Law School Admissions -- Next Step Test Preparation

The Law School Admissions Process
John Rood
President, Next Step Test Preparation

John Rood888-530-NEXT www.nextsteptestprep.com
This recorded seminar covers the basics of the
law school admissions process.
You’ll need to do some research on your own –
this is only an introduction

You need to understand the incentives and challenges
faced by the law school admissions committee
1.Assemble a class of eager young future
attorneys who will uphold the high standards
of the legal profession and represent the
school well through a fruitful career.
2.Raise the school’s ranking in US News.

• Application timeline
• Creating a Schools List
• Factors in Admission
• Navigating LSAC and CAS

Applying early can have big benefits
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Next Step Test Preparation 888-530-NEXT www.nextsteptestprep.com
Almost all law schools practice “rolling admissions.” There are
more seats available in
Octoberthan there are in February.

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The danger of applying late is not necessarily that you won’t get in
anywhere or that you won’t get admitted to your top school.
It’s that you likely won’t get into the best possible school with the
best possible aid offer.

Application calendars with LSAT test dates
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June LSAT (to start school in Fall of the next year)
• Focus exclusively on the LSAT – no need to work on admissions
• Wait for your scores to decide on a final schools list
• Consider retaking if necessary
• Get applications in no later than Thanksgiving
October LSAT (to start school in Fall of the next year)
• Focus mostly on the LSAT
• Get letters of recommendation going
• Consider retaking if necessary
• Get applications in no later than Thanksgiving

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December LSAT (to start school in Fall of the next year)
• You need to get your letters and personal statements started. Your goal should be to
get all materials in no later than the second week of January
• A re-take probably means you are delaying law school a year
February LSAT (to start school in Fall of that year)
• You’re behind already. You need to have 100% of your admissions documents ready to
go the day your LSAT score comes back.
• No chance for a re-take
Application calendars with LSAT test dates, continued

When you have your LSAT score, you can
create a list of schools to which you plan
to apply.
The average student applies to ~7 schools
If you don’t have your LSAT yet, take a
practice test.

Create diversity in your school list
• Reach schools: 1-3 schools for which your hard
numbers are below average
• Target schools: 4-7 schools for which your numbers are
in the range and which you would like to attend
• Safety schools: 1-3 schools for which your numbers are
above average (which you might consider attending)
It’s important to apply to at least a couple safety schools
to assure yourself a decent aid offer.

Where can you get in?
For example, let’s say you wanted to go to school in Chicago:
School 75% LSAT 25% LSAT 75% GPA 25% GPA
University of
Chicago
173 169 3.84 3.63
Northwestern 172 166 3.81 3.40
DePaul 162 158 3.57 3.11
Chicago-Kent 163 157 3.69 3.21
John Marshall 156 150 3.53 3.00
Source: http://officialguide.lsac.org/release/OfficialGuide_Default.aspx

The results…

The Snowflake Fallacy

Other than GPA and LSAT, the other
factor that significantly moves the
needle is status as an under-
represented minority (URM)

How to choose a law school
1.Prestige
You are seriously fooling yourself if you do not think that
this matters, or you do not think it matters for you.

1.Prestige
2.Aid offer/prices
Make sure you understand exactly what is being
offered, for how long, and under what condition.

“National” vs. “regional” law schools
National law schools can provide their graduates with great job
opportunities anywhere in the country and all over the world.
These are the schools your great aunt has heard about, like
Harvard, Stanford, and Georgetown
Regional law schools have solid recruiting and networking
possibilities in their geographic region.
In smaller places, going to the top regional school can be just as
good or better than Harvard.

Why do law schools offer financial aid?
• Attract students who help raise the school’s
numbers
• Attract students to round out the class (usually
URM)
Law schools are not concerned about your
financial hardships. You are expected to take on
debt.

1.Prestige
2.Aid offer/prices
3.Location
At schools without very successful OCR, you will
need to network your way to your first job.

1.Prestige
2.Aid offer/prices
3.Location
4.Special programs or clinics

1.Prestige
2.Aid offer/prices
3.Location
4.Special programs or clinics
5.Any other factor
• Fan of the sports teams
• Good climate (different from Location listed
above)
• Nice facilities

Numbers supplied by law schools on average salary and
placement are VERY suspect.
Example: Law school X reports average first-year private practice
salaries of $162,000 on average.
That means that EVERY law student who got a job in private
practice works at a big firm in NY, DC, San Francisco, or Chicago
It means that NO ONE decided to take a job back home in Atlanta
making $140,000

Why?
• Self-reporting. (Would you tell your law school you work at
Starbucks?
• Selective stats. An average salary of students employed at
graduation rarely includes salaries of 0 for unemployed students
• Manipulation. If the law school pays a firm to take you, are you
really employed?

LSAT score and undergraduate GPA (UGPA) are the most important
factors going into law school admissions
Importance
LSAT GPA
Personal
Statement
Letters of
Recommendation
Education and
Work Experience

What Law Schools Really Care About
LSAT
GPA
Everything that
makes you
beautiful and
unique
Note: Every law school says they look at all
applications holistically.

How Many Times Should
You Plan to Take The
LSAT?
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Your UGPA may end up being
different than what you think it is
(and usually lower)
29

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“But I went to a very good program!”
Law schools take into account the difficulty of your
school and your program.
However at the end of the day, they need to report
numbers.
(Usually students from Columbia or University of
Chicago will have LSATs to compensate for lower GPAs)

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Letters of Recommendation
• Most schools require 2-3, but please look at their websites
• LSAC now offers “evaluations”, which are like long surveys. (This
is proving unpopular)
• You have the right to read letters submitted for you unless you
waive that right. WAIVE THAT RIGHT.
• Letters are submitted to LSAC, not directly to law schools
• You can send certain letters to certain schools (especially if
there is an alumni connection).
• A great letter is not very likely to get you in, but a bad letter will
definitely keep you out

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Who should write your letters?
• At least one college-level academic instructor if not more
• Pre-law advisors are great
• Exception: non-traditional students
• People that know you really well
• Start cultivating these relationships now
• Plan to take multiple courses from one professor
• Take courses that require writing instead of multiple choice
exams
• Take courses with significant discussions
• Attend office hours

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How should you approach recommenders
• Bring a draft of your personal statement, resume, and
a sample of the written work you have done for them
• You must ask them if they would be willing to write
you a positive letter
• Give them at least a month – and feel free to follow up

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More is not necessarily better.
Your letters as a whole are only as good as your
weakest recommendation.

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Ah, the personal statement
This is really your one opportunity to shine.
Focus on being likeable. It’s incredibly easy for admissions directors
to deny applicants who sound like jerks.
Make sure you understand what each school wants. In general,
the way to go about this is to write a single 2-page, double-spaced
essay, then adapt as necessary.
You should plan to spend at least a month on your personal
statement.

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Personal statement mistakes
• Choosing an incredibly cliché topic, like how study abroad
changed your life.
• Discussing how as a layer you will “change the world” or you
“want to help people” unless you can back it up
• Failing to make it personal – make sure the essay is actually
about you!
• Don’t just adapt a statement you find in a book
• Make sure it’s well-written. Get a professional editor or smart
friend if you need to.
• Pre-law advisors can help with this

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More Personal Statement Resources
http://lawschoolexpert.com/personal-statements/top-50-law-school-personal-
statement-requirements/
http://lawschoolexpert.com/personal-statements/the-best-personal-statement-
samples/
http://www.top-law-schools.com/statement.html

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Diversity statements
This is an optional essay. It’s not just for racial minority
students. If you have a good reason to write one, you
probably should.
But not everyone should. Don’t talk about your 1/16th
minority status, or that you have a good friend who
suffered discrimination.

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Additional Essays
Why do you want to attend Law School X? You should always
write this essay if possible. Be honest in your discussion. If there
are reasons that aren’t obvious, this can be a great place to get
them out.
Many schools require another unique essay like Yale’s famous
“250.” Don’t be lazy on these – they weed out applicants who are
just cutting and pasting.

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Resume
Most schools will ask you to submit a resume that accounts for
your time since high school. There’s nothing magical about what
law schools are looking for here. Generally:
• With VERY few exceptions, your resume should be one page with
normal fonts and margins. (You are almost certainly not an
exception)
• Normal resume formatting – this is not the place to practice your
design talents
• Don’t be shy – experience working at a grocery is a lot better
than a year unaccounted for

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Addenda
You have the opportunity to write additional essays explaining unusual (usually
negative) aspects of your application.
This is the place to explain unusual, extenuating circumstances. Ask yourself: does this
sound like an excuse? (It usually does).
These include:
• One very bad course grade
• One semester of very bad course grades
• A significant gap in your schooling
• A criminal conviction
Generally, disadvantages faced in your life can be explained better in the personal
statement or diversity statement

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Addenda, continued
Do not write addenda if you don’t have to. You will just come off looking terrible.
Situations when you should generally not write an addendum include:
• Lower LSAT scores than you wanted without some incredible reason
• Multiple LSATs (almost always comes off as whiney excuses for not being prepared
the first time)
• Lower GPA throughout all of college including:
• Challenging program or major
• Family or work obligations (better in a diversity statement or personal
statement)
If you are in doubt as to whether your addendum will come off sounding whiney or not,
you probably should not write it.

John Rood
john@nextsteptestprep.com
773-257-3391
Thank you for listening!
Please contact me if you have any questions
about the LSAT or law school admissions.
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