The Total Application Package

Law School Admissions Law School Admissions Forum
1

Hey,

This might be another silly question by me, I hope someone dont mind answering (I have tried checking the FAQs)

As far as I know each law school requires the following:
LSAT, LSDAS GPA, minimum 2x LoR, Personal Statement, Resume (optional), “optional” essays for schools like Mich/Penn, and Yale’s 250.

Is there anything else I need to prepare for to apply for law school?
I noticed that in Harvard or Yale’s package that you had to answer certain questions regarding your extra-curriculars instead of just sending a resume, is that a normal? Can someone tell me what else is expected for t-14 schools?

2

–A few schools (Stanford?) require a Dean’s Certificate (I think it’s called) from your UG.
–All(?) schools require you to enter all your job/activity/award/education info into an application form in addition to submitting a resume.
–Diversity Statement, if you’re writing one.
–Addendae for bad grades/test scores/character & fitness issues (schools’ requirements for C&F vary: READ THEM CAREFULLY)

If you haven’t already, you have to register for CAS through LSAC.

3

Thanks for a quick response
Do they just want a list of “job/activity/award” or do are they looking for a paragraph or 1-2 line explanation of each? and does the quality of writing (pretty words) matter? or is it purely for functional purposes?

4

All the apps I saw just want lists, but that doesn’t mean they all do, I suppose.
It’s just getting all the info from your resume into each school’s own form. (Which doesn’t mean you don’t need to also submit a resume.)

They may have different ways they want your work experience listed, for example. (With/without hours per week, volunteer work included/separate, work during academic summers included/separate, etc.)
You really won’t know until the schools all post their online applications, which starts in…September/October, I think.

Also, if you have traffic tickets, you should start tracking them all down to the best of your ability. Some schools want to know even minor traffic offenses in the C&F section. (Obviously if you have more serious infractions/crimes on your record, you definitely will need all that info too.)

5

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6

No, a couple schools do ask for tickets. If you truly can’t dig up any info it’s probably okay to list the city and the year, but you should make an effort to track them down anyway.

7

I would guess that nine out of ten schools don’t require reporting parking tickets, but they are out there.

8

Not only do most schools not ask about parking tickets

But every school I applied to explicitly stated that you can exclude any traffic violations (parking and moving)

9

I forget which one it was, but either William and Mary or Wash and Lee requires you disclose moving violations (speeding, seatbelt, etc.).