The components needed for law school application are:

• Credential Assembly Service (CAS)
• LSAT
• Transcript
• Resume
• Letters of Recommendation
• Personal Statement
• Additional optional essays and addenda

For more information on the application components visit the Law School Admission Council website at www.LSAC.org.

When considering which law schools to apply to, you may consider several factors which will lead you to a narrowed list. In no particular order, those factors are:

• Competition for admission: How do your GPA and LSAT compare with the profile of recent past classes admitted to that law school?
• Geographic location & practice: Are you looking for a national, regional or local law school? The networks you develop within your law school years are crucial, and if you know already the state where you intend to take your bar exam and practice, then you should consider these factors in choosing a law school.
• Costs and scholarships available: What are the costs of tuition, fees, room and board, and insurance? How much scholarship are they offering? Do you intend to take out a loan?
• Size of the student body: What kind of class size do you prefer? Do you prefer a small tight-knit community? Do you prefer a large student body?
• Bar passage rate: The bar passage rate of the law school indicates how much the curriculum prepares law students for the bar.
• Law school’s assistance with your job placement after graduation: How involved is the law school in your career development? What percentage of graduating students are employed soon after graduation?

Law schools tend to report that there are two stages for the law school admissions decision. During the first stage, the two most emphasized factors are Undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores. Once the applicant passes the numbers threshold, other components such as personal statement, recommendation letters and resumes will influence the admissions decision. It is important to be a well-rounded applicant. If you are unsure of how your numbers will fare against applicants to your law schools, please consult Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and the American Bar Association (ABA) searchable database of ABA approved law schools. This site helps you plug in you GPA and LSAT numbers to compute the how others with similar numbers fared in different law school admissions.

Most law schools have an official deadline with rolling admissions. This means that the admissions team make their acceptance decisions as applications come in. With this knowledge, the earlier you apply in the cycle (September-November), the higher your chances are of gaining admission with a scholarship.

If you are applying Early Decision to a law school, make sure to check if this program is binding or non-binding. If it is non-binding, you can apply to another Early Decision program and would not need to withdraw your other applications.

On the LSAC Letter of Recommendation (LOR) form, you will be asked to sign and date the form to waive your right to viewing your recommendation letters for each professor. There are some perceptions that the LOR would not be regarded as highly if you are able to view it. On the other hand, it may allow you to access the recommendation and help your decision on assigning it. Overall, the decision to waive or retain your rights should be made based on your assessment of the pros and cons.

Besides the on-campus opportunities mentioned above, you can also access more information online. Some online resources for information on law schools are:

• Law School Admission Council
• Law School Recruitment Forums
• Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools
• ABA Required Law School Disclosures