APU Legal Studies Original

Creating the Strongest Possible Law School Application

By James J. Barney
Professor of Legal Studies, School of Security and Global Studies

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased interest in law school applications, making the admission process much more competitive. While Law School Admission Test (LSAT) exam scores and your grades remain significant components of the law school admissions process, solid scores and grades in a highly competitive admissions cycle are not enough to ensure your admission into law school.

Instead, make sure that you also focus on those parts of the law school application process that are often overlooked, including a carefully crafted personal statement, an academic resume and stellar letters of recommendation. If you’re an aspiring law student, here are some useful tips to help you create the strongest possible law school application.

Related link: A Legal Writing Portfolio: Useful in Finding a Law Career

Make a Convincing Case for Law School Admission in Your Personal Statement

Many applicants for law school dread writing their personal statements because these essays ask a candidate to engage in self-reflection and assessment of one’s strengths and weaknesses. While some applicants often quickly write up their personal statements or rehash college admissions essays, remember that it is a critically important part of the law school application. The essay provides law schools with valuable insight into a candidate’s background, judgment and writing style.

Unfortunately, many aspiring law students make the mistake of using the personal statement as an opportunity to address the real or perceived weaknesses contained in their application. However, this approach is not advisable.

Instead, a personal statement should make an affirmative case for your admission and why a law school admission officer should approve your application over other candidates in the admission process. To make sure that you stand out, include your motivation for attending law school, your preparedness for the academic challenges you will face in law school and any other distinguishing characteristics. These qualities should all be featured prominently in any law school personal statement.

Moreover, a personal statement should make a compelling case for why you have selected a particular law school. For example, if you live in Wyoming or New York City and are applying to a law school in Ohio, you need to make a compelling case for why you have picked that law school in question.

Also, remember that you are applying to enter a profession where your judgment and discretion are critically important traits. Ideally, you do not want to include any material in your personal statement that would call these traits into question.

Law school admissions professionals will also assess your writing skills when they review your personal statement. A personal statement with a collection of typos or grammatical errors could doom your chances of admission, even if you have outstanding grades and LSAT scores.

Given the importance of the personal statement, you should carefully craft and edit the statement. In addition, have several people review and edit the personal statement before you submit it.

If you are struggling to formulate a law school essay to use as your personal statement, there are some valuable resources available like the book “55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays, 2nd Edition: With Analysis by the Staff of The Harvard Crimson.” This work provides examples of strong personal statements.

Not All Resumes Are Equal

Many aspiring law school students give little thought to the resume attached to their law school application. However, a resume is an equally important part of the application packet as your personal statement. The resume provides the admissions committee with valuable information about your background and experience.

The resume you attach to your law school application should emphasize those skills and experiences that will be relevant to your success in law school. Such a resume will include your educational background, school activities (including clubs and awards) and a limited discussion of your work history in no more than one page. Like the personal statement, the resume submitted as part of the law school application should be free of errors.

In my experience, students often struggle to fill space on their academic resumes. They overlook how participating in the student organizations available at our university may help them fill up a resume and obtain the skills needed for success in the law school.

For example, obtaining leadership experience in law-centric groups like the pre-law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta or groups like the Model United Nations Club are excellent ways to obtain oral advocacy, leadership, and team-building skills. These skills are what law school admissions professionals look for in candidates.

Related link: Model UN Club: Diversity and Inclusiveness during COVID-19

A Stellar Letter of Recommendation Can Also Make a Difference in Your Law School Application

Like personal statements and resumes, law school applicants often downplay the importance of strong letters of recommendation. Letters from your first-grade teacher or an employer who is not familiar with law school or your academic abilities are of little value to you. Also, a lukewarm or negative letter can be fatal to your chances of admission to law school.

Ideally, people who are familiar with law school and the skills needed to succeed in it should write your letter of recommendation. These letters can come from a combination of employers as well as teachers, who are eager to serve as a referee (a person writing a letter of recommendation).

When scouting for potential referees, do not be afraid to ask the referee if he or she is willing to enthusiastically endorse your application. If the referee is unable or unwilling to do so, then that person is not the right person to be your referee.

If you are looking for a law school admissions letter of recommendation, taking one or more of our Legal Studies courses can provide you with a potential referee and a taste for the type of work that you may confront in law school. The robust offerings of our Legal Studies programs afford undergraduate and graduate students with a wide range of course choices.

Remember that asking a person for a letter of recommendation, especially a professor, is not a burden. Instead, your referee should be honored that you have selected him or her for that person’s expertise and advice.

During the letter of the recommendation writing process, ask your referee to have a brief meeting in person or by telephone. During this meeting, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your law school application and ask for advice. Again, if a law referee avoids a meeting or provides some negative information during the meeting, that hints that the referee is not the right person to draft the letter.

Like your personal statement, a letter of recommendation should focus on the skills and experience you possess that will make you a strong future attorney. It should also discuss your motivations for attending law school.

A referee should also be willing to review other parts of your application, including your personal statement, resume and college transcripts. That referee should provide critical feedback on your application to make it as strong as possible.

Remember That the University Has Resources to Aid You

As you embark on the law school admissions journey, remember that many of our school’s graduates have successfully transitioned to law school in the past. There is hope that law school in the future will be more accommodating to historically underrepresented populations, including working adults, non-traditional students, military servicemembers and marginalized groups of all varieties. And remember: our school has resources to aid in realizing your law school dreams in this competitive environment.

James Barney is a Professor of Legal Studies in the School of Security and Global Studies. In addition to possessing a J.D., James possesses several master’s degrees, including one in U.S. foreign policy. He is also in the final stages of completing his Ph.D. in history. James serves as one of the faculty advisors of the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity as well as the Model United Nations Club and is the pre-law advisor at the University.

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