ADMISSIONS
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Admissions Information & Tips
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Special Admissions Programs
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Non-ABA Approved Law Schools
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Admissions Consulting Services
* Law School Applications
* Taking the LSAT
* LSAT Prep Course Options
* Personal Statements & Essays
* Letters of Recommendation, Interviews & Supplemental Materials
Law School Admissions Requirements
The following listing includes minimum requirements in order for an applicant to be considered for admission into a law school program:
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The applicant should have obtained a Bachelors degree from a fully-accredited college or university OR the applicant should be in his or her last year of university and will obtain his or her degree prior to matriculation into law school.
Some law schools have special arrangements with their universities where they may accept students who have completed three years of college and have not yet earned their Bachelors degree. Some schools call it a combined Bachelors/J.D. Program or a Three and Three Program. Please note that there are few spaces available for such students and that they must have exceptional academic credentials to be considered for early admission.
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The applicant must subscribe to the Law School Data Assembly Service. The applicant must submit all academic transcripts for every institution of higher learning that he or she attended for undergraduate and graduate school study to the Law School Data Assembly Service.
The applicant must pay for law school reports to be sent to each school he or she applies to. The applicant must pay for the 12-month subscription fee which is currently $95. He or she must also pay $9 for each law school report that you want sent. If paying the cost of the subscription fee would cause extreme financial hardship, the applicant can apply for a fee waiver.
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The applicant must register for and take the Law School Admission Test to be considered for any ABA-approved law school. The registration fee is currently $96 and there is an additional late fee of $54 . If paying this fee would cause severe financial hardship, the applicant can apply for a fee waiver.
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The applicant must complete the application form fully and completely. The applicant must also sign the application form attesting to the truthfulness of all of the information provided.
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The applicant must pay the application fee in the form of a check or money order. If paying this fee will truly cause severe financial hardship, the applicant may request a fee waiver and provide the required documentation such as tax forms or financial aid papers.
Some schools have additional requirements, including:
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Submission of a personal statement or essay.
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Submission of a diversity statement. This is often optional, but I suggest that you submit one anyway.
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Submission of recommendation letters, preferably academic letters from college professors. If you have been in the work world for a number of years, professional recommendation letters from employers or business contacts are acceptable. However, try to obtain at least one academic letter as they are viewed as most useful by the admissions committees.
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Submission of a college certification from the dean of the undergraduate and/or graduate degree-granting institution.
Information and Tips Regarding Law School Admission
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The law school admissions selection process is competitive to fiercely competitive. Therefore, you must be competitive in as many ways as possible to have a chance of being admitted into law school.
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There is a process by which admissions decisions are made which varies from law school to law school
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Learn how the admissions process works at various schools and particularly the schools that you may be interested in applying to
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You must subscribe to and pay for the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS)
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You must take the responsibility to ensure that LSDAS receives all required materials for your summary report and that the law schools you apply to receive them
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When subscribing to LSDAS or registering for the Law School Admission Test, be certain to indicate your desire to participate in the Candidate Referral Service (CRS)
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The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) provides a fee waiver for the one-year LSDAS subscription if you are able to prove extreme financial hardship
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Your LSAT score and undergraduate GPA are calculated to come up with your admissions index
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The admissions committees consider other nonquantifiable factors including the personal statement or essay, the LSAT writing sample, letters of recommendation, work and professional experience, worthwhile extracurricular activities and involvement, volunteer project participation, individual talents, unique abilities, organizational involvement, demonstrated leadership ability, leadership potential, awards received and other personal accomplishments and achievements.
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A small number of schools conduct personal evaluative interviews and factor the results into their admission decision-making process
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Many law schools value “diversity”
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The undergraduate school you attend does matter
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Your standing in comparison to other students at your institution does matter
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The type and difficulty of courses taken is considered
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No matter how difficult or interesting the courses, you still must perform well
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A good GPA and a high LSAT score are no guarantee for admission into the schools of your choice – they won’t always just speak for themselves
(Excerpts from The African American Pre-Law School Advice Guide by Evangeline M. Mitchell, J.D., Ed.M. Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved.)
Admissions Opportunities:
Special Admission Programs and Non-ABA Approved Law Schools
Special Admission Programs
There are a small number of ABA-Approved Law Schools that will admit students who do not meet their standards according to numeric indicators such as GPAs and LSAT scores. These schools will give students who they might otherwise reject based on low LSAT scores or GPAs the opportunity to attend law school. Such schools may require the applicant to take summer courses and if they pass the courses with satisfactory grades, then they will be admitted in the regular law program for the fall. Such admissions programs are considered conditional based upon academic performance.
Please understand that such programs are also COMPETITIVE and the number of spots are limited. Membership in a minority group or the fact that you are from an educationally and/or economically disadvantaged background are not enough within themselves to garner a spot in such an admissions program. You must prove by all other indicators that you have the potential to successfully complete legal studies and that you can and will likely make important contributions to the legal profession and to society.
Remember that law school is an intensely ACADEMIC environment. You need to demonstrate in some way that you are able to handle the academic rigor. The fact that you are not a good student and are not into books, but are good with people will not cut it.
There is a difference between a special admissions program and affirmative action! Affirmative action enables law school admission committees to consider race and other characteristics and circumstances as factors among many in making admissions decisions.
Affirmative action allows committees to use discretion in looking at borderline candidates who fall into the middle category – those who are not clear admits or clear rejects. There is a large group of competitive candidates and it is a tough call. The decision can go either way.
Committees considering those for special admissions may pay careful attention to the application of someone who they might otherwise reject IF they notice special qualities and strengths in the application that show that the person deserves a chance to prove whether they can succeed in the law school environment.
Such people will have shown outstanding leadership and determination to succeed against the odds and will have demonstrated proof of this through work experience, community service, leadership positions, etc.
Also, note that those schools who are ranked among the top do NOT have special admissions programs, but they may have an affirmative action admissions policy.
Check with each school that you are interested in and ask if they have such a program. Request further information for each individual school. Honestly assess yourself and look at whether you have enough strengths in other areas aside from academics to warrant their giving you a chance. If not, place yourself in a position where you can be seriously considered.
The Chance to Attend Law School: Non-ABA Approved Law Schools
It is generally agreed that it is best to only apply to ABA approved law schools. However, if your credentials are not good enough to get into an ABA-approved law school and you have your heart set on attending, you might want to consider applying to a non-ABA approved law school. Such schools generally have lower admission standards and will be willing to give you a chance to earn your law degree.
It is important to talk to the administrators at that school to find out if they will be approved in the near future. If so, then your law degree will be respected throughout the nation. If not, you are limited to taking the bar exam and practicing only in that particular state.
California has the largest concentration of non-ABA approved law schools. If you attend one of these schools, you can become eligible to take the California bar. However, you may be limited to practicing in California if that law school does not receive ABA approval.
Contact each non-ABA approved law school that you would consider applying to and ask them for details about the issues you are likely to face by attending their law school.
On a positive note, if you have no intention on practicing law and you just want to receive legal training to enhance another career, then attending such a school may very well be a good option for you.
Research and investigate all of your options first! As a last alternative, consider a non-ABA approved school if you have little to no chance of successfully gaining admission anywhere else.
Admissions Consulting Services
Advantage Education Admissions Consulting
Website: http://www.study-smart.com
10 hours of personal assistance $645
DeLoggio Admissions Achievement Program
Website: http://www.mindspring.com/~deloggio/
Basic contract – 8 to 10 applications $1000
Limited contract – 1 to 4 applications $500
Special contract – 1 to 4 applications $750
Extended contract – more than 10 schools $100 per school
Degree of Difference, Inc.
2443 Fillmore Street, #330
San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone: (415) 273-1782
Fax: (415) 567-1616
Website: http://www.degreeofdifference.com
Kaplan Admissions Consulting
Website: http://www.kaptest.com
One-on-One Options:
Law School Admissions – 3 hours $449
Law School Admissions – 6 hours $699
Law School Admissions – 15 hours $1799
Law School Connections
Website: http://www.lawschoolconnections.com
1 hour $100
6 hour package $500
11 hour package $900
Unlimited advice (throughout 1st year, 2 hours per week maximum) $1,500
PowerScore Admissions Counseling Program
Website: http://www.powerscore.com/admissions.htm
Admissions Counseling Program $100 per hour
Pre-Law.Com – The Electronic Law School Admissions Advisor
Website: http://www.pre-law.com
Admissions Advising Package $395
Preliminary Advising Package $145
Pre-Law Advisor
Website: http://www.prelawadvisor.com
Advisement fee $500