Pre-Law |
Pre-Law
Preparation | Deciding
To Be a Lawyer | Applying
to Law School | |
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Applying to Law School – and getting in |
Law School | LSAT and GPA | Letters | Law School Links
Financing Your Legal Education | FAQs About the LSAT
Law School
Michigan Capitol Dome
Dr. Terry Reynolds Lecturing |
Law schools base their admission decisions on the following factors:
Law schools will consider all parts of the candidate's application, and no one factor should determine whether or not a student is admitted. For example, law schools are explicitly discouraged from using LSAT cut-off scores. That said, it is clear that in most cases the applicant's LSAT score and academic record, particularly undergraduate performance, are extremely important factors. A weakness in one or both of these areas must be overcome with strengths in other areas if the applicant is to gain admission to law school. Obviously you should apply to more than one law school. Consider applying to up to 8. This can be an exhausting and time consuming process, so start early. Apply to both schools that are a reach for you and schools that are “safe”. If you are certain you want to live in a specific state or region, you may want to strongly consider either going to a school with a strong national reputation so you will have a very portable degree, or a school in the region that will enable you to get to know the local/regional bar and allow the local/regional bar to get to know you. If you don’t know what schools you have a good chance of getting into you can estimate it very roughly on the LSAC’s “Official Guide to Law School” searchable website. It has a search tool that allows you to feed in your grades and LSAT score and it will come back with information about relevant schools and how closely you match. But remember – numbers are only part of the story. Be flexible and creative, there is a school out there for you. ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools (Searchable) |
Go to: Financing Your Legal Education
LSAT Scores and GPA
As stated above, admission to competitive law schools is also quite competitive, thus your grades and LSAT scores will matter. A law school with a good regional reputation will expect a 3.2 to 3.5 GPA and a 155-158 LSAT. A law school with a strong national reputation will expect a 3.7+ GPA and a 160+ LSAT. The LSAT is offered 4 times a year, typically early in June, October, December, and February. When you apply to law school, it is best to take the LSAT by June of your junior year or early in your senior year for admission the following September. Do not under any circumstances take the LSAT without preparing for it. While you can retake it, you cannot make the poor score utterly go away. Some law schools will average your LSAT scores; others will take the highest score, but all scores are reported to the schools. There are private study courses for the LSAT, such as Kaplan and Princeton Review. Princeton Review also publishes an excellent study guide for the LSAT. Old LSAT's are useful study tools and may be purchased from LSAT.
Letters of Recommendation
Dr. Mary Durfee Lecturing
Bucky Beach in Class |
Usually, you will need two or three letters of recommendation. The best persons to write these letters are will be full-time faculty from whom you have taken two or more courses that you have done well in. It does not matter what field the courses were in, but the Professor should have gained some knowledge of your writing ability, critical thinking, verbal skills, and your work habits. You can also solicit letters from employers who have this kind of insight into your character and abilities. However, it is wise to have at least one or two letters from faculty members. When you ask for a letter from someone, make an appointment with that person. Bring them a resume and try to bring your personal statement as well. If you are asking a professor to write for you, you might also bring in tests or research papers that you wrote for his/her class so the professor can re-familiarize themselves with your work. Tell your prospective recommender about any important information that you think is could be useful in a letter. Remember, your Professors know very little about your home life or work life, so if you have been working 20 hours a week while taking classes, or are an officer in your fraternity or sorority, or have been volunteering at a shelter, tell the professor. They will appreciate that you have a multifaceted role here in this community, and be able to emphasize this in the letter as well. Finally, let the prospective recommender know when the recommendation is due. Try to give the recommender at least two weeks notice before it is due. People do not like the statement, "The letter is due tomorrow” – that makes you look like someone who is unorganized and perhaps not ready for law school. Given his or her time constraints, the answer then may well be “no”. |
Law School Links - Regional and National
