Junior Prelaw Checklist

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  1. LSAT: Priority #1
  1. Decide when to take it—when can you be best prepared: (June, October, December,February)
  2. Keep in mind the best time to submit application material to the schools is before Thanksgiving one year before you’d enroll.
  3. The latest to apply without risking being late: New Year’s. By late January some schools will be 60-70% full, even if their deadline is March 1 or later.
  4. Have a backup LSAT date available (but keep in mind the February exam will be too late for many schools).
  1. Decide how you’ll prepare.
  2. Take a diagnostic exam NOW to see how much work lies ahead, and to find out if one section is weaker that the others. Don’t worry about preparation, and expect a low score!
  3. HPPLC has all past exams to borrow at no charge (just ask our receptionist), and a list of recommended LSAT prep books. [For LSAC’s free LSAT prep material, including a full-length exam, go to:
  4. If you are in the market for a prep class, HPPLC offers a 20 hour version for $175 (but note that many applicants will prepare quite well on their own).
  5. In Bloomington, Kaplan and Princeton Review offer the only other in-class preparation situations. There are multiple online prep options, but we have virtually no feedback on their effectiveness. Be sure to do your research!
  6. HPPLC often has names of reasonably priced LSAT tutors—email if interested.
  7. If you will be preparing outside of Bloomington, consider contacting the PAD (Phi Alpha Delta—the national prelaw club) chapter at a local college. They should know of any low-priced LSAT prep opportunities in the area.
  1. Letters of Recommendation (LOR): Priority #2
  1. Most law schools will want 2-3.
  2. Try to line up 1 or 2 before senior year if possible.
  3. For basic information about LOR, who and how to ask, and including the mechanics of getting yourLOR from the writers to the law schools, see:
  4. Consider opening an optional file with the HPPLC Recommendation Service (which operates in conjunction with your mandatory CAS account—see below):
  5. You can get LOR written now. LORs written when the writer’s memory is fresh are often stronger.
  6. We have guidelines for writers:
  7. HPPLC can review the letters in your file, even if you have waived your right to read them. We can help you decide which to send (and which NOT to send). If you anticipate obtaining only the minimum number of letters, the service may be of less value to you.
  8. HPPLC keeps the original letters on file. Thus, if a letter is lost somewhere in the application process you don’t have to ask the writer for another copy.
  9. Cost: $25 for ten years.
  1. Personal Statement: find out what lies ahead…..
  1. Read over HPPLC’s web pages for potential topics:
  2. Jot down any ideas; and keep a mini-journal of relevant experiences, especially those related to your decision to pursue a career in law.
  3. Check out the personal statement prompts on the applications for your intended schools (access them through your CAS account—see #4 below). Most are very wide open (“tell us something about yourself that we can’t learn from the rest of your application”), but some are quite specific.
  4. Schools expect 2-3 pages, unless they specify otherwise. Some will have explicit requirements as to spacing, word count, font, margin size, etc. If the instructions do not specify such things, they are up to you.
  1. Set up a FREE account with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) via the Law School Admission Council at
  1. You’ll need this account to register for the LSAT, and to apply to the law schools. The CAS is REQUIRED—no exceptions.
  2. You will eventually send your LOR and transcripts to your CAS account. You will provide only ONE copy of each. The CAS will distribute copies to all law schools to which you apply.
  3. Eventually, and before you can actually submit LOR or transcripts, you will have to pay the CAS registration fee, which in 2010 was $124. This is on top of the fee you will pay for the LSAT. But there is much you can do NOW to organize your account before you pay the fee. We suggest you get online and familiarize yourself with the complex tasks that lie ahead!
  4. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to set everything up with the CAS, see:
  5. Don’t be surprised if you have questions and/or problems with this site—most people do. Ask your HPPLC Prelaw Advisor!
  1. Start and/or expand the List of Schoolsto which you will apply.
  2. Select a wide range of schools: safety (where your GPA and LSAT score are above the school’s medians); reach schools (where your numbers are around 25% or below); and solid, competitive choices (where your numbers are between the 25% and the median).
  1. For a look at how law schools treated applicants with your combination of GPA and LSAT last fall, see: In the section entitled “UGPA/LSAT Search,” simply fill in your numbers. Note the optionsto sort the results by “likelihood” and then “hi to low.”
  1. For the most detailed admissions information, “check” the schools you are interested in, click “View Key ABA Facts on Selected Schools,” then click on the name of the school itself (which is now a link), and finally click the PDF link for “LAW SCHOOL DESCRIPTION” to see a grid at the very bottom of the second page that plots specific GPAs against LSAT scores for last year’s applicant pool. This is the most accurate and detailed admissions data available. Along with the PDF “ABA LAW SCHOOL DATA,” constitutes the content of the invaluable resource ABA/LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools.
  1. Remember: the more schools you apply to, the more choices you’ll have, the more financial aid packages you will have to compare, and the increased likelihood that your material will be reviewed by someone who likes what they see.
  1. Keep in mind that much in the admissions process is subjective, and can depend to some extent on the mindset of the particular individual assigned to go over your file on any given day. The question is usually not whether you are qualified or not (you are!), but how they will decide between two qualified, similarly situated candidates. For example: some officials are simply number crunchers; others are more holistic; another may have belonged to your sorority, played your musical instrument, your sport, or had your major when they were in college; one may have already admitted 17 applicants with your major and is now subconsciously looking for something else; some are having a bad day; others a great day…..you get the idea. In short, expand your horizons! Eight to twelve schools or more is not unusual.