How to Get Into A Top Law School
Even those who have near-perfect transcripts and amazing test scores get rejected by the best schools in the country. There are plenty of Rhodes Scholars, valedictorians, and other highly impressive applicants who fail to make the cut.
Why does this happen? Many applicants misconceive how law candidates are evaluated. Admissions officers aren't trying to find the objectively “best” applicants, like Olympic judges awarding points to figure skaters according to set criteria. Rather, admissions officers are applying a more balanced "holistic" criteria to admissions. They're looking at factors like...
Who will perform well in law school—and beyond?
Who will add balance to the incoming class, contributing missing diversity and perspective?
Who is the safest bet to avoid creating hassle down the road?
Let's talk about each one of these in turn.
Top Law Schools Value Performance
Of course, a major goal of any law school is to evaluate its applicants as future students. It's important to get a sense of how well someone is likely to perform through the program. Law schools do NOT want to accept students likely to crash and burn once tested by the rigor of legal education.
To evaluate performance, top law school admissions officers will look at transcripts and standardized test scores. For transcripts, they care most about undergraduate GPA, especially for recent graduates. LSAT scores—or alternatively the GRE, which is accepted by roughly half of schools—make up the other major evaluation criteria. Most schools give the LSAT a bit more weight than grades, since it’s more standardized, but that can vary and may change as law schools move away from LSAT requirements.
These metrics are not arbitrary. They both have a strong statistical correlation with performance in law school, so they give law schools a solid basis to predict which students will succeed.
There’s no question that the “hard numbers” of GPA and test scores are the most important factors in law admissions, but they are not everything. Many applicants who believe they have everything figured out have a false confidence that everything else is just a smokescreen. But the myth that “Only numbers matter” falls apart on close examination.
Why would law schools need admissions offices if all they had to do was take high-scoring applicants? What do those admissions officers do all day? And why would law schools care so much about getting the applicants with the absolute highest scores, anyway?
In truth, while grades and scores are important, and correlate with high performance, they aren’t everything. Admissions isn’t just a numbers game, because law schools have other concerns.
Top Law Schools Look for Balance
As law schools know well, diversity improves a class composition and makes the law school experience better for everyone. Law is fundamentally structured around debate and the exchange of heterogeneous ideas. There are never easy answers in a courtroom. The worst environment to train sharp lawyers would be in a classroom composed of people just like them. They’d be paper tigers in the courtroom and deadweight around a conference table, with the same biases and blind spots.
To put it bluntly, a law school composed of applicants with perfect scores on the LSAT simply wouldn't prepare lawyers for the realities of their future careers.
Balance also refers to intellectual interests. Law schools invest heavily in an assortment of programs, clinics, and focus areas that cater to a range of legal interests. Schools are looking for different candidates to staff each program. It can be good to have a niche!
What does "balance" mean to you? Your personal statement, resume, and optional diversity statement are your best chances to show how you will fit into a law school class and communicate the perspective you will bring.
But remember: Your goal isn't to stand out from your peers as a unique, never-before-seen white whale of a candidate. It's to show what you’d add to the cumulative student pool. There's room for so many types of aspiring lawyers; it's up to you to show your place, not to meet some sort of diversity checklist.
[Next Read: Diversity in Law School: What Applicants Should Know]
Top Law Schools Look for Red Flags
Top law schools are very sensitive to the wrong kind of publicity, and stories about the misadventures of students or recent graduates of top law schools make for great clickbait.
Law schools are trying to avoid at all costs students who might bring disrepute to the school, or whose presence in the law school might make other students deeply uncomfortable. Above all, law schools are looking for students who will contribute to the educational setting, not detract from it.
To build a class that doesn't cause problems, some law schools have implemented interview policies hoping to weed out any students who only look good on paper. "Character and fitness" criteria are also closely analyzed by admissions officers at top law schools. And yes, top law schools will do their due diligence to look for inconsistencies or oversights in admitted students’ records.
To avoid being eliminated from consideration for behavioral reasons, try to keep a spotless record of integrity throughout college. An addendum can help explain any disciplinary issues, but the best advice is to avoid or fully resolve them altogether.
In addition, avoid taking risks in your application that may rub some people the wrong way. Be carefully even-handed in how you deploy humor or strong emotions or reveal political preferences. Don’t assume the reader shares your perspective.
Conclusion
If you cover all these bases, your likelihood of being admitted to a top law school will increase dramatically. One of the things I see applicants struggle with most is using their essays and other written materials to convey their perspective, purpose, and professionalism. A lot of this work happens in essays, which can be difficult for even the most accomplished student without expert assistance.
[Next Read: Law School Admissions Trends Since the Pandemic]
