Best Tips for Getting into Law School

Have you ever thought of going to law school? If so, you're not alone. Just a few years ago, I was in your shoes and didn't know much about the process. If you don't really understand how to get in, and what really matters during the admissions process, this article is for you.

Law school admissions decisions are less an art than a science. Just like any other college or university department, every law school wants to be viewed as being the best of the best, or at least the best in its class. Accordingly, there is a huge amount of pressure on admissions committees to make admissions decisions that will improve the school's reputation, which is largely determined by annual rankings issued by U.S. News & World Report.

Of the weighted factors that U.S. News considers, the prospective students' collective qualifications are responsible for providing 22.5% of the school's overall score in the rankings. This percentage of the school's overall ranking is determined by the student body's median Law School Admissions Test scores and grade point averages combined (12.5% for the LSAT and 10% for GPA).

As a means of illustration, out of a student body of 101 students, arranged from lowest to highest scores, U.S. News would consider the scores of the 50^th person in each category as representative of the entire school. This method allows the schools to take some atypical students with scores that are far below average, so long as there are enough more qualified students to keep up the median scores.

Another 2% of a school's overall ranking is determined by bar exam passage rates, which in turn are loosely correlated with LSAT and GPA scores. While passing the bar also depends upon drive, initiative and other personal factors that are displayed during law school, the prospect of being penalized in the future rankings and the loss of reputation that results from a potentially low bar passage rate could be an additional factor that leads the admissions committee to deny an applicant with insufficient scores.

In addition to these factors, U.S. News measures 2.5% of a school's overall ranking based upon the school's ratio of applicants to acceptances, which tacitly encourages the schools to solicit applications from students with little chance of acceptance. While not as direct, this factor would seem to encourage schools to create a deceptively inviting image to applicants who otherwise fall outside the school's selection criteria.

With few exceptions, personal or historical factors are probably not going to be the decisive factor in determining whether an applicant is admitted or denied. A student with lower-than-median scores starts at a disadvantage unless the committee finds some other aspect of his or her background is unusually impressive, such as participation in collegiate athletics, or otherwise helps to promote a greater goal endorsed by the school, such as the creation of a more racially diverse student body.

Based upon my experience, I believe these five steps are the most important to consider when preparing for law school:

1. Study for the LSAT. Like many people who want to see the payoff before putting in the effort, I had a hard time getting motivated for the LSAT. In the end, the LSAT saved me $50,000.00 in tuition costs. I was awarded a scholarship that I would not have received without a high score on the test. However, by taking the test twice, I learned its importance the hard way.

The first time, I studied very little and did no real-time trials to get ready for the pacing of the test questions. At the end of several sections, I still had five or six questions left to answer with uneducated guesses. Overall, probably 20% of all the questions I answered were simply guesses, which could have been prevented with more attention to timing in the weeks leading up to the test. Like an intelligence test, it is easy to boost up a practice test by spending too much time on each question, which I did to inflate my confidence in the little time I spent studying.

An LSAT score can be canceled afterwards, without being recorded. I did not appreciate the fact that some schools would average my score with any future LSAT score I received after a retest. On the first test, I scored a 152, in the 56th percentile. The score was better than I expected or deserved, but was low enough to keep me out of my first-choice law school. At the time, I thought my 3.6 GPA would make up for any deficiency in my LSAT score, which was incorrect.

I decided to take the test again. I studied several hours each day and used several different LSAT prep books, which seemed to vary in difficulty and focus. My daily study sessions were broken into two parts. During the first half, I read and studied the instructional parts of the books and did practice problems at a slower pace, trying to figure out the proper technique. During the second half, I took an entire LSAT practice examination under real-time conditions. It was painful to get a lot of questions wrong, and there were times when I thought there was no point in being that rigorous, but I forced myself to follow this routine for about four weeks prior to the test. Over time, my scores improved to about an average of 157, which was a substantial improvement.

On the date of the second test, I was as ready as possible. I was much calmer and better able to pace myself. The test offered that day highlighted problems that played to my strengths, and seemed easier than the practice tests I took during the previous month. Overall, my test score increased by twelve points, to 164, in the 92nd percentile.

Unexpectedly, recruitment materials started filling up my mailbox. I received materials from all over the country, from a wide variety of schools. Some advertised full-ride scholarships and offered to waive the application fee. Some even had more inducements, such as laptop computers or money for living expenses. One even requested that I send back the completed application so they could send back an acceptance letter, as if it were a formality. By contrast, I received practically no attention after the first test scores were released. And the only thing that changed between the two tests was my LSAT score. Therefore, I believe that the only reason I was recruited so aggressively was due to this one factor, which is a testament to the power of the U.S. News rankings.

Because I wanted to go to school locally, I applied to both public and private schools in my area. I was wait-listed by the public school, which averages LSAT scores, but was accepted and received a scholarship to a private school, which does not average the scores. By studying four weeks for the LSAT, I was able to save myself $50,000.00 in tuition costs, and graduate with a reasonable level of debt.

Although there is no changing the past, I definitely would have focused more on the LSAT the first time I took the test, if I had known the impact it has on an applicant's chances of admission.

2. Study in your undergraduate courses. Next to the LSAT, undergraduate grade point average is the second most important factor determining whether and where you get into law school. The admissions departments will tolerate a lower GPA that was achieved in a tougher line of courses, such as engineering or computer science. If you're an arts and sciences major, however, there is no substitute for getting the best possible grades. Unless you have a technical degree, it does not matter what you study, but rather how your grades are afterwards.

Of all my coursework as an undergraduate, the best law school preparatory classes focused on the fundamentals of legal studies, but were not law classes. Looking back, the best classes for developing these skills were in literature, philosophy and psychology. Literature courses honed own writing skills because we parsed the writing of others. Philosophy courses honed my rhetorical skills and helped me to see both sides of an issue. Psychology courses helped me to see that whom I am communicating with matters as much as what is said. While technical legal courses are good preparation in some ways, I would recommend leaving most of that type of coursework for law school and focusing on fundamental skills development during college.

3. Work for a law firm. There are a lot of good reasons to work for a law firm before you go to law school, in addition to the experience looking good on your application. If you work for a law firm before law school, you will know how the law works and whether you actually want to be a lawyer. If you can't actually work at a law firm, I would recommend at least shadowing an attorney for a few weeks to get some exposure to the day-to-day tasks. These experiences may affect your desire to go to law school. Some of the lawyers I know don't like being lawyers, would not want their kids to become lawyers and wish they could move to a different field. Considering the unique nature of legal work and the potential for dissatisfaction, I would consider this step indispensable for any prospective law student.

4. Try to minimize debt. With big debts come big obligations. When you get your law license, it is unlikely that you will have a great deal of financial freedom unless you keep your obligations in check. Your freedom of movement and job selection could be significantly limited by out-of-control undergraduate and law school debts. By choosing schools wisely and hunting for scholarships, you could save thousands and free yourself from an undesirable job during the post law school years. Living within reduced means also helps, but is hard to do that unless you live in an affordable community. For example, paying for private school and an apartment in Manhattan will cost thousands more than paying in-state public school tuition and living expenses in Idaho. Don't assume that you'll get rich in the first few years after law school. Truly high-paying jobs are usually scarce, with many jobs starting in the $50,000.00 range, even in private practice.

5. Apply to schools where you want to practice. The legal community in a particular geographic region usually consists of graduates from the closest law schools. Unless you're at the top of your class, are accepted to an Ivy League university or have a solid connection to a job once you graduate, it's a good idea to attend school in the same area you want to be in when you graduate. That is not to say that moving away is impossible, but your law school class will be a rich source of contacts in the future, and the partner looking at your resume is usually more likely to hire an alumnus than the applicant from across the country.

My final suggestion is to take it easy on you during this process. While applying for law school, there is a tremendous amount of pressure to look, act and be perfect in the eyes of others. It is easy to get caught up in the process and to even rank your own self worth according to how well your LSAT and GPA scores compare to those of other applicants. If you focus on doing your best, eating right, exercising and taking time to have fun once in awhile, you'll save yourself from the burnout that many of your fellow applicants will needlessly undergo.

If you just can't wait to get to law school, you can watch the movie The Paper Chase and read the book One L, by Scott Turow, which are pretty good facsimiles to what law school is really like.