The verdict is in-preparing for law school admission requires time and effort. However, a knowledgeable and orderly approach makes the process much easier.
To succeed in law, you must decide whether it is the career choice for you. And though the field contains many different areas of expertise, two basic skills link its divisions.
“Reading and writing-you have to either love those two things or at least be willing to do them,” says former Yazoo City attorney Brad Stewart. “Through reading comprehension, you must be able to understand why we have certain laws, not just that we have the laws. You need to be able to approach work from a comprehensive standpoint.”
This points favorably toward majors that require these skills throughout their curriculum.
“Any liberal arts degree is a good prep for law because of the broad range of topics you encounter through reading and writing,” Starkville attorney Dalton W. McAlpin said.
As in most graduate studies, grade-point average plays a major role in gaining admission. Most law schools favor a GPA of 3.0 or higher, but students who experience lower grades early in college can raise them high enough to please law school recruiters, said Mississippi College Law School Assistant Dean Mike Maloney.
“Your academic status is a primary factor when law schools look at your application,” he said. “It can be weighed as heavily as the LSAT. Although we look at your final GPA, we also look at the trends in your grades.”
A potential law student must also do well on the Law School Admissions Test, commonly called the LSAT. Mississippi State’s McCool Hall will be the testing site for many students in Mississippi who take the LSAT on Dec. 8, the last day a potential applicant can test and still apply for law school admittance in fall 2004. Registration for the LSAT costs $128. Online registration for the test can be completed at www.lsat.org.
The LSAT consists of six sections: one section on reading comprehension, two logical reasoning sections, one section on analytical reasoning, an unscored trial section and an unscored writing essay. All sections last 35 minutes with the exception of the essay, which allows 30 minutes for completion. The LSAT bases scores on how many questions are answered correctly on a point scale of 120 to 180. A score of 150 places most students in contention for a seat in law school.
According to the Research and Education Association’s LSAT study guide, a test-taker should study at least six weeks prior to testing to perform well. Studying for the LSAT differs from most tests because the writers provide all the information you need to know for the test itself.
However, practice tests, which lawyers recommend taking, will help test-takers move quickly through the test and can help determine whether a person meshes with the study of law.
“The practice tests allow you to memorize the instructions of the LSAT so you won’t have to waste valuable time reading them ( when you are actually taking it,” said Art Prestage, a Houston, Texas, labor and employment lawyer. “If studying for the LSAT is painful, then law school might not be for you because that is similar to what you will be doing for the next three or four years.”
After receiving the LSAT score, an applicant will need to gather references for his applications.
“References can be important,” Maloney said. “They weigh more if you are in a borderline situation. It’s good to have academic references or employers (as references)-those who know the applicant’s ability and performance as a student or employee.”
Law school admittance requires hours of preparation from studying; however, a proper approach will ensure a better chance of gaining acceptance. The effort exerted to gain admittance into law school may seem overbearing, but as the old saying goes, “Nothing worth having ever came easy.”
“Study in law school was intense, but it’s a valuable degree to have,” Prestage said. “It can open a lot of doors for you, and on top of that you make great friends.”