U.S. Law School Applications

banana123

I am confused as to how the U.S. law school application process works...many schools begin accepting applications as of Sept 1., but their websites do not provide any information for applicants applying for this upcoming cycle. How are we supposed to know what the components and directions of the applications are (e.g. personal statement, optional essays, etc.) when they do not post the directions for the upcoming application cycle?? Do they only post information in late Aug, which only gives a few weeks to complete the whole application for those who want to submit in Sept?? I know that you can roughly estimate the requirements based on the requirements from last cycle, but I would not want to complete my current application based on last year's instructions. If someone can elucidate this process, that would be tremendously helpful!

GordonBombay

You need to register and make an account with lsac.org. After registering you will need to have all of your undergrad transcripts sent to LSAC, and you will need to upload your personal statement, letters of recommendation, and any other admissions criteria through their website. You'll also be applying to any law schools through LSAC as well.

banana123

@GordonBombay Thanks for your comment. The LSAC process isn't so much what I am confused about, but rather the school specific instructions for personal statements, etc. The instructions listed on school websites are currently old and from last cycle. I am wondering when the new cycle information becomes available.

Pacifico

Most schools should have a date or general timeframe for when their apps open up. Usually it's somewhere in the late August - early October timeframe. While you cannot know exactly what any applications from any schools will look like, most personal statements are pretty general across the board so you can definitely write one now that you could send to pretty much every school you apply to, and maybe just tweak it a bit for certain schools with certain requirements. I'm almost done my PS and I doubt I'll have to do much to change it once apps open up. The stuff you really can't know or work on is the C&F questions and other things like that. Those short answer kind of questions can change from year to year so you really need to wait. For right now, just focus on your PS, your resume, and your diversity statement if you're writing one. And of course your LSAT prep if you haven't taken it yet. No school expects applications on September 1st because that is a common date for applications to open up. A school would not reasonably expect someone to apply the same day the application opened because it would likely be incredibly rushed and possibly reflect poor judgment on your part. Slow down and just take care of what you can at the moment.

banana123

@Pacifico Thanks! C&F?

nicole.hopkins

@banana123 said:
C&F

Cheddar & fontina

A bit cheesy, I know ...



Seriously though, character & fitness.

banana123

@nicole.hopkins haha thanks