If you are interested in applying to law school, you should create an account at the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). This will allow you to register for the LSAT, and also give you access to a wide range of information about the law school admissions process. LawHub is a service that will teach you about the LSAT and give you four practice tests for free. If you want more, consider LawHub Advantage, which has a yearly subscription fee. Many students take an LSAT preparation course; there are many available, and the prices vary.

In addition to creating an LSAC account, you should also contact Touro’s principal prelaw advisor, Political Science Prof. Thomas Rozinski. He can provide helpful advice about when to take the LSAT, where to apply, what to write about in application essays, and whom to ask for recommendation letters. There are many nuances to the application process that cannot be reflected in this guide, and students who apply without seeking the assistance of a prelaw advisor may harm their chances of admission. Prelaw advisement is available to current Touro students as well as those who have completed their degree.

Planning Your Law School Application

Most law schools enroll students for an August start. However, they begin accepting students the previous September, so ideally you should start planning your application at least a year before you plan to begin law school.

Before you apply, you need to take the LSAT. This is a standardized test that predicts how well you will do in law school. It is scored on a scale of 120-180. The score you achieve will allow you to determine where you should apply since law schools consider the LSAT an important indication of an applicant’s potential for success. You need at least a 150 to have a reasonable chance of admission at law schools in New York State. Consult your prelaw advisor once you get your score so you can determine if you should retake the LSAT before applying to law school.

Law schools admit applicants on a rolling basis, usually beginning in October. Applying early means it is often easier to get admitted—and also easier to get a merit scholarship. This means your goal should be to have all applications submitted by the end of November. While you can apply later, this means you will be competing for a diminishing pool of available seats and scholarship money. Application deadlines vary by school, but getting your application in before the deadline does not mean your application will be considered. If a school has filled its seats before the deadline, your application may be summarily rejected.

Submitting Your Law School Application

All law school applications are submitted online. All require at least one personal statement and a resume. Many require additional essays, so you need to check the requirements of each law school where you plan to apply. A poorly-written essay is seen as the sign of a poorly-prepared student, so make sure that you write, edit and proofread your essays as carefully as possible. Your prelaw advisor can assist you with this.

Laws schools also require transcripts for all college-level courses that you have taken in the United States. This applies even if you took a single summer course at a college. If you studied abroad, and received credit from Touro, you do not need a transcript from the foreign college unless you studied there for more than a year or received more than 30 transfer credits. These transcripts must be sent directly from the foreign college, so request one as early as possible.

You will also need to obtain two or three recommendations, at least one from a professor who is familiar with your written work. Recommendations from instructors who can say no more than that you did well on their exams do little to help your chances for admission since they add nothing to what’s reported on your transcript. You are far better off with a letter from an instructor who can discuss a research project that you carried out in class or a paper that was well-written and thought-provoking. You can also use letters from employers who are familiar with your work. All recommendations must be sent directly to LSAC by your references, so you need to provide LSAC with your references’ email addresses so that they can be sent a link to upload them. You should discuss what recommenders you should use with your prelaw adviser.

Finally, you need to be aware that law schools conduct internet searches for public information about their applicants. Make sure you should delete anything that might be considered offensive since this could negatively affect your application. 

Responding to Admission and Waiting List Offers

Once you submit your applications, you should not forget about them while waiting for the first response to arrive. Visit the schools that you applied to so you can determine whether each school would be a good fit for you. For instance, are there kosher restaurants nearby, or must you bring your own food each day? What accommodations are made for absences during religious holidays? What would your commute be like, or should you look into a dorm or an apartment? Knowing the answer to these questions will help when you need to make decisions about which school to attend. 

If a law school defers your application, or places you on a waiting list, you may be asked to submit a letter of continuing interest (LOCI). You should not do so if you are no longer interested in that law school, perhaps because you have already been admitted to a more desirable school. However, if you are still interested, the LOCI gives you an opportunity to update your application with any additional accomplishments you may have attained since you submitted your application. If you have not been to visit the school, you should go as soon as possible since this is often seen as an indication of interest.

If you are admitted to more than one law school, you will have to decide which one to attend. There are many factors to consider in such a choice, including the cost of tuition and any merit scholarships or financial aid that you are awarded. At this stage, you certainly should reach out to your prelaw advisor for assistance.