Timeline for Applying to Law School

Did you just get your LSAT score?  Well, good for you! Congratulations or condolences - whichever applies. Choosing your law school is the next big deal. A lot goes into that decision. You need to have an idea of where you want to work since your school has heavy weight in determining the opportunities that will be available to you. As a matter of fact, if you want Biglaw and know which firm you want to work in, you need to look at what firms are hiring as well as what firms hire from your school More importantly, do you want to snag a federal clerkship? You really need to be careful you are well-placed if this is your goal. As you're making these hard decisions, you have to be sure you have started your law school applications and signed up the Credential Assembly Services - open up your wallet, law school is expensive even before you attend your first 1L class.  

Getting into the law school of your choice straight out of undergrad will take quite a bit of up-front planning and preparation (as well as a little luck). If you miss one step in the complicated application process, you might find your plans delayed by an entire year!  Which is cool; you can always get some work experience for a year. But if you're goal oriented (who isn't?) and this is your year, use this timeline to get where you want to be right on time. If it looks like more than you want to take on alone, we provide Law School Admissions services tailored specifically for your needs. We can help with finding the right schools for you, the application process, tracking your deadlines, and/or professional edits for your application writing. We use only experienced and current law students to make the process go smoothly for you. Contact us for pricing. 

Here's a handy timeline to keep you on track during your application process: 

Undergrad – Spring Semester – Sophomore Year

• Start doing a little research and a lot of dreaming.
• Visit the LSAC website and look around a bit. Check out the dates for upcoming LSAT tests for February of the next school year; that’s when you should consider taking a your test.
• Think about whether you want to take a prep course and, if you do, which one you’ll take. Consider buying some LSAT prep books to study over the summer.
•  Start looking at schools. US News and World Report appears to be the leader in creating rankings to which people really pay attention.  A couple of great websites that will augment your body of knowledge are the  Leiter Law School Reports and Find the Best.
• Go to your college’s counseling office and make an appointment with the Pre-Law Advisor.
• Identify four professors who you want to write Letters of Recommendation for your application. Don’t say anything to them just yet but start attending office hours with them once a week. Keep your grades up.
  

Undergrad – Fall Semester – Junior Year

• Create your account on the LSAC Website as a Future JD Student.
• Sign up for the February or June LSAT test. Sign up at least 30 days in advance. Don’t hesitate; these seats often fill quickly.
• Take an LSAT prep course (if you decided to do so) or keep studying your LSAT study guides.  Talk to any law students you might know and see if they developed any strategies for mastering the logic games section of the test. 
• Take a timed practice test (an untimed test will not provide the information you need) to get an idea of how you might do and to target where you should concentrate your prep studies.
• If you would like a consultation, we’ll hook you up with someone who was in at least the 90th percentile on their LSAT.
• Touch bases with your Prelaw Advisor to ensure you are still on track with anything you need to do.
• Continue to attend office hours and, if possible, take additional courses from the professors who may be writing your Letters of Recommendation. Mention you are hoping to attend law school when you graduate but don’t ask for letters quite yet. 
• Start to identify the specific schools you’d like to attend.  Based on your grades, which ones are reach schools, which ones are target schools, and which ones are safety schools?
  

Undergrad – Spring Semester – Junior Year

• Take the February LSAT (as planned). You will receive your score in approximately 3 weeks and can decide if your score is high enough to get you into the school of your choice. If you need to retake, register for the June or October LSAT. Remember that seats fill early.
• Consider taking a test prep course, decide whether you should hire a tutor, and continue your self-study to maximize your score. Check out the LSAT test prep manuals below - these were the best rated manuals we could find. If you decide to take a test prep course, we've been told that MLIC and Powerscore are the best two. They are both available on-line at a cost of under $1000 (MLIC reviews were better and the cost appears to be about $200 less). 
• Continue attending office hours with your potential recommendation writers. If you don’t have classes with them, drop in for a chat about twice a month. 
  

Summer Break before Senior Year

• Take the June LSAT (if planned). You will receive your score in approximately 3 weeks and can decide if your score is high enough to get you into the school of your choice.
• If you need to retake, register for the October LSAT. Remember that seats fill early.
• Consider taking a test prep course, decide whether you should hire a tutor, and continue your self-study to maximize your score. Check out the LSAT test prep manuals below - these were the best rated manuals we could find. If you decide to take a test prep course, we've been told that MLIC and Powerscore are the best two. They are both available on-line at a cost of under $1000 (MLIC reviews were better and the cost appears to be about $200 less). 
• Sign into your LSAC account and sign up for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) to begin the application process. This will cost you approximately $155. The CAS will become the centralized dispenser of the documents you need for each of your applications. The CAS does not provide assistance with completing your law school applications nor advice/editing for your personal essay. Forward Motion 411 can assist you by taking care of all the tiny details of the application process: 1) providing advice and editing on your personal essay and other written portions for each of your applications; 2) helping you identify your Reach, Target, and Safety schools; 3) tracking deadlines and due dates for each school with whom you apply; 4) writing and perfecting your resume', 5) creating the packets to take to your potential Letter of Recommend writers; and 6) making all of the associated payments for applications, CAS, etc. for one standard fee. We use only experienced and current law students to make the process go smoothly for you. Contact us for pricing.
• Draft your personal statement and your resume'. Ask your advisor, parents, friends, etc. read it and provide feedback. If you prefer to complete your own applications, but would like some assistance in limited areas, contact us. We have experienced writers and certified resume' writers available to help draft your personal statement and resume'.  
• Finalize your list of schools and start completing the application for each school.
• Assemble 4 packets containing an unofficial transcript; your draft resume'; a draft of your personal statement; a list of the schools you are considering; and a request letter stating why you selected them to recommend you and what you learned in their class. Personalize these for each of your 4 selected professors. Set aside for Fall semester.
• Create a list or spreadsheet of anything you need to complete your applications and the deadlines for the applications for each of your selected schools. DO NOT plan on getting your application in by that date: do it much earlier!
• Order your college transcripts sent to CAS.
• Visit as many schools on your application list as you can so you can get a feel for the school and see if you can imagine yourself there.
  

 
Undergrad – Senior Year - Fall Semester 

• Take the October LSAT (if planned). You will receive your score in approximately 3 weeks. 
• Request Letters of Recommendation from your 4 professors during (you guessed it) office hours.  Provide each of them their personalized packet containing your application information.
• Complete you law school applications and submit them.
• Follow up with your professors regarding Letters of Recommendation as needed.
• Track confirmations of receipt of your application to ensure none of the slip through the cracks. Most of them will send you a confirmatory email or postcard.
  

Undergrad – Senior Year – Spring Semester

• During winter break, complete you fafsa (Free Application For Federal Student Aid) and any financial aid application forms located on each school's Financial Aid website. This way schools can build you financial aid packages once they have accepted you to their law school!
• Celebrate as you begin to receive acceptance letters! But don’t stop yet, you now have the most important job to do….pick a school!
• Send thank you notes to the professors who wrote you Letters of Recommendation. Let them know which lucky school you selected. 

Summer Prior to Your 1L Year

• Prep for law school. Say what? Yes, you're in and raring to go but if you can muster up the time and money take a Law Preview class to optimize your success during your 1L year. In fact, we would recommend you really really try to do this. You will receive invaluable instruction, an overview of your 1L courses, and more support than you can imagine. The entire course is geared to give you advantage.  Barbri Law Preview (a six day course will cost you a little over $1,000) seems to have the market cornered. Check with your law school as they can often offer you a discount for this.  

---