Applying to Law School

Prospective law students are advised to apply to many different schools in order to have a better chance of being accepted to at least one. Rather than focusing on the idea of one “dream school,” students should remember that the ultimate dream is to practice law and look for multiple schools that could be a good fit. In general, it is recommended to apply to at least seven law schools: two reach schools, two match schools, and three safety schools.¹ Because it is important for law school applicants to be sure that they would really be willing to attend any of the schools to which they apply, students should make sure that all these schools would be a good fit.

When deciding whether a school is a good fit, students should consider a variety of factors, including:²

• Location and size
• Demographic makeup of the student body
• Availability of academic support programs
• Diversity and inclusion initiatives
• Areas of faculty interest and expertise
• Cost and financial aid opportunities 

When choosing a location for a law school, bear in mind that you will have the flexibility to take the bar exam and practice anywhere. However, choosing a school near where you might want to practice law could be helpful to developing a network upon graduation. Students may also want to consider their professional goals, including whether they are interested in working at a small, local firm or a large national firm. It is also important not to place too much value on the perceived prestige of an institution among the general public, because this does not always match the perceptions of potential employers within a certain area of legal practice.

In addition to spending some quality time on the websites of different law schools, students should also make good use of the Law School Transparency website. This is an outstanding resource for prospective law students, providing an abundance of law school data that may be hard to find or absent from the websites of individual law schools. This includes bar exam passage rates, demographic information, overall employment scores, and a breakdown of the types of employment secured by new graduates. This site also provides data on the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles for the GPAs and LSAT scores of enrolled students, which is particularly useful when students are considering whether a school is a reach, a match, or a safety school for them. Law school applications can be very expensive, and having this information can also help a student to figure out how much of a reach a given school is so that they can make financially sensible decisions about where to apply. While academic credentials are not the only thing that admissions officers consider, those other factors generally cannot bridge a large gap between a student’s GPA and LSAT score and the 25th percentile GPA and LSAT score for a particular school. Here is a tool that you can use to keep track of the information you collect as you research law schools.

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_{^{1  The Princeton Review. (n.d.). Your law school application strategy. The Princeton Review.}} 

_{^{2 LSAC. (n.d.). The Best Law School for You. LSAC.}}

Preparing for the LSAT

Important LSAT update: Starting in August 2024, the Analytical Reasoning (“Logic Games”) section will no longer be included in the LSAT. Instead, the test will consist of two scored Logical Reasoning sections, one scored Reading Comprehension section, and an unscored section which may be either Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension. Updated test preparation materials reflecting this change will be available on LawHub starting in February 2024. If the Analytical Reasoning section is one of your strongest sections, try to take the LSAT before August 2024.

As with most standardized tests, one of the best ways to prepare for the LSAT is to take many full-length practice tests, going back and reviewing the answers and the reasoning behind them after each attempt and targeting areas of difficulty. How long it will take for a student to maximize their preparation is going to depend on the other time commitments they have and where their skills are when they first begin. Taking a full practice test at least six months before you take the actual LSAT will allow you to figure out where you stand relative to where you want to be, and will help you to determine how much time you need to put into LSAT preparation. Although it is certainly possible to make a large financial investment in LSAT prep, this is not necessary. There are free or relatively low-cost resources available that are effective and of high quality. Additionally, students from low-income circumstances may be eligible for an LSAC fee waiver, which includes free access to an abundance of test prep and law school application resources.

Our LSAT lending library

In addition to the resources available at the Mardigian Library, we have a collection of LSAT preparatory materials available for students to check out as donated by previous students! These are available in 4012 CASL (The Behavioral Sciences Office) during regular office hours (8-5 Monday through Friday). Check out books, use the space to study or take a practice test, all are welcome. Email Dr. Darcy at [email protected] with any questions. Ask the student at the front desk for access. 

Writing a resume for a law school application is not exactly the same as writing one for a job application. Unlike a hiring manager, a law school admissions committee does not have a specific list of experiential criteria that they want a candidate to have. Law schools want to know who the people they admit are, and the resume helps to paint that picture. It is appropriate to emphasize academic achievement, volunteer work, and other extracurricular activities in a law school resume. This is part of the reason that we recommend that students prioritize depth over breadth in their extracurricular involvement; it doesn’t matter that a student belonged to ten organizations if all they can say about their participation is that they attended the meetings. There are numerous samples of law school resumes available online that can serve as templates, as well as campus resources, such as Career Services, which can help applicants to present their education and experiences in a clear and compelling manner.

The personal statement is an especially important part of the application because it provides an opportunity for admissions committee members to get to know the applicant and assess their writing skills. Most law schools make their personal statement prompts very open-ended to allow applicants to decide what they think is most important for the admissions committee to understand about them. Having so much freedom of choice can present a challenge, and there are some common pitfalls that applicants will want to avoid:³

• DO NOT copy or substantially imitate a sample personal statement. There are many samples available online, but the rules of academic integrity that apply in the classroom also generally apply in the law school application. Integrity is an extremely important quality for a law student and plagiarism can sink an application. Additionally, imitating the style of someone else’s personal statement prevents the applicant’s own voice from coming through. For these same reasons, do not ask ChatGPT to write your personal statement.
• DO NOT repeat information that is available in other parts of the application. The admissions committee already knows the applicant’s GPA, LSAT score, academic honors, and employment record. If an item on the resume is mentioned, it should be to elaborate on the impact that a particular experience had on the applicant.
• DO NOT use big words with which you are not comfortable and familiar. Not only will it be immediately obvious to the admissions committee if an applicant is using a word they do not entirely understand, it also prevents the applicant’s voice as a writer from coming through. While a certain level of formality is important for a personal statement (this is not a text message and the audience are not the applicant’s friends), the biggest words are often not the best words. The best words are the ones that most clearly express what the writer is trying to say.

In addition to being aware of these don’ts, there are some things that applicants should also be sure to do when writing a personal statement:⁴

• DO follow directions! If a school asks you to answer a particular question or include some specific information, make sure to do that. If a school tells you how long to make a personal statement, make it that long (in the absence of specific guidelines, 2-3 pages double-spaced is a good length).
• DO proof-read your personal statements multiple times and ask others to also proof-read them! There should not be any errors in grammar or spelling, and there absolutely must not be any reference to the name of a different law school. Law schools know that a candidate may end up using the same personal statement for multiple schools with very minor changes from one application to the next, but that does not excuse slipping up and including the wrong school’s name.
• DO be authentic. The unique perspectives and experiences that set an applicant apart can be a real asset. It is better for an applicant to convey who they really are than who they think law schools would like them to be.

Writing a personal statement can be a daunting task, but there are also a lot of resources available, both online and on-campus, to support applicants through the writing process. These include the Writing Center and the Mitchell Business Communications Lab, both of which welcome students at any stage in the writing process - including the brainstorming phase. There is also the option to take COMP 300, which is a one-credit course that provides a forum for students to workshop their writing projects in small groups.

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_{^{3 Law school personal statement dos and don’ts. Cawley Career Education Center. (2018, September 25).}} 

_{^{4  Ibid.}}

When you apply to law schools you will need letters of recommendation from 2-3 people. If you are currently a student, at least one (and preferably two) of these must be academic, which is why it is important to start building strong relationships with your professors early on so that they can observe not only the strength of your work, but also how you have grown over time. The best academic letters of recommendation will speak to the applicant’s growth and character, as well as their academic ability. Current students do not generally need to provide letters of recommendation from employers. However, if an applicant feels strongly that their employer could write a letter that would provide a different and valuable perspective on their candidacy, they could consider adding their employer as a third reference. Remember that family members should never be used as references.

When asking someone to write a letter of recommendation, it is important to do so well in advance of the date that the final letter is needed. Giving a reference at least a couple months of notice is best, since this shows that you understand that they have other demands on their time. This also allows them to write a more thorough and thoughtful letter. Be clear up front about the date by which you need the letter to be completed. If possible, requests for recommendations should be made in-person.

If you are in any doubt as to whether someone knows you well enough and has a good enough opinion of your work to write you an excellent letter of recommendation, it is appropriate to ask. If you are asking a faculty member with whom you only took one class three years ago, they might tell you that they feel like they would be limited in what they could say about you. If you want to ask a professor to recommend you and it has been a while since you were in their class, it is advisable to schedule a meeting with them to talk about what you have done in the intervening time and your current goals.

Addenda are additional items attached to a law school application that can provide information that is not covered in other areas of the application or which allow students to provide an explanation and context for information contained in other areas of the application. In general, law school application addenda fall into two categories: a required addendum related to conduct issues and an optional addendum in which students can explain areas of weakness in their academic record.⁵ As with personal statements, there are a lot of samples that can be found online. However, just like with personal statements, you must be sure not to simply copy and paste these, changing only the details to match your situation. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, it may get flagged as plagiarism. Secondly, your application is your voice and it is important that every part of it is truly your own.

Required Addendum

This is often referred to as the character and fitness addendum, and this is where students are required to disclose anything and everything related to conduct issues, criminal record, and academic probation. This is also a space where students should explain any gaps in their education. It is extremely important that students complete this addendum in a thorough and thoughtful manner. If a student is in doubt as to whether to declare something, it is better to include it. Suspended in high school? Include it. Charged with a crime in middle school? Include it. Found not guilty of that crime? Still include it. Academic probation as a Freshman in college? Include it. Include everything that could possibly fall into this category, including any criminal or disciplinary matters that are still awaiting adjudication. Leaving something out that should have been included is far worse than including something that the admissions committee ends up disregarding. Explanations should not be very long, just a statement of the facts of what happened, acceptance of responsibility, and a brief explanation of how the student moved forward productively from the experience. 

Do not be tempted to leave something out because you think it will reflect poorly on you. In most cases, a disclosure in which the applicant takes full responsibility and indicates that they learned their lesson will not be the reason a student is denied admission. Failure to disclose something that should have been disclosed may be grounds for rescinding admission or may result in a student being unable to be admitted to the bar. Additionally, do not be tempted to try to downplay the severity of a transgression or your responsibility for your behavior. Do not try to place blame elsewhere or complain about the consequences that followed. Law schools do not expect applicants to have never made mistakes, they expect them to take responsibility and learn from them.

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_{^{5 Freilich, M. (2023). Law school addendum: When & how to write one. Top Law School Consulting.}} 

Optional Addendum

This discretionary addendum is generally an opportunity for students to explain weak areas in their academic credentials, whether their LSAT score or their GPA. Whereas the character and fitness addendum should include everything that could possibly be relevant, the discretionary addendum should really only include highly significant things. These might include:⁶

• A personal tragedy that impacted a semester of grades
• Lower grades in the first year of college as a result of difficulty transitioning from high school
• Financial difficulties requiring a student to work full-time which resulted in a slightly lower GPA than they would otherwise have been able to achieve
• Weaker grades prior to diagnosis and/or treatment of a learning disability or other medical condition

As with the character and fitness addendum, the discretionary addendum should be brief and to the point: a statement of the facts and how the student moved forward productively. The bit about moving forward is particularly important, because law schools want to know that the students they admit will be able to successfully complete their degree. If a student who has to work full-time is unable to still earn reasonable grades, then that is concerning because of the time commitment required for law school. If a student’s struggle with a medical situation is still preventing them from doing well in their classes despite appropriate accommodations, that also raises concerns about whether they would be able to complete a law degree. If a student writes about having difficulty transitioning from high school, but their grades continued to be weak after their first year in college, that suggests that either the transition was not really the problem, or that it is a problem to which they have not found a solution. It is also not advisable to blame poor performance on being a “bad test-taker.” There are going to be a lot of tests in law school that students will need to be able to pass. Being able to pass the bar exam is also going to be an important step for the vast majority of law school graduates.

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_{^{6 Ibid.}}