Running Head: THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS: IS LAW SCHOOL FOR YOU?

Carson Pace

The Law School Application Process: Is Law School for You?

UWRT 1102

November 20th, 2017

Running Head: THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS: IS LAW SCHOOL FOR YOU? 2

A J.D., or Juris Doctor, is one of the most competitive graduate degrees in the country.

While going to law school may seem intimidating to some, it can also be intriguing and exciting

to others. Those others are people like me, who dream and fantasize about attending an Ivy

League law school. This dream is big, and often farfetched, but all in all, that is what a dream is.

There are many factors to take into consideration when applying to law school and anyone

wishing to go to law school needs advice in preparation, application and school selection

(Murray). There are some things that you need to complete before even applying to law school,

like letters of recommendation, maintaining a great GPA in undergrad, as well as the dreaded

LSAT. These things may seem daunting, however they will all work together to get you into

your dream law school.

The first step in attending law school is deciding whether law school is right for you.

Often people think if you go to law school, you must become a lawyer. While this is true for

most law school graduates, law school can be a tool for obtaining other careers as well. The

elements that you gain in law school often help you in related career fields, like economics,

public safety, as well as politics. When deciding to go to law school, an important factor is

realizing why you want to go in the first place. If youre reasoning seems forced or pushed on

you by someone else, it is likely that you will not make it through law school, simply because it

is not your passion. While in law school many students experience the law school environment

as stressful, intensely competitive, and alienating (Hess), meaning that if you decide to attend

law school, you need to love what you are doing for the stress to be worth it. If you decide after

thinking about it long and hard that law school is for you, the next step is deciding when and

where to apply.
Running Head: THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS: IS LAW SCHOOL FOR YOU? 3

Law schools tend to look very similar on the outside. However, despite the similarity

that appears to exist among law schools, each one has differing strengths and weaknesses,

differing goals and types of students, and a different atmosphere (Johnson). There are different

factors to consider when researching which schools are right for you. I typically start off with

tuition, mostly because I will be supporting myself financially in law school. Ivy league schools,

such as Yale, can exceed almost $60,000 a year, while public schools, like the University of

North Carolina, tend to be less expensive and closer to $25,000 a year. There is financial aid

available in law school, you just need to know the right places to look. Next you need to decide

the atmosphere you would like to be in. Yale, for instance, is very quant and small, with a

student to teacher ratio of 12:1. If being hands on with your professors is something you desire, a

smaller, more quant school would be good for you. The last but most important thing I look at is

prestige. Everyone has a dream school, mine being Yale. However, there are multiple schools

across the country that have great reputations, without the high price tag. Realizing that you can

get a great education at multiple places is promising. However, it is recommended that you

narrow is down to three options: your dream school, a highly ranked back-up, and a school you

know you can get into.

Once you have an idea of where you would like to attend law school, it comes time to

start studying for the LSAT. The LSAT stands for Law School Admissions Test. It contains

skills that law school admissions teams look for in their students, like strong logical reasoning

and quick and effective reading comprehension. The test consists of five thirty-five minute

sections of multiple choice questions (LSAC). These are the four main components on the

LSAT: analytical reasoning, reading comprehension and two logical reasoning sections, along

with one essay questions typically regarding a real-world issue. The grading for the LSAT ranges
Running Head: THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS: IS LAW SCHOOL FOR YOU? 4

from 120-180. To gain some perspective, the median score for Yale is around 172. Most people

begin preparing for this test their Junior year of college, or one year before they plan on taking

the test. This gives you ample time to learn your weaknesses and develop them into strengths

before taking the test. There are many ways to prepare for the LSAT, whether it be individual

study, group classes or online learning labs. The reason the LSAT is so important stems from the

idea that good study habits are the precursors of good work habits that produce competent as

well as creative lawyers (Murray). Law schools want to see how prepared prospective students

are for the exam, knowing that a good score reflects the amount of time an applicant puts into the

law school application process. To choose the best path for you, you need to know what kind of

learner you are and what format will benefit you the most. After taking the LSAT and receiving

your score, you can now choose which schools to apply to and where you would want to attend

law school.

There are many differences between law school, including tuition, class expectations and

work load. These differences are most commonly seen between the three tiers of law schools: Ivy

League, private and public. Each option has their own strengths and weaknesses. To make an

informed decision about which school is right for you, you need to understand each ones impact

on your law school experience. However, whatever law school you choose, there is a common

objective that each applicant must remember. Law school displays many new concepts and

presents new vocabulary to learn and a new way of thinking (Indiana) that is much different

from anything you have ever learned before.

Ivy league schools are considered one the most prestigious universities and colleges in

the nation. Since their law schools are the top schools in the country, the law student must be

ready and willing to meet on of the biggest challenges that he will ever face (Indiana). One
Running Head: THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS: IS LAW SCHOOL FOR YOU? 5

thing to think about when deciding which law school is for you is tuition and personal expenses.

For example, tuition at Yale is $82,602 dollars per year (Yale Law School). This could be a

deciding factor for someone, if they are unable to get any financial aid or scholarships. Also,

most Ivy league schools use the Socratic Method of teaching. This method relies on professors

presenting a situation to the class, then asking questions about the steps someone would need to

take in the legal process. They accomplish this by randomly calling on students and asking for

their opinion, or if they know the answer to the question. While this method is often intimidating

to new students, it shows which students are prepared for class and which students can think

deeply and critically when put on the spot. While this method is used in most law schools around

the country, it is more intense and more prominent in Ivy leagues. Ivy leagues offer many

advantages when it comes to the quality of education you will be receiving, though it is very hard

to get accepted and they are much more expensive than public universities.

Private universities also offer many opportunities for prospective law students. Wake

Forest Law school offers a 10:1 student-faculty ratio (Wake Forest Law School) and up to 5

concurrent/dual degree programs (Wake Forest Law School). This allows you to experience

smaller class sizes, while also being able to study more than one subject at one time. They are

somewhat easier to get accepted into than Ivy leagues and there is a wider variety of schools

within this category. The tuition at these law schools can still be on the more expensive side,

though these schools often offer a multitude of scholarship opportunities and chances for

financial aid. Many of these schools offer programs for dual degrees as well, such as an MBA

and a JD together, giving people a leg up in the business world as well as obtaining a law degree.

The main advantage of private law schools is the ability to gain a law degree from a respectable

university, while still having a smaller faculty to student ratio. However, a related factor in
Running Head: THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS: IS LAW SCHOOL FOR YOU? 6

student stress is the high cost of legal education and the enormous debt that many students

accumulate (Hess), something that you need to consider when attending a private university.

Public universities are the best option for those who are looking to attend law school on a

budget, and who would like a broader college experience. They are much cheaper than Ivy or

Private schools, simply because they are a part of the public-school system. The cost of

attendance at UNC Chapel Hill is 49,562 per year (UNC School of Law) which is significantly

cheaper than that of an Ivy league school like Yale. Also, they have a slightly larger professor to

student ratio, something some students appreciate when it comes to being intimidated by the

Socratic method. There are many public law schools in every state, meaning if you would like to

choose a law school close to home, this might be the best option for you. The biggest advantage

of public law schools is the opportunity to obtain a law degree, while not breaking your bank

account. This option is the most affordable and the most practical for those on a budget. They are

typically easier to get into as well, with UNC Chapel Hills accepting a median GPA of 3.56

(UNC School of Law) while Yales median GPA is 3.91 (Yale Law School).

Deciding to go to law school is a big deal, and something that should not be decided on a

whim. There are many steps you need to take to attend the law school of your dreams, including

maintaining a good GPA throughout undergrad, scoring well on the LSAT, and deciding what

the right law school looks like for you individually. While most of these tasks seem daunting and

intimidating, when taking one step at a time they can be accomplished. Researching different law

schools, their programs of study and their course load are incredibly important in deciding which

law school is for you as well because law school is a full-time business (Indiana). While this is

not an easy decision, it is an important one and should be made because you have a passion for

law and all that it encompasses. It is important to understand that the practice of law is
Running Head: THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS: IS LAW SCHOOL FOR YOU? 7

constantly changing (Johnson) and to create lawyers who can effectively practice the law, law

schools around the country are looking for strong applicants who can succeed in the ever-

changing field of law.

Running Head: THE LAW SCHOOL APPLICATION PROCESS: IS LAW SCHOOL FOR YOU? 8

References:

Hess, G. (2002). Heads and Hearts: The Teaching and Learning Environment in Law
School. Journal of Legal Education, 52(1/2), 75-111. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/42893745

Johnson, A. (1991). Think like lawyer, work like machine: The dissonance between law school
and law practice. Southern California Law Review 64(5), 1231-1260.

Indiana University Bloomington Health Professions and Prelaw Center. Making the Decision to
Attend Law School. Retrieved from http://hpplc.indiana.edu/law/law-decision.shtml.

Murray, John E. (1981). From the editor. Journal of Legal Education31(Issues 3, and 5), 253-
255.

Law School Admissions Council. About the LSAT. Retrieved from

https://www.lsac.org/jd/lsat/about-the-lsat

Yale Law School. (2017). Cost of Attendance. https://law.yale.edu/admissions/cost-financial-

aid/cost-attendance

Wake Forest Law School. (2017). JD Admissions. By the Numbers. http://jd.law.wfu.edu/

UNC School of Law. (2017). Admissions. Class Profile.

http://www.law.unc.edu/admissions/classprofile/