicants around the country. And please, don’t post on the sites and add to the misery of others.