□ Continue to explore careers in law to confirm your interest in law.
□ Continue to maintain a strong GPA and continue your involvement on campus and in the community, possibly through leadership opportunities within your organizations of interest.
□ Review the Pre-Law website for updates and announcements of upcoming events for pre-law students, particularly those related to the application process, personal statements, mock admission panels etc.
□ Meet with a pre-law advisor again now that you have an established academic track record to begin talking about your GPA, target law schools for which you’d be competitive based on the GPA alone, and ways to continue to enhance your undergraduate experiences.
□ Begin to prepare for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). While there are numerous ways to prepare for the LSAT, the key is to prepare. A good way to begin evaluating how much preparation you need is by taking a practice LSAT, preferably a full-length/timed test so that you can get a baseline score and become more familiar with the LSAT to determine your preparation strategy. Pre-law advisors can help you identify various resources and then you can decide which preparation strategy is best for your individual situation.
□ Attend pre-law workshops to learn more about topics such as the overall law school admission process, what law school is really like from a law student’s perspective, what law schools are looking for to be a competitive applicant for their law school, what to include in your personal statement etc. Workshops will be advertised on the pre-law website and through the listserv (see above).
□ Research and visit law schools. Attending an LSAC Law School Forum is a good way to talk with law school representatives from all over the country in a one-stop environment. (Visit the LSAC website to find the dates and locations and registration—law school forums are free but it is good to advance register.) The “Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools” is also a good place to start researching schools on-line.
□ Register for the June LSAT and continue to prepare for the LSAT.
□ Start identifying faculty and other individuals who you want to ask to write your letters of recommendation for law schools.
Summer before Fourth Year
□ Continue to study for the LSAT and take it in June if you feel prepared.
□ Register and pay for the LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS) at least four to six weeks before you plan to submit you first law school application.
□ Begin to write your law school admission (personal) statement. Remember, you need to format each statement according to the individual school’s specifications so review each school’s website to determine what that law school wants to see in the personal statement. Some schools also recommend or require a diversity statement. Talk with a pre-law advisor about the purpose of an addendum if there is something about your academic record that you would like to explain.
□ Even though it is your personal statement, have several others read your statement and give you feedback. Pre-law advisors in the Academic Advising Center/Farrior Hall and specialists in the Academic Resources at SW Broward Hall on campus are available for such assistance.
□ Prepare your resume for law schools. Visit the Career Connection Center if you need assistance with your resume.
□ Begin to research financial aid options for law schools. The LSAC’s “Financing Law School” is a good place to start. While there are some scholarships available for highly competitive applicants, most law students utilize student loans or personal resources to finance law school so it is important to look at cost factors when researching individual law schools. Other useful financial aid resources can be found at: https://studentaid.gov/, http://www.finaid.org/ and www.accessgroup.org.