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Applying to Law School is a busy and stressful experience that requires
a great deal of planning. Starting with one’s Junior year of college, one
must decide whether to sign up to take the LSAT exam either in July between
your Junior and Senior year, or in October of your senior year. December of
one’s Senior year is a possibility as well, but is not recommended because
law schools already begin deciding admissions by November.
What is the LSAT?
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The LSAT is a very tough exam. It is comprised of 3 sections: Logical Reasoning,
Reading comprehension, and Analytical Reasoning (often referred to as “Logic
games”). |
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A writing section is included as
well, but is not graded and does not count towards your overall score. It
is more difficult than the SAT because 1/3 of the exam is based on logic
games, a subject upon which you have never been tested throughout your
academic career. |
When Should I Take the LSAT?
If possible, you should consider taking the July
exam. This allows you the earliest opportunity to send out your
applications to law school in the fall. Since most law schools have rolling
application periods, the earlier you can send in your application, the
better chance you have of being accepted. Taking the July exam also allows
you the option of re-taking the exam in October if you think you can improve
your score.
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Understandably, many students study abroad in the second semester of their
Junior year, so the October exam is their only option. This is difficult
because you only have one bite at the apple and must take the exam while all of
your fellow classmates are enjoying their senior year. |
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Nevertheless, whatever you do, do NOT skip a semester
abroad to take the LSAT in July. The Abroad experience is one of the
greatest you will have in your life. Life is too short to waste amazing
experiences for the sake of tests. |
How Important is the LSAT?
Nevertheless, the LSAT is a very important exam. In
deciding your candidacy, law schools really only look at two factors: (1)
your GPA, (2) your LSAT score. The prestige of the college you attended may
help break a tie-break between two candidates, but it doesn’t carry as much
weight as one may think.
For
example, there was one student who graduated Princeton University with a
3.33 GPA and scored a 170 on his LSATs. He was denied from all 5 top
ranked law schools (Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, and NYU.
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Meanwhile, another student from Tufts University, a top 30 ranked university but
nowhere near the level of Princeton, graduated with a 3.9 GPA and scored a 176
on his LSAT’s. Ultimately, he had his choice of the 5 top ranked law schools,
and chose Harvard. |
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Although the Princeton graduate ultimately attended an
excellent law school, he had achieved top status as a high school student to
be accepted to Princeton and had done nothing to damage that resume.
Nevertheless, he lost out to other applicants with better numbers from lower
ranked schools who did not face the same level of competition. While at law
school, you will often meet students with diverse undergraduate resumes.
There will be student from schools such as Harvard University as well as
students who graduated colleges you have never heard of. The reason for
this is because the law school focuses on two numbers only: GPA and LSAT
score. |
People
often ask whether prior legal experience or certain other extra-curricular
activities may help your candidacy. The Answer is NO. Although these
experiences are great in terms of learning whether you would like to be a
lawyer in the future and for character development, law schools generally do not care
with respect to your admission.
People
often ask the same question about whether their major may make a difference
in admission. Ironically, the answer is yes, but not in the way one would
think. Law schools, like most institutions, are looking for candidates that
will comprise a diverse student body. Thus, institutions often place a
preference on diverse ethnicities and home states. Similarly, most students
who apply to law schools have majors that appear suitable for law, such as
Pre-Law, English or History. These students are thus seen by admissions
officers as a dime-a-dozen. In order to ensure a more diverse student body,
admissions officers will be more intrigued by students with majors that
appear counter to law, such as math, science, or engineering. Thus, these
student may hold a slight advantage, as much as one’s ethnicity or home
state.
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