Need Money? Go Back to School! A Guide to Getting into Law School

I've also included their websites.

1. Yale University - www.law.yale.edu
2. Harvard University - www.law.harvard.edu
3. Stanford University - www.law.stanford.edu
4. Columbia University - www.law.columbia.edu
5. University of Chicago - www.law.uchicago.edu
6. New York University -www.law.nyu.edu
7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor- www.law.umich.edu
8. University of Pennsylvania - www.law.upenn.edu
9. University of California - Berkley - www.law.berkley.edu
10. University of Virginia - www.law.virginia.edu
11. Duke University - http://www.law.duke.edu
12. Northwestern University - http://www.law.northwestern.edu
13. Cornell University - http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu
14. Georgetown University - http://www.law.georgetown.edu
15. University of Texas - Austin http://www.utexas.edu/law
16. University of California - Los Angeles http://www.law.ucla.edu
17. Vanderbilt University - http://www.vanderbilt.edu/law/
18. University of Southern California (Gould) - http://lawweb.usc.edu
19. Washington University in St. Louis - http://www.law.wustl.edu/
20. George Washington University - http://www.law.gwu.edu
21. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities http://www.law.umn.edu
22. Boston University - http://www.bu.edu/law/
23. Indiana University - Bloomington (Maurer) - http://www.law.indiana.edu
24. University of California - Davis - http://www.law.ucdavis.edu
25. University of Illinois - Urbana - Champaign - http://www.law.illinois.edu
26. University of Notre Dame http://law.nd.edu
27. Boston College http://www.bc.edu/lawschool
28. College of William and Mary http://www.wm.edu/law
29. University of Iowa - http://www.law.uiowa.edu
30. Emory University - http://www.law.emory.edu
31. Fordham University - http://law.fordham.edu
32. University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill http://www.law.unc.edu
33. University of Washington - www.law.washington.edu
34. Washington and Lee University - http://law.wlu.edu
35. Ohio State University - http://www.moritzlaw.osu.edu
36. University of Alabama - http://www.law.ua.edu
37. University of Georgia - http://www.law.uga.edu
38. University of Wisconsin - Madison http://www.law.wisc.edu
39. Wake Forest University - http://www.law.wfu.edu
40. Arizona State University - http://www.law.asu.edu
41. George Mason University - http://www.law.gmu.edu
42. Brigham Young University - http://www.law.byu.edu
43. University of Arizona - http://www.law.arizona.edu
44. University of California - http://www.uchastings.edu
45. University of Maryland - http://www.law.umaryland.edu
46. University of Utah - http://www.law.utah.edu
47. Tulane University - http://www.law.tulane.edu
48. University of Colorado - Boulder http://www.colorado.edu/law/
49. University of Florida - http://www.law.ufl.edu
50. American University - http://www.wcl.american.edu

The law school admission process is centered around an organization called the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). Through LSAC you do everything from signing up for the LSAT to applying to schools. You must go through the LSAC registration process before you can begin anything.

The good news is this website is fairly easy to navigate. There is even a very handy checklist to make sure you don't miss anything (which is very easy to do). The site also has a lot of information about ABA approved schools including rankings, so it can really help you in your search.

Like everything in life, this process will involve some money. Each time you take the LSAT it will cost you $139 (so make it count). Afterwards you also have to sign up for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), which will run you another $124. This is on top of the countless application costs you will have to pay at each school you apply. Finally, the real costs begin when you have to actually pay tuition at your school. This can seem a little overwhelming, but do not let it deter you. There is money out there that can help you through this process.

First there is a fee waiver program for the the LSAT and CAS. If you meet a series of financial requirements, then you will be allowed to take two LSATs and register for CAS, all for free.

A note about the CAS: The CAS is essentially a hub, with LSAC, for all of your application material. A lot of schools require that you submit your application through the CAS, and this includes letters of recommendation. This may seem like a hassle now, but it actually makes the process much easier. You will have a list (that you can update and change at any time) of all the schools you would like to apply to, and the service will show you how far along you are in there application process (this includes all relevant deadlines). For instance, if you were applying to The University of Michigan, and have turned in application and personal statement but not your letters of recommendation. The site will conveniently remind you that you still have not assigned any letters to the University of Michigan, and it will show you the deadline for turning them in.

A bonus to qualifying for the LSAC fee waiver program is that you will also get some application fee waivers depending on the schools you apply to. This can help things out a lot. Application fees can really rack up especially since some of them can near $100 for just one school. If you did not qualify for the LSAC fee waiver, you still have a shot at getting a few applications free. If you do pretty well on the LSAT, some schools will allow you to apply for free.

Finally, paying for law school. This could (and should) be a lens all its own, so I will just touch briefly on the subject. Let me make this clear: THERE is a lot of money out there for you. Most schools have very generous scholarship programs ranging from $1000 a semester to full-tuition. If you don't receive a scholarship from the beginning, most schools have ways that you can "grade-in" to money. For instance, if you had a 3.5 GPA after the first year, you would receive a significant amount of money. The GPA level and the corresponding scholarship reward will vary at every school, but most schools have them.

The dreaded Law School Admission Test. A half-day standardized test that will help determine the only kind of law school you will get into to....NOT. Do not let this test get you down. How you do on the test is not necessarily indicative of how you will do in law school. Your score is important, but if you have great application most schools will consider you a strong applicant even with a sub-par LSAT score.

The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions. There is also a 35-minute writing sample administered at the end of the test. The test is made to measure your reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning skills.

Preparation is key. If you are still in college, most colleges offer some kind of test-prep course to help you get ready for graduate school entrance exams. Take it. If you are no longer in school, there are services that offer LSAT prep. These classes will help tremendously in the long run. Even only to help you feel more relaxed come test day. Once the actually test day comes, remember you have studied for months and, most important, breathe.

Everyone hates asking for letters of recommendation, and most likely the professors you are asking have written so many that they have some kind of template that they just plug info into. Unfortunately this is a necessary evil. Almost every school you will apply to will ask for at least one. There are some things you can do to help your cause though.

When deciding the professors you want to write letters for you keep in mind the professors you have taken the most often. Make sure you did well in those classes of course, but try and pick professors that you talked to out of class before. Even if it was just in passing as your walking past their office. Professors will feel more inclined to give you a good review if they know you better (in fact some professors may refuse to write letters for you because they don't know you well enough).

When you finally pick your perfect professors, ask if they would be willing to write a letter for you and then make it as easy for them as possible. Give them all the paperwork they need, and give them an envelope that already has the address and postage. You should aim to get around four letters. This is the most I have ever seen required by an application. Better safe than sorry.

Note about letters of recommendation on LSAC: All of your letters must be mailed directly to LSAC. When you sign up they will explain this in more detail, but you must also have a printed form that LSAC gives you in the envelope with the letter of recommendation. So make you sure you include that in your packet of paperwork you give to your professors. Once LSAC has the letters, you will be able to "assign" which letters go to which schools. This is a very nice feature. It will expedite the application process immensely.

Another important key: your grades. Your undergraduate GPA gives law schools a chance to see how good of a student you have been up until now. No matter what your degree is in, your grades still are a reflection of how you handled your college course load. If your grades weren't a straight 4.0 for all four years, DO NOT sweat. Mine weren't either. Look at the law schools you want to apply to; on their websites they will generally have listed the median GPA and LSAT score for their last admitted class of students. This will help you know how competitive you are. The Law School Admission Counsel (LSAC) also has a great guide that shows you average test scores and grades for entrants.

With all that said, it couldn't hurt to boast your GPA before actually applying. If you are still in school do not slack off your when you near the finish line! Once you have been accepted to a school your effort won't matter quite as much, but up until that moment every extra GPA boost is valuable.

Try using a GPA calculator to see the kinds of grades you need to improve your overall GPA.

Never held a legal job or internship before? Don't worry neither have most of the other applicants. Don't get me wrong, legal experience certainly helps, but it will not be detrimental to you if you failed to ever gain an internship. What law schools are looking for are meaningful experiences. Have you ever volunteered? Did you participate in organized sports at your undergraduate college? Were you involved in student organizations? Law schools like to see that you can handle stress and have good time management skills. When you are writing your entrance essay or reworking your resume, make sure to highlight things that show a propensity for good time and stress management. Make sure you talk about that time you lead a student counsel meeting while writing your senior thesis. These are the kinds of experiences admission counselors relish.

Most schools will require you to turn a personal statement. Some schools will give you a series of questions to help frame your statement, others will not. This is your opportunity to express why you want to go to law school both from a professional standpoint and a personal standpoint. Admissions counselors like to hear about how you want to one day change the world through law, but they also like to hear about why you are really choosing law. I spoke at great length about how both of my parents have worked two or more jobs their entire lives, and how I did not only want to be like that but also how I would to like help them so they no longer would have to. Genuine personal tidbits will go a long way in your personal statement.

If you need help with a starting point or just other ideas to put in your paper, the you find a ton of examples online of great personal statements.

Your resume can be your saving grace if you don't have the greatest GPA or LSAT score. How you frame what is in your resume is just as important as what is actually in the resume. Remember you are trying to portray yourself in the best light possible. If the only job you had as an undergraduate student was a resident assistant (or any variation of that title), then own that and list the skills you learned or improved during the experience. You had to give hall "activities" right? This shows leadership. You had to solve conflicts between roommates right? This shows problem-solving abilities. Just that fast you have listed two qualities that every law school covets.

When you're writing your resume do not leave out jobs that can show other strong attributes you may have. Such as good communication skills, good team player, etc. There are obviously jobs that will not boost your resume at all (cashier at McDonalds for instance), but you may be surprised by what the school thinks of your job experiences.

After you have written your resume take it to someone at your school that is prepared to help you. A good counselor can make any resume look great, or even the writing help desk in your english department. If you are no longer in school show your resume to someone who you trust to be honest with you, or send it to someone from your college that is still around to help alumni. There are also plenty of books out there to help you, and even resumes templates all over the web that are extremely helpful. There are plenty of opportunities out there for help if you just look in the right places.

Boosting your resume, before sending it out, is also a great idea. Never volunteered before? Why not now? Volunteer work always stands out on a resume and shows that you are a person who is committed to furthering society. Also your volunteer endeavors do not need to be extreme. You don't have to join the Peace Corp to get noticed. The admissions counselor at my law school was impressed that I had helped a friend complete his Eagle Scout Project for Boy Scouts.

Remember every little bit helps! You want to stand out in a crowd of thousands of applicants.

Some school might require a personal interview or phone interview. In my experience this is pretty rare. I applied to about eight schools and only had one interview. You should still prepare yourself just in case one does come up though.

Before you head into the office you want to try and guess every question that the interviewer will ask. This is easier than it sounds considering there are many generic questions that they are bound to ask. For instance: What are your future plans? Why do you want to come to this law school? What are your biggest strengths? You should be ready to answer these questions fluently, and try not to sound too rehearsed.

Always remember to stay calm. You were invited. They want to know the real you.