[ILR] Pre-Law FAQs (Preparing to Apply)

*For general tips about minors, classes, jobs, campus and community involvements as you consider law school, please review the Pre-Law FAQs (Exploring Your Interest).

General Resources

Podcasts & Blogs

The LSAT:

Key Tips

  • The general recommendation is to plan to study for at least 200 hours (and up to 300 hours) for the LSAT. 
  • Allow time to study and take it at least 2 or 3 times by the June before the fall you plan to apply, August at the latest
  • Allow at least two months between tests to provide adequate study time (i.e., plan to take it in April and June not April and May)
  • If you do not plan to go straight to law school, plan to take the LSAT before you graduate or the summer after you graduate while your study skills are still strong and before work and life really fill up your time
  • Apply for test accommodations if needed; you only need to apply once and if approved, it will carry through for future tests
  • Fee Waivers for the LSAT & Credential Assembly Service
  • Scores are good for 5 years from LSAC’s perspective; some schools may want a more recent test; check application instructions
  • Taking a virtual exam? Reserve an Exam Room: A thorough, step-by-step process is provided with contact info, suggested rooms, and a sign to hang on the door
  • If you can’t take the LSAT or decide you don’t want to because you are not ready, and it is too late to cancel, it is best to withdraw (up until midnight the night before); a withdrawal will not show up on the score report. If you simply do not show up to take the LSAT, your score report will share the LSAT date and have an “A” next to it (meaning an “absent” will show on your score report).

Study Tools

  • Pre-Law Advisors generally agree that Reddit is a terrible place to go for info on law school applications, but it’s got some helpful resources for LSAT prep (check the sidebar on the right for links)
  • If you like watching videos, YouTube has helpful info from both test takers and prep companies
  • List of official LSAT test prep companies, including which ones accept the LSAC fee waiver (it’s lengthy). NOTE: You do NOT need to pay to do test prep with a company to make a great study plan. 
  • Options ILRies have mentioned worked for them: Kaplan, LSAT Lab; LSATMax, Magoosh, Princeton Review; PowerScore: LSAT Prep Courses, LSAT Self-Study Books and Practice Tools (PowerScore Bible is often recommended in articles); The Loophole in LSAT Logical Reasoning (book)
    • Additional test prep resources with ILRie comments:
      • 7sage: Self-study with option to hire tutors; Create drill tests with question types with which you struggle; Accepts monthly payments;Full access for just $1/year with LSAC fee waiver
      • Blueprint: Excellent video lessons with engaging visuals; Quite costly
      • LSAT Demon: Drilling questions; Explanations to questions are easy to understand; Self-study, class, and tutor options; Monthly subscription based on chosen plan

Common Pitfalls (These may lead to score cancellation; avoid them during testing.)

  1. Reading aloud. One of the most frequently cited problems by LSAC. You cannot read the test questions aloud; even mouthing the words is problematic. This will automatically cause a proctor interruption. The proctor may or may not pause the clock for you.
  2. Intermissions. During the 10-minute break between sections two and three, do not touch a cell phone! You are being recorded and proctored by artificial intelligence and a live person. Attempting to check emails/ texts/social media is “for certain a score cancellation matter.” Check in before the break is over, or your test session will be terminated, you will need to register for a new LSAT test, and you won’t receive a refund.
  3. Scratch paper. You must destroy your scratch paper on camera. Do not disconnect before doing this.
  4. Camera. Your face should always be in view of the camera. The rule is “forehead to chin” and “shoulder to shoulder”. If you move outside this range, your test may be flagged for score cancellation review.
  5. Space. Stay in the same room throughout the test. Sometimes people move to another room because of internet instability. DO NOT change rooms.
  6. Touching your face. Past test takers have been warned to stop doing so (it is often an unconscious habit) and told doing so may lead to their test being flagged.

Requesting Letters of Recommendation

  • Maintaining confidential letters
  • Select professors who can speak specifically about you, use particular examples, compare you to our peers. Ideally, they taught you in upper-level, small courses.
  • Share if there is anything specific you hope they will cover, especially if it is something another recommender wouldn’t know (i.e., you helped others who struggled with the course material, made yourself available as a TA)

How to Ask for Them

  • Ideally, you would message them to ask to connect in-person or via a virtual meeting vs asking via email
  1. Consider by what date you will apply and choose an earlier date for your recommenders. This buffer allows for delays in submission and helps avoid the stress of not applying by your target date.
  2. Email the professor and, especially if you haven’t talked to them in a while, remind them how they know you—the class(es) you took with them, maybe share a paper from it. Ask to meet as referenced above. If meeting isn’t an option, explain that you are planning to apply to law school in the fall. Ask if they would be willing to write a STRONG letter of recommendation.
    • Share a bit about why you want to go to law school and the area(s) of law in which you are interested. You might also share why you are asking them—the impact of their teaching on you or your interest in law, how they can speak well to your critical thinking, legal research, etc. You might know this from comments on submitted assignments.
  3. Share by when you would need their letter, since this could influence whether they are able to write it.
  4. Thank them for considering your request and ask if they can let you know whether they can write the letter by DATE. (If they can’t, you need time to consider and ask others.)
  5. Providing a template for them or writing it for them is not recommended. Most have written letters of recommendation before, and there will be info in the LSAC message they get. Of course, if they ask for guidance, you can provide it (ask us, check online, etc.).
  6. Attach your resume and personal statement (if you have a good draft to share).
  7. Once they agree, thank them and ask their preferred timeline for you to send the LSAC request and other materials to have their letter by DATE. Some might want a month, others more or less time.

Related resources

Law School Admissions Process

Application Materials

  • Law schools often share some application information, including personal statements and optional essays, on their websites; go directly to the school’s application in LSAC where full details are shared
  • Check each school’s instructions and read them very carefully
    • In general, any essays should be two pages with 1″ margins, double-spaced, and in 11-point font
    • Include your name and LSAC number at the top of each page; they can be on the same line
  • Applications include personal statements, optional essays, Character & Fitness questions, and addenda
    • Addenda are short explanations to provide context for significant experiences/events that would not otherwise be obvious; use them judiciously and avoid raising concerns; consider Yale Law School’s guide
    • Character & Fitness questions must be read very closely; you may have to share something even if there is no record and each law school words them differently (for example, Cornell Law School wants to know about speeding tickets; others do not)
  • From Harvard Law School:
  • From Yale Law School (pdf has not been updated for 2025-2026 yet):
  • From Cornell Pre-law Advisory Network
  •  Admission Unmasked, a free LawHub course
  • Applicants apply on average to 6-7 law schools; Cornell students and alumni apply to 10-12 (or more) law schools

Guidance on Choosing Law Schools to Apply to

  • Law School Transparency: Research and compare law schools by admissions, bar passage, job data and more
  • ABA Required Disclosures: Provides LSAT and GRE score and other admissions data in the 509 reports for individual law schools and employment summary data for individual law schools
    • Law School Transparency: Shares a lot of data from here in a more digestible format; run various reports here for additional information
  • Application Requirements for Top Law Schools: Provides application essay prompts and other application details for law schools for the current application cycle
  • XploreJD by AccessLex: Offers a data-based approach to finding law schools
  • Law School Admission Council (LSAC): Info on applying to law school, choosing a law school, and more
    • Search for ABA-Approved Law Schools based on your UGPA/LSAT to find the best law school for you
      • Scroll down the above page to find the LawHub section: LST Wizard from Law School Transparency provides a free, personalized report based on your interests and preferences; ranked according to your priorities; provides in-depth data re employment outcomes, student-debt projections, etc. (provided as part of test takers’ free LSAC LawHub account)
  • The Wilson-Stern Book of Law School Lists: “…lists of law school academic programs, clinical programs, available scholarships, admission policies and other information”; usually updated every two years; most recent available is 2019-2020; read the Forword, and don’t rely solely on what you find here—talk to the law schools
  • Consider, rank, and prioritize the various factors that are important to YOU for the law school you attend, such as:
    • Debt and financing: How much debt will you accrue to pay for a given law school? How do you plan to pay for it? How do changes to federal loan programs impact those plans? Do the benefits offset the cost?
      • Where do you want to practice law? Most graduates do so in the same region where they attend law school. Check ABA Employment Summary Reports for a law school’s top 3 states; Law School Transparency shares some of this data, too.
      • Sometimes state schools and lesser ranked law schools offer lower tuition and/or scholarships or other aid that offset the big name. Check LSAC for more information.
      • Specific programs or areas of law may be highly ranked at a law school that is not a T-14.
      • Graduates of lower-tier law schools get great jobs, too.
      • With top-tier law schools, you pay for the alumni network. For non-corporate roles, the tradeoff may not be worth the sticker price. That is an individual decision that also warrants research.
    • Employment and placement data: Are graduates working in roles and with employers who align with your career goals?

Resources for Applying to Law Schools

Financial Resources/FAFSA Help

Prepare for 1L and Beyond

  • Law School Unmasked (free video in the LawHub Courses section) will help you prepare for the rigor of 1L, including the Socratic method of teaching, cold calling, and the different way you will read and prepare for class. Courses will typically be assigned as if you are in middle school again, and you will stay with the same cohort all year.