Law School Planner
Suggested Timeline
Freshman Year:
- Take courses that interest you. There is no single course of study or major which will make a significant difference in your attractiveness to law schools.
- Do as well as you can in your courses. If you apply to law school during your senior year, generally schools only have your first 3 years of grades to review.
- Try to get to know your instructors. This is often achieved by being active in class or through contacts with faculty during their office hours. Evaluations (recommendations) from faculty members can be an important admission factor. The more detailed knowledge your instructors have about your academic work, the more detailed (and useful) your recommendations can be. A preceptor who knows your work in detail is potentially more useful than a full professor who knows you from a seating chart.
- Start to learn about law as a career. Attend our law related career panels and programs. Begin to get a general idea of what people with a legal education actually do - how they use their education in the world of work (many law graduates do not actually practice law, for example). Think about talking with alumni in the Alumni Careers Network (ACN). Look into the possibility of getting a law-related summer job, and this doesn’t necessarily mean in a law firm. Many organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, have missions that are legal in nature.
- It’s never too soon to begin thinking about the LSAT (the Law School Admissions Test). The LSAT has three types of questions: logical reasoning; analytical reasoning; and reading comprehension. Within the reading comprehension section there will also be a comparative reading question. The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) has free LSAT preparation materials, including sample tests.
- While the LSAT is a paper and pencil test, the Law School Admission Council has an online tool called LSAT ItemWise which will let you practice answering questions in all three categories, keeps track of those answers, and explanations why your answers are correct or incorrect.
Sophomore Year:
- Grades: If you had less than a stellar freshman year, don't panic. Although a weak freshman year isn't unimportant, an upwards trend in your subsequent grade point average will blunt the significance of mediocre grades received early in your college career. Freshman year grades are often viewed as the least predictive of your academic performance.
- Courses: Take courses that will sharpen your writing and analytical skills; both are very important for law school and the legal profession. Don't necessarily avoid tough courses. Law schools will look at the courses you have taken and will generally be able to discern a difficult from an easy curriculum. If you are still apprehensive about taking a particular course, you might consider taking it on a pass/fail basis. However, taking more than a few courses pass/fail may be viewed unfavorably by law schools.
- Although there are no courses specifically crucial for admission to law school, there are more than a few law-related courses offered here at Princeton, and (logically) these should be of interest to you. Don’t be risk averse – take a variety of classes.
- Majors: The choice of a major should be based on your interest in the subject matter. Don't choose a major you think might "look" better to law schools. Law schools are more likely to appreciate your mastery of a subject than the subject itself. That being said, a demonstrated competency in subjects requiring close reading and analysis is very relevant to admissions committees.
- It’s never too early to begin preparing for the LSAT. The LSAT has three types of questions: logical reasoning; analytical reasoning; and reading comprehension. Within the reading comprehension section there will also be a comparative reading question. The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) has available free LSAT preparation materials, including sample tests.
- While the LSAT is a paper and pencil test, the Law School Admission Council has an online tool called LSAT ItemWise which will let you practice answering questions in all three categories, keeps track of those answers, and explanations why your answers are correct or incorrect.
Junior Year:
- Continue to explore and learn about the legal profession by reading literature (articles, books, web articles, etc.) and talking with lawyers – alumni in the Alumni Careers Network (ACN) and others in the legal profession.
- Take part in law-related programs and activities on campus, including Career Services sponsored panels and workshops; and deans of admissions presentations.
- Begin to assess your need and the availability of financial aid. Will your family help with the cost (enormous) of law school or, will you be paying on your own.
- Recommendations: Be certain to open a Credentials File in Career Services and begin seeking recommendation letters from faculty.
- Give serious consideration to the best time to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The LSAT is offered four times a year: February, June, October (this year the “October” test is administered on 26 September), and December. If you take the LSAT in October of your Senior year you will be basing your application strategy on diagnostic scores (practice scores). Your actual LSAT score may well be higher or lower.
- A practice LSAT is available on the Law School Admissions Council website.
- While the LSAT is a paper and pencil test, the Law School Admission Council has an online tool called LSAT ItemWise which will let you practice answering questions in all three categories, keeps track of those answers, and explanations why your answers are correct or incorrect. This is a tool to familiarize you with the types on questions on the LSAT. It is not a substitute for taking practice LSAT tests!
- Familiarize yourself with the CAS (Credential Assembly Service) and all that you must do through this service when applying to law school, including the applications for all ABA approved law schools.
- If you will be applying in the fall of your senior year, register with CAS either at the same time you register for the LSAT or, by mid June after your Junior year the latest.
- After your Spring semester grades have been submitted to Registrar, have your transcript sent to the CAS. You must submit to Registrar’s Office your CAS bar-coded transcript request form.
- Based on your GPA and LSAT score (actual or diagnostic) begin to research law schools that fall into the safety, slight stretch, and reach categories. While “numbers” (GPA and LSAT score) are important, other factors, e.g., your personal statement, leadership experience, and extracurricular activities, will allow admissions committees to view your application holistically.
- Begin thinking about ideas for your personal statement.
Senior Year:
- Take advantage of the rolling admissions policies of many law schools by completing your applications as early as possible - ideally, in September, but by October or early-mid November at the latest.
- Be certain that you follow the instructions for each law school’s application. While all law schools will ask for the same basic information, they will ask for it in different ways. Attention to detail is essential in the application process!
- Schedule an appointment with the PreLaw Advisor to have your personal statement reviewed.
- Be certain that your letters of recommendation are in your file at Career Services or with the LSAC in your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) account. (Your letters MUST be sent to your CAS account at the time you apply to law school.) Yes, your recommenders promised they would have the letters in by a certain date, but it’s your responsibility to check that the letters have, indeed, arrived.
- Attend presentations by law school admissions deans during the fall semester. These presentations provide the opportunity to meet the deans of admissions, to continue your personal evaluation of these schools, and to give you a greater insight into the law school experience and what each school looks for in its applicants.
- Obtain financial aid materials early in the year and process them in a timely fashion. Many have early deadlines. Become very familiar with the financial aid web site of each law school to which you are applying – they are not all the same!
- Keep current on prelaw activities through the Career Services calendar and the weekly CareerNews email.
- After all of your applications have been submitted, it may be tempting to breathe a sigh of relief and think you can now relax and not worry about grades. Not so. Even if you receive admission to your top choice law school in the Fall semester, that school will require a transcript of your Fall and Spring semester grades.