Stetson Law Admissions Blog

This is a milestone moment in your life. You have decided that you will become a lawyer! You’ve done your research on the profession and on law schools. You’ve taken or begun to prepare for the LSAT. You have a list of schools where you will apply. Perhaps you have visited schools or even attended a Pre-Law program to learn more about law school itself. Congratulations! Now it is time to apply.

In over 10 years of working with law school admissions, I always appreciate getting a chance to respond to a question regarding, “what courses should I take before law school?” It is a great question and it can often help guide a student through an undergraduate program as well as greatly prepare them for a successful law school academic experience.  

The LSAT is required for any student applying to one of the over 200 ABA-accredited law schools in the United States, but other standardized tests are now under consideration, too. In 2020, the LSAT, an acronym for the Law School Admission Test, will increase its test offerings to nine times per year. This change will allow students to prepare and take the LSAT at a time most convenient for their schedule. This gives many opportunities to take the LSAT, but you can only take it five times within the current and five past testing years, or seven times in a lifetime.

The LSAT is over, and it's time to send out applications. You thought the rest would be easy, didn't you? Then you sat down to write your personal statement — and you're still sitting there. How much should you share about yourself?  What will the admissions counselors think is important or worthy of acceptance? What makes my story unique, powerful, and interesting?  We know. It's tough.

We see a lot of personal statements done both well and poorly.  Here are a few mistakes we don't want you to make.

Attending law school is a serious commitment. Every student considering law school must be ready to invest time and money into this endeavor, and have realistic expectations about post-graduation returns. While some people attend law school immediately after graduating from college, many  people wait a few years and gain valuable work and life experiences.

Many applicants wonder how they can stand out from the crowd and get noticed—in a good way—by an admission committee. Candidates often try to write creative personal statements, find extra special VIPs to write letters on their behalf, or obtain impressive-sounding internships. Law school admission committees have received videos, photo albums, portfolios, resumes on pretty paper, poems, thesis submissions, and more. People are very creative!

We don’t have to tell you that choosing a law school is a big decision. The school you choose drives your future success, so it’s important to attend a school that you not only enjoy, but one that will give you opportunities to flourish.

Transferring to another school may be an option, but it comes with its own challenges and setbacks. For this reason, make sure the school you choose to attend is a school you would want to graduate from.

What you get out of law school depends in part on what you put in. Only you can maximize the investment you’ve made, and that comes by committing fully. Making the most of your law school years isn’t just about the classroom and the grades.  Your future practice and career can benefit from good choices, strategic decisions, and friend-making skills.

If you are in the process of applying to law school, take a few minutes to think about each of the components of a file and why they are important to law schools. In addition to reviewing LSAT performance and grades, a lot more happens behind the scenes when your file is reviewed. Law schools look at your writing skills, attention to detail, ability to follow directions, and demonstrated interest or research showing why you are applying to their program, along with the other components to your file.

I hear this question every year: Will you accept a June LSAT for fall?

The answer these days is a resounding yes!

Unlike in the past, many schools (at various rankings) accept the June LSAT for a fall entry. Because each school is different — and has different requirements— you need to ask your schools whether they will accept a June test.