The process of applying to law is not so much difficult as detailed. We've put together a convenient way to have your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) answered. We encourage you to feel free to schedule an appointment with Lyon Zabsky (the Pre-Law Advisor) for more personal answers to any of your pre-law questions.
Your post-Princeton plans are a serious business of infinite possibilities, rather unlike the high school transition when you never really doubted you'd simply continue your education at one college or the other. While the decision to attend any graduate school is a big one, law school in particular seems especially so given its length (three years), expense ($35,000 + a year is not uncommon) and now more than ever, no guarantee of a happily-ever-after life style. The decision to study law following graduation from Princeton is one that you want to make only after solid self-assessment and occupational research. A "default" decision---made just because nothing else appeals---is the weakest of the rationales. At best, it seems risky to your future happiness if you put yourself through the whole application process and don't feel reasonably confident that a legal education is a comfortable fit.
While it may seem to you that half of the senior class applies to law school, or talks about applying to law school, the actual number of seniors who do apply is quite low. In the 2002-2003 application year, 111 seniors applied to law schools. In the 2003-2004 application year, 126 seniors applied. These numbers reinforce the above - that the decision to apply to law school directly after Princeton is one that is made after serious thought and research. And, it is not the decision of half of the senior class!
At Career Services, one of our main charges is to act as an information resource and clearinghouse. We don't think you can have too much information about the important decisions of career choice. To get a better sense of what lawyers do, or what a legal education entails, talk to alumni! Use the Alumni Careers Network (ACN), to contact alumni and find out how they enjoyed their law school experience and what it's like to practice law. A number of solid information resources sit on our shelves :
Once you've read our suggested plan-of-action below, feel free to schedule a one-one appointment with the Pre-Law Advisor at your convenience. Typical counseling session discussions include: application strategy (based on your GPA and LSAT numbers); personal statement review and critique; law school curriculum; deferred admissions interim employment before law school. In addition, more general questions can probably be answered through our Fall and Spring term orientation meetings, held late September and mid-April every year. Non-appointment, quick question walk-in visits are also available on a regular basis (check with the Information Specialist for those times).
Freshman Year
Sophomore Year
Junior Year
Summer Between Junior and Senior Year
Senior Year
Clearly, there are a number of factors to consider when deciding where to apply. These include, for example, a realistic appraisal of your chances of admission; cost; prestige/reputation; size; location; specialty course offerings; student body; accessibility of faculty; variety of school-sponsored clinical (i.e. on-the-job) programs.
This decision-making process involves a good bit of information gathering. In addition to the law school web sites, you should consult the ABA/LSAC Official Guide toABA-Approved Law Schools. It is available from the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) and can be ordered from their web site. A copy is available at Career Services for reference purposes. You will also find it helpful to speak with some of the law school representatives who visit campus each fall. Take advantage of the alumni who have volunteered to provide career advising through the Alumni Careers Network (ACN), as well as those participating in panels on-campus. Regardless of the exact means you use, you want to be well-informed about the schools you're considering even to the extent of visiting the schools, talking to students, sitting in on classes, and checking out the placement office. (Such a visit is more appropriate, of course, after having received your acceptance to that school. In fact, many schools have special "get acquainted" programs for admitted students).
The number of law schools to which you should apply depends on your chances of being accepted at the schools in which you are most interested. The average for Princeton students is 8. Your chances of acceptance are influenced by a number of variables. The most important?: Your grade point average and LSAT score. By using these two numbers and referring to the grids in the Official Guide to Law Schools you will have a good idea of your chances of being admitted to law schools that interest you.
You might also find the Law School Locator (link below) to be a quick guide for further looking at likely law schools. For example, if four out of five applicants with your GPA and LSAT score have been admitted to a given school in the past, you can feel fairly certain (to that degree) you will be admitted. It could be considered a "safety" school. If this law school were your first choice, you might only apply to one school if you're something of a gambler. In any case, you should always apply to one or two "safety" schools to which you would be willing to matriculate. Beyond this, the number and nature of the law schools to which you apply depends upon your willingness to accept the risk of not being admitted to these more competitive schools. However, we think it is misappropriated energy and money to apply to schools to which you have statistically little or no chance of being admitted. If you have difficulty determining what schools fall into this latter category for you, feel free to seek the advice of the Pre-Law Advisor.
If your credentials are particularly strong, you might consider applying for merit-based, school-sponsored fellowships. For some, winning such a fellowship might make it worthwhile to attend a somewhat competitive school.
Under-represented applicants may find some GPA/LSAT admissions criteria misleading. Check with us to obtain a more appropriate appraisal of the chances of admission to specific schools. In addition, many law schools have specialists who can be very helpful to applicants seeking admissions to their schools. (Under-represented admissions guidelines generally apply to African American, Hispanic and Native American candidates.)
Some final points to consider:
In determining who will be admitted, law school admissions committees try to predict how successful a given applicant will be academically. This prediction is centered a good deal on your GPA and LSAT numbers. For a convenient first-step look at what range of law schools you might consider with your GPA and LSAT numbers go to: The Law School Locator. In fact much of the admissions game is quite a numbers-driven process. For those getting past that first numbers "gate", all the rest of the application---recommendations, the personal statement, extracurricular activities, leadership activities, community service, etc., have contributory relevance.
While law school admissions officers strenuously deny the existence of any sort of precise "cutoff" numbers, you can feel reasonably comfortable about your statistical odds on getting into most law schools by using our own Princeton admissions numbers or the scores published by the schools themselves. If you feel, say, a one-out-of five odds of getting into a particular school is worth the price of the $70-$80 admissions application fee, you've answered your own question about which school(s) to apply to.
Joint degree programs have mushroomed in recent years and now include a broad assortment of degree combinations. Nevertheless, we urge caution. We think it's an error to automatically assume that if one degree is good, two are better. We like to think in pretty pragmatic terms when it comes to graduate education. You should choose a joint degree program if you're convinced that not only it will be intellectually appealing (a major mission of your undergraduate "liberal" education) but have a professional payoff as well. In short, does all that postgraduate education allow you to work at the job you want?
One major practical advantage of a joint degree program is that it allows earlier degree completion and fewer courses than taking the programs separately. However, joint degree programs are more expensive and take longer. Finally, such programs reduce your flexibility when it comes to selecting elective courses.
The LSAT is offered four times each year: June, October, December, and February. Generally, the best time to take it is in June preceding your application, since this allows you to more accurately assess your chances of admission to a given school at the time of year when you are deciding to which schools you will apply. It also gives you plenty of time to retake the test if needed. Taking the test in October can crowd application deadlines because your score will not be released until the end of the month. December test-takers lose the potential advantage which the early application has to those schools having "rolling" admissions policies. Because of the holiday schedule, December scores are not released until after the first of the year. In the tough competition , we urge taking advantage of any edge you can get! Law schools suggest that "borderline" candidates put themselves at a certain disadvantage by getting their applications completed only at or near the deadline.
The LSAT is probably not a test you're used to so preparation is very important. Registrants should thoroughly review and study the preparation material and sample LSAT which are included in the LSAT/LSDAS Information Handbook. Not a few seniors opt to take a test preparation course. These courses are now up to, or over, the thousand-dollar range and do not guarantee better results than applicants who have studied on their own. A conservative (moneysaving) first step should be to take an actual previously administered LSAT test under simulated test conditions. You can buy these previously administered tests online from the LSAT people. If you need some organized preparation, see if you have the discipline to follow the LSAT-SuperPrep manual. If you find you need the organized peer-pressure to systematically do the rather tedious drills, (it's a bit like a weight-watchers program) then there are a number of good (and costly!) prep courses which would be happy to take your money.
Taking the LSAT a second (or third) time is recommended only in those cases where the individual is fairly confident that s/he will score at least 6-10 points better the next time around. Law schools may expect this much improvement due to a practice effect alone. Moreover, even though the LSAC people advise law schools to average multiple scores, each law school has its own policy. If your score is particularly low, you may find it helpful to speak with the law school's admissions staff for their advice.
Finally, when registering for the LSAT, please answer "yes" to the question which asks you if you are willing to authorize the strictly confidential sharing of your test results. This will not compromise the confidentiality of your score other than to allow the LSAC to generate (anonymous) statistics on Princeton applicants. These stats have helped you by allowing you to know the "numbers" of previous Princeton applicants. Be certain to answer "yes" so that your information will help future Princeton applicants.
You must use the LSDAS when applying to any U.S. ABA approved law school. (Law schools in Canada do not require use of the LSDAS.) You may register for the LSDAS at the time you register for the LSAT, or you may wait and do so several months prior to when you will apply to law schools. LSDAS provides a standardized analysis of your transcript(s) to the law schools. This is explained in detail on the LSDAS web site.
The LSDAS provides law schools with copies of your "report". This report contains your LSAT score, a copy of the written essay, and your transcript(s). You have the choice of using the LSDAS or Career Services for your letters of recommendation. If you choose to use the LSDAS, your letters of recommendation will also be included with your report. Once your application is complete, the law school will contact LSDAS and ask for your report to be sent. A fee of $12.00 per report will be charged to your account. Read the LSDAS web site information completely for instructions on using your LSDAS account.
Once you have registered with LSDAS, you must have the Registrar's Office send one official transcript. (Do not send your transcript yourself - it will not be accepted by LSDAS. It must come from Registrar's Office.) Do not wait until the time you apply to law schools to have your transcript sent as it often can take several weeks for processing at LSDAS. Take care of this application detail early!
The personal statement for law school is a document that law school Admissions Committees read with great interest. The more effective personal statements tend to be in the form of anecdotal, personal histories which lead the reader to believe the writer might be an interesting and valuable addition to the new class. Contrary to what you may have heard, law schools DO read the personal statement. It is an important piece of your application materials.
What is a personal statement?
It is the story of you. Before we get into content of the essay it is important to be aware of, or at least have some guidelines about, the purpose of the essay. The following are some components that the personal statement must fulfill:
The essay represents you in lieu of an interview with an Admissions Officer. Law schools typically do not grant interviews (the exception is Northwestern). Even if you are willing to incur the expense of travel and lodging, law school Admissions Deans will not schedule interviews - law schools are simply not staffed to handle thousands of interviews. That said, your personal statement speaks to the Admissions Committee on your behalf.
The essay is a writing sample. As such, it must be free of grammar and punctuation errors. What you write will reflect how well you express yourself in a clear and concise manner. In the competitive reading of literally thousands of personal statements, conciseness, interest, and uniqueness are major virtues.
The essay demonstrates your ability to craft an argument, an important skill in law school. Resist the impulse to tell the Admissions Committee everything about you. Or, to write your essay in a paragraph form of your resume. Convey your ideas creatively and back them up with evidence or accomplishments.
While it is important to respond to each law school’s application instructions on what is requested in the personal statement, the requirements are generally such that one essay may be used for most law schools. The usual required length is 500 words - two pages, double spaced.
What should I write about?
In a word, you. The Admissions Committee will have your transcript, GPA, and LSAT score (your “numbers”), resume, and application. What they don’t have is a sense of who you are. Often, the personal statement is what makes one application be selected for admission over other candidates with equal, or better, “numbers.”
Try to think of your application as a whole and how an Admissions Committee would view it. Can you spot any issues or areas that should or could be further addressed? Address such issues clearly and make your argument convincing; summon facts and present them in a clear, organized, and convincing manner. For example, if your interest is public sector law it makes perfect sense that your personal statement support this by writing about your experience(s) in the non-profit arena. Personalize your essay by telling a story about yourself.
Despite what many law school applications will instruct regarding the personal statement, you do not have to write the entire essay about why you want to go to law school. (Admissions Deans know you want to go to law school – they have your application in front of them! What they don’t know is who you are as an applicant to law school.)
Sample Personal Statement Topics
Here are a few of the most important do's and don'ts about the personal statement
DO be concise. Law School Admissions Committees read literally thousands of these statements, so an economy of phrase is appreciated. Can a sentence or two be cut without compromising your meaning?
DO be relevant. Your statement should convey information which the reader doesn't have. That information should be about you. Writing about things you have no personal knowledge of or things which have happened to others tend to be non-personal, generally undercutting the purpose of a “personal” statement.
DO be diligent in your attention to detail. Unfortunately, Admissions Committees look for easy things to reject personal statements like misspellings, typos, and poor grammar.
DON'T be theoretical. For example, an essay on “law is the fabric that holds society together” or “the value of law to a civilized society” is usually playing to an audience/committee of admissions deans and law professors, so your effort may come off as naïve (obviously not your intent). Writing about something the committee doesn't know (like yourself) is more likely to be impressive (obviously that is your intent!). Remember, this is not an academic exercise to demonstrate some newly acquired knowledge; it's a personalization of your application.
DON'T use quotes and DON’T title your statement. Quotes are usually the ideas of others, and often presage a theoretical discussion, which, as stated above, is best to avoid. In fact, more than a few law school Admissions Deans have made specific mention on how quotes set their teeth on edge, especially when they occur in the first sentence. The “theme” of your statement should come through to the reader(s) without having to title it.
DON’T use the personal statement to explain a low GPA or LSAT score. Include a separate “supplemental statement” to explain the reason for a semester of poor grades or the fact that you historically do not do well on standardized tests. This information is important for the Admissions Committees to receive, but not in your personal statement.
Personal Statement Review
To schedule an appointment for review of your essay please call Career Services at 258-3325.
By spring of your junior year, you should have a sense of who can write a good recommendation for you. Most law schools ask for two letters of recommendation and most will not mind receiving a third letter. (A fourth letter is not usually welcome as admissions committees are reading thousands of applicant files.) Even though you may not plan on attending law school immediately after graduation you should try and get your recommendations on file before you depart campus---it's a lot more convenient that way. And, you will be fresh in the mind of your letter writer. After being away from Princeton for several years your recommender may not remember you as well. Letters need not be written in the year that they are used, so having a two-year old letter in your file will be perfectly acceptable to law schools.
In selecting someone to write such a letter, you want to choose someone who will be able to speak positively of your academic skills and abilities, and willing to do so in detail. If possible the recommender might also address your character, motivation, maturity, and the difficulty of your courses as well as the importance and the time-consuming nature of your extracurricular activities. Once a person has agreed to write a letter on your behalf, it is a good idea to ask if it would be helpful if you provide some information, e.g., a resume or a few paragraphs on why you are pursuing law school. At least one letter should be from a faculty member in your department. The additional letter(s) may be from a preceptor or faculty member from another department. Lawyers, law school alumni, etc., are generally only useful if they are well known to the school (major donors?) or if they are especially distinguished or accomplished in some way and know you well enough to write a meaningful recommendation.
Most law schools provide their own recommendation forms, some of them fairly detailed (with grids, checklists and the like). These school specific forms do not have to be completed - the Career Services Waiver Form or the LSDAS Waiver Form that accompanies each letter is accepted at each law school. In addition, since it sometimes takes a few months for a recommender to get around to writing your letter, give yourself plenty of lead time on your requests.
While no school we know of requires you to waive your right to review your own letters of recommendation, a number of admissions officers tell us they tend to view confidential letters as somewhat more candid, and therefore more useful. While we think it's not a major issue, any competitive advantage to your candidacy---like enhanced credibility of your recommendations due to their confidentiality---is probably worth it.
Once written, the forwarding of these letters to law schools can be handled in several ways depending on your preference and who maintains the original letters. For the sheer convenience of it, you may choose to have all letters forwarded to and maintained by Career Services. If you choose to use Career Services' Credential Service click the link "Letters of Recommendation" on the right for complete instructions on how to set up and use your credentials file.
You also have the option of using the LSDAS for processing your letters of recommendation. Some law schools request that you have your letters arrive as part of your LSDAS report. The LSDAS waiver form may be downloaded and printed from the lsac.org web site. Fill in the waiver form and provide a form to each of your recommendors. The letter(s) must be sent to LSDAS, along with the waiver form. Be absolutely certain to fill in every part of the form or the LSDAS staff will return the form to you for completion. (This may cause a delay in law schools receiving your letters.)
If you choose not to waive your right to access or not to use Career Services, you basically have three options: (1) have recommenders send their letters directly to the schools (remember to give them stamped, addressed envelopes), (2) ask the recommender's department to create a file for you, or (3) maintain and send out letters on your own.
Also known as the "College Questionnaire", these forms are not completed by a dean, but by Career Services. The sole issue we address on this form is your disciplinary action/academic probation record. If your record is clear, that is noted on the form and the form is returned with no other comments. Again, we do not use these forms as an additional recommendation, even though some of the forms ask rather detailed questions.
Please be sure to provide us with stamped and addressed envelopes when you drop off these forms at Career Services. Read the instructions! Some schools want you to have the forms mailed back to you in a sealed envelope; other schools want you to send the forms to them directly. As you can imagine, application deadline pressures often create big workload backups for us and strain our ten-day turnaround targets. Consequently, we don't usually have extra-large reservoirs of sympathy when you ask us to do a quick-turnaround to accommodate your own deadlines. Procrastinators be advised!
A legal education is not inexpensive! A law school education can exceed $150,000.00! If you finance (in loans) your law school education and graduate with $80,000 of debt the monthly payment on your loan(s) for a ten-year repayment plan will be $1,000. Thus, it is very important for many students to begin early to identify sources of financial aid. There are three basic sources to look into: the law schools themselves, government loans, and independent (or private) loans.
The first place to begin is with the law school's financial aid section of their web site or the school's office of financial aid. Financial aid regulations change and law school financial aid offices are the most up-to-date sources of information.
The Law School Admissions Council site (www.lsac.org) is an excellent web site for financial aid information. On this site you will find information on FAFSA and FFELP (see below) and guidelines for applying for financial aid step-by-step.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a need-analysis form developed by the US Department of Education. Obtain this form in December from the law school's financial aid office. (You MAY NOT submit the form prior to 1 January of any year, but have it completed and ready to mail right after the new year.)
Almost all law schools participate in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). FFELP will provide information on Stafford loans (secured and unsecured). Once your financial needs are determined (by each law school) you will then be able to apply for government loans (Stafford) and private loans.
Grants and scholarships provided by law schools are generally based on need. Examples of exceptions to this rule include N.Y.U.'s Root-Tilden Scholarships, U.N.C.'s Morehead Fellowships, University of Chicago's Mechem Prize, and University of Miami's Harvey T. Reid Law Scholarship. Work-study opportunities are also often available; however considering the academic demands, first year students are discouraged from working. The financial aid programs of schools vary and deadlines often come early. Therefore, information regarding such opportunities should be gathered early on in the application process.
LSAT, LSDAS and law school application fee waivers are available to the truly needy. For LSAT/LSDAS fee waivers, go to the LSAC web site for waiver forms. If an application fee waiver is sought, it should be requested from all schools applied to. Such requests do not affect admissions prospects. When considering fee waivers, many law schools like to receive a supporting statement from an undergraduate financial aid officer. In pursuing any waivers, start early and plan ahead.
Some final points: (1) If you anticipate wanting or needing financial aid, start looking into it early. (2) Make a realistic budget for yourself including food, rent, insurance, books, transportation, educational expenses, etc. (3) Keep a copy of everything you submit to various lending institutions/agencies. (4) Don't overlook the possibility of taking out a loan from your parents and others.
The time of year you will be notified regarding the decision of the admissions committee will vary depending upon the admissions policy of the school, when the school receives the last of your application materials, and whether you are in a borderline situation - being a borderline candidate will often delay a definite decision.
Once you're accepted and once you decide which school you will attend, please notify the other law schools that you are no longer a candidate.
Law school admissions offices can fairly accurately predict the percentage of "yield" from the number of students offered admission. When the yield does not produce a large enough class, applicants are taken off the wait list and invited to matriculate. In general, the more prominent schools take fewer people off the wait list. Beyond this it's difficult to predict your chances of being taken off the wait list. Calling the law school will generally produce little helpful information. As a rule, it's probably best not to be overly optimistic unless you are at the very top of the wait list, (if, in fact, the law school will inform you of where your position is on the list), and even then there are never any guarantees. If you do find yourself on a law school's wait list it is important to maintain contact with the admissions office. Send a copy of recent grades or an additional letter of recommendation. Use whatever additional ammunition you have which may help your cause, including a personal note or statement.
Many law schools have a deferral policy whereby, once accepted, you can defer entry to law school for a year (policy varies from school to school but it almost always a case-by-case decision). Some schools allow deferral on a first-come-first-served basis, others may require a good reason. Regardless of policy, the number of deferrals is usually limited each year, if available at all.
You can request a deferral only after you accept admission to the law school. Moreover, deferring entry to a school is essentially a commitment to that school. It would be unethical to defer matriculation to more than one school or to apply to another law school once you had received a deferment from your original choice. If you don't plan to go to law school right away, it is often best not to apply right away.
Whether accepted or rejected for admission in a given year at a given law school, you can always reapply at a later time. However, if rejected initially, in many cases the law school will look for some significant improvement in your candidacy between applications. Such "improvement" might take the form of better grades, a significantly improved LSAT score, significant work or life experience(s) etc.
For any one of many reasons, you may decide to do something after graduation from Princeton other than go directly to law school. This may include travel, work, or course work in a different area. In almost every case, this will not hurt your chances of admission to law school; in fact, time off is most often seen as a positive factor, although not necessarily a major factor. Time off might work against you if you just wasted the time and goofed off, but generally, any substantive experience (work, study or travel) will be viewed as positive and the more experience you get, the more attractive you will be to a law school. If you are unsure about a specific (or general) type of work experience, speak with the Pre-Law Advisor. Work in a law-related field-for example, paralegal work - may help you to learn more about the law and certain types of lawyering, but it may not help you get into law school any more than any other job that offers responsibility and gives you the opportunity to demonstrate admirable qualities such as leadership, initiative, etc.
In regard to the LSAT, just about every school will accept a score that is three-five years old; but check with each school as a few schools now prefer a score of no more than 3 years old.
Finally...
Familiarize yourself with all of the information available on this web site and at the Office of Career Services. If you have any concerns, questions or problems at all, we welcome meeting with you personally.
| School | # Applicants | # Admitted |
|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN | 49 | 25 |
| BOSTON COLLEGE | 67 | 22 |
| BOSTON UNIVERSITY | 48 | 16 |
| COLUMBIA | 181 | 41 |
| DUKE | 81 | 31 |
| FORDHAM | 76 | 28 |
| GEORGETOWN | 186 | 59 |
| GEORGE WASHINGTON | 109 | 42 |
| HARVARD | 152 | 30 |
| NYU | 146 | 40 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 64 | 24 |
| STANFORD | 122 | 14 |
| TEMPLE | 12 | 7 |
| TULANE | 21 | 17 |
| UC BERKELEY | 106 | 9 |
| UCLA | 68 | 20 |
| U of CHICAGO | 83 | 17 |
| U of MICHIGAN | 79 | 27 |
| U of PENN | 109 | 27 |
| UVA | 119 | 42 |
| VANDERBILT | 31 | 8 |
| WILLIAM & MARY | 29 | 15 |
| YALE | 93 | 10 |