You have dreamed of becoming a lawyer, achieved academic success as a criminal justice major in college, and have the focus and dedication to get your application in order before college graduation.
Then, something happens.
Perhaps it’s pneumonia on the day of the LSAT. Maybe your parent lost their job, requiring you to work for a year instead. Maybe you even landed a role in a feature film.
In short, life can deliver any number of unexpected events at an undesirable time and, sometimes, this can delay your plan for law school. To get your dream back on track, consider your options.
Timing your application right
Law schools vary when they accept applications for fall, whether they offer part-time programs, or whether they offer second-semester start options.
Law schools typically open applications in August for entrance the following year. Applicants are welcome to submit their applications in the fall, and there may be an advantage to applying early as there are numerous spots open at that time.
However, if life delays your plan, consider applying later. The best time to apply to law school is when you can submit the application that best represents your full academic potential.
Law schools that offer rolling admissions typically accept applications until at least June, some until July 1.
There are many reasons it might make sense to wait to apply during the same application period. For example, if you did not score as high on the February LSAT exam as you had been scoring on practice tests, your February score might not be a good indicator of your academic ability.
If you can study for an extra two months and retake the LSAT for a higher score that will better represent your aptitude, then a later application with that higher score will better position you for admission.
Waiting a year (or more)
Some applicants are delayed by life events that take more than a year.
A recent incoming class at Western State College of Law included students from age 21 through age 56. For all sorts of reasons, people do not always attend law school immediately after college. If you are planning to take some time away from school, there are ways to plan ahead for your future application to law school.
You will need at least two letters of recommendation, and it is ideal if at least one is academic.
Law school is an academic exercise, so your recommendations need to reassure admissions committees that you have what it takes to succeed.
With that in mind, seek out and form relationships with one or two professors with whom you can keep in touch so they will remember you well enough to describe your academic talents that indicate success in law school.
If you cannot ask a professor for a letter of recommendation, seek out someone who has supervised your work and can speak to the analytical, persuasive, and/or writing skills that will transfer to success in law school.
If you are taking time off to work in a law-related field, be sure to develop a professional relationship with someone in a position to write you a letter of recommendation.
Your LSAT score will expire in five years. If you already rocked the LSAT and then decided to wait to go to law school, be aware that LSAC will remove your score exactly five years after your test date. If you are preparing to take some time off, consider when you will have time to study and take the LSAT within a few years of applying to law schools.
If you are not admitted, do you have any options?
Sometimes, your undergraduate GPA or fifth and final LSAT score prevents you from being admitted into any ABA-accredited J.D. program. Is that the end of your dream? The answer, as with nearly any question related to law, is “It depends.”
If there is anything that would help explain why your GPA or LSAT score does not represent your academic aptitude, write an addendum to explain it. Make the case for why you have what it takes to succeed in law school (and pass the bar exam).
If your GPA or final LSAT score is so low that it disqualifies you from being admitted to any ABA-accredited school, you could attend a non-ABA-accredited program and “lock in,” as the teens say. If you are a top student there, that could be an additional data point in a transfer application indicating your aptitude for succeeding in an ABA-accredited law school.
Also consider which state would be ideal for your practice.
California has one of the lowest bar passage rates, but they also allow anyone to sit for the bar — even people who did not attend an ABA-accredited law school.
On the other hand, Pennsylvania has a much higher bar pass rate but requires each admittee to have a degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
Depending on the state in which you want to practice, your “plan B” might still give you a shot to reach your dream of becoming a licensed attorney.
Gialisa Gaffaney is director of admissions and pathways to law at Western State College of Law, which accepts applications for fall until July 15. She can be reached at ggaffaney@wsulaw.edu.
