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LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS |
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How Do I Decide Where to Apply?
After you take the LSAT, you may begin to start
considering to which law schools you would like to apply. This is a very
important decision because you will be deciding where to spend the next
three years of your life. Simply applying to schools based on the rankings
in U.S. News is not recommended.
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More importantly, for the first time, you may have to start thinking about where
you may want to spend the rest of your life. Because law school is a
professional school, employers are more likely to hire graduates from the
schools in their locale. |
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Also, many judges and partners will
likely be graduates of that local school and may provide you with better career
connections as you intern and eventually graduate. So begin considering whether
you intend to live in a particular state when you begin your professional
career. |
For example, if you are from New Jersey and intend to
reside in New Jersey after you graduate, it may be an easier path to attend
a New Jersey law school (even if ranked lower) than a school in another
state. If you have no idea where you may want to end up location-wise,
attend the best school in a location that you would be happy living for the
next three years. (ie. If you love big city life, do not apply to a school
located in the middle of a rural area simply because a magazine has ranked
it higher). If you are committed to live in a particular state after you
graduate, a wiser decision may be to attend a more local school. Of course,
the grand exception to all this reasoning is if you can attend a top 10
ranked law school. Attending one of those law schools will enable you to
write your own ticket.
Where Do I Start?
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After you take the LSAT, begin putting together a list of schools of which you
would like to apply. Much like college, you will want to consider: the
location of the law school, school size, diversity of the student body, school
ranking, school specialty areas, and financial aid. |
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You should then put together a list of about 10-15 schools
to which you should apply. Break the schools down into 3 categories: |
(1)
Reach Schools
You should send out at
least 3-5 applications to schools where statistically, you may not fit their
criteria. But, you never know if you may catch an admission officer on
a good day or if there is a particular part of your application that catches
his/her eye. You never know! The application fee may be a small price to pay
for a life-changing degree.
(2)
At Your Level Schools
You should send 4-5
applications to law schools where you anticipate that you have at least a
fifty-percent chance of being admitted. These would be law schools where
your LSAT score and GPA are near that school's admission standards.
(3) Safety Schools.
You should send 3-5 applications to safety schools, where you believe that
the likelihood of your admission is quite high, ideally above two-thirds.
Since you will be more qualified than the average applicant to these law
schools, you may be eligible for various law school scholarships.
What Do Applications Require, and When are
Applications Due?
Most law school applications have similar
requirements including that you provide your LSAT scores, transcripts from
all academic institutions that you have attended, letters of recommendation
(usually two), law school personal statement, and resume.
Law schools usually admit applicants on a rolling
basis. This means that the earlier you apply, the best chance you have to be
admitted.
Ideally, law school applications should be completed by Halloween or, by the
latest, Thanksgiving.
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