What information do I need for the law school application process?
September 30, 2020 7:40 AM   Subscribe

I set up a spreadsheet that I'm going to use to decide which law schools to apply to, and then use it to track applications to make sure everything is complete, and then use it to decide which school to go to (if I'm accepted). Is there anything I'm missing?

I want to figure out if there is anything that I might be missing before I go through each of the school admission pages to fill in the info I need for the spreadsheet. The fields in my spreadsheet are below. Is there anything else crucial that I might need when deciding where to apply, tracking my applications, or making a decision about where to attend?

School
JD Admissions Website
Deadline to apply
State
Ranking
Application Cost
Fee Waiver?
Evening Hours/part-time
Rec Letters Details
Personal Statement Info
Resume
Notes and Special Requirements
posted by davidstandaford to Education (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
It's been many years since I applied to law school, but I have two thoughts.

First, if it were me, I'd split out (into different sheets/documents) information about deciding whether to apply/go to a certain school (ranking, evening hours, etc.) and just raw tracking of application/admission status.

Then, in the tracking (ideally only for schools I've decided I'd at least consider applying to), I might add some more details around the various deadlines after acceptance, and checkboxes for when each has been done.

But really, I think this kind of thing has to be about how you think and how your brain works, so my ideas on how I'd track it probably aren't that relevant. I don't think you're missing anything glaringly obvious.
posted by primethyme at 8:18 AM on September 30, 2020 [1 favorite]


You should make a decision now about how much you are willing to pay to attend each school. Might be up to full freight, might be zero (i.e. only a full scholarship would get you to go). Making that decision in advance will help you stick to it when offers start coming in.

Depending on your application strategy, start thinking about plan B in case no school gives you an acceptable offer.
posted by jedicus at 8:55 AM on September 30, 2020 [4 favorites]


Contact info for the admissions ppl.
posted by 8603 at 9:37 AM on September 30, 2020 [1 favorite]


Honestly, I don't see a need for several of your columns. If part-time or evening enrollment is important to you, you probably shouldn't bother applying to schools that don't offer them unless the school is super-prestigious, in which case you'd probably be better off going to the prestigious school regardless of other factors. Likewise, ranking really only matters at the extreme top end or the extreme bottom end.

I like the idea of splitting out things like Resume, Personal Statement, and Recommendation Letters into a separate file. Those columns are things you'll use in the application process, not the post-acceptance decision-making process.
posted by kevinbelt at 10:36 AM on September 30, 2020 [2 favorites]


You don’t apply to every law school separately, you use LSAC to do everything. You have to make an LSAC account to sign up for the LSATs and a universal law school application is on there too, you upload all of their requirements, they’ll post the LSAT score to it, and then you choose what schools to send your application to. There’s no need to track everything on your own spreadsheet, LSAC tracks it all as part of their checklist. It’s actually a pretty streamlined process! Good luck!
posted by katypickle at 10:58 AM on September 30, 2020 [7 favorites]


And as for where to attend, I urge you to attend to the best ranked school that gives you the most money! Don’t pay sticker price unless it’s top 3 and you’re guaranteed a big law job coming out.

Also, don’t let naysayers get you down. The most frustrating part of applying to law school for me was dealing with everyone saying “don’t go, you’ll come out in debt in an over saturated profession and even if you get a job you’ll hate your life.” If law is your passion, pursue it and work hard, and you’ll get there.
posted by katypickle at 11:01 AM on September 30, 2020 [2 favorites]


Some additional column ideas: median LSAT, median GPA, and deadlines to qualify for any scholarship programs. I applied very late in the cycle and discovered that, while I could still apply to NYU, I’d already missed the deadline for full-ride scholarships. Had I gotten one of those scholarships, I may have attended. Don’t miss out like I did!
posted by saltypup at 7:52 PM on September 30, 2020


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