Pre-Law
at Arizona State University

Application materials

Nearly all law schools make their admission decisions solely on the basis of written applications and supporting documents. The supporting documents include the application proper, the personal statement of the applicant, letters of recommendation, undergraduate transcripts, and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score. 

Applications consist of those items of personal information necessary to give evaluators a verbal picture of the applicant. The instructions that accompany the application should be adhered to exactly, and, as with all applications, responses should be clearly and concisely written. Formats include the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) electronic application and application on disk

Acceptance decision
Most law schools have an Admissions Committee that makes all admission decisions after a careful reading of each application. In selecting the entering class, the Admissions Committee is forced to make difficult choices among a large number of qualified applicants. These choices are made by balancing a number of factors, including:

• LSAT score
• Type, breadth, and depth of college or graduate courses taken
• GPA

Other factors also play an important role in the committee's decision-making process:

• Academic honors and awards
• Writing ability
• Letters of recommendation from persons who know the applicant well (academic letters of recommendation are the most helpful for fairly recent graduates)
• Work record, including military service, Peace Corps, and VISTA
• College and community activities
• Character and motivation
  

Although performance on the LSAT and in college or graduate school is important, selection is made after a careful review of the entire admission file. Check with each school for their specific admission criteria. In addition to a regular application process, each law school has instructions for any special programs as well as special admission policies.