Once you have done your absolute best on the LSAT (the importance of which can’t be overstated), your task when applying to law school is to get into the "middle pile."   What I mean is, after you submit your applications, you’ll generally get auto-admitted into your “safeties,” and you’ll likely get auto-rejected from schools that are completely out of reach.  This initial sorting, a.k.a. indexing or administrative review, is based almost entirely on your LSAT and GPA.   The third or middle pile is for all other schools — schools you probably should get into but might not, all the way to schools you probably shouldn’t get into, but where you do have a chance.   Once you’re in this middle pile, your written materials really matter in determining whether you can win over a skeptical law school admissions committee.

To get admitted to more of your reach schools, I recommend treating your application as a lawsuit and you are a lawyer advocating for your own admission.  As discussed in a previous post, when applying to law school, your jury in this case is a busy law professor at your dream school.  To reach your desired verdict (i.e. an offer letter), you have to craft your application so that professor ultimately thinks two things: (1) I feel like I know this person and his/her story makes sense, and (2) I think he/she would make an excellent law student and lawyer.

How do you do that? Over the years, I’ve noticed four general strategies that work to an applicant’s advantage.  While none of these approaches are all that revolutionary, I can’t think of any reason not to apply them when working on your law school applications.  So, without further ado, I give you Cliff’s 4 Principles to Applying to Law School:

(1) Do Your Very Best On Each and Every Part of the Law School Application

The law school admissions process is extremely competitive.  You are competing for a limited number of acceptances against other smart applicants, most of whom are trying their hardest to get in.  If you do not do the very best you can on every part of your law school application, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage unnecessarily. 

To follow this principle to its fullest, you must put hours and hours of work into your personal statement (PS), re-read it 100 times for typos, and have 10 friends and colleagues review, edit, and comment on it.  Your resume should be flawless and professional, with perfect tense, diction, and formatting.  Your addenda should be concise and compelling, also free of any grammatical errors.  Such close attention to all aspects of every component of the application will reveal to the law school admissions committees that you’re detailed oriented and committed to the process.

(2) Treat Every Law School as If It’s Your Dream School

If the decision comes down to you and a few other similarly-qualified applicants, it just makes sense that a law school will choose the applicant who shows the most genuine enthusiasm not just for law school, but for THAT school.  So, write about the school in the PS — and why you want to go there.  Tell every school they’re your dream school, without sounding cheesy.  You can do this for every school, from your safeties to your dream institution.  A little flattery never hurts, in life and in the law school admissions process.

(3) Apply As Early as Possible

Applying early gives you three advantages.  First, it tells a law school that you’re committed to being a lawyer, and you’re not a procrastinator. 

Second, if you’re in the middle pile, you want the law school to review your application as much as possible (because you’ve done the best you can on everything and treated the school as if it’s your dream school), so getting your materials submitted early gives the school the most time with your file and, subsequently, more opportunities for you to impress them. 

Finally, if you apply early and don’t hear from your school within two or three months, you can supplement your application (with a new essay, updated resume, published article, etc) and can tell them again why they’re your dream school.  You can’t do this one month after you apply, lest you be seen as not having your applicaiton properly prepared in the first place.

(4) Address Your Challenges and Shortcomings

Other than two or three schools in the top 100 (that allow option short interviews), the entire law school application is on paper.  It’s as if you’re writing an appellate brief; you have to put everything in there.  And because there’s no opportunity for “oral argument” (that is, you can’t answer a question that a committee member might have as she reviews your materials), it makes sense for you, in your initial application, to address questions, concerns, challenges, or shortcomings you may have. 

What?  You don’t have shortcomings?  Well, guess again.  Every applicant does.  Some have high LSAT’s but a low GPA.  Some had one bad semester in college.  Some have six-month gaps in their resume.  Some have never had legal experience. Some have had run-ins with the law.  Etc.  Etc.  Whatever challenge you may have, I recommend addressing it.  If you don’t, you leave the skeptical admissions committee to think the worst.  If you do, you nip it in the bud, take the sting out, and appear to the committee that you know how to be a good lawyer who thinks ahead.  Exactly how to address your challenges and shortcomings is an important decision that requires delicate execution.  For suggestions and assistance with your application, contact me anytime at cliff@lawschooladvising.com.

So, those are my 4 principles. Do your best in applying them to your law school application.  Up next, we tackle the individual components of the application, starting with the most challenging and important: the Personal Statement.