How to Get Admitted to Law School

Do you plan to be the next great legal mind? Is it your desire to go to law school and become an attorney? If so, you first need to get admitted to law school. This article will explore the steps involved in making this happen.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Applications from the law schools you will apply to
• Transcripts sent to those law schools from your college
• Letters of recommendation from your professors

How to Prepare for Application to Law School

1. The first thing you must do to get into law school is generally to complete a bachelor's degree at an accredited institution. You will be applying before you actually graduate, so they will make sure you are on track to finish your degree.

2. You do not need any specific degree to get into law school. A degree in criminal justice, economics, political science or legal studies can help prepare you, however.

3. You must take the law school admission test, the LSAT. If you plan to enter law school in the fall of 2010, take the LSAT in the spring of 2009, for example.

4. Get all of your information together. This includes your LSAT results and a copy of your transcripts with your GPA and coursework. You also need a list of all the organizations you have been involved in and work, including volunteer positions, while you were in college. Any honors you have achieved should also be noted.

How to Apply for Entrance to Law School

5. 
   The Law school guide I used to find out individual law school requirements

   The first step in the application process is to get real. What do you realistically have going for you? With all of your information together, research schools to find out what their requirements are.

6. Research should show you the general GPA scores of past entrants as well as their GPAs. If most had 3.8 and you have 3.0, you might have some trouble getting admitted, unless you have some other incredible achievement such as a very high LSAT score in the 90th percentile. (This doesn't mean you shouldn't shoot for the stars--it just means you may not be accepted.)

7. Come up with a plan. This could mean you apply to one school that is out of your league and three that you have a good chance for. If you really want to seal the deal, apply to one with requirements below what you have to offer. The more schools in your range that you apply to, the better chance you have to get in.

8. Obtain the application from each school you are interested in. The application will tell you what the school needs from you. In addition to your completed application and fee, transcripts must be sent to the law school. Many schools also require letters of recommendation, either their own with specific questions or a general letter.

9. Most law schools today require you to register for the LSDAS (Law School Data Assembly Service.) This decreases your work if you apply to multiple schools because they will forward your information to each school, such as transcripts. The bad news is it takes time to get them all of the paperwork, and there is a fee involved for them sending information to the law schools.

10. Make sure to get the application and information to each law school on time. It can't hurt to be early. Most deadlines are in the fall the year before you would start. Don't forget about the fee to apply.

Tips & Warnings

• Make wise and realistic choices when applying to law schools. If you don't have any chance at a certain school, and you want to make sure you get in somewhere, make certain to apply to other law schools as well.
• Send follow up letters of interest once you have applied. This will let the law school know you are interested, and that you're willing to go the extra mile.
• The law school may wish to have you in for an interview. Make sure to do whatever it takes to make it to the interview on time and dressed professionally. Don't reschedule!
• Don't forget to look at the yearly cost of attending each law school you apply to. You will have to come up with the funds once you are accepted. Even if you get student loans, you still eventually will have to pay all this money back, with interest!

Resources

• Site with info on law school application process

[jtphantom]

on 2/7/2008 Awesome, next tell me how to pay for it all...And do they admit crazy people? Thanks for sharing.