Last year’s law school admissions cycle was one of the busiest, most competitive cycles on record. The upcoming one could potentially be busy too.
How can you start to prepare now for it, so this fall, when you are also busy with school, you will be in good shape?
Here are some suggestions:
Look at essay prompts: Each law school has a main personal statement as well as optional supplemental essays. Most schools will open their new applications for the next cycle by Sept. 1. Some may still have their applications as viewable for the current cycle. Be ready to look at the new prompts as soon as they are available. They don’t tend to change much from year to year, so you can brainstorm now based on last year’s topics. But they could change — so leave some room to rewrite or write new drafts.
Polish your resume: While you have free time over the summer, polish and perfect your resume. Almost all schools will let you submit a resume with your application. Add your current summer position. If your resume is longer than one page, try to edit. Have the career services office at your college look at it before school starts. This is one item you should be able to check off your application list.
Line up your recommenders: If you have not asked professors and former supervisors if they will write you a recommendation, ask them now. You will need between two and four recommendations, depending on the law school. At least some of them should be from professors. Reach out to potential recommenders now — and let them know when you will need the recommendations. Look on the Law School Admissions Council website, www.lsac.org,
for instructions as to how to invite your recommenders to submit online.
Draft a personal statement: Although, as aforementioned, the new cycle’s essays might not be available until early September, you can start to draft your general personal statement now. Usually this essay has an open ended prompt with no specific topic. Run your first draft by the writing center at your school, your prelaw adviser or a professor.
Go to the LSAC forum: The Law School Admissions Council has a great law fair which rotates from city to city (and has an online version). Check when the LSAC forum will be in your city and plan to attend. It’s a wonderful opportunity to network with law school admissions officers from all over the country. Some of them, such as the Washington, D.C. area, will be happening during the summer.
Figure out your LSAT test dates and the writing section: All the LSAT dates for the upcoming cycle are now posted. Figure out and register for the test you want to take. Potentially also pick a backup date to take it a second time. Figure out if you will be taking it in person or remotely. Look into signing up for score preview, so you can see your score before it is reported. As law schools have rolling admissions, ideally you will take it in the summer or early fall and be ready to submit applications before Thanksgiving. Don’t forget that there is also a separate writing section which you need to do for your applications to be complete.
