There is so much misinformation out there about law school admissions. It is sometimes shocking what my students tell me they have read on the internet or have heard from well-intentioned friends or other lawyers.
I have conversations that reflect that every week.
“My friend told me that law schools don’t like it when you take a year off before applying,” a student said, during our recent meeting.
“What?” I answered. “So many applicants take a professional development year these days—and are ultimately very successful with law school admissions. It is really an individual decision. Where did they get that information from, anyway?”
That is typical of the conversations I have, where law school applicants are puzzled by advice they have been given, which may or may not be at all correct. When you are planning to apply to law school, it makes sense to primarily stick to resources that are a little bit more official.
Here are 10 websites relating to law school that might help you:
The Law School Admissions Council: https://www.lsac.org/
LSAC is the primary site for information about applying to law school, and in fact you will register for the LSAT and actually apply to law schools through this site. It is a wealth of information about law school and the whole application process.
The American Bar Association: https://www.americanbar.org/topics/legaled/
The ABA is the official association for the legal profession and has a section on legal education listing all of the ABA accredited law schools, and much other valuable information relating to the entire legal profession.
The National Association for Law Placement: https://www.nalp.org/
NALP is a great resource for all things related to legal employment and the legal job market. They have salary surveys and very up-to-date information about legal hiring.
The Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/prep/lsat
The Khan Academy has free online LSAT prep—a very helpful resource for those looking for guidance as they start to prep for the LSAT.
AccessLex Institute: https://www.accesslex.org
AccessLex has tremendous resources for those looking for information about the cost of law school, paying for law school, and scholarships for legal education, amongst other resources they offer.
The LSAC Official Guide to ABA Approved Law Schools: https://officialguide.lsac.org/release/OfficialGuide_Default.aspx
The LSAC Official Guide has a very good GPA/LSAT score admissions chart. The data included is official data from law schools, which can be very helpful. You can plug in your GPA and LSAT score and try to assess your chances of admission.
The (Kaplan Test Prep Wilson-Stern) Book of Law School Lists: https://www.bu.edu/caspreprofessional/files/2020/02/The-2019-2020-Book-of-Law-School-Lists.pdf
The book of lists has extremely detailed information you may find helpful about law schools, including specialty programs and dual degree programs offered by various law schools.
The ABA Standard 509 Employment Reports: https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/employmentoutcomes.aspx
The 509 employment reports are incredibly useful to look at when you are evaluating different schools. They give a picture of their recent graduate employment status, including the employment rate and the top three states in which recent graduates are employed.
Your School’s Pre-law Website:
Each college typically has its own pre-law webpage, where you can find out about individual programs at your school and connect to your pre-law advisors. Many applicants are unaware that this resource exists at their college, and many schools also advise alums applying to law school.
Each Law School’s Admissions Website:
When in doubt, check with each law school you are applying to for more detailed information about that school’s deadlines, policies, updates and links to possible scholarships affiliated with that particular law school. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them directly!
Hillary Mantis works with pre-law students, law students and lawyers. She is Assistant Dean for the pre-law advising program at Fordham University and author of legal career books. You can reach Hillary at altcareer@aol.com.
