 |
Law School Application Process
LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS
Getting Started
- Timeline for the Application Process
- LSAC, LSAT, and LSDAS
- Other Helpful Links
Choosing a Law School (click here)
The Law School Application (click here)
Scholarship Links (click here)
TIMELINE FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Freshmen and Sophomore Year
• Set up an appointment with Dr. Rickert, the Pre-Law Advisor, or stop by her office to talk about
your interest in law school. She is available and willing to give you direction and tips for applying
to law school and pondering the practice of law.
• Join the Pre-Law Society to get more information about law school and the legal field and for
social and professional networking.
Spring of your Junior Year
• If you haven't yet, set up an appointment with Dr. Rickert, the Pre-Law Advisor, or stop by her
office.
• Join the Pre-Law Society to get more information about law school and the legal field and for
social and professional networking.
• Register for the June LSAT. If you do poorly and want to try to improve your score, then you
can retake the LSAT in October and still apply timely to law schools.
• Register for a LSAT Prep Course.
• Begin choosing law schools.
Summer before your Senior Year
• If you haven't yet, set up an appointment with Dr. Rickert, the Pre-Law Advisor, or stop by her
office.
• Join the Pre-Law Society to get more information about law school and the legal field and for
social and professional networking.
• Take the June LSAT.
• Continue exploring law schools. Request catalogs and applications. Plan visits and see as many
as you can during the summer.
• Begin thinking about your applications and who you’re going to ask for recommendations.
• Start drafting your Personal Statements.
• Register for the October LSAT if you want to retake it.
Early Fall of your Senior Year
• If you haven't yet, set up an appointment with Dr. Rickert, the Pre-Law Advisor, or stop by her
office.
• Join the Pre-Law Society to get more information about law school and the legal field and for
social and professional networking.
• Register with LSDAS, if you haven’t already done so.
• Attend a Law School Forum if you can.
• Send transcript request forms to all undergraduate and graduate schools you’ve attended.
• Line up Recommenders. Request them to write Letters of Recommendation and send them to
LSDAS. Visit with them if you can.
• Take the October LSAT if needed.
• Revise your Personal Statement. Revise your Personal Statement again, and again, and again.
Tailor it to each school you apply.
Mid-Late Fall of your Senior Year
• If you haven't yet, set up an appointment with Dr. Rickert, the Pre-Law Advisor, or stop by her
office.
• Join the Pre-Law Society to get more information about law school and the legal field and for
social and professional networking.
• Proofread your Personal Statements.
• Finish and submit your applications.
• Make sure your Letters of Recommendation made it to LSDAS.
• The best time to submit your applications is in November before Thanksgiving.
• Begin applying for financial aid, even if you haven’t been accepted yet. Some forms are due in
December and January.
In the Meantime
• School.
While in school, get good grades and take challenging electives. Suggested Electives are the
Logic course (PHIL 210) -it will help you for the LSAT. You could also take a class to build
your reading comprehension and vocabulary, such as CLST 301, which can also help you for
the LSAT and even law school itself.
• Jobs.
Getting a legal-oriented job is not necessarily important for your application process, but it
may allow you to explore an area of law or setting in which you want to practice. Also keep
in mind that you will have time during law school and school breaks to explore those
opportunities as well.
Back to Top
LSAC, LSAT, AND LSDAS
LSAC
LSAC (Law School Admissions Council) is a non-profit corporation that provides various services
and programs to law schools and law school applicants. Two of these services and programs are
LSDAS and LSAT.
LSAC offers a Fee Waiver Program. The fee waivers are intended for only the most needy
applicants with a need in excess of what is required for routine financial assistance. The
2008-2009 fee waiver will be valid for up to two years and will cover: 2 LSATS, LSDAS with four
reports, Letter of Recommendation Service, and The Official LSAT SuperPrep, totally a value of
$447.00. See www.lsac.org to get more information, to download an application, or to apply online.
LSDAS
LSDAS puts together reports for law schools that include the following materials:
• An undergraduate academic summary
• LSAT score and essay
• Transcripts from all undergraduate, graduate, and law/professional schools
• Letters of Recommendation processed by LSAC
• Personal Statement
WHY SHOULD YOU REGISTER WITH LSDAS?
The majority of ABA-approved law schools require applications to be through LSDAS.
This actually makes it easier on you when applying to multiple law schools because once
you gather your materials for the first application, they’re already in one place so you just
have to request another report for every additional school you apply to.
HOW DO YOU REGISTER WITH LSDAS?
• You can register for the LSDAS when you register for the LSAT, or you can do it later,
separately.
• The basic fee is $113. (subject to change)
• The LSDAS registration fee includes law school report preparation, letters of
recommendation and transcripts processing, and access to electronic applications for all
ABA-approved law schools.
LSAT
- Information
- Registration
- Preparation
Information
The LSAT is the mandatory test that law school applicants must take.
WHY DOES THE LSAT EXIST?
The test itself is a needed standard to measure all law school applicants. While most
GPAs are measure on the 4.0 scale, grading standards widely vary between colleges
and universities everywhere. Not only does the grading standard vary, but the course
content and difficulty in undergraduate programs also vary. Therefore, grades
themselves cannot solely convey one’s academic credentials.
WHAT DOES THE LSAT DO?
While the LSAT itself doesn’t test your knowledge, it does test cognitive functions that
are related to law school performance.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE LSAT?
The LSAT is also the greatest weighed factor in whether or not your application gets
approved. It is considered with your GPA to assess how well you will thrive in a rigorous
academic environment. Note that if you have a low GPA, a high LSAT score can improve
your chances. Conversely, if you have a high GPA, a low LSAT score may not be as
damaging, but the competition is fierce enough that you may want to consider retaking
the test.
SECTIONS OF THE LSAT
The test has five sections plus a writing sample. You will be given 35 minutes for each
section and 30 minutes for the writing sample. The writing sample is not graded, but a
copy of it will be sent to the law schools to which you apply. Altogether, the test is about
3½ hours long. Four of the five sections are graded. The unscored section - the
“variable section" - is usually used to pretest new questions or try out new test forms.
They don’t tell you which section is the unscored section, so do you best on all five as if
all were to be graded. The four sections include: 1 reading comprehension section,
1 analytical reasoning section and 2 logical reasoning sections. Note: Since the June
2007 test, LSAT implemented a new question type called “Comparative Reading.” You
can go to www.kaptest.com for more information and sample questions. This will affect
6-8 questions on your test.
SCORE
The LSAT is scored on a scale of 120 to 180, with 180 being the highest possible score.
TIPS
Usually, law schools require that you have taken it before you submit your application.
ABA-approved law schools have a grid of GPAs and LSAT scores of their most recently
admitted class. This grid helps you assess your chances of being accepted in that
particular law school.
Registration
FEES. The basic fee is $123. (subject to change)
DATES. The LSAT is given four times a year: June, October, December, and February.
The best time to test is in June, 15 months before you plan to go to law school. If you
do poorly on the June test and want to try to improve your score, you can retest in
October and still apply to schools in good time.
UPCOMING DATES AND DEALINES (dealines are for which registration must be received by):
Saturday, June 16, 2008
Regular registration due May 13, 2008
Late registration by Mail due May 20, 2008
Late registration Online May 23, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Regular registration due September 2, 2008
Late registration by Mail due September 9, 2008
Late registration Online due September 12, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Regular registration due November 4, 2008
Late registration by Mail due November 10, 2008
Late registration Online due November 14, 2008
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Regular registration due January 6, 2009
Late registration by Mail due January 13, 2009
Late registration Online due January 16, 2009
Preparation
PREP COURSES.
See the following:
www.testmasters.net/
www.kaptest.com
www.princetonreview.com/law
www.blueprintprep.com
PRACTICE TESTS.
Whether you take the prep course or not, one of the best ways to prepare is to take LOTS
of practice tests! You can find practice tests online for free or buy old LSAT tests to
practice. When you take practice tests, block out 3-4 hours, time each section and do the
whole test in one sitting. This way, you can build stamina for your mind to be focused for
long periods of time and learn how to manage your time efficiently during the test.
Helpful Link: http://www.lsat-center.com/
Back to Top
OTHER HELPFUL LINKS
General
University of Pittsburgh's Jurist Site - good general resource for understanding the application process
Law School Admissions Council (LSAC)
Financial Aid
Fafsa
Free Student Guide from US Dept. of Education has information about federal student financial aid programs and how to apply to them.
List of free scholarship searches
Sallie Mae
Financial Advice
Find Law
Office of Health and Legal Professions Advising (OHLPA), University of Florida, Advising Handbook
Access Group
Princeton Review
E. F. Moody financial planning
For Particular Students
EDU Pass - for international Students
LSAC - for minorities
Cleo Scholars - for students from an educationally and economically disadvantaged background
See the Scholarship Links page for more opportunities.
