8 Tips for Building a Strong Law School Application

If you want the best chance of getting into your law school of choice and your 'reach' school, you need to put together the strongest law school application possible. Getting accepted into a top law school takes far more than a good LSAT score or strong undergraduate grades. Below, I cover eight tips for building a strong law school application. These tips speak to crucial elements of a strong law school application that are often undervalued or completely overlooked. Implementing the following tips as you prepare and apply to law schools ensures you've put your best foot forward for those reading applications and making admissions decisions.

1. Plan Ahead for a Law School Application

Strategic planning is essential to build a robust law school application. On a broad level, planning requires organizing your time and deciding when to prepare your application materials. More specifically, you need to begin planning and organizing at least 18 months prior to when you plan to enroll. For example, if you want to begin law school in fall 2023, you should start the ball rolling between January and March 2022. Each part of your application takes time, and some parts take longer than others. You can use this general application timeline for law school to create the personal timeline that works best for you.

2. Create a Stellar Personal Statement

You need to spend ample time thinking about and creating your law school personal statement. Your statement should showcase strong writing skills and be free of grammatical errors, but content matters too. Avoid creating single-story narratives, especially those that focus on adversity. Then, tell a story about how you overcame a particular challenge in your life. Instead, you need to provide a clear and thoughtful essay demonstrating why you want to attend law school and your intended career path. A concise statement that focuses on your aspirations for law school and your interest in a particular field of law helps contribute to a strong application package.

3. Apply at the Right Time

Law schools accept new students on a rolling basis. However, it's in your best interest to submit your application as early as possible. Many schools begin accepting applications in September of the year before you want to attend. If possible, you should get all your law school applications submitted by October 31st. This puts you in a better position to receive funding and ensures that you will likely have a decision in January.

4. Have Strong Grades and a Good LSAT Score

Although LSAT score and undergraduate academic strength are not the only things that make up a strong law school application package, they are critical elements of your application. They significantly influence the scholarships and grants you could receive to fund your education. If you are still an undergraduate, put in the effort to do well in your classes. Begin preparing for the LSAT as soon as possible. If you are not happy with your first score, you want to have time to retake the test before submitting your applications.

5. Write All Optional and/or Supplemental Essays for a Law School Application

Some law schools require an additional essay beyond your personal statement, but many make these supplemental essays optional. All things being equal, applicants that complete the optional essays have a stronger application than those who do not. Simply completing supplemental essays demonstrate your commitment to law school and gives you the chance to provide more information about yourself to the admissions committee. Each school has different prompts, so you need to research precisely what you need for the schools where you apply. I have created guides for UPenn Law, Yale, Stanford, and Georgetown for more in-depth information.

6. Secure Strong Professor Recommendations

Strong recommendations can drastically improve the overall strength of your law school application package. Securing recommendations is one of the first things you need to think about as you apply to law school. You do not immediately have to ask for letters, but you should start fostering relationships with professors that you want to write for you.  The best letters of recommendation come from people who actually know you. Letters should highlight your ambition, ability to contribute to campus culture positively, and ability to face the challenges of attending law school. If you are still an undergrad or have graduated in the last three to five years, you need to secure academic letters of recommendation that showcase your classroom prowess, research skills, and analytical skills. If you are a non-traditional student making a midlife career change, provide a letter from your employer.

7. Build Relationships With the School

It's common for law school applicants to think of the admissions team as a nameless, faceless group that doesn't care about them. However, this is not the case. You can strengthen your application by engaging with the admissions team and fostering a relationship with them and the school. Even if you do not enroll in the school, some can be valuable mentors and serve an essential role in your professional network. The easiest way to get to know the admissions team is through the forums the school provides. This often includes informational sessions or digital forums. In other cases, you can set up a time to meet with a member of the admissions team and introduce yourself.

8. DON'T Forget to Address Low Scores or Grades

As mentioned above, LSAT scores and grades are important. Every law school allows you to provide a short statement or addendum to explain anything that might give pause to the admissions committee. Life happens, and people have struggles. Maybe you weren't committed to your undergrad studies, maybe you struggled with mental or physical health issues, or maybe you had family issues pulling you down. Take the time to explain circumstances that led to low test scores or grades. If you don't explain, you leave those who review your package to assume the worst. 

Need Help With Your Law School Application?

If you have further questions as you prepare your law school applications, email me at hello@smontgomeryconsulting.com or learn about how I can help you by visiting my webpage. I also offer hourly rates for consulting to help with any last-minute touch-ups you might need on your law school applications. Contact us to learn more.