Law school experts rarely put this out there but the best time to start preparing for law school is as early as you can! Too often, students wanting to go to law school find resources too late in the game to be as competitive as they can be. I am going to help fix that problem by providing you with some practical tips on how to prepare early. This way, you can consider early on if this is for you and how to best prepare for success in the law school enrollment process. The following gems here should be applied at least one year before you begin applying to law schools.
Your GPA
I am now in my third year at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. To be honest, it has been a rollercoaster at times filled with ups and downs but it is rewarding. I managed to stick with it and embrace the ride by remembering WHY I am in law school. I began preparing for law school in my sophomore year of college by taking challenging classes and maintaining a great GPA. There is no magic number when it comes to a GPA but I recommend that you try to maintain the best GPA you can.
Taking pre-law classes are not necessarily mandatory. But these classes could help you develop your understanding of the legal system, the government, economics, philosophy, criminal justice, business, or politics. The point here is to gain some familiarity with the law but again, this is not mandatory. You can still take classes in English composition, science, mathematics, journalism, or art, provided that you do well in those classes. Again, maintaining a good GPA will help when law schools are reviewing your application.
Sometimes students feel that their GPA is all that matters but law school admissions folks are not just focused on your GPA. They will also be looking at what types of extracurricular activities or volunteer experiences you have been exposed to while you are in school. Your GPA plus these activities tells law school admissions folks more about you than your GPA alone.
The LSAT: The Traditional Law School Entrance test
Preparing for the LSAT is another crucial component to getting you ready for law school admission success. At one time, most ABA accredited law schools required students to take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). Now, the LSAT may be substituted by taking the GRE which I will discuss below. The LSAT tests your skills in logical reasoning, analytical reasoning (aka “logic games”), reading comprehension, and writing. One of the sections will be experimental and will not count toward your final LSAT score. Each of these sections are timed except for the writing section. LSAT scores range from 120-180. The closer your score is to 180, the more likely it is that you can get into some of the best law schools and earn amazing scholarships. Some students with a real good LSAT score can even get into law school FOR FREE! So let’s take a closer look at each of these LSAT sections.
According to the Law School Admission Council, each question in the Logical Reasoning section is based on the reasoning presented in a brief passage. When answering these questions, students should not make assumptions that are by commonsense standards implausible, superfluous, or incompatible with the passage. Sometimes, there can be more than one answer choice that could answer the question, but you must choose the BEST answer that most accurately and completely answer the question.
The Analytical Reasoning section is also known as “Logic Games.” Each of these questions are based on a scenario with a set of questions and conditions related to that scenario. Answers to these questions are based on what you can logically infer from the conditions limited to that scenario. It is super important to know and follow the conditions (or “rules”) for each scenario and be prepared for when a rule changes the conditions of the game. Students must choose the response that BEST answers each question accurately and completely. Just like logical reasoning, this section of the LSAT is timed, so it is also super important to practice answering these sets of questions while timing yourself.
The Reading Comprehension section tests your ability to read carefully and understand what you have read in a passage or pair of passages. Your job here is to answer specific and general questions based on what has been STATED or IMPLIED in the passages you will read. You will see some answer choices that could answer the question BUT your job is to choose the BEST response that answers the questions accurately and completely. As with Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension, there will be choices that only answer the question halfway or not at all. Your job will be to SEE these wrong answers and eliminate them and pick the best answer between the last two choices.
The GRE: An Alternative to Law School Admission
Today, many ABA-accredited law schools accept the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in lieu of the LSAT. The GRE has three sections: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing. The verbal and quantitative sections have five multiple-choice sections. One of the five will be experimental. The analytical writing section has two essay prompts and you have 30 minutes per essay (1 hour total) to type a response. I did not take the GRE because I was already invested in taking the LSAT. I was in a Blueprint LSAT exam prep course, which I recommend taking if you need additional help with your preparation.
Whether you choose to take the LSAT or GRE, I recommend using some of your free time to do practice questions. It took me a while (about 3 months) to understand what makes wrong answers wrong and right answers right. So starting as early as you can will be extremely helpful.
Letters of Recommendation
Most law school will require you to include up to 3 letters of recommendation as part of your application. And yes, you can have your recommenders prepare letters for more than one law school. Just let them know well ahead of time (at least 90 days before you begin applying) because they are probably busy. According to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the most effective letters of recommendation are written by professors or work supervisors who know you well enough to describe your academic, personal, or professional achievements and potential with candor, detail, and objectivity. Letters that compare you to your academic peers are often the most useful. Most schools do not consider general, unreservedly praiseworthy letters helpful.
More Helpful Tips
- Start reading material that will boost your vocabulary and ability to read dense material. The trick here is to develop the habit of reading frequently because law school requires you to read A LOT! Training yourself to read carefully and critically will significantly contribute to your law school success.It doesn’t hurt to also train yourself to read a little faster but not so fast that you miss or overlook important words or concepts.
- Work on your writing. Writing is an essential skill for law students. To improve your writing skills, familiarize yourself with grammar principles, joining a writing workshop, or finding someone to proofread and critique your writing. Getting feedback on your writing is important because you need someone to spot mistakes that you might overlook. The process of fixing those mistakes by editing your writing brings you one step closer to improving your writing. This will come in handy when you are writing your personal statement and other addenda for your law school applications.
- Find an internship. Many law offices, organizations, and companies across the country offer high school or undergraduate students internship opportunities. Some of these entities also offer mentorship opportunities that give you insights and experience you would not otherwise have. Internships help you learn how a law office functions and what day-to-day responsibilities a lawyer has.
- Visit a law school or sit in a law school class. Most law schools have prospective student events, seminars, forums, and tours. Visit a law school, speak with current law students, or even a law professor. Attending a law school forum will allow you to meet law school representatives form over 100 law schools. All of these options will help you decide if (and which) law school is the best fit for you.
And More Helpful Links
Preparing for law school can be daunting but the more information you have to prepare for law school ahead of time, the better. To make sure that I have given you as much helpful resources as I can, here are some helpful links to amazing companies that are dedicated to your success:
- The Law School Admission Council
- Law School Toolbox
- Blueprint LSAT Prep
- LSAT Demon
- PowerScore
- Kaplan
- 7Sage
- AccessLex Institute
- American Bar Association
- Law School Transparency
Lastly
Remember, the best time to start preparing for law school is as early as you can! You want to be able to give yourself enough time to become comfortable with answering questions accurately and under timed-pressure. Studies reveal that the average American reads at the 7th to 8th-grade level. It goes downhill from there if all you read is social media posts. in law school, you will need to concentrate on various tasks and assignments. You want to be able to develop your critical reading and critical thinking skills to last for at least 90 minutes at a time and that takes time. So starting EARLY is vital.
Do not put aside for tomorrow what you can start today!
