The two most important factors in gaining admission to law school are a student's score on the

Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and a student's grade point average. However, law schools are also

interested in a student’s work experience---in fact many law schools greatly value post-college work

experience---and extra-curricular activities. Most law schools also require letters of recommendation,

preferably from someone familiar with the student’s academic abilities, that is, from a professor. If a

student has been out of school for some time, law schools will also accept letters from employers or

and February). The most appropriate time to take the test is in June or October prior to one’s senior year.

Students taking the test in June or October will receive their scores in plenty of time to make decisions

gradually fill up the seats in their incoming class as they receive applications. A student who takes the

LSAT in December will not be able to mail his or her law school applications until January, by which

being equal, your chances of admission by this point in the admissions cycle will be substantially lower

The law school admissions process is administered by the Law School Admission Council

the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Everyone who applies to law school must (1) register with the

LSAC Credential Assembly Service and (2) take the LSAT.

When you register with the Credential Assembly Service, a file is created in your name. The file

will eventually contain (1) your LSAT score, (2) copies of transcripts from all institutions you have

attended, and (3) letters of recommendation written on your behalf. When you apply to a particular law

information about all ABA-approved law schools.

The current cost of registering for the LSAT is $175 and of registering with the LSAC’s

Credential Assembly Service is $170. A fee waiver is available, but you must apply in advance and fee

waivers are granted only to students in “extreme financial need.” Registration can be done on the LSAC

website.

Your application to take the LSAT must be mailed at least 30 days prior to the date on which you

June exam is administered on a Monday). The test yields a score which ranges from 120 to 180. The

median score is thus 150. The test includes sections consisting of multiple choice questions on “reading

comprehension,” “analytical reasoning,” and “logical reasoning.” In addition, students taking the test

provide a writing sample. The writing sample is not “scored,” but a copy is sent to the law schools to

which you apply.

It is possible to order past copies of actual tests from the LSAC website. Some booklets contain

not only actual exams but explanations of the questions. Information about the content of the LSAT may

also be obtained by purchasing one of the commercial test preparation books available in the DePaul

University bookstores on the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses and in other bookstores.

Records website at http://offices.depaul.edu/student-records/Pages/default.aspx

. You can request that

your transcript be sent to LSAC. When you make your request, include your LSAC identification number

(an “L” followed by eight digits) in the mailing address to which the transcript should be sent. Remember

transferred some or all of your credits to DePaul.

Your transcript is sent directly from DePaul to LSAC, which in turn supplies a summary of your

separately for each year, allowing a law school to detect an improvement (or deterioration) in your GPA

academic strategy for a pre-law student is to take a manageable number of challenging courses each

quarter and to do as well as possible in those courses.

Law schools do not have a preference for students who have majored in any particular subject.

They are interested in students with a solid liberal arts background. Thus, regardless of what subject you

major in, you should plan to take courses at the appropriate level in a wide variety of subjects--including

the social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, business, mathematics, and statistics.

The most important criteria in law school admissions are your LSAT score and your

undergraduate GPA. However, law schools are also interested in evidence that a student is particularly

mature or responsible, has participated in various activities during college, or demonstrates exceptional

leadership ability. A student planning the use of his or her time during college would be wise to take

advantage of opportunities to participate in activities that contribute to personal growth and social

competence, e.g., student government or other campus organizations, the school newspaper or campus

should take advantage of opportunities to become acquainted with particular faculty members and be able

to identify at least two faculty members from whom to request a recommendation. Faculty members

occasionally go on leave for a year or part of a year, and you should determine whether a faculty member

from whom they wish to request a recommendation will be available to write such a letter at the

appropriate time. Letters of recommendation can be submitted online by your recommender to LSAC.

You can also download the letter of recommendation form from the LSAC website and hand deliver it to

your recommender. Remember to sign that portion of the form in which you waive your right of access to

see the letter.

become a lawyer.” The best advice is to be honest, lively, and persuasive. Allow your personality and

your distinctive characteristics and values to come through in what you write. Also be sure to proofread

your statement for grammatical and spelling errors.

The first step in the process is to visit the LSAC website (www.lsac.org

the undergraduate institutions you have attended (although in the case of students who have not attended

any institution other than DePaul, this can be done directly by requesting your transcripts via the Student

Records website), and (4) to request letters of recommendation from professors or others (a form can be

downloaded from the LSAC website and given to the person from whom you are requesting a letter of

LSAC publishes or makes available on its website a variety of books, videos, and other items that

may be helpful to pre-law students and to students applying to law school. Perhaps the most useful is the

ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools. LSAC also publishes several books

containing complete versions of previously administered LSATs, which may be ordered from LSAC

through its website.

best single way to obtain applications from and chat with representatives of the law schools to which you

are thinking of applying. Admission to all LSAC Law School Forums is free.

For information about upcoming forums, visit the website at

quite certain, two or three schools to which the chances are good, and two or three schools to which the

chances of admission may not be very high, but which the applicant would be delighted to attend, if

admitted.

If you are admitted to several law schools, choosing the one you wish to attend may be a genuine

dilemma. On the one hand, attending a law school with a particularly strong reputation may enhance the

quality of your education and the diversity of your job opportunities. On the other hand, the better the

law school, the more competitive it will be, and the unavoidable fact is that class rank is extremely

important in getting job offers at the end of law school. Thus, it may not be wise to attend a law school

where your chances of doing well are unpromising. There is no single source of information about what a

particular law school is "really like"--not even the students who attend the law school may be able to

supply very helpful advice. For this reason, a student who is able to choose from among two or more law

schools should at that point speak to as many people as possible--and if possible pay a visit to the schools

Access Group: where one can fill out the Need Access Application that most schools require:

www.accessgroup.org/index.htm

FAFSA application online: www.fafsa.ed.gov

Chicago-Kent College of Law, Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars Program:

www.kentlaw.iit.edu/academics/pre-law-undergraduate-scholars-program

Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO): www.cleoscholars.com

TestMasters: www.testmasters.net

PowerScore Test Preparation: www.powerscore.com

Blueprint LSAT: www.blueprintlsat.com