For many students, the law school admissions process is quite an experience. You may think that preparing for the law school admissions process will only take a few days of your time but in reality, this process starts from the moment you choose your undergraduate course. This is because many law schools consider your undergraduate course in determining your eligibility as a law student. There is no specific undergraduate course required when you apply for law school but your course should equip you with proper writing and speaking skills and expose you to opportunities that can test your critical thinking skills. (1) Don’t be pressured to take up a degree in Political Science when planning to go to law school. Many law schools actually prefer students who don’t have any background at all regarding legal matters. (2)
Once you have finished your undergraduate course, you will then have to prepare for the LSAT or the Law School Admission Test. This challenging yet unavoidable part of the law school admissions process does require some preparation especially if your applying for a prestigious law school. Aside from your GPA, your LSAT score can greatly determine your eligibility when applying in law school. As part of the law school admissions process, the LSAT can take half a day — this test is comprised of a 175-minute written exam of all sorts plus a 30-minute essay part. (3)
Aside from the GPA and LSAT, the law school admissions process will also require you to submit a personal statement. A personal statement is an application essay wherein you may be required to answer certain questions or write freely about your life experiences and reasons why you want to go to law school. When writing your personal statement, remember that you are trying to “sell” yourself to law schools so try to be as truthful and creative as possible. If you don’t know where to start, try to list down your strengths, hobbies, or interests. Then think of a unique story about your life experiences. Since the people who will be reading your personal statement will have to read thousands of other application essays, it’s important to make your personal statement stand out from the rest. (4)
(1) http://gradschool.about.com/cs/decisionmaking/a/law.htm
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juris_Doctor#Prerequisites
(3) http://gradschool.about.com/cs/lsat/a/lsat.htm
(4) http://gradschool.about.com/cs/essaywriting/a/essay1.htm