With sophomore year approaching, thoughts about applying to law school have crossed my mind and lately they have been bringing me loads of anxiety. However, I understand thousands of college students just like myself are in the same predicament. Therefore, to hopefully assist another fellow classmate thinking about becoming an attorney, I would like to dedicate my next passion blog to the process of applying to law school.
In order for law schools to gauge your abilities in the realm of logical reasoning, analytical reasoning, and reading comprehension, prospective law students must first take the LSAT. This four letter abbreviation, LSAT, stands for Law School Admission Test. This test is out of 180 possible points and takes place over the course of a four to five hour time period. This test consists of five sections of multiple choice which is then followed by an essay portion. Between the time you are waiting to get your scores back, you should register with LSDAS. Registering with LSDAS is a must as it functions as one of the main systems in which application materials are collected by law schools across America. This will allow graduates to submit application materials after they have completed each step of the application process.
The next step and also the most important step in this process is deciding where to apply. In the United States, there are a little over two hundred law schools available to graduate students. This includes law schools such as Harvard Law, Charleston School of Law, Penn State law, Villanova University School of Law, and Stanford Law. Some graduates may be under the impression that where you attend law school may not be important but this is certainly not the case. In fact, the law school that you attend can greatly affect the law firm which you work for and the salary you receive. Some employers argue that receiving a degree from a prestigious law school such as Harvard or Yale Law School increases your chances of getting employment rather than graduating at the top of your class from a lesser known law school such as Vermont Law School.
The third step is writing your personal statement. Yes, while college GPA and LSAT scores are important a strong personal statement can be a deal breaker for some law schools. Your personal statement helps law schools get a better idea of who you are as a person and if you will be a valuable addition to their law program.
Lastly, most law schools require at least two letters of recommendation as part of your application. These letters of recommendation should be from either professors or close mentors that have watched you grow over the course of your academic career. Letters of recommendation are meant to be an accurate as well as an honest reflection of your work ethic and potential as a prospective law student.
This may seem like a difficult process, but honestly the earlier you start with it the less stressful it should be in the end. I personally plan on starting this process towards the end of my sophomore year so I can give myself somewhat of a head start. Hopefully, the information within this passion blog was helpful to anyone thinking about applying to law school in the future or anyone that may be curious about the general process as it a very common career path for students.
This was super interesting to read! While I personally am not pursuing law, I really enjoyed reading about the process of law school applications and understanding how it works a bit better. I’ve always been a little bit clueless on how exactly graduate school applications work, and this was really informative! Your post also got me thinking about what steps I need to take on my own academic journey in the coming years. Good luck with applications!
I actually thought about being a lawyer, this blog post helped me realize that I could never do it. I took a law class in high school and it was really fun, we did a mock trial and I really liked it. But there are cons to being a lawyer, and for me the cons outrun the pros. For example, if you study law in one place you have to stay there since if you move you have to retake the bar exam. I move way too much so this is not an option for me. Also I would never be able to sit down for five hours to take an exam.
Good luck, I’m sure you will be a lawyer in a few years!
While i’m majoring in Criminology and Cybersecurity, the thought of going to Law School has been in my mind. Looking at big federal law enforcement agencies, most of the people at the top went to law school. This makes sense as when you get to the top of a department, your job becomes less of the law enforcement and more of the making sure your team is enforcing the laws legally. So Law School is still in the back of my head, but may its not something I plan on going to anytime soon.