How to Write an A+ Application
The time has come. You are going into your senior year and are preparing to take the daunting LSAT. It is also the time to get ready to apply for law schools. Applying to schools can be very stressful and can take a very long time. I’m here to tell you that the process does not have to be stressful. In this blog post I will walk you through step by step to write a successful application.
What is Needed for a Law Application?
Having a good application is important as it is your way of selling yourself to law schools. The application gives you a way to separate yourself from the other applicants. In order to do this, you need to have a few things. The first thing that you need are an official LSAT score, an unofficial transcript and three letters of recommendation. You can do these things by logging into your LSAC account. The transcript includes all undergraduate institution including dual enrollment classes that you may have taken in high school. Your LSAT score will be uploaded to your account when the scores are reported. If you take the LSAT multiple times most law schools will take your highest score. As for the letters of recommendation these you will obtain from your professors or employer. Most law schools require a minimum of two and no more than 4. All of these show the law school your academic record and how you are as a student.
Other items that are required on the law school application are your personal statement and your resume. These represent your soft skills. These two items are where you show what makes you unique. The personal statement is a one paged double-spaced paper that is used to describe who you are as a person. It should include your reasons for going into law, your interests and any challenges you may have had to overcome. The resume that must be uploaded should show your accomplishments in your undergrad as well as any work experience that you may have.
How to Have a Well-Rounded Application
Now that we know what is required for an application it is time to put it all together. First is the hard skills such as the GPA and LSAT. In order to have a good GPA you should pick a major that you are going to excel in. There is no specific major that is required for law school so it is best that you pick something that you will do well in. It is also important that you have good study habits as this will help you down the line. As for the LSAT I have explained this in a previous blog, but it is important to get on a good study schedule and prepare accordingly.
The next thing is getting good letters of recommendation. You typically need about 2-3 letters of recommendation to apply to law school. These could be obtained from a professor or an employee. To do this it is important to build a relationship with your professors as you go to school. Once you have built a relationship with your professors then you should politely ask them to write you a letter. While these letters don’t make or break your applications, they still give the law schools a different perspective on your academics.
The last thing is presenting your soft skills. You must first polish up your resume. Make sure that your resume is in a good and readable font and is organized. Also make sure to highlight accomplishments from your undergraduate years such as the clubs you were a part of as well as any work experience you’ve had in your adult life. The next thing is writing a good personal statement. This is a potential tiebreaker for those who are on the fence with their GPA and LSAT. The personal statement tells the law school admissions committee who you are as a person. To write a successful personal statement you don’t want to be cliche and say things like “I want to be a lawyer because I want to help people.” You also don’t want your personal statement to be too long as the committee does not want to read a whole book. Make sure it is no longer than a page. The personal statement must be personal to you and show others who you are and what makes you unique.
Conclusion
Law school applications can be very stressful and time consuming. But with the right steps and tools it doesn’t have to be so hard. The recipe to succeed is not as complex as you may think. If you want to learn more, you can schedule an appointment for me for $125/hour to help you with your application and the application process.
