Many people have dreamt of going to law school so that they can one day become attorneys, or in order to earn a terminal degree that they can use to increase their career options in a variety of different fields that value the skills that persons gain and develop throughout their rigorous legal education. In these times, especially with the American economy in its current state of recession and with many people being laid off from jobs, more and more people are choosing to pursue law degrees and want to go back to school, while many college students and recent graduates want an advanced degree to make themselves more marketable and to temporarily put off entering a tough job market where opportunities are fewer than in past years. Law school applications are up to increases that they have not seen in over two decades. Therefore, now law schools across the nation have a larger pool of more well-qualified applicants to choose from enabling them to increase their admissions standards and be even more selective than usual. Thus, earning a spot in law school classes is now more competitive than ever. For those of you contemplating submitting applications to law schools and especially for those considering this path for sometime in the near future, here are some important tips that will steer you in the right direction and lead you closer to your goal of successfully gaining acceptance into law school.

Success Tip #1: Educate yourself and do your own research about the law school admissions process
It is your responsibility to take the time to educate yourself, do the research and develop a good understanding about the law school admissions process in general, the nature of the competition that you are up against and the types of candidates that law schools consider to be competitive and especially attractive. You should take time out to read as much as possible through articles on the internet and books, as well as taking the time to attend law school forums, fairs and open houses at schools that are of interest to you. Make certain that you learn as much as you can and don’t rely completely on what a pre-law advisor tells you. This is your future and you must be sure that you know all there is about this next step in your professional career before making any decisions.

The information is out there and all you have to do is go and seek it out. You can usually find information regarding the median (middle) Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores and GPA for schools of interest in the ranking section in popular publications about law school admission such as U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools and in the Law School Admission Council’s Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools. This will give you a sense of how difficult it is to get into certain law schools. Also check out the acceptance rates of applicants to those particular schools. In addition, keep in mind that excellent students and outstanding individuals also apply to the not so prestigious local and regional law schools for family and financial reasons, so understand that you will still have to compete in terms of “the numbers” regardless of tier level.

I would recommend that you read the profiles of admitted law students in publications such as How to Get into Harvard Law School by Willie J. Epps, Jr. and the upcoming Profiles and Essays of Successful African American Law School Applicants by Evangeline M. Mitchell. Doing this should give you a good idea of the caliber of students that apply to top law schools and you can set out to pattern yourself after their examples of excellence. The competition among law school applicants is fierce, therefore you should take it seriously and be hungry for any all information that will help you gain a competitive edge.

Success Tip #2: Create a strategic plan to become a competitive admissions candidate
As soon as you think that you might want to attend law school is the time to begin creating a success strategy or a strategic plan. This is terribly important in order to have a good chance to get into any law school. Understand that you have the power to create the type of image you want to present to that admissions committee. Try to plan out your course as early as possible. Outline all of the things you want to have going for you by the time you are read to apply for law school. Talk to people, do some research and find out about what different kinds of opportunities your college have to offer that you want to be a part of. Consider ahead of time what kind of grades you need to make, what types of courses you must take, what awards, honors, activities, leadership, language abilities and work experiences you want to place on your resume, what kinds of things you want your recommenders to say about you to the types of experiences you want to talk about in your personal statement. Take control of what you can from this point on. Then, it is up to you to follow through, execute your plan and do whatever it takes to make it happen. Understand that it is a reality that often times we simply cannot plan out the directions of our lives completely. However, I do suggest that those things you decide to do are not an afterthought while in the middle of the application process. At the same time, be open to the idea that your plan will evolve and change. Honestly consider your talents, gifts, passions and interests and think about how you can make yourself distinguishable from all of the other smart, talented and ambitions applicants.

Success Tip #3: Become the best admissions candidate and strive to demonstrate your strengths in every way possible
The best way to increase your chances of getting into law school or the law school of your choice is by becoming the very best candidate that you can be. You can become a competitive candidate by demonstrating your strengths in every area or most areas looked at by the admissions committee so that you will purposely make it difficult for that law school to say “no” to you. You should try to have both a strong GPA and LSAT score. Keep in mind that many law schools will not consider you for admission if your grades and LSAT score are not within an acceptable range. Some schools use an admissions index which are calculated based solely on numbers to more quickly determine who will be accepted, rejected or considered further. Therefore, a low LSAT score or GPA can possibly place you in a reject pile very early on. If you have only one or the other, then you should try to overcompensate in all other possible areas. Then, you might be able to get away with not having such a strong GPA or LSAT score. However, remember that many highly-qualified applicants with the right numbers get turned down, so try to make sure that even as you strive for attractive numbers (with the most attractive being a 4.0/4.0 GPA and 180/180 LSAT score) that you are as well-rounded as possible and excellent (or striving to be) in those other areas of interest that you pursue.

Success Tip #4: Take full and complete advantage of your “academic” undergraduate experience
You should take full advantage of your academic undergraduate experience by making sure that you make the most of the opportunities and resources that are available to you no matter what college you attended. You must do what is necessary to lay a well-rounded, broad, diverse and solid academic foundation prior to commencing legal studies. Law school should build upon that foundation. You should try to gear yourself up for strong intellectual training during your undergraduate years to prepare yourself for the rigorous legal education that lies ahead. Make sure that you receive a quality education where you can truly learn and not just memorize and forget everything. Train your mind to think independently, clearly, critically and logically. Do everything in your power to build up an intellectual, disciplined, skeptical, analytical and inquiring mind. Your undergraduate years offer you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to think about things that you have never thought about before, to learn about subject matters that are interesting and to explore areas that somehow fascinate you. You want to walk away with your undergraduate degree knowing that you took complete advantage of every opportunity that you possibly could and that whether you decide to attend law school or do something entirely unrelated, that you got your money’s worth and would not change a thing (or very little) about the college education you received. If for some reason, you have already completed undergrad, you might want to take this approach to your graduate education if you decide to get a Master’s degree prior to going to law school. Understand that your undergraduate grades will almost always carry more weight, but there are many schools that believe in second chances, especially if you do an exemplary job in every area possible throughout your graduate school career and in your professional work experience.

Success Tip #5: Plan to prepare hard for and do well on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
Serious preparation for the LSAT and striving to receive the highest LSAT score that you can is the single most important thing you can do to increase your chances of getting into law school. Many people think that all they have to do is take an expensive commercial course and somehow magically they will receive higher scores and an edge of their competition. You must put in 100% in preparation for the LSAT. I would suggest both intensive self-study through carefully going through as many LSAT books out there and doing as many practice questions as possible, as well as taking a commercial course, forming an LSAT study group or getting a tutor to assist you with working through your problem areas. The test is that important. Do whatever it takes to perform at your highest level.

The test is designed to measure your logical and critical reasoning and analytical thinking abilities. Just remember that what the LSAT really tests is how well you can take a standardized test. Keep in mind that the LSAT is a test that assesses a way of thinking, instead of facts that are learned. Your goal is to learn how to think like the test makers and practice on actual tests until you get to the point where you can perform well and beat the clock.

Success Tip #6: Explicitly state how you will add diversity to the incoming law class
We all know that these days diversity is a very important goal for educational institutions and many believe that increasing diversity enhances the educational experiences of all students. Therefore, no matter who you are, you must explicitly state how you will add diversity to the incoming class. Be certain that you include organizations, activities and community service work that you are or have been a part of which involve diversity in your resume and profile. In your essay, personal statement or in an optional or additional diversity statement (which should not be optional for you – submit one regardless), you should also directly mention your work, projects and insights based on personal experiences that drew you to the law, or that should add a unique diversity of perspective and leadership based on your identification with being a diverse candidate. You might like to discuss situations you have encountered and how they are significant in influencing your experiences and shaping who you are. It is critical that you state and demonstrate that you identify with, have a connection to and are deeply concerned about issues within your community and have a desire to go back and serve these people who are greatly underserved. Remember that diversity can be a number of things including race, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic background, age, geography, culture, interests, political affiliation, sexuality, activism, and international experiences, among many others. You should express and demonstrate the ability to represent diversity in a number of varied and interesting ways. Show them that you are a complicated, complex individual whose interests span a lot wider than your own front porch and that you can contribute to diversity based on your multiple identities. Always try to explain explicitly what it is that you can add to the student body because of diversity factors.

Showing that you can add diversity may assist a committee, even if just a little, to decide in your favor, but only if you’ve done all that you could to be as competitive as possible. It might help to be a tiebreaker, but it won’t make miracles if you are not in the running as a highly attractive contender. Despite what some people may think or feel, schools will not let students in if you don’t meet their standards and they don’t believe you can do the work. Success Tip #7: Develop relationships with potential recommenders; Ask for recommendations in person, provide your references with relevant positive information about you and express the importance of the recommendations for your future From the moment you even think you want to go to professional school, you should begin sizing up professors, campus leaders and employers with the mindset that you will possibly need to impress them and make the effort to establish a relationship with those persons in order to get them to write a letter on your behalf at some point in the future. The committee needs to hear from others about who you are, what your abilities are and what you have to offer in order to support what you have said about yourself and to provide more supporting evidence in making the case that you should be admitted. Make sure that you select persons who you are confident are really good people and who want to see you advance.

When the time comes that you have to ask for recommendations, be certain to set up an in-person appointment if this is at all possible. Be sure to ask your references for letters at least two or three months in advance. Be serious and explain that the recommendation is really important to you and to your future. Tell them that you will need a meaningful recommendation that is filled with examples and details to support why you should be accepted. Give or send the recommender an organized folder with all of the relevant information about you that will be useful to him or her in making their assessment. You should also list and explain what qualities law schools seek in students and therefore what type of information is most useful to the committees.

Do not ever just ask for a recommendation, let your recommender know when you need it by and leave it at that. It is your responsibility to provide enough positive information about yourself so that your reference can provide a thoughtful and thorough assessment of you.

Success Tip #8: Always be certain to express to the law schools that you apply to what you have to offer them, what you can do for them and what you can contribute
Just being smart and highly motivated is not going to be enough to help you stand apart from sterling competition. They need to know that you are going to give something valuable to them, add something to their law school and contribute something to the law school community. Show them that you are the type of person who has made a great deal of contributions wherever you have been and it is very likely you will continue to do the same at their institution.

Remember that no matter how good your credentials are, there are many other people out there with similar or better credentials than yours. There is simply no guarantee for admission. Admissions is a comparative process. Many schools compare applicants with similar LSAT scores and GPAs against each other and choose the ones that are the most interesting and who they feel can contribute something special or unique to their class. Among this group, they will compare the content and quality of the personal statements and essays, as well as the strength and impressiveness of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, community service and volunteer work, employment experiences, recommendations and other information provided. You must consider from the beginning what you will have to offer that will set you apart from other highly-qualified individuals who are also striving for a seat in the classes when the admissions offices are only able to make a limited number of offers.

Success Tip #9: You must market and package yourself well
Keep in mind that your primary goal is to be able to sell yourself and show that you stand out more than other similar applicants. Therefore, you must think of your entire application as a “marketing package” designed to sell the admissions committee on the idea that YOU are someone they should include in the class they are putting together. Plan to prepare a thorough, strong and professional application package that is persuasive, completely flawless, typed, where essays are printed out on high-quality paper from a laser printer which includes a well-thought-out and well-written personal statement, diversity statement, resume, profile detailing your accomplishments and addenda explaining any weaknesses. Remember that it is your job to convince the admissions committee that you are someone they must have. Make a strong and memorable impression.

Success Tip #10: Develop and maintain relationships with people who can help you
Seek out and get to know a variety of people who can help you in different ways in your journey to be admitted into law school. Look to some of your instructors, advisors and tutors. Talk to high achieving upperclassmen who seem to be headed for success for their assistance and get to know other like-minded people who want to go on to law school, graduate school or some other type of professional program so that you all can serve as a support system for each other and make sure you reach your respective goals. You should also get to know current law students at the schools you want to attend and inquire about the types of things they’ve done to come out on top despite the severe competition they’ve had to face. Purposely put yourself in places where you can meet law graduates and practicing attorneys. Never forget that no person gets where they want to be by doing it alone. Who you know does make a difference. There is a lot of good information that is passed by word of mouth. People are invaluable resources who have contacts, insight, and rich personal experiences that you can learn from. Don’t be afraid to make the first move, put forth the effort and take the initiative to utilize human resources. Stand up and out and let people know who you are and what you hope to accomplish.

Evangeline M. Mitchell is a graduate of Prairie View A&M University, the University of Iowa College of Law and the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She is the founder of Hope’s Promise Publishing, For Future Black Law Students: Information and Support Network and the author of The African American Pre-Law School Advice Guide: Things You Really Need to Know Before Applying to Law School (2002) and the upcoming Profiles and Essays of Successful African American Law School Applicants (2004) and The African American Law School Survival Guide (2006).