Finding a School

FINDING A LAW SCHOOL

Making the decision of where you will attend law school is a difficult, yet extremely important one. What school you decide to attend will have a huge impact on your law school experience. Take the process of choosing schools very seriously and consider the tips provided below.

Tips for Finding the Right Law School for You

  1. Research the law schools you are interested in attending.
  2. Talk to the admissions representatives and ask lots of questions
  3. Attend the Law School Admission Council’s Law School Forums.
  4. Participate in every law day, and graduate and professional school day sponsored by your undergraduate or neighboring institutions.
  5. Participate in every minority recruitment weekend or any other pre-law school events or programs sponsored by local law schools and other law schools that you are especially interested in attending.
  6. Consult LSAT/GPA profile grids to help gage your chances for admission at schools of interest (See the Boston College Online Law School Locator at http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/svp/carct/matrix.html or use the LSAC Online Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools – Searchable Edition, “LSAT/GPA Search” at http://officialguide.lsac.org/search/cgi-bin/lsatgpa.asp).
  7. Be realistic about your chances of getting in the law schools of your choice.
  8. Ask about the school’s national, regional and local reputation.
  9. Don’t rely solely on national rankings to determine what law school you will apply to and gain an understanding of how law schools are ranked in popular publications.
  10. Try to create your own personal ranking system based on those factors that are most important to you.
  11. The law school’s academic quality is important in the legal job market.
  12. Ask about whether the law schools offer specializations, concentrations or certificate programs in areas of particular interest to you.
  13. Research the courses offered and co-curricular and clinical experiences provided.
  14. Find out about summer or semester abroad international programs sponsored by the law schools.
  15. Inquire about minority law school preparatory, orientation, academic support, diversity programming and counseling services offered.
  16. Look into programs, centers, projects and institutes sponsored by the law schools.
  17. Find out the retention (stay in) and attrition (drop out) rates for Black law students.
  18. Ask about the law school’s career and placement services office and their job placement success job rate.
  19. Ask about whether there is an active Black law students organization at the law school, the size of the membership and the types of support they provide and programs they sponsor.
  20. Inquire about the school’s support of and track record for diversity and multicultural awareness and understanding.
  21. Talk to current or former law students at the schools of interest.
  22. Ask the schools for the names and contact information of Black students and alumni who can share their experiences as students of color at that particular institution and shed light on some of the issues you will likely have to confront there.
  23. Ask about whether there is an active alumni association and Black alumni group.
  24. Inquire about opportunities, especially those sponsored by the law schools where you can meet and network with attorneys and particularly minority attorneys.
  25. Seriously consider the location and whether or not the school is located in an area where you are interested in working after graduation, especially if it is not a nationally-known or regionally well-known school.
  26. Find out if the school is located in an area that offers a lot of legal volunteer and work opportunities during law school.
  27. Think about whether the school is located somewhere where you will have the opportunity to regularly meet and network with Black attorneys and other attorneys.
  28. Take a careful look at quality of life and cost of living issues in that location.
  29. Consider whether you are the type of student in which that particular school is searching for.
  30. Ask about financial aid options and specifically those for minority students.
  31. Consider attending a state school for cheaper tuition costs.
  32. There are some law schools with lower admissions standards and high attrition rates that weed out a number of students during their first year.
  33. Know that there are historically and predominantly Black law schools, as well as certain schools that have high minority enrollment.
  34. Don’t set yourself up for rejection, invest in sure bets; In choosing which schools to apply to, always apply to schools that you know you will more than likely get into.
  35. Apply to at least nine to fifteen law schools.
  36. Attend the law school where you know you can succeed.
  37. The law school choice that you make is critical as transferring from one law school to another is difficult to do.
  38. You can apply as a visiting student at another law school during your second or third year.
  39. Consider and compare a variety of factors to help you determine and narrow down where you would like to apply and attend.
  40. Inquire about the culture, environment, and predominating political ideologies of students and professors at the law schools you are considering.
  41. Visit the law schools that have admitted you before making a final decision about which one you will ultimately attend.
  42. Consider the law school that makes the most sense for you.

(Excerpts from The African American Pre-Law School Advice Guide by Evangeline M. Mitchell, J.D., Ed.M. Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved.)

Links to Law Schools

Internet Legal Resource Guide Listing
Website: http://www.ilrg.com/schools.html

Law School Admissions Council Law School Links
Website: http://www.lsac.org/LSAC.asp?url=lsac/law-school-links.asp

Links 2 Go: Legal Schools
Website: http://www.links2go.com/topic/legal_schools

Peterson’s Law Program Search
Website: http://www.petersons.com/law/search.html

Washburn Law School – WashLaw WEBLaw Schools
Website: http://www.washlaw.edu/lawschools.html

Yahoo’s Listing of Law Schools
Website: http://dir.yahoo.com/law/law_schools

Law School Rankings

The Ranking Game
Explanation of law school rankings; Indiana University School of Law – Bloomington
Website: http://monoborg.law.indiana.edu/LawRank/rankgame.html

Thomas E. Brennan’s Judging the Law Schools
Website: http://www.ilrg.com/rankings/

Princeton Review’s Law School Rankings
Website: http://www.review.com

U.S. News & World Report’s 2000 Graduate Rankings – Top Law Schools
Website: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/gradrank/gdlawnf.htm

Predominantly and Historically Black Law Schools

These schools have played a historical role in providing legal education to African Americans when White institutions would not. Many of these schools include in their missions the desire to increase the number of qualified African Americans practicing in the legal profession. They seek to prepare attorneys with a conscience of social responsibility who will go out to provide legal services to undeserved minority communities and to be legal activists and agents of social change.

Howard University School of Law
2900 Van Ness Street
Washington, DC 20008
Website: http://www.law.howard.edu

North Carolina Central University
1512 S. Alston Avenue
Durham, NC 27707
Website: http://www.nccu.edu/law

Southern University Law Center
P.O. Box 9294
Baton Rouge, LA 70813
Website: http://www.sulc.sus.edu

Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law
3100 Cleburne Street
Houston, Texas 77004
Website: http://www.tsulaw.edu

Law Schools with High Minority Enrollment

Law schools with high minority enrollment of 30% or more include:

  • University of California-Hastings College of Law (32.6%)
  • City University of New York School of Law at Queens College (38.9%)
  • Columbia University School of Law (32.4%)
  • George Washington University Law School (32.3%)
  • University of Hawaii at Manoa – William S. Richardson School of Law (68.1%)
  • Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University (39.6%)
  • University of Miami School of Law (30.8%)
  • University of New Mexico School of Law (35.9%)
  • Northwestern University School of Law (29.9%)
  • Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center (32.7%)
  • Rutgers University School of Law – Newark (40.8%)
  • St. Mary’s University School of Law (45.5%)
  • St. Thomas University School of Law (48.9%)
  • University of San Francisco School of Law (30.3%)
  • Santa Clara University School of Law (35.7%)
  • University of Southern California Law School (37.8%)
  • Southwestern University School of Law (36.8%)
  • Stanford University Law School (31.9%)
  • Thomas M. Cooley Law School (31.6%)
  • Western State University – College of Law (36.7%)
  • Yale Law School (31.8%)

(Information obtained from Law School Admission Council Online Version of the Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools – Searchable Edition).

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