The list of law schools in US consists of some of the leading legal education institutions in the world and includes Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, and Columbia Law School. These institutions are competitive and accept students of the highest caliber, putting them at the very top of law school rankings. In this article, we will review the full list of law schools in the United States and review strategies that will help you get accepted. Plus, we will discuss where you can find help to make your application the best there is!
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How difficult is it to get into law schools in the US?
To answer the question, it is relatively difficult to get a seat in US law schools. There is tough competition to get admitted into the course.
This can be seen by having a look at law school acceptance rates in the whole country. The numbers show it all:
- 40.8 percent – the median acceptance rate for all law schools in the US.
- 11.1 percent – the median acceptance rates of the top 15 law schools in the US, which are even more selective.
- 6.9 percent – the acceptance rate of Yale Law School, the toughest law school to get into.
- Incidentally, Cornell Law School, Dartmouth University’s law program, and UPenn Law School are the easiest Ivy League schools to get into.
List of Law Schools in the US
Below is the list of law schools in the US:
US law school requirements and strategies to get in:
So, how can you increase your chances of getting accepted? Let’s look at how you can amplify law school requirements:
GPA
Getting into law schools in the US is a challenging process, even at the easiest law schools to get into. This is mostly because the top law schools require applicants to have an average GPA of 3.7 or higher. The more elite the school becomes, the higher that requirement becomes.
Although these schools require high GPA scores, there are ways that you can still get in. One such way is to find an admissions consultant that can show you how to get into law school with a low GPA.
You would be well advised to research the schools’ GPA requirements and see whether you meet them. If you find that you are lacking, take college courses you are sure you can excel in or hire a tutor to help you out.
Law School Admission Test
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a crucial component of your application to law schools in the US, among other countries.
It is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. This test is designed to assess the reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal reasoning proficiency of prospective law school candidates.
You need to know how to study for the LSAT before you can sit for the exam. You may also consider hiring professional LSAT prep services to help you prepare for this challenging test.
Here are some pointers you should consider:
Personal statement
As a law school applicant, you will be asked to write a personal statement. This essay is a chance for you to tell the committee about yourself as a person, a candidate, and a future graduate.
Some points to ponder about your personal statement:
- Give yourself at least 6 to 8 weeks to write this. You should take time and go through a sample law school personal statement and tips to get an idea of how to write a strong personal statement.
- Focus on telling the story of why you want to be a lawyer; include experiences and events that happened to lead you to apply to law school.
- Research every school you apply to and see what qualities you can highlight in your statement.
- Make sure to keep your statement consistent with other application components because admissions committee members are experts at spotting gaps, conflicts, and overlapping storylines.
Supplemental essays
Supplemental essays are added pieces of writing required by many highly-selective universities. They are also sometimes called law school optional essays.
These essays can be just as revealing and important as your personal statements because the university usually has prompts with topics that can be a probe into your personal, professional, and social life. They can ask questions that reveal whether you would be a good fit for the school and if you would get along well with your fellow students.
Some advice when writing your supplemental essays:
- Read and understand the prompt before you even start writing – then make sure you answer the prompt specifically.
- Supplemental essays come with word limits – stick to the limits of your essay or it will be disqualified and disregarded.
- Even though these essays are sometimes called optional, do not miss the opportunity and use them as an opportunity to further showcase your suitability for your chosen school. The personal statement is more general – it is intended to know why you want to be a lawyer in general, while the supplementals are a chance to show why you want to get into the particular school you are applying to.
Letter of Intent
A law school letter of intent (LOI) is an admissions essay written in a letter format that tells the admissions committee why you decided to pursue a law degree and why that particular school.
You should discuss your goals, motivations, and what you intend to do to achieve those goals – hence your intents.
Some advice for you:
- A letter of intent should be sent to the one school you want to join or the top few choices you want to attend.
- Here too you have an opportunity to show your intent behind your decision for choosing this specific school – therefore, use it to showcase why your experiences and education are fitting for your school or schools of choice.
- Research the schools very well – well enough until you can draw parallels between you and the schools and can write about them.
Diversity statement
A law school diversity statement is an essay that asks candidates to discuss an aspect of their identity, background or extracurriculars that will bring a unique perspective to their chosen school.
This is your chance to talk about how your background, culture, and traditions formed you and how they will enrich the campus life and the extracurricular activities in the school.
One piece of advice we can give you here is that diversity can go beyond traditional categories like race, religion, ethnicity, and gender. It can be defined externally by factors like growing up in a one-parent household, low socio-economic background, immigration status, and learning disability.
Be creative – reflect on what makes you unique and find that one lesson that other law students can learn from you.
Reference letters
Your law school letters of recommendation are statements from people who have worked with you and can testify to your workmanship and reliability. In case you are applying directly after your college graduation, the reference letters need to come from professors who have taught you and can testify to your studiousness and educational prowess.
Some advice:
- Make sure your reference writers have enough time to do it – give them at least 2 months to write, and make sure you get the letters 4 weeks before the deadline is due.
- Also, make sure they have all the information, documents, transcripts, drafts of personal statements, resumes, and anything else they can work with to create a powerful reference letter.
Law School Resume
A law school resume is a document that provides a snapshot of your academic and professional background. It is perhaps the first document that an admissions committee looks at before they decided it is worth their time going into the other components of your application.
Here too, the best advice would be to tailor it to the specific law school you are applying to. Make sure it highlights your academic and law-related experiences.
Interviews
You need to know how to prepare for an interview when you are thinking of joining a law school. An admissions committee will ask you law school interview questions like “Why do you want to study law?” where you need to reply with a unique answer that is truly your answer - one that makes you stand out from the other applicants.
This can be tough. And, perhaps, the best way to tackle this component is to hold a law school mock interview or two with the help of an admissions consultant. You need to keep repeating the mock interview until you can formulate your special answer.
Letter of continued interest
A law school letter of continued interest (LOCI) is a way of reaffirming your passion for attending the program if you are waitlisted or deferred by your preferred school. It gives you a chance to expand upon the application you have already submitted to the law school by providing the admissions committee with new information about your academic or professional accomplishments.
The best thing to do here is to only include new information about your application. Examples would be if you got an award, participate in a legal conference or perhaps got a new job in the legal field.
The admissions committee does not want to hear the same thing they already know about you from the other application components.
How can law school admissions consultancy services help?
A law school advisor is your best bet when it comes to getting admission to law schools in the US. This is especially true as the ranking of the school rises.
A law school admissions consulting service will work with you from helping you choose the right law school and area of law to study, to helping you with professional skill development, admissions essays, personal statement writing, LSAT test preparation, and more.
They will be with you until that last day when you submit your application.
This is why you should consider working with admissions consultancy services to increase your chances of getting into any law school.
Conclusion
The list of law schools in the US may have given you an idea about the options you have to choose from if you want to pursue the legal profession.
But, as we have discussed in this post, getting admitted into these law schools is a tough process. You need to be able to fill out all the paperwork, prepare for (and then complete) the essays and interviews, and submit a completed application package.
You would be well advised to get the help of a low school consultant so you can increase your chances of getting in – especially since the schools’ admission rates are so low.
FAQs
1. How many letters of reference are needed to get into law school?
While most law schools ask for three letters of recommendation, the requirements may vary from school to school So, the best thing to do would be to research the school’s specific reference requirements and prepare them in advance.
2. What is a mock law interview?
A mock law interview is a service offered by law school admission consultants where they help you prepare for your law school interviews by conducting mock interviews, analyzing your responses, and giving you personalized feedback as a preparation for the real interview.
3. What should I write in my diversity statement?
In your diversity statement, you should describe as much as you can about your experiences based on your identity, socio-economic, cultural, and traditional backgrounds. You should explain how they affected you and how you will leverage them to fit in with the school, faculty, and student body of the specific school you are applying to.
4. Can I get into a top-ranked law school if I have a low GPA?
The answer is, “Yes.” But, you will need to work extra hard to earn that seat. The best strategy to adopt here would be to work with a law admissions consultant. They can guide you on how to convince the admissions committee that you are worth the seat in their program. You should also be able to convince them that you have made some effort – by way of education, work experience, volunteering, etc. – to try to compensate for the low GPA.
5. What if I have a gap in my resume?
Yes, you can get into a law school with a gap in your law school resume. Here too, it would be advisable to work with a law school admissions consultant who can help you with creating the correct documents – supplemental essays, personal statements, and reference letters – that will show there was a good reason as well as any efforts you may have made in trying to improve your education or professional experience during the gap time.
6. What LSAT score do I need to get into law school?
The scores vary from school to school. You can research the school’s requirements or even reach out to the school itself to get their expected results.
7. Are Personal Statements and Diversity Statements the same thing?
Personal statements are longer and more generalized versions of your life’s story, whereas a diversity statement is shorter and addresses a more specific question about you: your past experiences and how they have contributed to your personal and professional growth. This lets you explain to the committee the distinct qualities and commitment you bring to the school.
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