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Your Ticket to Law School Admissions

+General Outline

Timeline for application process

Choosing a law school

Letters of recommendation

Personal statement

+Timeline - Junior Year

March Register and prepare for the June LSAT Discuss your plans with a pre-law advisor Create a list of faculty for recommendation letters

June Take the LSAT exam Prepare a draft of your personal statement and have it

reviewed by a pre-law advisor and others Prepare a draft of your resume

+Timeline – Junior Year cont.

July – August Create a list of law schools that you plan on applying to

Register with the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS)

Have your college transcripts sent to the LSDAS

Request information from law schools and schedule a visit

Register and prepare for the September LSAT (if necessary)

+Timeline – Senior Year

September Take the September LSAT (if necessary)

Order the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) catalog and application or complete an electronic version

Ask faculty for letters of recommendation

Request financial aid information

Continue to visit law schools

+Timeline – Senior Year cont.

October

Finalize your personal statement

Collect letters of recommendation

Complete LSDAS report

Begin sending completed law school applications

THE EARLIER YOU APPLY, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF BEING ACCEPTED!!

+Timeline – Senior Year cont.

November Send last batch of completed applications to law schools

Obtain applications for financial aid (federal and private), e.g. FAFSA

December Contact law schools to confirm the completion of your

applications

Relax and enjoy the holidays

+Timeline – Senior Year cont.

January Have an updated transcript sent to law schools and LSDAS

Submit completed financial aid forms

February – April Evaluate offers of acceptance

Evaluate financial aid offers

Submit an acceptance letter to the Law School of your choice

Submit rejections letters to the schools that you will not attend

+What Kind of Law School

Do I Want to Attend?

Geographic considerations

Special programs (i.e. clinics, field placements)

School setting (i.e. class size, diversity, scholars on faculty)

Job placement and bar passage rate

Cost of attendance and financial aid

Your stats – GPA, LSAT, work experience, etc.

+Who Should Recommend Me?

Think about the classes you took and your performance in those classes

Letters should come from professors whose class you excelled in

Consider professors who taught you in seminars or small lecture classes

Classes with a heavy emphasis on reading, writing, and/or critical thinking and analysis

+How Do I Go About Getting a

Recommendation Letter?

Participate in class discussions

Go to office hours

Do an independent study

KEEP IN TOUCH!

+Content of

Letters of Recommendation

Comment on your character

Positively discuss your intellectual abilities

Describe course load or work product

Comparative in nature

+The Personal Statement:

What is it?

A short writing piece that tells a story

Gives you the opportunity to sell yourself in the application process

Helps the admissions committee see you beyond your numerical stats

Displays your personality and experiences

+The Personal Statement:

What Should it Say About Me?

Concrete examples of your character

Personalize as much as possible

Specific details of your experience

Write about aspects of yourself that readers can’t get from other parts of your application

BE CREATIVE!

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QUESTIONS?