Our latest podcast is out! If you are reaching for a top law school, we have ten great tips on getting you in – from the ones that let you in.
In Top Ten Tips to Getting Into Law School: Advice to Follow Before You Apply, you will hear from Deans of Admission Anne Richards of the University of Virginia School of Law, Renee Post of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Richard Geiger of Cornell Law School, as well as admissions consultant, Andrea Kilpatrick, with Admit Advantage.
These folks review thousands of applications each year and they’ve told us what they’re looking for and provided us with great tips to guide you through the process. While law school admissions is driven significantly by the numbers (LSAT score, GPA), there are some things that can help your application.
For example, Tip # 4, is “be realistic, numbers count in law school admissions.” But that’s not the end of it. For example, at UVA, the median is 170 on the LSAT, and a 3.86 on the undergraduate GPA. But it’s more than just the numbers, says Dean Richards. “We do look in depth at the transcript [and] the type of curriculum that one pursued, the kinds of courses people took, you know, where they did very well, [and] where they may have struggled. So it’s like it’s a bigger analysis than just the raw numbers. There will be people admitted who have a higher LSAT score and a lower GPA, and vice versa. So it really is a kind of a total package analysis that we’re looking at, in terms of LSAT and GPA.”
Andrea Kilpatrick, with Admit Advantage has this advice: “[P]eople should also know that they can demonstrate those same characteristics in other parts of their application. So they shouldn’t shortchange the rest of their application. So I see a lot of people who, they get their numbers back, and they say, ‘Okay, well let me go down a list here, and see where I fit. And I’m just going to apply there. And I’m not really going to bother with the rest of this because it’s just kind of window dressing.’ But it’s not really, because they’re definitely looking for a class that’s going to challenge one another and hold everyone’s interest. And they’re looking for people that they want to admit to their profession, because law is a profession. And part of it is personality. So again, numbers are very important and people should absolutely do their best. But they should not shortchange the rest of their application.”
Listen to the full show to hear more of the following top 10 tips:
- Consider fit
- Be self-aware; know your passion
- Plan ahead; apply as early as possible
- Be realistic – numbers count
- Personality matters
- Present a great package
- Ask someone objective to review your application/personal statement
- Visit your top schools
- Hang in there, be patient but persistent with the admisisons process
- Use good judgment in cyberspace