Law School Admissions Essays
Law School Admissions Essays
Learn How To Write A Law School Essay
Though most schools weight the numbers a little more; your LSAT score and GPA have a big impact, law school essays are definitely taken into account. Moreover, your law school essay will make or break your application if you’re a borderline applicant, and it can even make up for a weak showing in the numbers department.
If you’re Applying To Law School, your law school essay, along with your LSAT score and your undergraduate GPA, is going to be the most important factor in both what schools will accept you and how much scholarship money they’re going to offer you.
Even if you’re a huge long shot for a particular school the admissions staff will read at least the first paragraph of your law school essay, just to see what you have to offer. On the flipside, if you’re a strong applicant to a particular school a bad law school essay can knock you out of the running if you’re too flippant or stuck-up.
Though some law schools will give a required topic for your law school essay, most will offer up a few suggestions but allow you write on anything your heart desires. When writing your law school essay, avoid repeating any information that can be found on other parts of your application.
The admissions staff can read; they know what your GPA is and what activities you’ve taken part in. Instead, fill them in on what isn’t on your application. Write on something that both defines who you are and why you stand out from the crowd.
Avoid over-used topics; writing about the most inspirational person you know or what difficulties you’ve overcome are tired topics and won’t get you much attention unless it’s something truly fresh or earth-shattering.
If the most inspirational person you know is the Unabomber or you were born without legs and can run a ten second fifty yard dash the admissions staff has probably heard it before.
The admissions staff has gone through thousands of applications, so tell them something about yourself that makes you stand out in their minds. Have you hiked the entire Appalachian Trail? Gone skydiving in a kayak? Raised your baby brother for a summer? Helped a poor family get a house?
Your activities don’t necessarily have to be related to the law (though sometimes it helps), the topic you write about just needs to have been important to you. You should also have something to say about the topic, whatever it may be. Say it, and think of the law school essay as a way for the admissions staff to get to know you better.
About the Author
Learn about writing a law school essay online.
I am a 35 married women who desperately wants to attend the law school in my area. Help?
I must attend school at night due to financial obligations. This limits my choice of school to one. However, this institution has denied me admission. Though I had a 2.6 gpa in college 13 years ago and only scored a 144 on my LSATs, I still believe I can succeed in lawschool due to my 13 years of experience as Litigation Paralegal with state and federal government agencies. Low gpa score was caused by immaturaty and lack of focus due to my mother’s mental illness and everyone knows that standardized testing is not only bias but is in no way a reflection of the level of success that can be attributed to candidates. My only hope is a personal essay that will be able to wow the admissions committee. I have no idea where to start, how to get help. Should I request an interview with an admissions committee member?
Okay, I’m normally very optimistic about everyone’s chances to go to the school of their choice and encourage people apply and take their chances.
However:
A 144 LSAT is below the “minimum threshold” of all accredited law schools. Only one law school that I’m aware of, Thomas M. Cooley School of Law, is willing to take a student with a score of less than 146, provided that their overall index score is sufficient. Due to your GPA, you don’t meet that index requirement, either. You would, however, qualify for a “part-time restricted admission.” Beware, though, Cooley flunks out a large portion of their class each year, is the butt of many jokes, and is generally looked down upon by all other schools and most employers.
You just might squeeze by with such a low GPA at some schools, but the LSAT score is likely insurmountable. I strongly encourage you to retake the LSAT before applying to any accredited school.
You’re free to request an interview, but only one school that I’m aware of (Northwestern) factors this interview into the admissions process. I can also almost guarantee you that they’ll also suggest that you retake the LSAT.
Don’t get me started on the “bias” of the standardized test. That’s no excuse at all. The rest of us sat down with our study guides and prepared (or didn’t in some cases) and still managed to score extremely well. The LSAT is learnable, and people have reported that they’ve seen score jumps of ten points or more by studying for the test. If you can’t be bothered to prep for the test, you probably won’t make it through law school anyway. Similarly, if you did do extensive prep and still can’t make it through the test, law school probably isn’t for you.
LSAT scores, by the way, do correlate to the success of first year law students.
Edit:
There are no online law schools that are accredited in the US. If you decide to go that route, you will not be eligible to take the bar exam in most states.
|
|
The Official LSAT SuperPrep £11.99 … |
|
|
How to Write the Perfect Personal Statement: Write Powerful Essays for Law, Business, Medical, or Graduate School Application (Peterson’s How to Write the Perfect Personal Statement) £4.59 … |
|
|
55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays: What Worked for Them Can Help You Get Into the Law School of Your Choice £4.22 … |
Law School Admissions Essays Videos
(4 of 9) PowerScore’s Guide to Law School Admissions
