Law School Application
You should apply ONE year before attending law school, that is, during the fall semester of your Senior Year Start working on your law school application during the summer semester of your junior year. Apply strategically. The earlier you apply, the lesser admission competition and the more scholarship opportunities.
The law school application packet includes the following components. Click on each item to learn more.
The LSAT is the most common standardized test required for law school admissions. Offered digitally, the LSAT is composed of three scored multiple-choice sections (two Logical Reasoning and one Reading Comprehension) and one unscored "variable" section (either LR or RC), plus a separate, unscored LSAT Argumentative Writing sample that test takers complete online. So, the timed, multiple-choice test has four sections, but only three contribute to your score, with the fourth being an experimental section for future tests, according to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). Once the LSAT Writing section is completed, LSAT scores are released.
Avoid taking the LSAT multiple times because law schools see every score. You should take the LSAT when you are truly ready to take it–and this is when you are reaching your target score on your full-length, timed practices.
Research law schools to find target scores using the LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools or the ABA Standard 509 Reports. You should take the LSAT no later than one year before you plan to attend law school. Ideally, take the June or July LSAT, but if you are not ready, then take either the October or November LSAT at the latest. Plan to spend at least 250 hours, or 3-6 months, on test preparation.
You can find some LSAT Training Resources on our website here.
Some law schools will accept the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) in place or in addition to the LSAT for admission. The GRE includes verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills. The allotted time for the analytical reasoning section is 30 minutes. The verbal reasoning segment is composed of two sections. Test takers have 18 minutes to answer the first section, and 23 minutes for the second section. The quantitative reasoning segment is also composed of two sections. The allotted time for the first section is 21 minutes and for the second 26 minutes.
You can find GRE resources on the ETS website.
Send all undergraduate and Graduate Transcripts through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Account.
Send even transcripts from high school courses whose credits were transferred to an undergraduate institution.
LSAC will do a transcript summarization. Law schools will examine your GPA and course difficulty and grade trends as they may signal your academic potential in law school.
The most valued letters of recommendation are written by your college professors who will be able to describe your academic performance and personal achievements. Letters that compare you to your academic peers are frequently the most valuable.
Use your good judgment to select a professor who knows you well and is willing to write a strong letter for you. Additional recommenders may be your work, internship, or volunteer work/community service supervisors who may write about your professionalism, work ethic, problem solving, critical thinking, and leadership skills.
Research law schools you intend to apply to and learn how many letters of recommendation each individual law school accepts.
A well-written personal statement or essay can differentiate you from other candidates with your same credentials. It is your opportunity to tell the admissions committees what you want them to know about you and should reflect who you are, show your character and values, and reflect on the experiences that led you to apply to law school or your motivation to attend law school. Therefore, before writing your personal statement, take some time to self-reflect and self-examine. Also, research each of the law schools you plan to apply to learn about the essay or personal statement requirements at each law school, which may range from prompts to font size and number of pages.
Refrain from using artificial intelligence to develop your personal statement as many law schools are discouraging the use of AI for application items. Even if you feed AI with many of your life particulars, AI lacks your identity. You are the only one who can describe your unique story.
Research law schools’ application requirements. Follow the instructions given by each school as each may provide its own instructions and prompts for the personal statement, so avoid writing a general statement for all schools. Personal statements should not reflect information already stated in your resumé or address weaknesses in your application. If the latter is the case, write an addendum.
Your personal statement also shows your writing abilities, so write clearly and concisely. For the editing process, utilize the Writing Center or Career Center, and for substantive review, contact your prelaw advisor. Please email draft for the prelaw advisor to review at least three days in advance.
An academic resumé differs from a job resumé. Your academic resumé should stress your academics and intellectual skills and accomplishments such as honors and or merit scholarships.
It should include your extracurricular activities and work experience and convince the admissions committees that you are fit for their law school, will be beneficial to the class, and you are not just numbers. Treat your resumé with the same care that you would invest into your personal statement.
Avoid using a complicated format. Don’t include photos or color. The simpler the format the better. Simple bullet points will suffice. Do not include an objective, but do include your education, work experience, and extracurricular activities.
For the editing process, utilize the Writing Center or Career Center, and to ensure that your resumé conveys your strengths, contact your prelaw advisor.
(Unique to a Particular School)
An addendum may be used to address a specific weakness in your application such as a weak GPA or LSAT score, or a character and fitness concern. When writing your addendum, focus on facts and not on excuses or emotions. Weaknesses should be considered as challenges that were overcome and led you to a learning experience.
Optional essays are opportunities that law schools provide applicants to add relevant information. These statements are helpful for law schools to admit and assess if you are a good fit for a particular law school, and for you to make your case that you are certainly appropriate for that specific law school. The most usual types of optional statements are Why X Law School essays or those addressing a character and fitness issue. When writing addenda, please do not repeat information already addressed in your personal statement.
In case of addressing a character and fitness issue, be candid and disclose all information. Do not make excuses for the issue but show regret and share the lesson you learned out of the event.
Please contact your prelaw advisor to discuss your concerns with your law school application or to review your addenda and or optional essays.
