GSSWSR - CPD - Education Law

Graduate School & Pre-Professional

Considering graduate/professional school? We can help you through the process.

Graduate School Programs and Information

Graduate/professional study can be stimulating, challenging, and defining. It can also provide exciting opportunities to take you to the next stage of your intended career. 

Pre-Professional Advising

""

Pre-Law

students in classroom taking notes

Health Professions

Pre-Law

The study and practice of law can be stimulating, challenging, and defining and provide some exciting opportunities that will take you to the next stage of your intended career. Just be sure it is right for you.

A meeting with your pre-law advisor can help you to navigate this decision and answer the important question: Why do you want to attend law school?

Before you begin the application process we encourage you to talk with alumnae/i, friends, and family in the law profession who can answer your questions and give you a first-hand account of the legal field.

We also recommend reading the Statement on Pre-Law Preparation prepared by the Pre-Law Committee of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

  • Do your best in class. Remember that this is an academic program to which you're applying. If you're struggling academically, consider resources such as advising, counseling, and tutoring if you need extra support.
  • Develop good relationships with professors. This will help you later when you need to provide letters of recommendation and advice for law school.
  • Get involved. Law Schools take a quality-over-quantity approach when considering your extracurricular commitments. Select genuine activities of interest where you can make a substantial contribution rather than several activities in which you are superficially involved. Admissions officers like to see evidence of leadership, initiative, communication skills, and commitment.
  • Be an informed consumer. You must be thorough as you research different law schools and use various sources, visit individual law school websites, attend admissions information sessions on campus, and speak with current law students and alums about their experiences. Most of all, know yourself and what you seek from this experience.
  • Be self-aware. The most important thing is that you know who you are and are making decisions that are authentic to you. Note what kinds of activities energize you and what kind of environment stimulates you, and do the research to learn where you will be the best fit.
  • See the long game. Admission into law school, while exciting, is not the goal; a long, successful career is. The skills you learn at law school or any graduate school are tools to help you succeed. Don’t ignore the importance of experiential skills and professionalism along this long journey.

LSAC: The Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) is the umbrella organization that orchestrates your law school application process. You can create a personal account at any point to even begin your research and later use it to register for the LSAT and the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). This service houses your transcripts and letters of recommendation and allows electronic application processing for all ABA-approved law schools.

If you are having difficulty, contact an LSAC candidate service representative by phone at 215-968-1001 or email at LSACinfo@LSAC.org.

Application Deadlines

It is in your best interest to apply to law school early, even though you will see rolling admissions with deadlines in the spring. As a general rule of thumb, apply in the fall: October is not too early to push send on your applications. Early applicants also have an advantage in being considered for scholarship or grant monies and a maximized chance for admission.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of Recommendation are submitted through LSAC via the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), specifically called LOR (Letter of Recommendation Service). On average, you should have prepared two letters (from PhD faculty) on professional letterhead and sent them directly to LSAC.

When asking for letters, make sure you are the considerate, professional lawyer you aim to become. Make an appointment to meet with letter writers well in advance of the application deadline. Ask them, "Do you feel you know my work well enough to write a positive letter regarding my application to law school?"

Provide information about your background to assist him/her in writing a detailed letter:

  • a cover sheet quickly summarizing this process, your goals, and enclosures, including a deadline for the letter
  • a copy of your transcript and LSAT score (if you so choose)
  • a draft of your personal statement (if available)
  • a resume
  • copies of exams or papers written in his/her class
  • recommendation forms/directions from CAS.

Waive your right of access since you may find writers unwilling to write letters if applicants have access to them, and some admissions committee members may discount disclosed letters. If you have not been notified that your application is complete by about one month before the deadline, speak with those writers who have not sent letters yet to remind them politely of the approaching deadline. After you have received decisions, send thank-you letters to your recommenders and let them know where you have been accepted and where you intend to enroll.

Recommenders send letters directly to the CAS, which then forwards up to four letters to law schools to which you are applying. You can specify that targeted letters be sent to specific schools; otherwise, general letters will be sent to every school you apply to. Letters will be maintained for five years from the time you register for CAS or from the time you take the LSAT, whichever comes last.

Personal Statement/Essay

The law school application essay/personal statement allows schools to evaluate your writing and your ability to communicate an idea or theme in a clear and concise manner. It is also an excellent way for them to get to know you. Your ideas must be well-organized and focused. Your theme choice is not limited to "Why do you want to attend law school?". Still, it should be a topic that reflects personal values, decision-making processes, significant contributions, accomplishments, and/or special experiences that are not fully revealed elsewhere in your law school application.

Think of the personal statement as your opportunity to share your strengths positively and non-defensively. This should not be viewed as an opportunity to explain, apologize for, or defend a negative issue or experience, such as a poor academic record or LSAT score. In choosing a topic, take time to analyze your history, evaluate experiences most relished, and determine the personal significance of learning or events in your life. Most importantly, discuss the "hows" and "whys" of your experiences. Why did you make a particular decision? How did you benefit from the choice you made? What did you value or gain from your experience? Discuss the personal significance of an event. Keep in mind that the topic is your choice. Law schools will be interested in analyzing your essay's content quality and learning more about you. Since law schools do not usually provide interviews, the essay allows admissions officers to "get to know you." Think of it as your interview.

Think: What can I write in a couple of pages that would serve as an introduction to who I am? Try to personalize your statement by avoiding the use of passive expressions. Instead, use active language. Perfecting your grammar and spelling is a given. Vary your sentence structure and write engagingly. Many law schools request that the length be two pages, double-spaced, although some school requirements may vary. Generally, applicants can attach the same essay to each application, perhaps varying the last couple of paragraphs to address the particular issues a particular school would like you to cover. Finally, realize that you will probably make several drafts with many revisions and refinements. The pre-law advisor will be happy to assist you in critiquing typed drafts. Please allow 3-5 days for a thorough critique.

Transcripts

You are responsible for sending all of your official academic transcripts to LSAC. If you study a full year abroad, you must have your transcript sent and it will count towards your GPA. If you spent a semester or less abroad, it does not count officially towards your GPA, if you feel the grades are important to your application however, you can scan a copy of the transcript and submit it as an addendum on LSAC.

In January, if you are a senior applicant and your fall semester grades reflect an upward trend, you may want to send updated official transcripts directly to the individual law schools you’ve applied to and to LSAC. In some cases, your fall grades could make a difference.

Transcripts: Transcripts from any institution past high school that you have attended for a year or more are almost always required.

Resources

General Resources

LSAT Preparation

Law School Locators

Researching Legal Careers

Philadelphia-Area Organizations

where Bi-Co undergraduates have gained legal experience

Financial Aid

Important: check with the admissions office of the law schools to which you are applying. Many schools offer scholarships.

Resources for Minority and/or Underrepresented Student Applicants

Important Links

Photo of the exterior of The Well

Contact Us

The Career & Civic Engagement Center

Phone: 610-526-5174