Apply to Law School
Preparing the Application
Your application is the school's first impression of you, so take care in preparing
it. Neatness counts. Follow directions carefully, and include all requested
information as completely as possible. To avoid making corrections on an application,
you may want to copy the forms and fill out the copies first. If you check them
over carefully yourself or with the pre-law advisor, you'll be less likely to
make mistakes when you complete the original.
The Personal Statement
Most schools require a one-or two-page personal statement. This should be viewed
as an opportunity to present yourself in a way not reflected in your transcript
or resume. It is a substitute in many ways for the personal interview, so let
your personality emerge from the page. Do not restate the obvious or rehash
material the admissions committee will already have before them. Tell the schools
what you can offer them that no one else can. Accentuate experiences, traits,
abilities and passions that set you apart. Be specific. Develop a narrative
that will be engaging and worth the committee's time to read. Don't be too cute
or unconventional. The personal statement is also your chance to explain anything
on your record that may appear negative. In all cases, BE SURE YOUR GRAMMAR,
PUNCTUATION, AND SPELLING ARE CORRECT.
Filing the Application
File your application in a timely manner. You should plan to have your applications
completed and sent well in advance of the application deadlines. We recommend
that you apply online as soon as possible. This will maximize your chances of
acceptance, especially to schools with rolling admissions. As admissions committees
begin to fill the available positions in a class, your odds of acceptance decrease
with each new admittance before your application arrives.
You are responsible for making certain your letters of recommendation are sent
in a timely fashion. Some applicants discover, even though they have filed their
applications early, their files are delayed in the review process because the
required letters of recommendation have not been received. This can seriously
diminish their chances of acceptance, especially if they are already borderline.
Be certain to include a "Law School Application Matching Form" from
the back of the LSAT/LSDAS Registration and Information Book with each application.
Law schools use it to obtain your LSDAS report from Law Services.
Resume
An updated resume is now an essential component of the application
process. This document compliments the application and personal statement with
applicant information regarding extracurricular activities and work-related
experience. Like other application materials, your resume needs to be free of
any grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes. For assistance in writing a
good resume, access www.las.iastate.edu/careerservices/resume.shtml.
Letters of Recommendation
Most law schools require one or two letters of recommendation with your application,
and even those that don't will consider them with your application. Choosing
your references is consequential in that it does affect your admission chances.
Some schools prefer or require faculty recommendations, and do not consider
a file until the faculty letters arrive. A strong faculty letter demonstrates
an awareness of the student's academic potential, and is not just a citation
of a particular grade a student earned in a particular class. The wise applicant
will make every effort to get to know their professors. A good mentor-student
relationship can enrich your undergraduate education immeasurably and sustain
your intellectual life far beyond your college and law school years. A student
who pursues special projects and demonstrates true intellectual curiosity and
initiative is certainly the kind of student any good law school covets. A great
letter of recommendation is simply a happy by-product of a student's hard work.
The importance of faculty letters is not so significant for applicants who have
been out of school for several years. Letters from employers, co-workers, or
others in a position to evaluate your ability or character are appropriate.
If you have maintained contact with one or more of your professors, you may
of course provide a letter from him or her. If the school requires a faculty
letter, you should try to comply even if you have been out of school for some
time. You can include letters that amplify your time out of school. Students
who are planning to apply to law school within a year or two after graduation
from college may want to have letters from professors placed in their files
before they graduate.
Try to choose references who can be specific and who can write you the strongest
possible letters. You can tactfully ask a reference if they feel they know you
and/or your work well enough to write you a strong letter. If a reference seems
reluctant to write a letter, find someone else. A lukewarm or negative letter
will obviously damage your chances of acceptance. If a reference is willing,
be sure they are able to write you a good letter. Someone who is able to compare
you with other students who have attended a law school to which you are applying
can be particularly persuasive. Dealing with facts relevant to law school is
appreciated by the law schools, as is honesty. A letter that recognizes a candidate's
weaknesses, but is nonetheless laudatory can be of great help to an admissions
committee. You can insure stronger letters by choosing your references with
care; then provide them with writing samples, a resume, and your personal statement.
All will help them to know you better as a student and as a person.
The rule of thumb in selecting a reference is to look for the quality of letter
rather than the prestige of the author. You may be acquainted with a senator
or a judge who is willing to write you a letter even though he/she does not
know you well. Such letters are generally a waste of the writer's and the admission
committee's time since they tend to be so general as to be meaningless. It is
preferable to get a letter from someone unrelated to the legal profession who
can tell the committee more about you than they can glean from your application
or personal statement.
The majority of letters of recommendation are now being coordinated by the letter
of recommendation (LOR) service through LSAC.
PLAN AHEAD when asking for letters of recommendation. Give your references adequate
time to prepare your letters. You should ask your references a few weeks before
you give them the forms if they are willing to write you a letter. Then make
sure you give them at least three weeks to complete and mail the letters after
you have given them the material. Asking a reference on Monday to "write
a letter and send it by Friday" demonstrates a wanton disregard for his
or her other duties and responsibilities. Certainly it does not provoke your
writer to speak well of your maturity and responsibility, or to applaud your
organizational skills. The result may be a less positive letter than you might
otherwise have received.
General Letters
LSAC on-line account holders have the ability
to have LORs sent to law schools based on each school's requirements or preferences,
and to direct letters intended for specific schools. You may submit up to four
general letters to be sent to every school to which you apply. For general
letters, all you need to do is identify your recommenders, print out your prefilled
Letter of Recommendation Forms, and give the forms to the appropriate recommenders.
Your recommender must sign the letter, insert it in his or her own
envelope along with your Letter of Recommendation Form, and send it directly
to LSAC.
If you do not wish to provide recommender information, you will still be able
to print out paper LOR forms that include your preprinted name and address.
The recommender will need to complete the form. However, this could add processing
time to your letter once it reaches LSAC, as your recommender's information
will not be a part of the bar code that appears on the form. This bar code expedites
processing.
If, for some reason, you are unable to establish an online account with LSAC,
you may call 215-968-1001 to obtain paper Letter of Recommendation Forms. All
letters accompanied by paper forms will be treated as general letters.
Targeted Letters
Online account holders may also arrange for targeted letters
to be directed to specific law schools. If you choose to target specific letters
to specific schools, you MUST use the LOR online screens to provide a brief
description of the intended use or content of each letter and to specify the
school to which the letter should be sent. The description will appear on the
prefilled LOR form that must be printed out and given to each recommender. Recommenders
must sign each letter, insert it in an envelope along with your Letter of Recommendation
Form, and send it directly to LSAC. All letters received without an accompanying
form or with the recommender's signature will be returned to the recommender.
You may ask one reference to provide letters for all of your applications. Most
professors and employers understand that you will apply to multiple schools,
and will write one letter to which they will make emendations as necessary.
In a computer age, this is an imposition only if you do not give your reference
plenty of advance notice and time.
Several law schools require a certification form from your undergraduate colleges(s).
For most, the dean's letter simply provides your rank and indicates any academic
or disciplinary proceedings. It should not serve as a substitute required by
the law school for institutional aid.
