Law School Admission Application FAQ

Q. Is there a required or preferred undergraduate major? Are there courses I must take to qualify for law school?

A. Unlike medical school, there is not a required pre-law major for law school. Law schools admit individuals who have majored in all different fields - math, accounting, biology, English, economics, history, political science, music, engineering. What is most important is that you major in a field of study that you enjoy and that you advance in your coursework. Students tend to perform better in courses in which they are interested. Law schools will review your transcripts to see that you took upper level courses during your junior and senior years.

Q. If I take the LSAT more than once, will you consider the high score or an average?

A. We will receive each LSAT score from Law Services and, therefore, will see if there has been significant improvement. However, for statistical purposes, we will consider the average of any LSAT scores that you earned in the past 5 years. For fall 2004 admission, scores earned between June 1999 and February 2004 will be considered and averaged.

Q. I earned my undergraduate degree overseas. My university is not on the LSDAS list of schools and, therefore, I cannot subscribe to LSDAS. Is there anything I must do with respect to my foreign degree?

A. If you earned your degree overseas, you must have your foreign transcripts evaluated to show the U.S. equivalency of your foreign course of study. You must have earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree in order to be considered for admission to our law school. Please be sure that you provide a course-by-course evaluation. You need not provide admission office copies or translations of your transcripts.

Q. Does law school require that letters of recommendation be submitted through the Law Services Letter of Recommendation Service?

A. It prefer that applicants submit letters through the Law Services Letter of Recommendation Service. However, if your recommenders prefer to submit letters directly, they may do so using the letter of recommendation form from the school.

Q. How long should my personal statement be, and what should I write about?

Personal statements should generally be kept to two pages, double-spaced. The statement should not tell the Committee anything that is already included with your application (where you went to school or anything which might already be included in your resume). Write about something you would like us to know about you - what motivates you, why we should admit you over someone else. Tell us what you can bring to a law school classroom and how you feel you are prepared to succeed in law school. Some applicants tell a story, some use bullet points to emphasize certain attributes and then give more detail about them.