Everything you need to apply to law school: bachelor's degree, LSAT or GRE, GPA, personal statement, letters of recommendation, and a clear timeline from sophomore year through enrollment.
ABA-accredited law schools require the following for a complete application.
A completed or in-progress bachelor's degree from an accredited institution is required by all ABA-accredited law schools. No specific major is required. Top applicants come from pre-law, political science, philosophy, English, history, and STEM backgrounds.
The LSAT (Law School Admission Test) is the standard test. Most schools now also accept the GRE. Top law schools (T14) expect LSAT scores of 170+. Median scores at T50 schools range from 155-165. Take the LSAT in June, August, or October for an ideal fall application cycle.
Law schools report the GPA from your LSAC CAS report, which normalizes grades across institutions. The T14 median GPA is around 3.85-3.95. Regional law schools accept applicants with GPAs of 3.0-3.4. A strong upward trend can offset a lower overall GPA.
Typically 2-3 double-spaced pages. The personal statement explains why you want to be a lawyer and what makes you a compelling candidate. Avoid restating your resume. Focus on a specific theme or narrative that shows self-awareness and genuine motivation.
Most schools require 2-3 letters. At least one should come from a professor who knows your academic work well. Some schools allow or prefer letters from employers or supervisors. Request letters early - professors need 4-6 weeks of notice.
A one-to-two page resume covering education, work experience, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and honors. Format should be clean and professional. Emphasize leadership, analytical skills, and writing-heavy roles.
Many schools require or strongly encourage additional essays covering diversity statements, optional character and fitness disclosures, addenda explaining LSAT retakes, gaps in employment, or academic struggles, and why-this-school essays.
Law school applications go through LSAC (Law School Admission Council). An LSAC JD applicant account costs around $200/year and includes CAS report submission. Individual school fees range from $50-$100 per application. Fee waivers are available.
A realistic semester-by-semester roadmap for students planning to start law school the fall after senior year.
No. Law schools accept applicants from all undergraduate majors. There is no required pre-law curriculum. Schools value writing ability, analytical thinking, and academic rigor above specific subject matter. Philosophy, English, political science, and history are popular backgrounds, but STEM majors are increasingly common and valued for their quantitative skills.
It depends on your target school. The T14 median LSAT ranges from 171 (Yale, Columbia) to 166 (Georgetown). T50 schools range from 155-165. Regional and lower-ranked schools accept 145-155. A score of 170+ puts you in the top 2% of test takers and opens most doors. You can take the LSAT up to three times in a testing year.
Both matter significantly. Schools report their median GPA and LSAT in their ABA 509 disclosures, and both affect rankings. A very high LSAT can partially offset a lower GPA (and vice versa), but serious deficiencies in either require strong compensating factors. A GPA addendum explaining a specific difficult semester with documented circumstances can help.
Apply as early as possible in the cycle, typically October or November for fall enrollment. Most law schools use rolling admissions, meaning early applicants get more scholarship money and often better admission odds than spring applicants. Applications submitted after January face significantly more competition for remaining seats.
Yes, but it requires a high LSAT score to compensate. A 175 LSAT with a 3.2 GPA can still be competitive at many good schools. Addenda explaining the circumstances of a difficult period academically are important. Some schools also consider the trend - strong junior and senior year grades after a weak freshman year carry weight.
Tuition at private law schools averages $55,000-$65,000 per year. State law schools are $20,000-$35,000/year for in-state residents. Total cost with living expenses for three years can exceed $200,000. Merit scholarships are widely available - roughly half of students at most schools receive some aid. Carefully compare net cost across offers.