by Jennifer Shannon

Created on: April 29, 2008

The application process for Law school is really not that bad... a little expensive, but not terrible. As long as you give yourself enough time, the applications can be the least stressful part of making the decision to go to law school. One of the first steps you should take is to sign up with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) at LSAC.org and with the Law School Data Assemble Service (LSDAS) as soon as you are sure that you want to apply. LSAC is free, and through it you will sign up for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). LSDAS is also on-line, and this is where you will submit all of your other paperwork and applications. You will pay a fee and then they will do the work of sending your academic information and recommendation letters to the schools where you apply.

It is a good idea to look into reading a book or taking a class to prepare for the LSAT. This test and your undergraduate GPA are two of the most significant factors when it comes to admission decisions. LSAC.org is a good place to look for prep materials. Or you can go to a private company like Kaplan or Princeton Review for test prep help. It is very important to learn how the test works. Taking the LSAT as soon as you feel like you can be ready will be to your advantage. Most schools take your highest score now, so you can re-take it if something happens and you would like to try and do better a second time. If you do well enough the second time schools will see that you put in an effort into really improving your score. That is not to say that studying hard the first time is not important. Most schools will accept the December test, but it is better to take it in June or October so that you can begin the application process.

Just like for any college application, for law school you need letters of recommendation from good sources. Most schools only require two, but will take up to four. If you are a recent grad it is a good idea to ask professors and other people (like recent employers) who have positive things to say about your academic work. Preparing a packet for your recommenders will help them to write better letters. Think about including your resume, academic transcript (with highlighted items that they might find helpful), and a writing sample. The earlier you can do this the better. It is important to be signed up with LSDAS before talking to recommenders because you will need to give them a document to include with their letters in order to register the letters in the LSDAS

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