Researching law schools can be a daunting process. My advice is to get as much information about potential schools early on; I started my research my freshman year of undergrad when I attended a law school fair.
Law school fairs are basically the same as college fairs -- each school has a booth with information and a representative trying to sell you the school. Over my undergraduate career, I went to two of these. The first was at 30th Street station in Philadelphia and held by Drexel Law, and the second was in Washington, DC and facilitated by LSAC. The LSAC website posts dates about upcoming law school fairs. Typically they are held in big cities -- DC, Philadelphia, New York, etc.
The LSAC website also lists every ABA (American Bar Association) accredited law school in the US and its territories and has a GPA and LSAT calculator. The calculator, based on previous incoming classes, calculates your percentage of getting accepted, which is very helpful in finding "safe" schools.
Another tool I found to be very useful was the US News & World Report website. It ranks all ABA accredited law schools in a four tier category and places the top tiered schools from 1 to 100. It allowed me to compare the schools I got accepted into and see which were rated best.
It's important to take into account the various concentrations -- sort of like your major in undergrad -- each school offers as well. While it is not necessary to graduate law school with a concentration, research which schools you are considering have the area you want to specialize in and go from there.
Happy hunting!
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Are there any helpful books that a person can use to research law schools? Does it seem like it is less important to visit a campus before applying to law school? So much research can be done on line these days. But sometimes when all things are equal a gal- or guy needs to get a feel for a school with a campus visit.
ReplyDeleteGreat point Diana! I used an official ABA law school fact book in my research. The guide book gave the basic stats for each law school (median GPA and LSAT, enrollment numbers, breakdown of minority students, student to faculty ratio, concentrations, $$$, and had helpful charts that depicted the chance your scores got you an acceptance).
ReplyDeleteI only visited Drexel law last year for a law school panel. The panel had representatives from all the major Philly schools, but I think the visit helped to sway my decision. It's sort of like your undergrad years; you want to be at a campus in which you feel comfortable and will be able to study. You're definitely right, research online can only go so far. Sometimes you need to visit a campus to get a feel for the environment.