LAW SCHOOL COMPETITIVENESS

Updated Info about the Competitiveness of Obtaining Admission to Law School

The most recent issue of the Newsletter of the Pre-Law Advisors National Council (PLANC) pointed out that based on the current status of the economy and the fact that a large number of skilled professionals have lost good jobs (or no longer feel that they have sufficient job security), applications to law school have increased significantly.

The expectation is that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future. This means admission to law school is becoming increasingly competitive.  The objective factors of importance to law school admission committees are grades and the LSAT score.

The article points out that beyond these objective factors, the subjective factors the admission committees will look for are:

Students should be reminded that they have the opportunity and responsibility to seek out, experience and document assumed positions, activities and experiences which provide evidence of such attributes as motivation and leadership. Such subjective quality sets the candidate apart from others with similar objective strengths.

A little later in the article the term "community service" is mentioned, as well.

The GPA's that make applicants competitive for admission to law school are higher than in the past, so here is another quote from the article that students should consider: "For some, the wisdom of trying to balance college coursework with significant outside employment should be questioned."

Active participation in meaningful activities organized by groups such as the Pre-Law Society is an excellent means to achieve the subjective goals mentioned above.  By its very nature the Society provides its members with an excellent platform to assume leadership roles and to assist with and participate in activities that will carry weight with law school admission officials.  In the process, students have an opportunity to enhance their individual chances for admission to law school.