Guide to Applying to Law School

For Swarthmore Undergraduates and Alumni/ae
August 2023

Applying to law school is a reasonably straightforward process. Swarthmore applicants apply to an average of 8.5 schools, and there is a centralized service that will forward your transcripts, LSAT scores and even your recommendations to the schools to which you are applying. Law schools are quite clear and public about the GPAs and LSATs of those students they commonly accept. The fact that the process is relatively easy means that you should be able to execute it with good judgment, timeliness and careful attention to detail.

Swarthmore applicants are quite successful in the law school application process. For those students applying to begin law school in 2022, 42 applied and 33 were accepted, for an acceptance rate of 88%, compared to a national acceptance rate of 70%. 

Personal Assessment

A career in law can be exciting and personally fulfilling. It can be an opportunity to use the intellectual skills honed at Swarthmore and to be involved in a wide range of important issues. However, it is a profession that should be entered only after careful consideration as to whether it will be a good match for your interests and talents. Law school is an expensive proposition, and not one that should be embarked upon as a default when you don't have other plans. Before you get to the point of application to law school, you should take the time to investigate the field, learn more about possible specialties of interest, and actually talk to lawyers about the challenges, rewards and disappointments of their work.

What are law schools looking for? First of all, they are looking for strong LSATs and GPAs, although if you are willing to consider a wide range of schools, having less-than-stellar numbers should not preclude you from becoming a lawyer. Law schools express no preference for particular majors, but they do want to see that you've challenged yourself with a rigorous, well-rounded course of study. They are interested in people who have interesting non-academic pursuits and who have involved themselves in making a contribution in some aspect of community life. They are interested in applicants who have some realistic notion of a career in law, either through internships or employment or in-depth conversations with lawyers.

Most Swatties apply to law school after graduation, so as to give themselves some time in the work world. ( In 2022, 33 of our 42 applicants were alums. ) This approach would allow you to get a more direct and real sense of possible career directions, with the added benefit of strengthening your application through additional experiences and giving you a break between two very intense academic experiences. In 2022, more than two-thirds of incoming students at U.S. law schools had taken at least a year after college to work or earn graduate degrees. At Yale, for example, more than 85% of their recent matriculants did not come directly after college; at Columbia and Penn, it was about 75%.  Gigi will provide the same advising and help to alums as to seniors.

Law School Credential Assembly Service (LSAC)

Nearly all U.S. accredited law schools work with the LSAC Credential Assembly Service as a clearinghouse for individual transcripts from applicants. The LSAC will translate your coursework and grades into a standardized format and compute GPAs for each academic year, for each undergraduate institution you've attended, and overall. They will also send copies of all your undergraduate and graduate transcripts, along with these GPA summaries, your LSAT scores and your LSAT writing sample to the law schools to which you are applying. They also provide a recommendation and evaluation service.  Your account will remain active for five years.  You can register for these services through the web site listed below. It is recommended that you set up this account at least 6 weeks before your first application deadline.

The registration fee is $200. Once you register, you must use the LSAC Transcript Request Form to contact the registrars from all the colleges or universities you've ever attended, and ask that your transcripts be sent there. You can subscribe to this service at www.LSAC.org.

You will pre-pay LSAC $45 for each school to which you plan to apply.  Additional reports requested later also cost $45 each. LSAC reports are then requested BY THE LAW SCHOOLS once you've applied, not by you.

LSAC (www.LSAC.org) has a very useful FAQ section and links to every law school's web site. 

Please indicate "yes" to releasing your information to your pre-law advisor, so that Gigi can best assist you and other students.

Students with extreme financial need can apply for a fee waiver for LSAC and for the LSAT.

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

The LSAT is a half-day standardized test of reading comprehension and analytical and logical reasoning skills. It will be administered in two formats: remotely-proctored on-line, or at a Prometric Test Center, using tablets they will distribute. There are three scored sections -  Reading Comprehension, Analytical Reasoning and Logical Reasoning and a fourth unscored variable section to test new questions for future use. It also includes a writing sample, which is administered separately on-line via a secure testing platform. It is a test for which you should prepare, either on your own, with a commercial test prep service, or Khan Academy free videos.  Swarthmore has a special deal with Kaplan through which students and alums can take the on-line Kaplan LSAT course for the greatly discounted price of $200. If you're interested, please be in touch with Jennifer Lenway @ jlenway1@swarthmore.edu. 

Fee Waivers

LSAC offers waivers for application costs for the LSAT, the Credential Assembly Service and other related costs. Individuals earning less that 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines may be eligible for a Tier 1 fee waiver, which provides two LSATs, and CAS, and six law school reports. Those between 250-300% mat be eligible for a Tier 2 fee waiver, which provides one LSAT, CAS, and three law school reports. If you think you may meet the eligibility requirements, it is definitely worth applying. 

Your LSAT score is a very important part of your admissions profile. The optimal time to take the LSATs is in the summer or September/October of the year that you are applying, with the December/January one being a less good option. During the 2023-2024 academic year, the test will be offered in August, September, October, November, January, February, April and June. Most law schools will accept scores up to three years. 

Law schools vary in how they look at multiple LSAT scores. Some average them, some will consider the highest scores, some will look at the most recent. So don't take the test without carefully preparing, on the assumption that you can do better the second time around. Aim to do your very best t he first time, so you don't drag your candidacy down with a score that doesn't represent your best effort. 

You can register for the LSAT at www. LSAC.org. The fee for one-time registration is $222

ACCOMMODATIONS

If you have a disability or medical condition that you believe requires an adjustment to standard testing conditions, we encourage you to apply for testing accommodations. All initial applications for accommodations must be submitted electronically via Accommodations for Test Takers with Disabilities. 

Choosing Schools

In developing a list of schools to which to apply, you should consider a number of factors. Obviously, geography and location are important. If you are hoping to settle down in a certain region of the country, it often makes sense to consider law schools there very carefully, as their graduates likely comprise a good portion of the professional networks there. You should also consider possible areas of law in which you may be interested, and find law schools that offer courses in those areas. Individual school web sites are likely to be very helpful to you.

Law schools are very clear about the numbers that are likely to make for a successful applicant at their school. The LSAC web site has a feature where you plug in your GPA and LSAT score and it will generate lists of schools at different levels of likelihood of acceptance. (https://www.lsac.org/choosing-law-school/find-law-school/jd-programs). You can click on these tools from our website. While there is surely some "give" for Swarthmore's rigor and reputation for excellence, if you are not within the range for a certain school, you may be best served putting your application money and effort elsewhere.

While reputation is certainly an important factor to consider in making choices, it shouldn't blind you to a school's real qualities and strengths, and whether or not it would be a good match for your talents and interests. You should be sure to include schools where you have a good shot at getting in, not just your dream schools that are very competitive.

Be on the lookout for law school presentations on campus and try to attend at least one or two. Even if it is a school in which you're not interested, it is still helpful to hear what law school admissions officers look for in an application. Often much of the material they present is applicable to other schools as well.

The Application

LSAC uses a program, which allows you to complete and track your individual law school applications in a streamlined way.  Be sure that your transcripts and all your recommendations and evaluations are already at the LSAC, so that the law school will get your complete credentials when they request your information.

Essays

Every application will likely require at least one essay, often known as a "Personal Statement." This is your opportunity to distinguish yourself from other applicants, and explain why you would be a perfect an excellent addition to their student body. An essay that is powerful and vivid and focuses on you and your experiences and accomplishments is much more powerful and effective than an essay on your thoughts on, say, the American legal system. You might discuss 1) a turning point in your decision to attend law school, 2) a role model for yourself, 3) a personal struggle or accomplishment, or 4) a leadership, employment, or community service experience that is somehow related to your interest in law. Be sure to read the prompts they give you carefully, and tailor each essay appropriately, rather than simply re-using an essay for each school. Think of the reader as you write your essay. Law school admissions officers are very busy people, reading hundreds, if not thousands, of these essays. They want to pick up your essay and by reading it just once, see the main points that distinguish you from the other applicants. They will not have the time or patience to re-read essays that are overly academic and jargon-filled, poorly organized, vague and rambling, or filled with clichés. If your essays have typographical or grammatical errors, that will reflect poorly on you. So be sure to have a very picky friend check your applications over for little mistakes your own eyes skip over.

Gigi is happy to read your essays to give you general feedback on their effectiveness.

Expanded Resume

Attaching a descriptive resume to your law school applications can be a very effective way for you to clearly present your accomplishments and activities, especially those that you are not able to fully present in the actual application. An expanded resume is somewhat different from a business resume in that it should describe each activity in a bit more depth. However, it should not be overly wordy, and it should not list information that can be found elsewhere on your application, like contact information, or coursework. Remember, your goal is to clearly illuminate the significant things you've done, not overwhelm them with too much detail.

Gigi or the staff at Career Services would be happy to give you feedback on your expanded resume.

Recommendations

LSAC has a Credential Assembly Service (CAS), which collects and distributes letters of recommendation.  You give your recommenders the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Form and they send their letters plus the form directly back to LSAC. These are then sent to the law schools at the law schools' request, once you have submitted your application.

Letters of recommendation may be requested and submitted before you actually complete your applications. Then, when you apply and the law schools request your information from LSAC, LSAC will send copies of your letters along with your academic records. Most law schools require that you use the LSAC for your recommendations. Through the CAS, It is possible to direct school-specific recommendations to specific law schools based on each school’s requirements or preferences, but that should be done only in very special situations.

Check the LSAC web site for specific instructions on the mechanics of the recommendation process. Most law schools request two letters of recommendation. Some will allow you to send as many as three or even four (you can check the LSAC web site for each school’s requirements). You should request at least one letter, and preferably two, from professors with whom you have done very well. If you send a third, you may want to consider one from a supervisor in a work or a volunteer experience.  Law schools are not impressed by letters from “VIP”s, unless you have actually worked closely with that person for an extended period of time. As a courtesy to your recommenders, be sure to request recommendations with an ample amount of lead time.

While you are not required to, it is recommended that you waive your right of access to your letters of recommendation and evaluation, as law schools are likely to give more credibility to confidential letters.

Transcripts

You must have transcripts sent to CAS from the registrars at all the post-secondary institutions you have attended, whether or not these grades appear on your Swarthmore transcript. The only exceptions are TRICO courses taken at Haverford or Bryn Mawr during the academic year, and direct entry in foreign institutions for study abroad. (In most study abroad cases, there is a sponsoring U.S institution from which you must request a transcript.) Read all the CAS instructions carefully.

If you are a current student, you should also request that a transcript be sent at the end of the fall semester, once all your grades have been posted.  LSAC will then update your file, and make it available to the law schools to which you have applied.

Swarthmore students and alums applying to law schools must use the National Student Clearinghouse "Order Transcript" service to have Swarthmore transcripts sent to the Law School Credential Assembly Service. Current students access the Clearinghouse through MySwarthmore. Alums must access the Clearinghouse directly, create an account, and request transcripts from Swarthmore College. There are instructions on the Registrar's website, and links to the National Student Clearinghouse. 

Dean's Certification Forms

There are some schools that will ask you to get a dean's certification, basically attesting to the fact that you have not had any disciplinary problems or been placed on academic probation. Please direct these forms to Gigi, so that she can gather information and complete them. If you have had any disciplinary or academic actions, or if there is something unusual about your academic history (such as a leave for illness or financial reasons), please contact her to discuss the situation. It is very important that you disclose any problems to the law schools.

Interviews

More and more law schools are incorporating interviews into the admissions process.  These are typically by invitation only and conducted via phone, Zoom or Skype.  Many are done via a recorded on-line service called Kira. An interview request is a good sign and an opportunity you should take if given the chance. 

Timelines

Most law schools report using rolling admissions, with some reporting having filled up to 90% of their seats already by their official admissions deadlines. So be sure to get your applications and supporting information in as early as possible. Even though official deadlines may say February 15, you should aim to have your complete application in by Thanksgiving, particularly if you're interested in obtaining a scholarship.

Pre-Law Advising

Gigi is available for advising for students or alums at any point during their college careers or afterwards. She is available  to give feedback on essays, personal statements, and resumes, usually via email. It is easiest for her if you embed the text of your essay into the body of an email. Please e-mail her to set up an appointment.  

Please be sure to let Jennifer Lenway know that you are interested in attending law school, so that she can add you to our e-mail list to receive important information related to law school.