Being admitted to law school is much more complicated than being admitted to elementary school.
Law school involves a large financial commitment---sometimes as much as six-figure debt---as well as a personal and intellectual dedication. Reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of specific law school programs before and after the application and admission process is important to help you make informed decisions about your professional future. If you can, you should try interning or volunteering with local law firms to get a better sense of what to expect from law school and the law profession.
Admission Statistics
Perform your due diligence, and find out what percentage of students are accepted into each law school. You should begin by requesting enrollment and admission statistics from the law schools directly. This information may also be available online. Additionally, the American Bar Association has information about accreditation and other admission information. Kaplan Law's Admission Page focuses on the different factors you should consider when selecting programs. You can also track the success of recent graduates of each program on LawSchoolNumbers.com. Researching these statistics will give you a fuller picture of what you can expect from each law school program.
Admissions Process
Each law school will have a different process for admitting students. In addition to the LSAT, most law schools also require a writing sample of about twenty pages; undergraduate and graduate transcripts; a curriculum vitae or resume; and a completed application form. Some programs, such as Harvard Law School---which boasts President Barack Obama and five of the nine Supreme Court Justices as alumni---require that applicants register with the Law School Admission Council's Credential Assembly Service, which standardizes and summarizes applications for many law schools.
Comparing Programs
Evaluating programs, and how you fit into them, is a step you should take before, during and after the completion of the application. Even though you might be accepted into an elite program, you should consider how your priorities and interests correlate with each school. Each law school has a faculty webpage, and many of them produce newsletters highlighting former graduates. Once you have been accepted by a program, you should gauge the qualifications and interests of the faculty, the prestige of the program and any other qualities such as location. It might take some personal reflection and research in order to find the right match for you.
Taking the LSAT
The admission process begins about a year before the deadline, when you should begin preparing for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The LSAT contains five 35-minute sections, testing your critical thinking, plus a 35-minute ungraded writing exercise (which will be sent to any law schools where you apply for admission). Test scores range from 120 to 180, with 151 being the median result in 2009. The LSAT is one of the most important aspects of an application, offering an objective, standardized way to measure an applicant's aptitude for law school.
Letters of Recommendation
Request letters of recommendation about six months before the deadline, to make sure that each letter is unrushed and that the recommender does not feel pressured as your last-minute resort. Give the recommender your resume, a short synopsis of your work together and your contact information. Though this might not be necessary, it's a valuable and appreciated resource for any recommender. If the law schools you are applying to require the LSAC's Credential Assembly Service, you will give the CAS the recommender's name and address. If you have multiple recommenders and multiple letters, you can also inform the CAS if a specific letter is matched to a specific school or program. For instance, you might use one recommender for a law school that focuses on environmental law and another recommender for a law school that specializes in constitutional law.
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