Law schools take a variety of factors into consideration during the application process. No single criterion is decisive in the decision to admit or deny a spot in the incoming class, but your prior academic performance and the score you earn on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) are central to the admission process. Typically, law schools consider:
The LSAT is given 4 times during the year; usually in February, June, September/October, and December. You can expect to prepare at least 6 weeks prior to the examination date for the best results.
You should plan to take the LSAT in June or October of the year preceding your expected admission to law school. So, if you are planning to head to law school immediately after graduating from SIUE, you should plan to take the LSAT in June, immediately after your Junior year, or October—during the fall of your Senior year. Many students find the June exam fits their schedules well, since it occurs well after classes have ended for the Spring term, allowing sufficient preparation.
You should prepare extremely well for taking the LSAT. In fact, you should prepare with the intention of only taking the exam once. Law schools average your scores on multiple exams, so a high score will not replace a low score.
DO NOT take the LSAT unless you are prepared to submit the score to law schools. There are practice exams offered regularly by private test preparation firms like Princeton Review and Kaplan if you would like to see how you can expect to do on the real LSAT. Any score you receive on the LSAT remains valid—and is reported to law schools—for five years.
All relevant LSAT information can be found at the LSAC website <www.lsac.org>, or in copies of the LSAT/LSDAS Registration and Information Book available through the Pre-Law Advisor.
You will also need to subscribe to the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) for the year during which you will be applying to law school. This is a centralized service used by virtually every law school. You will submit your academic transcripts to the LSDAS. LSDAS will then compile this information, along with your LSAT scores, letters of recommendation, and so on, in a file to be distributed where you are applying.
LSAT Test Dates 2009-10:
Saturday, June 9, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Saturday, February 6, 2010
This is your opportunity to speak directly to the admissions committee about why you want to attend their law school. This is your chance to provide a narrative for your multiple experiences, abilities, and aspirations. You may explore areas that may not be highlighted in the application, or in your academic record.
You are making your first case in front of a jury here; be conscientious about how you present yourself. Write, rewrite, and rewrite again. Have a friend or someone in the Writing Center help. Craft the letter for the institution.
You will not (typically) have an opportunity to interview with the admissions officers; therefore it may be helpful to think of this as an interview. This is your chance to tell a captive audience who you are and what you have done that makes you qualified to study and practice law.
LSAC encourages applicants to WRITE ABOUT YOURSELF and BE SPECIFIC. This is not an occasion to explore the philosophy of law as much as it is to explain who YOU are. Don’t apologize for who you are; rather, focus on your positive attributes.
Aim to be clear, concise, and compelling in your statement. Admissions officers read thousands of these each year. Don’t make them struggle to find YOU in your statement.
Letters of Recommendation, while important, are not as important as your personal statement, GPA, LSAT score and so on. They are almost universally positive, which means that a tepid, or negative letter may really be detrimental to your application.
This means that you should choose your letter writers with care. You want strong recommendations from professors who know the quality of your work very well.
Academic recommendations carry more weight than employer recommendations, unless the work experience was in a closely related field and the letter writer can specifically speak to your ability to perform well in law school.
You will want to develop relationships with potential letter writers early on so they will be able to comment on your development as a student. In addition, you should be certain to provide your letter writers with all appropriate supporting documentation necessary for their task. This might include appropriately addressed (and stamped) envelopes, a recent resume, a copy of a transcript, past written work, research projects, and a copy of your personal statement. It is also likely that the person will want to meet with you to discuss the letter.
Be flexible and attentive to their schedules and time as they get MANY requests for such letters. Above all, give them adequate time to write a good letter; one month to three weeks is appropriate.
APPLY EARLY—there’s no penalty for doing so, and lots of reasons to have a complete file to the schools as early as possible. Remember, admissions committees will be swamped with applicants as the application deadline approaches. Have your application stand out early.
Be completely honest and straightforward. Do not mislead, misrepresent, omit, or otherwise violate the Law School Admission Council’s standards for ethical conduct. If you have a legal record, you must disclose that information. You may explain and provide a summation of the particulars of the situation and how you have learned from the experience(s) in an addendum.
Comply with all deadlines and read instructions very carefully to avoid unnecessary delays.
You should expect to apply to approximately 6 schools. It would be best to apply to two “safety” schools (schools where you have a very good chance of being accepted) and two “reach” schools. Each school makes available information on its incoming class, including median LSAT scores and median undergraduate GPA. This should provide you with a rough guide of where you will be competitive.