Everything Else Admissions

Now that you’ve taken the LSAT, wrote your personal statement, and perfected your resume, you’re ready to apply to law school! Well, kind of…to complete my series on the admissions process, I’ve thrown the rest of the application stuff together. As with any application, expect questions regarding age, military status, parental information, and other personal questions, as well as the following:

Character and Fitness

The character and fitness section can potentially be awkward. All schools will ask you a question on your character that relates to school behavior, suspensions, illegal actions, etc.  This section does not have to hurt you. If you explain whatever the issue was and how you have grown from it, it can be a positive addition to your application. When in doubt, just disclose it. If it doesn’t draw an issue, it won’t hurt you. If you are truly worried about something, contact the law schools you are interested in and see what they say about your concern.

Addendum

I do not know much about this aspect of applications, as I did not submit one. From what I have heard, it is the place where you can explain something or add anything to your application. If you had a low GPA one semester due to an illness, this is the place to explain it. If you have anything to add, the addendum is the place to do it.

Transcript

Law schools want your transcript. After all, it contains important academic information like your official GPA and the classes you’ve taken. You must submit your official transcript through LSAC, which then sends it to all schools you apply to. To submit your transcript, you can do so electronically or through the mail, it all depends on how your previous institution chooses to do it. Most schools will send it to LSAC electronically, but not all. For example, I had to mail in a transcript request to my college, and then they mailed my transcript to LSAC. This took more time than doing it electronically, so I made sure to plan ahead so my transcript would get to LSAC by the time I submitted my applications.

Optional (or Non optional) Essays

Some schools require extra essays. In this case, you must do them. Others will offer an optional essay for applicants.  This can be helpful if you want to come across as a dedicated, serious applicant. If it is your top school or you are below the average LSAT score and GPA, I would highly recommend you complete the optional essays.  If it’s a safety school or you are above the average LSAT and GPA, it is not as necessary to do all of the optional essays.

Interviews

This is another subject I do not know much about, as I did not complete any admissions interviews. Some schools offer or require alumni interviews, which can strengthen your application. Other times, schools will directly ask you to interview with them. I know someone who had a phone interview with a school, and he eventually was accepted to this school. Interviews are not necessarily a bad thing; they are used to get more information about you or for scholarship purposes.

Fee Waivers

Applying to law schools is expensive. On top of the LSAC fee ($30 per school), many schools have their own application fee. The good news is that most schools will offer a fee waiver or grant one if asked. I applied to 14 schools and received a fee waiver for all of them. I saved close to $1000 with these fee waivers. I recommend you only apply to schools who have waived the fee, and if you don’t automatically receive a fee waiver, just ask for one.

Next comes waiting, which in my opinion, was the hardest part of the application process. Good luck with your application to law school!