Law School Admissions

MOST IMPORTANT: 

The most important factors in law school admissions are your G.P.A. and your score on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT).  Most schools use some combination of these to determine acceptance.  For a good reference, click on the following link, which allows you to enter your G.P.A. and your LSAT score and (based on recent acceptance rates) provides the probability that you will be accepted and various schools: 

Probability of acceptance based on GPA and LSAT (click here!) 

THE LSAT: 

The LSAT is a standardized test administered four times a year, consisting of five 35-minute multiple-choice section and one ungraded 35-minute writing sample section.  The three multiple-choice question types in the LSAT are:

  1. Reading Comprehension Questions
    These questions measure your ability to read, with understanding and insight, examples of lengthy and complex materials similar to those commonly encountered in law school work. The reading comprehension section contains four sets of reading questions, each consisting of a selection of reading material, followed by five to eight questions that test reading and reasoning abilities.
  2. Analytical Reasoning Questions
    These questions are designed to measure your ability to understand a structure of relationships and to draw logical conclusions about that structure. You are asked to make deductions from a set of statements, rules, or conditions that describe relationships among entities such as persons, places, things, or events. They simulate the kinds of detailed analyses of relationships that a law student must perform in solving legal problems.
  3. Logical Reasoning Questions
    These questions are designed to evaluate your ability to understand, analyze, criticize, and complete a variety of arguments. Each logical reasoning question requires you to read and comprehend a short passage, then answer one question about it. The questions test a variety of abilities involved in reasoning logically and thinking critically.

UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR:

As far as your particular major, there is no “one major” for law school, although it is recommended that students take classes that will develop their skills in reading comprehension, writing, organization, analytical and critical thinking. 

SELECTING A LAW SCHOOL:

There are several considerations that must be made when considering which schools to apply for and ultimately which one to attend.  While there are several factors to considered, the following are often among the common:

1.  Aim for the most prestigious schools – It is generally thought that you will have more options (i.e. job opportunities) if you graduate from a more prestigious law school.  Some employers strongly consider the prestige and reputation of the law school.  For example, nearly 40% of Supreme Court law clerks attended either Harvard or Yale law schools.   The most often cited (although somewhat controversial) is the U.S. News and World Report’s yearly ranking of law schools.  Click here for U.S. News current rankings.

2.  Geographic concerns – If you want to practice in a certain area, it is generally better to go to a law school in that area.  Statistically, most people practice near where they attended law school.  Family concerns and financial issues may also play into geographic considerations.

3.  Prestige in certain area of law – Some schools have concentrations, law reviews, clubs, or other programs devoted to specific areas of law.  Some schools may have professors that are well known for their work or research on certain legal issues.  This may be a factor if you want to practice in certain field. 

4.  Financial concerns – Law school can be expensive.  Recent figures suggest the average debt of a graduating law student exceeds $80,000 dollars.  This may greatly limit your job choices when you finish.  Some students have reported that while they wanted to work for legal aid societies, non-profits, or government jobs, they could not afford to, based on their student loans.  Factors such as the availability of scholarships, grants, student loans, loan deferments, or in-state tuition at public schools may be an important concern. 

5.  Personal enjoyment – While the social scene should not be your main purpose for attending law school, you should select a place where you will enjoy living.  If you are not happy with your surroundings, you will not enjoy your time in law school and your academic performance may suffer.  Personal preferences as to the city of residence, size of school, social settings, and other lifestyle issues may also be a consideration. 

6.  BE REALISTIC – It is very competitive to get into ANY law school.  Law schools get thousands of applications from well-qualified students and most applications are rejected.  It is unrealistic to think that you will be able to get into your first choice when your scores are well below their averages.  For this reason, you should use the information provided about LSAT and GPA rates.  If you are serious about attending, you should not apply to just one school but to several.  If possible, you may also consider applying to one or more “safety” schools where your GPA and LSAT scores are safely above their averages.  While it never hurts to apply to those schools you are interested in even if you are below their averages (averages are just that – the average – and it is always possible that you maybe accepted), you should not count on being accepted.