Student Resources
- CONTACT YOUR PRELAW ADVISOR -- Make an appointment or contact the prelaw advisor at your school.
- KNOW THYSELF -- Think carefully about why you want to go to law school and enter
the legal profession. Proceed only if you are confident that you are
making the right decision for the right reasons. There are many
books that you can read to help you with this decision.
- GET TO KNOW LSAC -- LSAC.ORG -- This
is the single most important web site for you. This is where you: sign up for the
Law School Admission Test (LSAT), sign up for the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS), access the
Official Guide to ABA
Approved Law Schools, and discover a vast array of other useful information.
- ACADEMIC PREPARATION -- You will need a solid undergraduate education and a
good GPA. For specifics, see the ABA statement on Preparation for Legal Education.
- PREPARE FOR THE LSAT -- The LSAT is a major factor in the admissions process.
The vast majority of those who apply expend a great deal of effort preparing for this test.
If you are to compete successfully, you too must prepare well. You can order and practice
with copies of
Official LSATs that were administered in the past. You can begin with this
on-line copy. Additionally,
you can work with test preparation books or even professional test preping services.
It is up to you how you prepare. However you do it -- you must prepare well before
you take this test!!!
- TIMELINE -- Although the deadline for applications can be as late as February
or March, you should aim to submit your applicaitons by Thanksgiving or Chrismas
prior to the August that you plan to matriculate.
- COMPONENTS OF THE APPLICATION -- LSAC now provides students with a free electronic
application service. You can see a Demo of this service by following this link.
- LSAT
- TRANSCRIPTS -- Ask the registrar at every school where you have credits
to send your transcripts to LSAC.
- LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION -- LSAC has an excellent
letter of recommendation service.
- PERSONAL STATEMENTS -- You need to follow the instructions on each law
school application. These essays need to be impecably written. You can get
guidance on this component from books, web sites, and even professional
assistants. For example, consider
this information from Boston College.
- CHOOSING A LAW SCHOOL -- DO NOT apply to or choose a law school based
on its rank in a magazine list. The
law school Deans have written a letter advising students about how to select an
approprate law school. For detailed information about each school, you can't beat
the
Official Guide to ABA Approved Law Schools. You can also go to
this link and contact the schools directly.
- FINANCIAL AID -- (thanks to Melanie Nutt--Wake Forest School of Law for assistance with
this list):