Law School Application Components
Admissions Test:
The LSAC offers a fee waiver to qualifying students which also includes some other benefits including free test prep materials for the LSAT. If you are a current student and cannot afford the test registration fee, Bowdoin may be able to help. Please ask your pre-law advisor.
Do not underestimate the amount of time you will need to devote to preparing to take the LSAT. You should plan to begin your preparation 4-6 months before the test date. You won’t be studying for the test full-time, but it is a lengthy process. While it is possible to take the test more than once, ALL of your scores will be submitted with your application so never take it unless you are prepared to do your best. Most schools will consider a test-takers highest score, but be sure to check as each school has it’s own policy. Taking the test too many times can lead to a “practice effect” so be careful how many times you take the test.
LSAC-Computed UGPA and Transcripts: It is important to pay attention to academics during your time at Bowdoin because you can only improve your GPA while still a student. That does not mean that it’s a lost cause if your UGPA is not above a school’s median. While law schools look at other factors, GPA and LSAT are usually two of the most important. Putting some distance between yourself and a disappointing Undergraduate GPA (“UGPA”) can help your chances. Gaining work experience after college and securing a letter of recommendation from someone who can comment on your performance is often helpful. Make sure you spend some time thinking about how you can demonstrate what you will bring to the law school that is unique to you. One more note about grades: LSAC does not assess the value of grades earned at different colleges. It will convert your undergraduate grades to a common 4.0 system. Your study abroad grades or credits from other undergraduate courses taken in high school or at other times may be factored in to your undergraduate GPA although excluded from Bowdoin’s calculation of GPA. Law schools will consider your undergraduate transcripts to see your grade trends, how you did compared to others from Bowdoin who are applying to law school, what kinds and levels of courses you took, whether there are gaps in your education and whether there were any periods where your GPA fluctuated. If there are, consider writing an addendum to explain.
Application Form: You must apply to law school online, through the LSAC application portal. To gain access, you create an LSAC Credential Assembly Service or “CAS” account. Your account stays active for five years. There is a separate fee to register for the LSAT, published by LSAC. Once you register for the CAS, the biographical information you provide will pre-populate any law school application you open. Applications generally open in August or September each year. Most schools charge and application fee and you must pay LSAC $45 to send their report to each school to which you apply. If you haven’t received a fee waiver (see Admissions Test, above), ask the school if one is available. It may save you a bundle in application fees!
Personal Statement: A statement is the chance for the law school to hear about you in your own voice. Most schools do not interview (although more are beginning to require or offer interviews) but want to know who you are as a person—what has shaped you and what’s important to you? What will it be like to have you as a member of their community over the next three years and what will you contribute to that community? Rather than asking “What are law schools looking for?”, reflect on what you want them to know about you. Many schools do not have a writing prompt and applicants may write on the topic of their choice. Of course, if the school has a prompt, make sure you answer it with your statement. It is imperative that this statement be well-written and proofread carefully. Writing ability is of the utmost importance in law school and a logical flow to your personal statement is important. Be concise and resist the temptation to use over-the-top vocabulary. It will not make you sound more lawyerly and it will interrupt the flow of your statement. Be sure to ask your pre-law advisor, as well as one or two people to read it and give you feedback. Don’t hesitate to seek help with your writing from the Writing Center—even the strongest writers can benefit from another set of eyes on their work. Don’t have too many readers or you will have a hard time incorporating all of their suggestions and too many viewpoints can be confusing! Good quality statements usually require several drafts so start writing the summer before you apply! Your statement should ultimately leave the reader with a sense of who you are and why this decision to enroll in law school is a logical next step for you. For suggestions or feedback, schedule an appointment with your pre-law advisor. Here is a link to a helpful 10-minute video from Spivey Consulting on the topic: https://www.spiveyconsulting.com/blog-post/video-how-to-choose-a-law-school-personal-statement-topic
Diversity Statement: At the time of writing this, applications have not yet opened following the Supreme Court decision on affirmative action. That means that we don’t know whether law schools will give the option of including a diversity statement, or how those prompts will be written. The legal profession does not reflect the diversity of our population and most schools seek to to address this disparity. Law schools define diversity in many ways. It may encompass race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, abilities, socio-economic background, being the first-generation to attend college and military experience to name a few. If you feel that your identity or lived experience is one that will bring a “diverse” perspective to your future law school community, consider writing an optional statement, no matter what the law school chooses to call its essays. This is a valuable opportunity for you to address the admissions committee directly, in your voice.
Other Optional Essays: Sometimes schools provide the option to write an additional essay or tell them why you want to attend X law school. If you are interested in a particular law school, this is your chance to explain why. Speaking with an alum, or current student at the school, visiting the school (in person if circumstances allow, but virtually if not), or speaking individually to an admissions’ recruiter is helpful in giving you some background and credibility. At a minimum, this is the place to make your interest known and it should go beyond writing facts that anyone can pull off the school’s website. Several admissions deans now have podcasts, or blogs that explain their admissions philosophy and what they are seeking in the various application components. Think like a lawyer and do your research before you apply!
Addendum: Any weakness in your application or things that need explaining should go in an addendum, not your personal statement. What kind of things need explaining? A semester off from your studies, a reduced course load, grades or GPA that are on the low end for the schools to which you apply. The same can be said for taking the LSAT more than 3 times, or a score that improved more than 3 or 4 points. Any issue that raises a question about your admission may be resolved against you if not addressed. If in doubt, speak with your pre-law advisor.
Resume: as with every other part of your application, make sure to proofread carefully! If you have worked after college, does your employment show increasing levels of responsibility? If you are applying as a senior, have you explained what you have done during your summers and listed your employment, including any jobs or time commitments you had as a student in addition to academics? Does your resume show that you have the skills necessary for a successful law school experience as well as employability in the legal marketplace? Note: this absolutely does not mean that you have to have legal work experience.
Dean’s Certification: Certain law schools require a Dean’s Certification to be submitted, basically attesting that you are a student in good standing. These forms should be submitted to Dean of Students Michael Pulju.
Character & Fitness Questions: The application will ask about your undergraduate disciplinary history and criminal record. Most minor violations or infractions will not prevent you from being admitted to law school. Full disclosure is the important thing to keep in mind. Not being forthcoming can result in serious consequences at both the law school level and when you apply for admission to the bar after graduating. If you have anything in your history that causes you to wonder if you need to respond to this question—even the tiniest thing—please have a conversation with your pre-law advisor! Most offenses—sometimes even criminal convictions—will not prevent an applicant from admission to law school. However, unreported incidents—even minor infractions of college code of conduct rules—can cause problems when you apply for admission to the bar if not reported on one’s law school application.
Law School Report: Upon submission of your application, the law school will request your Law School Report from LSAC. The components of your report include:
An Academic Summary: brings together all of your academic work at any institution prior to your receiving your undergraduate degree.
LSAT score (if taking the GRE, you must check the school’s website to see how to submit) and writing sample
Transcript Summary: The breadth and rigor of your coursework is viewed carefully by admissions committees. Make sure to take courses that challenge you. You will need to submit transcripts from any higher education institution where you have taken undergraduate or graduate courses, with some exceptions. See LSAC.org for more information.
Letters of Recommendation: Most schools require at least one and some prefer two letters from professors. They often allow 1-2 additional letters allowed. Make sure your writers know you well—schools are not impressed by letters from people with important titles who don’t know the applicant well. Be sure to ask your writer if they will have time to write a strong letter of recommendation for you. Provide them a current resume and let them know why you are applying to law school. Be sure to give them plenty of time—ideally ask the spring or early summer before your application is due. See the Resources tab for tips on requesting a letter of recommendation.
LSAT Writing Portion: You will need to complete a Writing Sample with a writing prompt, on your own computer, on your own time. The writing sample is unscored but is seen by law schools and may be referred to if the admissions office has questions about an applicant’s writing ability. In this time of uncertainty about ChatGPT policies, schools may pay more attention to the writing sample which is timed and administered on a secured proctored platform.
Marketability/Employability: Schools care about their employment outcomes as it’s one of the data points they must report to the ABA Accreditation Committee. Therefore, they need to believe that you will be employable once you graduate from their school. Prior work experience is a good indicator, but if you don’t have that, your interview skills, maturity, seriousness of purpose and evidence that you have carefully thought about why you want to pursue a law degree will all be helpful.
Costs: Be aware that the total cost of applying to law school can range from $200 to $1,000 or more if you take a test prep course. Do apply for a fee waiver from LSAC if you think there is any chance you might qualify for one based on income. See the Resources tab for a pdf on application costs.
Interviews: Not all law schools offer interviews, and, whether you are offered one or not, can mean something different depending upon the law school. I’m sharing this blogpost at the risk of sending you down a rabbit hole and being tempted to pay for information that is available for free through your Bowdoin pre-law advisor. The blog displays this info in a helpful, easy to read table, mostly based on T-14 law schools as they are the ones most likely to offer interviews.
What Else? If you have a GPA and test scores above a school’s medians, how else can you differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack in a good way? Be cheerful, relaxed and flexible about the admissions process—or at least fake it with the law school admissions representatives with whom you interact. Of course, this can be a very stressful, nerve-wracking process, but it is for law school admissions people too. It will reflect positively on you if your interactions with them do not add to this stress. Really. Law school itself is a very intense and stress-inducing experience in many cases and how you come across during admissions interactions (and yes, admissions people do read what applicants are writing online about the process and their schools) tells them a lot about how you will handle the pressures of law school.
The most important thing: Whatever decision you receive from a law school does not define you, your worth, or your prospects for career success and fulfillment. Seriously. I have heard from so many admissions officers that they had to turn down hundreds of students who in previous years would easily have been admitted. And it was not that the class they did admit was so much better qualified or is destined to become “better” lawyers. You probably know people from high school who did not get admitted to Bowdoin that you thought would and they likely have gone on to have a great college experience, nonetheless. Whatever self-care and compassion look like for you, please practice it in your law school application process. Creating that space to separate who you are from the contents of an admissions decision is great practice for living a well-balanced life ahead.