McKenna Nonnennmann
“How do we get into law school?” is the most common question Pre-Law Society members ask . There are many factors that go into a competitive application.
The two most important factors are the LSAT and GPA. Beyond that, law schools look at letters of recommendation, the student’s resume, and their personal statement.
For the last meeting of the year, the Pre-Law Society invited South Texas Law School and Texas A&M Law School to answer burning questions about the law-school admission process.
The entrance requirements are different for these schools. On average, TAMU Law has an incoming class with a 167 LSAT and a 3.9 GPA, while South Texas has a 154 LSAT and a 3.45 GPA. Despite these differences, the process for selecting applicants is much the same.
LSAT and GPA are the two most important factors, and one way to think of their impact is in terms of categories. A student with a higher than median LSAT and GPA is in the “likely admit” category, ” a student just below average might be “possible,” while a student with scores significantly below the median LSAT and GPA would be “unlikely.”
The law schools stress that the applications are looked at holistically, meaning that other factors: resumes, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and the like can matter. These are, however, more likely to matter if you are “on the bubble.” If you have a 2.2 GPA and a 130 LSAT, it’s very unlikely that a strong personal statement will get you serious consideration at either STCL or TAMU Law.
Both schools stressed that it is important to build relationships with professors and work supervisors, as letters of recommendations from them can be helpful in the process. And work experience can convey important qualities: punctuality, responsibility, a strong work ethic–and, in some jobs, critical thinking, writing, leadership, and management skills as well.
In the LEAP Center, we encourage progressive development:
- First Year: Solid grades, take the Mock LSAT, find an organization or two;
- Second Year: Develop study plan for LSAT, improve grades, begin looking at internships, consider officer positions in organization;
- Third Year: Begin serious study for LSAT, have interesting college experience (study abroad, professional internship), show leadership potential; deepen relationships from potential letter writers;
- Fourth Year: Take LSAT beginning Senior Year; apply for law school; round out college experiences.
During this final meeting, we also took the time to celebrate this semester’s graduating seniors. Tyrielle Bradford, Tonya Le, Ariza Martinez, Rylee Smith, and Brad Williams are our graduating seniors! All received a cord to reflect their time and dedication to the Pre-Law society.
Continuing the celebrations, Mark Harkrider, America Santillan, Christina Biello, and Noah Gilbert were awarded a $250 scholarship each! Their names were pulled at random in a small raffle game.
We would like to thank South Texas Law School and Texas A&M Law representatives for taking time out of their schedules to join us today. We have learned a lot and hope to use this advice beyond our law applications. Thank you to all new and old members for joining us on this journey through the semester. Good luck to all this semester’s graduates from now and to the future. Please follow us on our socials for more information and future events with the Pre-Law Society! Happy holidays and see you next semester!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 