As of the time I’m writing this, applicants to law school in the current admissions cycle are up almost 25%. And applications are up about a whopping 35%.
Why? Possibly because it is an election year. In the almost twenty years that I’ve been a prelaw adviser, some application cycles are much busier than others. This means, if it continues, it could be a very competitive cycle. So how do you distinguish yourself?
Here are some tips:
Apply early: Even though it’s a busy time in the current application cycle, you can help yourself potentially by applying early. I recommend applying by Thanksgiving at the latest, if you can. Law school is all rolling admissions… so the admissions committee is reading files all the time, not waiting until their deadline.
Consider waiting another year before applying: If you were on the fence about whether to take a year to work before applying, or undecided about whether you want to go to law school at all, this might be a good time to take a professional development year. The majority of applicants to law school now generally take a year to work before applying to law school. Some of my advisees now even take two or more years. It may be a less competitive cycle next year. You may also be able to improve your application by taking time off, if you get an interesting job that potentially boosts your resume or take the time to study for and retake the LSAT, if you have a less than stellar LSAT score. I have never met an applicant who regretted taking a year off for professional development purposes, or to work on their credentials.
Attend law school admissions events: There is a traveling admissions fair called the Law School Forum, which is currently traveling through major cities in the United States. Many of the admissions directors from law schools all over the country will attend. This is a fantastic opportunity to network directly with them. As it is sometimes difficult to meet with admissions directly, as most law schools do not have interviews, here is your chance to connect. There is a digital version of the law school Forum for those who cannot attend in person, or do not live near the cities in which it is held. You can register for it through LSAC, the Law School Admissions Council. https://www.lsac.org/lawschoolforums
Many law schools also offer their own admissions virtual office hours and hold both online and in-person admissions events. Every year I hear stories from my advisees about how much it helped them to meet with admissions, either in person or even virtually.
Do your research: I would recommend that in any year, but especially in a competitive one, you research law schools very carefully. Find out if they typically offer merit scholarships, and if so, are they conditional? (Dependent on maintaining a certain GPA in law school to keep them)? What is the school’s bar pass rate? How about their employment statistics for recent graduates? You can find out all this information in advance, and more, by looking at law school’s ABA Standard Disclosure 509 reports. I recommend sticking to official sources, such as the ABA reports. https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/requiredDisclosure
In a competitive cycle, you can make sure that the law schools you apply to are the ones that will best suit your long-term goals.
