Law School 101

LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION QUESTIONS

Many students when they first contemplate a career in law have the same questions. Here is a list of the seven most asked questions.

Common Pre-Law Questions

How do I know if law is right for me?
What should I major in?
What classes should I take?
Do I have to have legal experience or work in a law firm to go to law school?
What do I need to do to be a strong candidate for law school?
When should I apply to law school?
When should I take the LSAT?

How do I know if law is right for me?

The field of law is a varied one, both in terms of specializations and work environments. Some attorneys work in more traditional settings such as law firms and in the judiciary while others work in corporate, government, and private sectors. The decision to enter the field is a multi-faceted one and should not be done without serious consideration.

To determine if law is a good career choice for you, consider the types of skills that would be needed for a successful career in law. A few of these include:

	analytical and problem-solving ability
	research and study skills
	communication skills, both orally and in writing
	organizational skills and attention to details
	logical reasoning ability

In addition, lawyers play a number of different roles in the lives of their clients. They may also be called upon to act as counselor, advocate, and educator. Lawyers must also maintain a high degree of personal maturity, ethical responsibility, and professionalism.

Although self-exploration is a necessary part of the decision to pursue a career in law, talking to those who have practiced in the field will greatly enhance your understanding of what it means to be a lawyer.

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What should I major in?

In truth, there really is no such thing as a “pre-law” major. There is no prescribed course of study and no particular major that you must adhere to in order to gain admission to law school. Students in law school come from a variety of academic backgrounds. Find a major that has great interest to you. If your course of study is something that you find interesting, you are more likely to excel. Because GPA plays such a critical role in law school admissions, it is imperative that you do well.

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What classes should I take?

Although there is no specific mandatory major and no required courses, there are certain objectives that you want to meet when selecting your courses. Look for courses that allow you to develop the following characteristics:

	Comprehension and critical thinking skills
	Writing skills
	Ability to organize, analyze, and communicate ideas and information
	Ability to understand human nature, human institutions, and values
	Creative thinking

Some courses that you might want to incorporate to enhance basic skills in written and oral communication include the following:

	English (composition, literature, creative writing)
	Speech/communication (public speaking, debate, writing)
	Social sciences or humanities (history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, etc.)

Courses that emphasize analytical, interpretative skills, enhance ability to evaluate facts, data, numbers, and ideas in a logical and methodical manner:

	Philosophy (logic and abstract concepts)
	Economics, History, Foreign languages, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology (analytical skills)
	Mathematics (basic algebra, geometry…logical thinking skills)
	Natural Sciences (scientific methods)
	Accounting (business and finance)
	Computer skills (analytical and problem solving skills)

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Do I have to have legal experience or work in a law firm to go to law school?

No prior legal experience is required to apply to law school. You may indeed work in a law firm or two if you’ve never had the experience, if that is what most appeals to you. But you can also spend time in other settings- non-profit, business, finance, government- because attorneys work in all kinds of environments, and it’s good to have insight and experience in multiple settings. Additionally, working in a law firm will not necessarily make you a more competitive applicant nor will it compensate for a low LSAT score and/or a low GPA.

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What do I need to do to be a strong candidate for law school?

Your GPA and LSAT score will be the critical pieces of your law school application; the competition will be fierce and is growing in numbers, so you need to keep your GPA up. But you should also know that there is a “gray area” that many applicants fall into. You will qualify with such threshold items as your numbers, but you need to involve yourself in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities that will round out the picture. You do not need to sign up for every organization in which you have some mild interest; be selective. Find organizations that you find compelling and which you can see yourself being an active part of.

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When should I apply to law school?

If you intend to go to law school immediately after your undergraduate work, you should apply to law schools in the fall of your senior year. If you want to take time off before pursuing a law education, you should apply in the fall prior to the year in which you intend to enroll.

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When should I take the LSAT?

Ideally, you want to take the LSAT one time and do well. The best option for taking the LSAT is in the summer after your junior year (June administration). Doing so will give you a month to intensely prepare for the exam without the distractions of schoolwork during May. Also, if you take the June test and do not believe your score was truly reflective of your ability and opt to take the test a second time, you can do so without delaying your law school applications by taking the October test.

It is in your best interest to submit your law school applications by December 1. Since most law schools work on the basis of “rolling admissions,” the earlier you get your application in, the more chances you have to be admitted. If you wait to take the October test as your first administration and you do not do as well as you wanted to, you will have to wait until the December test, which will delay review of your applications until you receive your scores.