What School Should I Go to
and Where Can I Get In?

Don't just look at what you hear are the best schools. What you should figure out is which school is the best one for you. What are you looking for in a law school?

Here are some factors to consider as you select law schools to apply to:

• Location:  Is the law school located in the geographical area you prefer? How important is the geographical location to you, and why? Is the location on a campus? In a city? In a college town? What geographic area do you want to work in after graduating law school?
• Size:  Do you prefer a student population that's large (1000 students or more), intermediate (500–1000), or small (500 or less)? The advantages of a larger law school are that a greater number of courses are offered, and the faculty tend to have diversified interests. In a smaller law school, you'll usually have closer contact with faculty and find a more relaxed atmosphere among students.
• Character:  Is the institution characterized as a national, state, or regional law school? Where are the alumni employed? Pay particular attention to the job placement patterns of law schools if geographic location is important to you.
• Student Body:  Any professional program is competitive. Some law schools are very competitive and have student bodies that are vocationally oriented and grade conscious. Others are less competitive and possess student bodies which might be classified as "more supportive". The best way to find out about the student body of a law school is to visit the school and talk to the faculty and students. If possible, sit in on a few classes and talk with the students after class.
• Faculty:  What is the strength of the faculty at a particular law school? The law school's Web site will list the faculty along with their professional activities, publications, etc.
• Library: Is the size of the law library adequate both in terms of holdings and space? Can students be accommodated during examination time? Does the library have computer facilities, wireless capabilities, etc.?
• Strengths:  Some applicants have an area of the law in which they are particularly interested - international law, environmental law, tax law, patent law, etc. If so, you should examine law school catalogs closely to find those that have faculty and curricular expertise in the areas of your particular interest.
• Cost:  Somewhere along the line, money will become an issue. Unless you have access to a large nest egg, look at the total cost for three years of study. This estimate should include tuition, room and board, fees and expenses, insurance, and travel.
  

Assessing your chances of gaining admission to any particular law school requires a review of current admission's data. There are several resources to help you:

• ABA/LSAC Official Guide To ABA-Approved Law Schools: This book includes information on all ABA-approved law schools in the United States. Data such as admission results for prior applicants are helpful to see how others with your GPA and LSAT scores fared last year. You can find this book in the Career and Community Learning Center or on the LSAC site.
  
• Boston College Law School Range Finder
• Princeton Review Advanced Law School Search
• Law school catalogs: Some law schools don't print all of their admission results in the ABA/LSAC Official Guide To ABA-Approved Law Schools; therefore, you can obtain an application booklet and/or catalog by contacting the law schools that you are interested in and requesting information. Many schools do have this available online.

What are "REACH", "TARGET", and "SAFETY" schools?

It is rare that an applicant will gain admission to all of the laws schools they apply to. Therefore, it is helpful to make educated guesses based on three categories of prospects.

• REACH This is a law school where about 20% or less of the applicants with your GPA and LSAT scores were recently admitted. Your "REACH" applications should be your dream schools. Work hard to make your application one of the 4 they might accept.
• TARGET This is a law school where your GPA and LSAT scores are approximately the same as the medians for last year's entering class. "TARGET" schools present at least a 50/50 chance.
• SAFETY This is a law school where at least 80% of the applicants with your GPA and LSAT scores were admitted last year. Include several "SAFETY" schools on your list due to the accelerating applicant pools in terms of quality. What may have been a "SAFETY" school last year may have suddenly become a "TARGET" school instead.