hi, mobbed - congratulations on your plans to enter law school. i am
not a Google researcher, but i've worked in the legal field for 20+
years and have a bit of knowledge about the law school admissions
process. you didn't say your country, but assuming it is the U.S.,
most law schools have similar criteria. some give more weight to one
factor or another, but in general one of the first things they look at
is your LSAT Scores and your Undergraduate grades
LSAT scores are helpful in forecasting a student's future academic
performance, but they are not usually the sole criterion for making a
decision to admit or deny a student. Previous grades, undergraduate
record, and recommendations are additional criteria used by most law
schools. Your recommendation letters can be very important if you are
applying to some of the, umm, more prestigious schools, and all other
factors are equally impressive with the other applicants.
Universities are not supposed to set either goals or quotas, but i do
believe that sometimes an applicant's potential contribution to
diversity is another consideration in determining which applicants are
selected for admission. This latter criterion necessarily involves an
assessment of such factors as geographic origin; membership in a
disadvantaged economic, racial or ethnic group; personal interests and
talents; special achievements; prior life experience; leadership
qualities; and maturity.
Most law school admission offices will make their choices by balancing
a number of factors, including: the LSAT score; the type, breadth, and
depth of college or graduate courses taken and the grades received;
academic honors and awards; writing ability; letters of recommendation
from persons who know the applicant well (academic letters of
recommendation are the most helpful for fairly recent graduates); work
record, including military service, Peace Corps, and VISTA; college
and community activities; and character and motivation. Although
performance on the LSAT and in college or graduate school is
important, selection is made after a careful review of the entire
admissions file.
Sooooo - get some great recommendation letters; study hard for the
LSAT - there are lots of prep courses, on-line courses and books you
can buy or check out of the library; choose a number of schools to
apply to, and good luck!! |
