Law School Admissions

If you are reading this, then you are probably considering law school.  The key to law school admissions is to devote a great deal of effort to LSAT test prep before going into LSAT testing.  You will also want a relatively good GPA and to present a very thorough and well reasoned application.  This post offers basic advice on how to maximize the results of your law school admissions process.

Find more information on Law School Admissions here.

Start early.  Ideally, you will be focusing in on your goal to attend law school while you are still an undergraduate.  You need to earn a good GPA in a field that will benefit a law student.  School admissions officials will consider the difficulty of your undergraduate field when your admissions index puts you on the borderline between rejection and acceptance.  A 3.3 in biology looks stronger than a 3.3 in music studies.  You should either get a degree in a field that requires rigorous writing and research or you should supplement your undergraduate education with projects that require lots of writing, such as working for a journal or school paper.

The LSAT is a bigger factor than GPA for most school admissions departments.  You should start early preparing for the LSAT and taking official LSAT practice tests.  Generally, it is recommended that you allow about three months for preparation.  The ideal testing time is June since it will allow you to hit the sweet spot in the fall when you should submit your applications.  The fall test period is less optimal, especially since it limits your ability to retest in case of poor performance.

After several months of LSAT prep work, you should have an idea of a 5 to 8 point range that you are likely to score within when you take the LSAT.  You can compare this to the reported LSAT ranges of schools to determine where you should apply.  It does not hurt to be ambitious, but your LSAT ranges should indicate in which schools you have a realistic chance of acceptance.

Virtually all schools use rolling admissions processes.  This simply means that they accept applications on an ongoing basis for many months.  Early in the admissions cycle, they are concerned with making sure they fill most of their seats.  Later in the process, they are more concerned with padding their numbers with especially strong applicants.  One student might be accepted in October when a student with identical credentials is rejected in February.

Generally, it takes the admission office a while to get into motion at the start of the review period.  They are out speaking and trying to recruit more than reviewing during the early weeks.  Therefore, for most schools it is ideal to submit your application sometime in October or early November.  This is when your application will get the most attention and when the schools are likeliest to have the most permissive entry requirements.

Need to find out when the LSAT is offered in December? Check out this link.